How to Teach Writing

R The students have 3 columns. In the left column there is a list of

words. The students read the left column. Then they cover it and write
the words in the middle column. Then they compare what they have
written with the left column, and, if necessary, write the word correcrly
in the right column.
~ Students are given an alphabetical list of animals. They have to write
the words in one of three columns (headed 'pets', 'farm animals', and
'wild animals').
~ The teacher can ask questions (e.g. 'What's the first day of the week?'
'What pet starts with , and ends with t?' 'When does a new year
start?') and the students have to write one-word answers.
All of the above activi6es are designed to give students practice in physically
writing. Some of them rely on copying (sec page 52).

The spelling Many people say that English spelli.ng is irregular and therefore difficult,
challenge and they make a feature of rhe lack of spelling-sound correspondence
which, although not unique, is a feature of English. They point out that the
same sounds can he spelt differently, as in threw and through which both
sound as /8n!!I; and the same spelling can be pronounced differently, as in
threw and rew /s-;m/ or through and trough /troff which arc said with
completely different vowel sounds.
English spelling is complex bur it is not completely random a.nd is, in
fact, fairly regular; there are usually clear rules about when certain spellings
are and are not acceptable. English spelling rules do often have excep6ons
but these usually only apply to a small number of individual words. A
standard regularity such as the fact that ghat the end of words is silent, for
example, is broken by words like enough; yer enough is only one of seven
words that behave in such a way. In the same way many English language
spellers know the rule •i before e except after c' to explain the spelling of
believe vs. conceive, hut there are excep6ons to this familiar rule (e.g. uize,
weird, spetits, Neil). However, it is worth remembering that excep6ons
which cause confusion are just that - exceptions.
Learners of English need to be aware about how we use different
spellings to distinguish between homophones (words that sound the same
but arc spelt differently) such as threw and through. Pairs of words that
sound identical - like sun and son, sew and so, thrtw and through - are
immediately differentiated in writing. What can be seen as a disadvantage
in terms of sound and spelling correspondence, in other words, is actually
serving an important and useful purpose.
Spelli.ngs make English rela6vely easy to read. Word roots, for example,
arc always recognisable even when we add affixes: prefixes (like un-, dis-)
or suffixes (like - ist, -able, and -,d'J. It is easy to perceive the connection
between sing and tinging, or between art and artiJt, or rule and ruler. And
similarly, the function of affixes is reflected in their spelling. For example,
the - ist and •es/ e ndings arc pronounced rhe same (list/) in the words artist
and fastest; it is the spelli.ng that makes it clear that whereas the first ending
denotes someone who does something (art) the second gives a one-syllable
adjective irs superlative forrn.
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 4 • Nuts and bolts

Teaching The best way of helping students to learn how to spell is ta have them read
spelling as much as possible. Extensive reading (reading longer rcxts, such as
simplified readers, for pleasure) helps srudcnrs to remember English spelling
rules and their exceptions, although many srudcnts may need some
encouragement to do chis kind of reading.
However, as teachers we can be more proactive than this. We can raise
the issue of sound and spelling correspondence, give srudeots word
formation exercises, get them to work out their own spelling rules, and use
a number of other activities to both familiarise themselves with spelling
patterns and also practise them. Here arc some ideas:
, . Srudcnrs he-.u words and have to identify sounds made by common
digraphs (pairs of letters commonly associated with one sound, e.g. ck
pronounced /kl) and trigrnphs (three letters usually pronounced the
same way, e.g. tch pronounced as /tJ/).
J'. Although reading aloud may have some disadvantages (without
preparation srudents tend to read falteringly), nevertheless it can be
very useful when the reacher takes srudents through a short text,
getting them to listen to words and then repeat them correctly, and
then coaching them in how to read die passage 'with feeling'. lf the
text has been chosen to demonstrate certain spellings (as well as being
interesting in itself), it can focus the srudents' minds on how specific
spellings sound or indeed on how specific sounds are spelt.
~ Srudents can read and listen ro a series of words which all share the
same sound (e.g. small, always, ()rgo11is,d,fa11r, 1or1, and more) and then
identify what the sound is(/:,:/). They can go on co see if the sound is
present or not in other similarly spelt words (e.g. call, our, =rk, pi,rt).
Such an activity raises their awareness of the convergence and
divergence of sounds and their spellings.
The same effect can be achieved by focusing on a particular letter
rather tha n on a particular sound. Srudenrs can be asked to listen to a
number of different words containjng the same lcrter and they then
have co say what the sound of the letter is in each case. If the letter in
question is a, for example, srudents can say for each word they hear
whether J! sounds like the a in C{II , or in (1 bot/le, or in many, or in say,
or whether it sounds like the Qin {l;r. They then read sentences such as
d1e following:

Tony loves playing golf much more than ocher games.

He th inks ir's absolutely fasci11J.1.ting.
He thought Saturday's game on TV was amazing.
I thought it w.as rather boring when l saw it.
When he scans, 'Has .anybody seen char film about golf?',
everybody begs him nor ro go on!
' - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Same letter, different sounds

47
How to Teach Writing

And they have to match up the underlined as with the sounds they
have studied. Obviously where a word has rwo examples of J!, the word
may match up with differeot sou nds depending on which underlined
a is being focused on.
~ Students can be asked to wo rk out a rule by looking at the spcUings of
pairs or groups of words. Rather than being told, for instance, how
spelling operates when words change their grammatical form, they can
be given an exercise like the following (designed for pre-incermediate
students or above):

Loo k at the following verbs in the infinicive a nd wich a verb

end ing. Can you say when the final letter of the verb is
do ubled (e.g. pp) and wbeo it is not?
clap clapping limp limping
comm it committed pardon pardoned
crawl crawling prefer preferred
hint hinted run running
hit hitting sin sinned
howl howled sing singing
knic knirced sir sitting

Such an exercise dcmRnds concentration on the put of students, some

of whom find this kind of puzzle-solving more agreeable (and easier)
than others. We might note, too, that it only deals with three of the
'doubling' rules - because to do all of them in one go might be too
much. Nevertheless it has the advantage of showing students, in
unequivocal terms, that English spelling is not random.
?- Many dictionary activities are suitable for not only training students in
dictionary use, but also helping them to notice and absorb English
spellings.
Asking lower intermediate students to put a wrinen list of words in
:,lphabctical order (and then to check against a dictionary) is useful in
focusing the studentS' attention oo the spelling of the initial letters of
words. A variation for upper intermediate students or above which
forces them to think about whole words is for the teacbet ro ask a
question such as: 'How many words w<>uld you expect to find in a
dictionary between t11Ch and earphones?' and then co say 'When you
have listed as many as you can, check with your dictionary.'
l'. Dictation is an excellent technique for spelling practice, especiaUy if
the d ictation contains words which exemplify certain spelling mies
(and/or exceptions).
There are many alternatives co the traditional approach where the
teacher reads a paragraph or rwo to the learners. Students can try to

48
 4 • Nuts and bolts

write the words they hear on a tape or they can dictate to each o ther.
T h e technique known as running dictation (where individual students
go to the front of the room o ne by o ne and read a line of a poem, say,
which they then have to rake back and dictate 10 their group) is ideal
for spelling practice, especially if the teacher has said that each group
will get points for the correct spelling of each and every word.
~ At lower levels, students can be given cards with letters written on
them and out o f which they have to make words. The cards should not
only have individual letters on them (e.g. a, /J, e, etc.) but also digraphs,
trigraphs, and vowel + consonant combinations, e.g.

gh sp tch ew ay
Other games which can be used for spelling practice arc:
• 'noughts and crosses' (or 'tic- tac-toe' as it is often called} where
students have to pick letter clusters from one of the nine squares
and make words with them. If they arc successful, they can cover
that square with a nought (O) or a cross (X) in order to try and make
a three-square s traig ht line.
'secret codes' where each letter is given a number (A = 1, B • 2, etc.)
and students have to write messages to each other usi ng numbers
which the receiving student has 10 decode back into letters.
'backward spelling' where the teacher or students spell words
backwards and then see who is the first person to guess the words.

Teaching Using puncruarion correcdy is an important skill. Many people j udge the
punctuat.ion quality of what is written no t just on the content, the language, and the
writer's handwriting but also on their use of punctuation. If capital letters,
commas, full stops, sentence and poragraph boundaries, ere. arc not used
correctly, this can not o nly make a negative impression but can, of course,
also make a text difficult to understand.
Where writers arc using e-mail communication, the need for accurate
punctuation (or spelling) does not seem to be so great. Feantres such as
capital letters and apostrophes are frequently left out. However, even e-mails
can sometimes be more formal or official and then such careless use of the
computer keyboard may make a poor impression.
If we want our students to be good writers in English we need to teach
them how to use punctuation conventions correctly (see Appendix A). This
means reaching aspects of the system from the very beginning so that by the

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How to Teach Writing

time they have reached upper intermediate level, students can do a revision
exercise such as this one with ease:

C Checkyourpunctuation
• Make sure you know the right punctuation symbols,
and when to use them. Complete the rules with the
right names.
brackets capital letters colon comma full stop
hyphen inverted commu question mark
exclamation mark apostrophe

Symbol u..
■ A---,---,-- shows lheend of
o sentence, and is also used aher initials
(PJ. Proby) and abbreviations (etc.).
A _ _ _ _ _ shows a shortpau,e
that separates parts of a sentence, e.g. a
non-dellnlng relative clause or words in a list.
______ show words that are
spaken (directspeech). lheyarealsoused
around ti~es of boob or films, or a nidcname.
------ show extra information
or an explonolion which is not considered
essential.
An _ __ _ _ _ is used when two
words ore contracted, and to shaw pc»seSSian,
e.g. It's Jane's.
A _ _ _ _ _ _ is used when two
words are joined together, e.g. some
compound nouns.
An _ __ __ _ is used lo show
surprise. It comes at lhe end of a sentence and
is often used in dialogue.
a II A_ __ _ _ _ (at lheend of lhe
118nlence) shc,,wi that o direct question is
being asked. It is also used in requests, e.g.
Couldyou br/119 me ...9
A _ __ _ _ teltsywthat
something is corning next, for example a list.
_ _ _ _ __ are used for the first
letter of a nome, a country, nationality or
language, days of lhe week, month,.

' - - - - - - - - - - From English File: Upp,r lnt,,-mditrte by Clive

Oxcnden and Christina La1ham•Koc:nig

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 4 • Nuts and bolts

Here are some ideas for getting students to recognise aspects of

punctuation and be able to use them:
~ Students at elementary level can study a collection of words and
identify which ones are written with capital letters, e.g.

Anita, and, apple, April, Argentina, art, Australian,

Andrew, act, ar, in, island, I, ice, Iceland

They then work out why some words have capital letters and some do
not.
,J\_ Once students have had full stops, commas, and capital letters
explained ro them, they can be asked to punctuate a short text such as
this:

they arrived in cambridge ar one o'clock in the morning it

was cold with a bright moon making the river cam silver
andrew ran to the water's edge angela hurrying co keep up
with him ran straight into him by misrnke and pushed him
into the river

~ Studenrs can be shown a passage and asked co identify what

punctuation is used and why. The following example for intermediate
students shows a procedure for helping students to write direcct
reported speech.
The teacher gives the students an extract like this one (preferably
from a book (reader) they arc currently reading):

'I'm sorry to keep you waiting,' a voice said. The speaker

was a short man wi th a smiling, round face and a beard.
'My name's Cabinda,' he said. 'Passport police.'
'I can explain,' Monika said quickly. 'My hair. Ir's not
like the photograph. I know. I bought hair colour in South
Africa. I can wash it and show you.'
Cabinda looked carefully at Monika and then at the
photo. 'No, that's OK. I can see that it's you,' Ca binda
said. 'There's one more rhing. You need a visa. It's ten
dollars. You can pay the passport officer. Welcome to
Mouimbique!'

' - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1F'rom Douhk Cros, by Philip Prowse

51
How to Teach Writing

Srudcnrs are then asked to puncruate the following lines of dialogue in

exactly the same way as the text (wruch they can refer to as they do the
exercise):

I'm sorry to keep you waiting a voice sa id My name's

Cabinda he said Passport pol ice
I can explain Monika said quickly My hair It's not like
the photograph I know I bought hair colour in South
Africa I can wash it and show you
No, that's OK I can see that it's you Cabinda said There's
one more thing You need a visa It's ten dollars You can
pay the passport officer Welcome to Mozambique

This act1v11y asks them to look carefully at inverted commas,

exclamation marks, commas, and full stops.
When they have completed the activity and the teacher has checked
it through with diem, they can be a.~ked to answer the following
questions:

a) How do we show that someone is speaking?

b) When someone finishes spea king, where docs the
comma go - before o r after the inverted comma (')?
c) Where do we put the exclamation mark (!) - before or
after the inverted comma ( ')?

These three ways of dealing with puncruation (asking srudents to notice

something, asking them to puncruate something, and, combining the two,
asking them to explain how punctuation works) are highly effective
activities. Teachers can also emphasise puncruation by saying that for a
certain piece of homework they will only correct punctuation errors.

Copying The copying activities we have looked at so far in this chapter have involved
copying single and 'joined~up' letters, copying wo rds from a list, and
rewriting words in different columns. The intentio n in each case was to have
students learn how to form letters and words from a given model
Quite apart from irs potential for helping sn,dents to learn (as we have
seen with handwriting and spelling), copying is an important slcill in real life
too. Some srudents, however, are not very good at it. In part this may be due
to an inability to notice key fearures of English spelling o r to a general
difficulty with attention to derail. Matters arc not helped by the computer:
the ability to copy and paste chunks of text into any document means thar

52
 4 • Nuts and bolts

there is no need ro rake account of the ways the words themselves arc
fonned. Graeme Porte, who was working at the Universiry of Granada in
Spain, found that some of his 'underachieving' students had great difficulty
copying accurately when making notes or when answering cx:1111 questions,
for example. As a result he had these same sn,dents, under time pressure,
copy a straightforward text which w:is set out in fairly shorr lines. They
copied line by line, but at any one time they covered the whole text apart
from the line they were working on. This meant that they could give their
whole concentration to that one line. Their ability to copy accurately
improved :ts a result of this acrivity.
Here are some other copying procedures designed both for !cam ing
spelling and for encouraging acrnrate copying itself:
:,\ D isguised word copying - when students had to rewrite animal
names in three different columns (sec page 46) they were in effect
engaged in a disi,'11iscd form of word copying. There ore many such
activities. We may give Students a list of words randomly organised
which they then have to rewrite in alphabetical order. We may give
srudents a list of words they have recently met and ask them to write
down their five most favourite and five least favourite words from the
list. We can also give them sentences which they have 10 write in
:1ppropriatc boxes o r columns, e.g.

Write the follo wing sentences a bo ut mobile/cellular phones

in the correct columns.
M)' phone makes me feel safe.
People nrc always ·somewhere else·.
People shout when they use rhcm.
They are bad fo,· your health.
They arc very useful.
Thq'rc horrihlc.

Mobile phones are good Mobi le phones are bad

Students can also be asked to label plans, m:ips, t,tblcs, and gr:1phs with
a given list.
Of course many of these activities may h-.1vc otl1cr uses (apart from
j ust copying practice, that is), but if students are encouraged m
concentrate o n accurate copying this c:1n only be helpful in fostering
their attention 10 detail.

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