How to teach Writing in English 11 effetively at Nga Son High School

 MỤC LỤC
PART I: INTRODUCTION.1
PART II. CONTENTS..3
1. Identifying the problems in teaching and learning writing...3
 2.Recommendation...3
3.Suggestions for some popular forms of “warm up” activities...........5
4. The sample planning lesson  .. ...12 
PART III: CONCLUSION..19
PART IV. REFERENCES...20
 PART I: INTRODUCTION
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 English is a main subject in high school being taught in three or four periods a week. The test English writing has become an inevitable part of almost every standarlized examination, especially in the important examinations such as the GCSE (General Certificate Secondary Education Examination) .Writing is one of the four skills that we have to acquire in the process of English learning. To master a language in general and English in particular we must develop all four skills -listening, speaking, reading and writing. However, how we can develop each of them successfully is a big problem for all concerned. In the process of learning a language, especially English, writing is considered as the last language skill to be acquired. It is last but not least and I find it rather difficult to do it well because writing in one’s mother tongue is difficult but writing in a foreign language is far more difficult. Besides, when teachers teach writing, they usually fall into teaching grammar structures and focus on correction. On the whole they mainly provide students with sentence structures, sets of grammar rules, then give them a task and ask them to complete the task. As a result, the students become passive to get correct answers or to correct grammar errors. But we, English teachers, should remember that the main point of teaching writing is teaching the students how to write, not to test their writing.When teaching writing skill to the 11th students of Nga Son High School I found the problems in teaching and learning writing skill. I applied some strategies that help my students in my school to write more effectively in writing lessons. Thanks to that strategies, my students achieve the surprising success. Today, I would like to present: “How to teach Writing in English 11 effetively at Nga Son High School”. Hopefully, with that experiences will be more motivating for the teachers to teach and make progress in teaching writing, their students will be interested in writing lessons. Moreover,the theme would be shared with any colleagues who had the same problem or anyone who is interested in this theme.
 PART II. CONTENTS
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1. Identifying the problems in teaching and learning writing
1.1. The problems in getting students to write in the classroom. 
- Students don’t understand things what they will write about 
- They have nothing to write because they have lack of ideas and limited vocabulary to express their opinions and they are disabled to use structures style or language in English standards.
- They don’t have enough time to write.
- Some students don’t participate in groupworks.
1.2.The typical mistakes a teacher might get
- Teacher doesn’t get students to think about the topic or situation; to collect all their idea, language focus (vocabulary, grammar) before writing about it (not perfectly).
- Teacher doesn’t set up a pre task.
- Teacher neither gives clear instructions nor checks them.
- Teacher doesn’t give suitable framework or outline.
- Sometimes teacher gives tasks without helpful cues.
- Teacher doesn’t do a lot of assisting weaker students.
2. Recommendation	
2.1.Designing strategies for improvement	
 From the comments, ideas and suggestions from the students, colleagues, professional books and my own teaching experience I designed the following strategies to improve the problem:
-Setting up a pre-task (doesn’t talk about what the students must do, instead shows them what/ how to do by giving a demonstration with suitable framework/ outline/ helpful cues).
 - Giving clear instructions (keep them short and simple) and check them.
 - Making sure that students are motivated to work and be more interested in the writing lessons.
- Paying more attention to all students, especially, do a lot of assisting weaker students; to hold classroom in effective working.
- Managing time well in each part of the writing lesson.
2.2. Designing strategies for free writing
 On English 11 textbook, there are a range of types to practice writing with narrative, writing letters, describing statistics from a chart or a table or writing a report or a biography.When facing a free writing many students would probably find it quite difficult and make many mistakes. If so they would find the task frustrating and probably not learn very much from it. Students would probably approach the task in different way and produce a wide variety of different paragraphs. Thus the only way to correct their work would be individually, book by book, this would be very time consuming for the teachers.Teachers should help students progress beyond very controlled writing to free writing by guiding their writing.
Giving cues.
Giving a short text as a model.
Doing oral preparation for the writing.
Modelling
Reading a model and noticing certain grammatical features/ vocabulary/ useful expressions/ text organisation/ style
Putting different parts of the text onto a writing frame.
Sequencing a jumbled text.
Comparing and contrasting two forms of text of the same genre.
Some examples of oral preparation for the writing
Discussing
Brainstorming
Observing and interpreting photos or artwork
Watching video clips
Using writing templates/ frames / cloze exercises
Mapping
Brain writing
Using matrix
2.3. Teachers should master the following writing techniques:
Pre-writing techniques
 - Using a drill
 - Using a listening text
 - Using a reading text
 - Using a survey
 - Using picture dictation
While-writing techniques
Transformation
Substitution tables
Substitution boxes
Gap-fill
Questions and answers
Ordering
Post-writing techniques
Correction (Ss correct and re-draft their texts).
Sharing and comparing (Sharing when they write texts based on different topics; comparing when they write texts based on the same topics).
Exhibition (Ss share, compare, admire, pick a winner, copy others)
3. Suggestions for some popular forms of “warm up” activities 
 Warm up activities are very important to excite the atmosphere of the class and to increase students’ motivation in the lesson, if students are motivated, they will engage themselves more in classroom activities. I can use matching games, pictures, questions,  These are some the following examples about warm up activities in my teaching writing: 
 UNIT 1 –FRIENDSHIP - D.WRITING
 Warm- up: Name Poem
-Teacher asks each student to use his/her partner’s name to write an acrostic poem. He /She has to use the adjectives beginning with the letters of the name to describe his/her friends’s personality or appearance.
 -Teacher calls on some students to write their poem on the board.
 -Teacher checks with the class.
Example: 
+ Lan is my friend: Talented,intelligent,easy-going,nice.
+ Nam is my friend: Tall and thin,helpful to everyone,active in class,neat and tidy, generous in giving help.
Teacher leads to the new lesson: These adjecties can help you write a description of a person. Our lesson today is to write a description of a friend of yours.
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 UNIT 2– PERSONAL EXPERIENCES - D.WRITING
 Warm- up: Describing the picture: In deep water	
-Teacher showsapictureto students and ask them to describe it using the cues given
-It/ a hot day
-The man/stop/ a small deserted beach
-He/ not have/ swimming- trunks	
-There/ be/ no people/ in sight
-The man/take off/ all clothes/ swim out to the sea/ and relax in the water
-When/he/ look back/ a coach arrived
-There /be/ a lot of people/ stand on the sand
Expected answers: 
It was hot day. The man stopped at a small deserted beach. He didn’t have swimming- trunks with him but it was early in the morning, there were no people insight.The man took off all his clothes and swam out to the sea and relaxed in the water.When he looked back at the beach, a coach had arrived and there were a lot of people standing on the sand to have a picnic.
Lead in: 
Today, we learn how to write a personal letter telling about a past experience.
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 UNIT 3–A PARTY - D.WRITING
 Warm–up: Open prediction
-Deliver handouts
 -Ask students to work in pairs to read the following expressions and decide what types of letters can go with them:
+ George and I are having a party on Saturday, and we’d love you to come.
+ Let us know if you can come.
1.Letter of invitation 2. Thank-you letter 
-Call on some pairs to speak out their answers
-Check their answers with the whole class.
 Key:Letter of invitation.	
 Lead in: Today, you will learn how to write an informal letter of invitation to invite a person to a party?
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 UNIT 4- VOLUNTEER WORK - D.WRITING
 Warm–up: Game: Jumbled word 	
Teacher asks students to work out the anagram of the following word
 Example: STANHK 
Key: THANKS
Lead in: 
Elicit the answers from students: when do you say “thanks”?
In today’s lesson, you’ll learn how to write a formal letter to express gratitude or thanks.
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 UNIT 6- COMPETITIONS - D.WRITING
 Warm- up: Gueessing game	
- Prepare a picture of an English speaking competition
-Don’t let students see the picture,then divide the class into 2 groups.
-Move the picture quickly 1 or 2 times so that students can’t see what’s in the picture clearly
-Have students guess the competition in the picture by asking Yes/No questions.Within 2 minutes which group can guess the picture will be the winner.Then teacher declares the winning group.
Lead in:
If you intend to take part in an English speaking competition, what will you do?
In today’s lesson, you’ll learn how to write a letter of replying.
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 UNIT 7- WORLD POPULATION - D.WRITING
 Warm–up: Continent recognition 
-Teacher divides the class into 2 teams 
-Teacher gives each group a set of cards and tell them they have to match the continents with their names in minutes.The group who write faster and has more correct answers will be the winner
-Teacher checks students’ understanding of instructions and have students start the game, then teacher declares the winner
Lead in:
In today’s lesson, we’ll learn how to write a paragraph of 100- 120 words, describing the information in the chart. 
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 UNIT 8-CELEBRATIONS - D.WRITING
 Warm–up: Gueessing game	
-Teacher asks students to work in 4 groups to answer the question : when do these activities take place ?
-Teacher gives each group a handout with the following sentences on :
1. It’s a national holiday. Schools and offices close. These are parades along the streets, meetings,celebrations to remember those who died for country’s independence.
2. Children gather at night, going round with their colorful lanterns,watching lion or dragon dance,sharing mooncakes in the full moon light.
3. Husbands,son,lovers buy flowers or gifts for their mothers,wives or lovers .They also offer to do the cooking for the whole family on this day.
4. Students visit their teachers with flowers, cards or small gifts to show their gratitude.
- Teacher invites representatives from the groups to give their answers
-Teacher gives feedback 
Expected answer :
 1.Independence Day 3. Women’s day 
 2.Mid-Autumn Festival 4. Teacher’s day 
à Teacher leads to the new lesson:
In today’s lesson, we’ll learn how to write a description of one the popular celebrations in Vietnam.
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 UNIT 9-THE POST OFFICE - D.WRITING
 Warm–up
-Teacher hangs a chart with the following adjecties: 
-Teacher asks students to read the adjecties and put those adjecties in the correct part of the table can make people / things satisfied or dissatisfied.
 polite,rude,cold,helpful,spacious,cramped,large,small,good,bad,reasonable,
expensive,cheap,arrogant,punctual,reliable.
 Satisfied 
 Dissatisfied 
 polite,helpful,spacious,large,good,
reasonable,cheap,punctual,reliable.
rude,cold,cramped,small,bad expensive,arrogant.
à Teacher leads to the new lesson:
In today’s lesson, we’ll learn how to write a letter of express satisfaction
 ( or dissatisfation).
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UNIT 10: NATURE IN DANGER - D.WRITING
 Warm–up:Gueessing game
Show the back of a picture of a National Park to the Students. Teacher gives some information about the picture.
 Cat Ba National Park
-Teacher asks students to guess what the national park is 
-It has a loy of tropical forests,beatiful landscapes, rareanimals.
-It is in the North- East of Vietnam.
-It is on an island 20km east of HaiPhong
Key: It is Cat Ba National Park 	
Lead in:
Have you ever been to Cat Ba?
If students say Yes:ask students: When did you go? What is Cat Ba like? 
If students say No: Would you like to know some information about Cat Ba?
Today I would like to introduce to you some more information about Cat Ba National Park.
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 UNIT 11: SOURCES OF ENERGY - D.WRITING
 Warm–up: Game: Hot Seat 	
-Teacherputs two chairs in front of the class
-Teacher asks students to work in two groups. One person from each group sits on each chair.
-Write a word on the board. The others in their group explain the word without using the exact word on the board.
-When the person on the chair can say out the word correctly, their group will get one mark. It’s time to change another student to continue the game.
-The words chosen for the game: petro, coal, energy, proportion, nuclear, hydroelectricity.
-The group that scores more points will win the game.
-Teacher declares the winning group.
Lead in: 
Do you know how much energy your country consume in a year?
To know how to read and to write a chart of energy consumption, we will study the lesson today.
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 Unit 12: The Asian Games - D.WRITING
 Warm–up: Competition game- Network
-Teacher prepares a handout with a network of the word “ The facilities of the Asian Games”. 
- Teacher divides the class into 8 groups and gives each group a handout, asks students to complete the network. 
- The winner will be the group with the quickest and correct answers.
The facilities of the AsianGames
Expected answer: 
 -National stadium / local stadium
-National sport centre and training areas 
-Sport buidings and roads to sport buildings 
-Car parks 
-Hotels and guest houses
-Facilities for disabled athletes 
Lead in: Ask students:
Suppose Vietnam is going to hold the coming Asian Games. What facilities does our country needed to have?
To go to the details,today we are going to write a paragraph to describe the preparation for the Games.
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 UNIT 13:HOBBIES - D.WRITING
 Warm up
-Teacher gets students to work in groups and asks students to find words going with COLLECT 
-Teacher calls on some groups to present their ideas,then sums up the class’ideas 
Expected answers:
 Stamps, books, magazines, stickers,dolls,toy cars,old money,coins,stuffed animals,pens,pencils,bottle caps,key rings.
Lead in:
 In today’s lesson, you are going to write about a collection. 
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 UNIT 15: SPACE CONQUEST - D.WRITING
 Warm–up : Picture guessing 
-Teacher shows students a picture of Neil Amstrong and asks students:
1. Look at this picture and say who he is ?
2. Is he a Russian or an American astronaut ?
3. Who did he set foot on the moon with ?
-Teacher asks students to work in pairs and exchange their answers
- Teacher checks their answers with the whole class.
Expected answers:
1.He is Neil Amstrong 
2.He is an American astronaut
3.He set foot on the moon with Buzz Aldrin 
Lead in: In today’s lesson, you are going to write the biography of Neil Amstrong .
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 UNIT 16:THE WONDERS OF THE WORLD - D.WRITING
 Warm- up: Name the pictures below
-Teacher shows the students some pictures and ask them to name the pictures.
- T asks Ss to work in groups and write the answers on the cardboards as soon as possible ( The quickest group with the correct answer will be the winner).
- T calls others to give remarks then give corrective feedback if necessary.
Expected answers: -The One Pillar Pagoda ( in Ha Noi)
 - Ponagar Cham Towers ( in NhaTrang)
 - Thien Mu Pagoda ( in Hue)
 - Non Nuoc Pagoda ( in Da Nang) 
Lead in: In today’s lesson, you are going to write a report about the visit to the Ponagar Cham Towers in Nha Trang.
4. In this section, I would like to demonstrate an example of a lesson plan 
( Unit 3 – Tieng Anh 11 : Writing) in which I apply the techniques above 
 UNIT 3 – A PARTY - D.WRITING
I.Objectives:
1.Knowledge: 
 + General knowledge: Students learn to write an informal letter
 + Language: Words used in writing an informal letter
2.Skills
Writing an informal letter of invitation
3. Educational aim
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
 + define the format and structure of an informal letter of invitation
 + write an informal letter of invitation
II.Teaching and learning aids
1.Teacher’s preparation
 Student’s book, student’s workbook.
2.Students’ preparations 
 Student’s book, student’s workbook; notebooks, poster
III.Methods 
 Integrated, mainly communicative.
IV.Organization of activities 
1.Class organization. (1m)
2.Procedure 
Time
Teacher’sactivities
Students’activities
Rationale
1.Warm up
5ms 
-Deliver handouts
 -Ask students to work in pairs to read the following expressions and decide what types of letters can go with them:
+ George and I are having
 a party on Saturday,
 and we’d love you to
come.
+ Let us know if you
 can come.
1.Letter of invitation
2.Thank- you letter 2. Thank-you letter 
-Call on some pairs to speak out their answers
-Check their answers with the whole class.
Lead in:
 -Have you ever invited your friend to a party ?
 -How do you say to invite a friend of yours to the party?
Today, you will learn how to write an informal letter of invitation to invite a person to a party?
Students work in pairs, discussing and choosing the answers on the handouts as soon as possible
Key: Letter of invitation 
Motivation is done with expressions which will make Ss more involved and interested in the lesson. This also helps increase teacher-student and student- student interaction
2. Pre- writing 
15ms 
Activity 1: Answering the questions (task 1, p.37)
-Teacher asks students to work in pairs to answer the questions 
- Teacher calls on some students to give the answers.
- Teacher goes over the answers with the class.
Activity 2 : Letter Completion (task 2, p.38)
Teachingvocabulary:
-Teacher teaches some new words which appear in Task2 so that students can understand the lesson more clearly:
+ invite (v): mời
=> invitation (n): sựmời
+ refreshments (n): đồănnhanh
+ serve (v): phụcvụ
+take place (v): diễnra
+hold = organise (v): tổchức
+intend to (v): thamdự
-Teacherlets students read some new words first in chorus and then read individually
-Teacher asks students to work in pairs to read the letter of invitation and complete it with the words or phrases given.
-Teacher calls on some students to give the answers.
-Teacher goes over the answers with the class.
-Teacher asks students: 
How many part of a letter of invitation? What are they?
Activity 2 : Re-orde