CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Issue Background

"Writing" is the process of using symbols (letters of the alphabet,

punctuation and spaces) to communicate thoughts and ideas in a
readable form.

Generally, we write using a pen/pencil (handwriting) or a

keyboard (typing). With a pen/pencil we usually write on a surface such
as paper or whiteboard. A keyboard is normally attached to a
typewriter, computer or mobile device. Voice recognition programs
allow those who can't see or use their hands to have their thoughts
transcribed.

To write clearly it is essential to understand the basic system of a

language. In English this includes knowledge of grammar, punctuation
and sentence structure. Vocabulary is also necessary, as is correct
spelling and formatting.

A writer may write for personal enjoyment or use, or for an

audience of one person or more. The audience may be known (targeted)
or unknown. Taking notes for study purposes is an example of writing
for one's self. Blogging publicly is an example of writing for an unknown
audience. A letter to a friend is an example of writing for a targeted
audience. As with speaking, it is important to consider your audience
when writing. There are many different styles of writing, from informal
to formal.

Writing can be an engaging, interesting and inspiring activity for

young learners. Children are active learners and thinkers (Piaget 1965),
learn through social interaction (Vygotsky 1978) and learn effectively
through scaffolding by more able others (Maybin et al 1992), who can be
adults or peers. Collaborative and well-planned writing tasks encourage
the context for all of these characteristics to be fully exploited in the
young learner classroom.

Writing is a complex skill to develop and master, focusing on both

the end product and the steps to arrive there. Writing skills only develop
 when young learners are taught how to write and are given
opportunities to practice these skills and strategies.

B. Problem Identifications
1. How to teach writing for young learners?
2. What are the process of writing?
3. Why do we need to develop writing skills with young learners?
4. What is the consideration for writing class?
5. What are the classroom technique and activities of writing class?

C. Objectives of paper
1.

CHAPTER II

DISCUSSION

A. Writing and young learners

When you are teaching writing to children who are four two seven
years old, you must consider two separate areas of development. First,
do you student have the find motor or physical skills necessary to hold a
pencil firmly in their hands and from letters on paper? Second, do they
have cognitive skills necessary to formulate ideas and write them into
paper.

Process writing helps native English-speaking children as well EFL

or ESL young learners develop English language writing skills. Process
writing is especially appropriate for ESL or EFL young learners because
one of the prominent features is an emphasis on fluency.

The process writing approach involves the process-steps

necessary to produce a good quality final fierce of writing. As a teacher
of writing, you need to balance the role of the process and the
importance of the product. The process begin by thinking about what is
going to be written (choosing a topic) and a collecting idea both formally
and informally (see figure 2 for a list of the steps of the writing process).
The final steps is to publish. A piece of writing is published when it’s put
it into a form which can be formally shared with others.

Steps of the writing process :

 1. Prewrite
2. Write
3. Revise
4. Edit
5. Publish
B. Why we need to develop writing skills with young learners

Writing tends to be somewhat neglected in the classroom, but it is

an essential part of language development. Good writing skills are based
on good reading skills, you need to recognise words in order to write
and use them comprehensibly (Linse 2005).

 Many young learners will not have fully developed their own L1
writing skills, and these strategies may not necessarily transfer to
writing in English.
 Writing allows young learners to practise new vocabulary and
structures.
 It allows for a high degree of personalisation and creativity.
 It provides young learners to take risks and try out new language,
with more “thinking time.”
 Writing skills equip young learners with a solid base for future
development and learning.
 A focus on writing tasks in the classroom creates variety and
caters for different learning styles
 Teachers can diagnose learners’ strengths and areas to develop in
terms of vocabulary, structure, spelling etc.
 Focusing on this area can instil the joy of writing from an early
age.

C. Theories to consider

Much of the theory behind L2 writing is based on research into

the development of L1 writing skills. Two main approaches have
emerged out of this research: writing as a process and as a product.

Writing as a process involves:

 Thought-showering or ‘brainstorming’ notes, ideas, words and

phrases about a topic
 Categorising and ordering the ideas according to the task
requirements
  Writing a first draft
 Revising the first draft by improving content and accuracy
 Implementing the improvements in the re-written text

Writing as a product

The end goal is an authentic task e.g. writing to inform, to thank

etc. Success is gauged by the accuracy of the content and accuracy of
the text.

Accuracy focuses on:

 Grammar and vocabulary

 Spelling and punctuation
 Legibility and appropriate genre conventions

Content focuses on:

 Conveying information successfully to the reader

 Providing enough detailed information
 Logically ordering ideas
 Using appropriate register
 Originality of ideas

D. Considerations for classroom writing

Here are some ‘top tips’ for encouraging more engaging writing
tasks for young learners. Think about how you can employ these with
your own young learner groups and try them out!

 Encourage collaboration between young learners and provide

opportunities during thought-showering, making notes, planning,
revising etc
 Provide visuals, or ask the learners to draw their own pictures to
provide the content for the tasks
 Topics should be engaging for your young learners e.g relatable
and intrinsically motivating. Write about what they know e.g.
games, friends, favourite activities etc.
 Look at writing tasks from a different perspective e.g. rather than
writing about their daily routine, they could write about their
pet’s daily routine, their pet’s favourite activities, food etc
 Let young learners choose their own characters to write about
  Set challenging but achievable tasks
 Have extension activities available for fast finishers
 Encourage pride in the presentation of their writing e.g. young
learners can draw, annotate etc.
 Respond to written ideas, not just language
 Mark positively and give feedback on areas of content as well as
language. Encourage learners to value writing.
 Give clear and simple criteria and encourage self/peer correction
of written tasks. Using a range of smileys can encourage young
learners to record how they feel about different writing tasks.
 After pair/group work, make time to share writing as a class e.g.
read out good examples of writing (but don’t name names!).
 Include presentation of learners’ work. This depends on the task
type, but work could be compiled into a short books, displayed in
the classroom, school message boards etc. Young learners get a
motivational ‘boost’ by seeing their written work ‘on view.’

E. Classroom technique and activities

Several technique and activities for implementing different aspects of

process writing are discussed in this section.

 Writing models

Good writers are readers, and good fiction and nonfiction.

Thus, you want to provide reading material that will model
the type of writing your young learners will produce. By
reading and exposing children to a variety of good and non
fictions, you are helping them become better writers.

 Grouping writing

Children can work collaboratively a writing project, but it

needs to be carefully organized on the part of the teacher.
You can show children how different members of the class
contribute to a group story by writing the child’s initals next
to each line he contributed. You can also have young
learners can also work in small group to create different
pieces of written text.
  Talking and writing box

The talking and writing box describes on page 11 can be

used as part of your writing program. The correction of the
box is a prewriting activity is and of itself. Writing centers.

 A writing centers

A writing center can be set up in most classrooms. A writing

center with brightly colored pens and papers will often inspire
children to write. The writing center can be used to inspire
learners at every steps of the writing process, as well as to help
them to develop the fine motor skills necessary to produce neat
and legible writing.

 Writing conference

One common and very useful way to help children with revising is
with writing conferences. There can be one conference per piece
of writing, or there can be series of conferences for a specific
piece of writing.

 Inventive spelling

Invented spelling refers to student’s attempts at spelling word

passed on their developing cognitive and literacy skills. Invited
spelling can reveal valuable informations about the child’s English
language literacy development (Tompikns, 2000).

 Word walls

Word walls are lists of word that the children have encountered in
their reading and that can be used in writing. These lists should be
posted on the walls of your classroom-hence their name.

Writing in the classroom for young learners under the age of five.
Emphasis is often placed on the formations of the letters themselves. For older
learners, content area course books design for native English speakers are used
more often in ESL or EFL.
 CHAPTER III

FINAL

Conclusion

It is the teacher’s responsibility to develop writing tasks for young learners

that are enjoyable, full of practice, meaningful, purposeful, social and supported
(Reid 1998). Challenging your learners and exploiting collaborative opportunities all
combine to provide a learning environment where writing is both valued and
enjoyed. Instil the joy of writing with your young learners and you could inspire a
future Namwali Serpell, Noo Saro or Jessie Burton!
Linse, C.T (2005) Young Learners. USA:McGraw Hill

Maybin, J, Mercer N and Stierer, B (1992) “Scaffolding” Learning in the Classroom’

in K. Norman (end) Thinking voices. The Work of the National Oracy Project.
London: Hodder & Stoughton

Piaget, J (1965) The Language and the Thought of the Child. New York: World
Publishing Co

Reid, C. (1998, April). The challenge of teaching children. English Teaching

Professional, 7: 8-10. Retrieved September 14th 2015, from
http://www.etprofessional.com/articles/challenge.pdf

Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological

Processes. Great Britain: Harvard University Press

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/writing-young-learners