166 Part III: Teaching Skills Classes
Far too many students pick up a pen, start writing the main text cold and
either run out of time or end up with an unsatisfactory piece of work. So
although you may meet some resistance when you try to make students take
this preparatory stage, it is better than the loss of morale that comes along
with continually poor writing.
Set a specific time period for planning so that the students can then pause and
compare their ideas. They are likely to notice points their peers have included
which they have forgotten about. It also gives you the chance to step in and
avert disaster.
Getting stuck in
If you set the task up well, there should be little for you to do at this stage
except monitoring – without interrupting too much. Have an occasional look
over your students’ shoulders but don’t say a word unless the student is
hopelessly lost or asks for advice.
Have dictionaries available to increase the students’ independence. They
should not have to depend on you for everything!
Keep the students abreast of the time so that they keep pushing ahead to the
end. Students do get stuck on one point or another and end up wasting time,
so remind them of where they should be in the task – ‘10 minutes to go! You
should be on your conclusion now, ready to review your work.’
Doing final checks
Before handing in their work, students should be reminded to check it
through thoroughly. Provide a checklist with points like these if it helps:
✓ Have I answered the question fully?
✓ Have I used the right layout?
✓ Is my spelling correct?
✓ Have I divided my work into appropriate paragraphs?
✓ Have I included an introduction and conclusion?
✓ Is my work clear (that includes good handwriting) and interesting?
Registering the Right Degree of Formality
The formal word for showing the write degree of formality in English is reg-
ister. It is an aspect of language teaching that you should not overlook. Any
errors in this area are particularly noticeable when it comes to writing.
