Comprehensive Notes on Teaching and Assessing Global Communication Macroskills (Writing, Listening, and Reading)
Chapter 4: Writing as a Process and as a Product in the Second Language
Nature of Writing - Writing is described as a challenging and complex skill that entails producing ideas in an organized manner. - Difference from Speaking: Unlike speaking, where one can digress or ad-lib, writing requires staying focused on a specific topic sentence or thesis statement. Writing leaves a permanent document for critique, whereas audience members may forget a speaker's errors over time. - Teaching Complexities: Baggot () defines teaching writing as a complex, difficult, and demanding task due to a historical emphasis on reading instruction in teacher preparation. Weigle () notes that many teachers feel unprepared to teach writing effectively despite its inclusion in core curricula. - Digital Evolution: Social media networks (Facebook, etc.) and digital platforms have turned anyone into a potential writer or citizen journalist. This creates both motivation and challenges, such as the violation of communication ethics or the adoption of flawed blogging styles as effective writing norms.
Purposes of Teaching Writing (Harmer, ) - Reinforcement: Helps language learners remember linguistic codes and nuance sound-spelling differences. - Language Development: Involves thought processes in stages (choosing a topic, drafting) similar to building other communication skills. - Learning Style: Caters to students with different intelligences; some are quiet in discussion but expressive in writing. - Writing as a Skill: It is a skill that cannot be mastered overnight and must be taught for its own sake.
Principles in Writing Instruction (Graham, MacArthur, and Fitzgerald, ) - The Essence of Writing: Writing is a versatile means of communication used for persuasion, explanation, self-expression, and assessment. - The Need for Effective Instruction: Fostered by research-based methods to improve national and international assessment scores. - Common Challenges (Saavedra, ): Lack of vocabulary in target languages (English/Filipino), difficulty organizing ideas, perception of hard tasks, lack of motivation, and poor grammar/spelling in students whose are Chabacano, Bahasa Sug, or Cebuano.
Schools of Thought in Writing Instruction - Cognitive Ability vs. Sociological Phenomenon - Cognitive: Focuses on writing ability (organizing, polishing) and language proficiency (grammar, syntax). - Sociological: Views writing as part of a literacy practice shaped by culture and context (Weigle, ). Writers belong to a "discourse community" with specific expectations (e.g., technical or creative writing). - Product Approach (Genre-based) - Focuses on the final output and accuracy. - CLOGS (Melissa Lamb): Content, Lexis, Organization, Grammar, Style. - Common genres include biographical writing, letters, expository, and narrative (Tompkins, ). - Process Approach (Langan, ) - Focuses on five stages: Pre-writing (generating ideas), Organizing (outlining), Drafting, Revising (content/structure), and Editing (grammar/mechanics). - Recursive Nature: Prichard and Honeycutt () emphasize that writing is never perfect and involves constant feedback and revision like professional work.
The Mechanics of Writing (Olshtain, ) - Letter Recognition: Distinguishing symbols from the alphabet sequence. - Letter Discrimination: Distinguishing similar letters (e.g., and , and ). - Sound-to-Letter Correspondence: Matching phonemes to symbols (e.g., /f/ spelled as 'gh' in laugh). - Writing Systems: Meaning-based (Chinese/Japanese Kanji) vs. Sound-based (English alphabet). Directions vary (columns, right-to-left, left-to-right).
Instructional Design and Strategies for Writing
Syllabus Design Factors (Kroll cited in Weigle, ) - Feasible scope of tasks based on learner needs. - Promoting academic integrity (deterring plagiarism through paraphrasing/summarizing skills). - Scaffolding tasks (no writing without previous work on the genre). - Clear rubrics and realistic deadlines set in stages.
Writing Instruction for Beginners (Elementary Level) - Engaging Activities: Tracing letters, air-writing, using body movements, and vocabulary clusters (Schlagal, ). - Developmental Instruction: Prioritizing the plan-draft-revise-rewrite cycle to develop metacognitive skills. - Summarized Strategies (Tompkins, ) - Motivated Writing: Teacher writes and thinks aloud. - Shared Writing: Teacher and children create text; teacher writes. - Interactive Writing: Teacher and children share the pen. - Guided Writing: Structured lessons where child writes with teacher supervision. - Independent Writing: Monitoring progress as children use the process independently.
Advanced Writing Tasks (Newell, Koukis, & Boster, ) - Note-taking: Extracting/recording info. - Reporting: Recounting lab experiments or field trips. - Summarizing: Concisely pattern-seeking. - Analyzing: Determining relationships and causality.
Prompts and Scaffolds - RAFT Model: Role (assumed persona), Audience, Format (genre), Topic. - W-W-W + WHAT + HOW: Character, When, Where, What they want, What happens, How it ends, How they feel. - POW: Pick an idea, Organize notes, Write and say more. - CREW (Wilfong, ): Claim, Reason, Evidence, Warrant. - STOP & DARE: Suspend judgment, Take a side, Organize ideas, Plan more; Develop thesis, Add ideas, Reject other side, End conclusion. - Five-Paragraph Essay: Hook + Thesis (Intro), Body Paragraphs (Unity, Coherence, Cohesion), Summary/Call-to-action (Conclusion). - Cinquain (Diamond Poem): word (title), adjectives, gerunds, -word emotional phrase, synonym. - Prompts: Infinite (open-ended) vs. Finite (straightforward/direct).
Assessment in Writing
Core Distinctions - Assessment vs. Testing: Assessment focuses on helping the learner forward in context; testing is a traditional competence gauge. - Purposes (Tompkins, ): Reflect growth, inform parents/students, guide instruction, evaluate programs, and substantiate standards achieved.
Feedback Mechanisms - Written Comments: Symbols on text or marginal notes. - Individual Conference: Mentoring dialogue focused on process. - Recorded Feedback: Audio recordings of comments for students to follow.
Assessment Tools - Observation: Monitoring habits and peer interaction. - Portfolios: Collection of worst/best drafts and final outputs for reflection. - Checklists: Ensuring alignment with prompts/objectives. - Symbols for Correction: (spelling), (word order), (punctuation), (tense), (wrong word), (word form), (run-on sentence).
Grading with Rubrics - Criteria (Calfee & Miller, ): Idea (substance), Organization (presentation pattern), Voice (personality), Sentence Fluency (lexical structures), Convention (grammar), and Presentation (overall style). - Holistic Rubrics: High efficiency; single scale (Above Average, Sufficient, Developing, Needs Improvement). - Trait/Analytic Rubrics: Matrix based on criteria (e.g., Problem definition, content, mechanics) with specific points ().
Chapter 1: Teaching and Assessing Listening Skills
The Importance of Listening - Listening is the foundation of language acquisition. People spend percent of their day communicating, and percent of that is listening. - Hearing vs. Listening: Hearing is an accidental, passive, automatic brain response to sound vibrations. Listening is purposeful, focused, active, and intentional, involving the attachment of meaning to sound. - LSRW Method: Suggests language acquisition occurs in the order: Listening $\rightarrow$ Speaking $\rightarrow$ Reading $\rightarrow$ Writing.
Active Listening Concepts - Passive Listening: One-way communication with no feedback (e.g., a student ignoring a Google Meet lecture). - Active Listening Skills: - Pay Attention: Undivided attention to verbal and non-verbal cues. - Withhold Judgment: Avoid early criticism of ideas. - Reflect: Mirroring the speaker's words and feelings to encourage them. - Clarity: Asking questions like "What do you mean by…?" - Summarize: Restating points to confirm correct hearing. - Share: Introducing your own perspectives judgment-free.
Stages of the Listening Process (DeVito, ) - Stage 1 - Receiving: Isolate message from noise (hearing and attending). - Stage 2 - Understanding: Determining context and assigning meaning. - Stage 3 - Remembering: Applying associations to process into memory ( retention according to Dale's Cone). - Stage 4 - Evaluating: Objective interpretation and assessing veracity. - Stage 5 - Responding: Giving feedback (formative during, summative after).
Processing Models - Bottom-up Process: Decoding sounds, syllables, and words into utterances (linear from phonetic to discursive). - Top-down Process: Using background knowledge (schema) and context to reconstruct meaning and predict messages. - Integrative Approach: Combining both bottom-up and top-down processing depending on the listening purpose.
Strategies in Teaching Listening - Pre-listening: Activate schema, unlock vocabulary (word maps, brain-walking), set the purpose, and build interest. - While-listening: Guided note-taking (organizers), guided listening for gist/selective info, and providing "thinking space." - Post-listening: Personal response/reactions, Analyzing linguistic features, and integrating productive skills (speaking/writing).
Listening Skill Classification (Richards, ) - Key abilities include: Recognizing reduced forms of words, distinguishing word boundaries, detecting keywords, guessing meaning from context, Recognizing cohesive devices, and distinguishing literal vs. implied meanings.
Assessment in Listening - Purposes (Brown, ): - Intensive: Focusing on sounds/words (phonological elements). - Responsive: Short responses to questions. - Selective: Picking out dates/times/locations (Cloze exercises, chart filling). - Extensive: Understanding long lectures, gist, and making inferences. - Evaluation Principles: - Reliability: Consistent and dependable results. - Validity: Measuring what is supposed to be measured. - Practicality: Considering time and resources. - Authenticity: Relationship between the test and the real world.
Chapter 3: Teaching and Assessment in Reading
Fundamental Values and Concepts - Reading is a cognitive process involving decoding symbols to arrive at meaning (visual interpretation). - Reading Comprehension: An intentional, active process of constructing meaning through engagement with text (Snow, ). Success depends on matching reader skill, text difficulty, and task definition. - Reasons for Reading (Harmer, ): Career, language acquisition, vocabulary expansion, modeling writing, and stimulating discussion.
Theories and Stages of Reading - Schema Theory: Past experiences create mental frameworks for new experiences. - Stages of Methodology: - Pre-Reading: Activating prior knowledge. Includes unlocking "Critical Vocabulary" via Context Clues, Picture Clues, or Configuration Clues (shadow boxes for letters). - DRTA (Directed Reading Thinking Activity): Making and confirming predictions. - Anticipation Guides: Structuring statements for students to agree/disagree before reading. - During Reading: Page Enounters (pair discussion), Reading Interface (alternating oral reading), and Visualizing Highlights (drawing events). - Post-Reading: Dimensional Questions (Literal, Inferential, Critical Evaluation, Integration), Graphic Organizers, and Creative Writing.
Skills Perspective in Reading - Noting Details: Guiding readers to parts of the whole. - Following Directions: Adherence to order; motivation of communication (Wurman). - Sequencing Events: Organizing time/events for systematic understanding. - Distinguishing Fact vs. Opinion: Weighing subjective belief against data. - Cause and Effect: Identifying actions and their results. - Predicting Outcomes: Foretelling future actions based on the present. - Skimming and Scanning: Searching for gist vs. searching for specific info.
Reading Assessment Activities - Phonological Awareness: Sound production (vocal cord exercises), Letter-word recognition, and spoken expressions (skits/dialogues). - Vocabulary Development: Word Rally (brainstorming similar words), Emoji interpretation (matching words to caricature), and Word Hunt. - Comprehension Assessment: Caricature Analysis, Graph interpretation, Problem-Solution roles, and Symbol translation (explaining flag meanings). - Fluency Assessment: "The Last Word is Mine" (speaking games), Free Talk (unobstructed speech), and Mini-Debates (affirmative/negative groups). - Compensatory Strategies: Using "actually," "let me see," etc., to aid oral comprehensibility while searching for words.