Chapter 8: Teaching Writing (Key Points)

1. Reasons for Teaching Writing:

o Writing offers students extended thinking time for language processing,
which differs from spontaneous conversation.
o Writing can reinforce language structures and vocabulary learned in
class, and develop writing as a skill in itself.
2. Types of Writing Activities:
o Writing-for-learning: Reinforces grammar and vocabulary by using
writing as a tool to learn language.
o Writing-for-writing: Develops the skill of writing by engaging students
in real-life tasks.
3. Writing Issues:
o Genre: Introduces different genres (e.g., postcards, reports, essays) and
helps students recognize conventions. Modeling and guided writing are
encouraged, especially for beginners.
o Writing Process: Emphasizes planning, drafting, reviewing, and editing
in a cyclical process to enhance writing quality.
o Building the Writing Habit: Engages students with easy, enjoyable
tasks to make writing a habitual, comfortable classroom activity.
4. Writing Sequences:
o Postcards: Teaches students to write concise, personal messages,
focusing on common omissions to save space.
o Report Writing: Guides students through stages (choosing a topic,
gathering information, planning, drafting, reviewing, finalizing) to
produce structured reports.
o Creative and Collaborative Writing: Uses stories, poetry, and
collaborative tasks (e.g., email exchanges, storytelling in groups) to build
engagement and language skills.
5. Writing Strategies and Techniques:
o Instant Writing: Quick, spontaneous tasks that prompt immediate
response, helping to build confidence and fluency.
o Using Music and Pictures: Stimulates creativity and context-based
writing through prompts based on images or music.
6. Correcting Writing:
o Teachers should avoid over-correction and instead provide encouraging,
constructive feedback, using correction symbols to help students self-
correct.
7. Handwriting:
o Emphasizes the importance of legible handwriting, especially for
students from non-Latin scripts. Activities include tracing and practice
sessions to aid fluency in English script.
8. Concluding Points:
o Highlights the benefits of writing for language processing and as a skill.
o Encourages a positive writing habit, integration of genre awareness,
structured processes, and supportive feedback to foster confident and
proficient writers(How_to_Teach_English_2n…).
Chapter 10: Teaching Listening (Key Points)

1. Reasons for Teaching Listening:

o Listening skills are essential for comprehension in real-world settings
such as conversations, broadcasts, and media.
o Listening also enhances students’ pronunciation skills, helping them
internalize intonation, stress, and connected speech.
2. Types of Listening:
o Intensive Listening: Used for focused language learning, often guided by
the teacher and in a controlled setting.
o Extensive Listening: Listening for pleasure or general understanding,
often done outside the classroom with easier-to-comprehend material.
3. Listening Sources:
o Teachers can use recorded materials (audio or video) or live listening
through in-person interactions or guest speakers.
o Exposure to various English accents and dialects is beneficial but should
be matched to students' proficiency levels.
4. Listening Skills:
o Students need skills to interpret both specific information and general
understanding.
o Recognizing paralinguistic cues (e.g., tone, intonation) is crucial for
understanding context and emotion.
5. Listening Principles:
o Frequent Listening: The more students listen, the better they become at
it, especially with diverse audio materials.
o Preparation: Pre-listening activities (e.g., discussing the topic) engage
students and set context.
o Multiple Exposures: Replaying audio helps students catch missed
details and analyze language.
o Response to Content: Encourage reactions to the message and
emotions, not only the language used.
o Tailored Tasks: Different tasks for various stages help focus on general
understanding or specific details as needed.
o Full Utilization: Maximize each listening text by using it for language
study, pronunciation, and comprehension activities.
6. Listening Sequences:
o Live Interview: Students engage with a guest by asking questions,
practicing listening for details, and formulating follow-up questions.
o Transactional Listening: Practice with real-life scenarios, like buying
tickets, encourages functional listening and speaking.
o Extended Narratives: Stories or interviews with cultural or emotional
context enrich students’ understanding and listening resilience.
7. Using Video:
o Video includes visual context that aids comprehension but can
sometimes distract from focused listening.
o Techniques such as playing video without sound or freezing frames can
encourage deeper listening and anticipation of language.
8. Challenges in Listening:
o Strategies such as breaking the audio into segments, using transcripts,
and vocabulary pre-teaching help students overcome difficulties in
understanding challenging audio