Lesson notes 9th October - 16th October

WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

v  HOW TO CORRECT?; MOST COMMON ERRORS AND MISTAKES

-          Main mistakes/ errors in writing are:

1.      Mistakes: lack of concentration. Ex: “-s” 3rd person. Mistakes need concentration and revision by students. Teachers should give them the chance to self-correct. We consider it negative.

2.      Errors: lack of knowledge (they don´t know but they should know) It needs remedial work by teachers. We consider it negative.

3.      Attempts: taking risks trying, experimenting.. Attempts should be value as something positive.

Beyond of student´s cognitive work:

·         Revision

·         Concentration

·         Remedial work

·         Reflexion

·         Grammar learning                                                                  

·         Lexical learning

·         Discurse learning                       

·         Strategical learning     

·         Inductive            

We can improve student´s cognitive work with extra activities, dictionaries, using new technologies, grammar books, peer- learning groups… In general, we have to make easier the process of negotiation of meaning.

v  CREATING A CODE

The first thing we have to ask ourselves is: what is a good piece of writing? What is relevant in writing?:

·         Grammar

·         Discourse order, structure, organization, intertextuality…

·         Neatiness, clean, clear…

·         Mechanics

·         Connectors

·         Vocabulary (lexical ítems, target languages)

·         Content, coherence, acceptability, information…

·         Spelling

·         Grapho-phonological

·         Puntuaction

As a conclusion, a good piece of writing is not only grammar.

- From a general point of view, a piece of writing should content:

·         Textuality

·         Discourse, organization..

·         Grammar

·         Vocabulary

·         Content

·         Mechanichs

- From a specific level (ESP: English for Specific Purposes) should have:

·         Citation, quotes

·         Terminology

·         Bibliography

·         Formal structures

v  CORRECT SYMBOLS

We have to negotiate with students. When we are in class working as a teacher, we should put a “symbols paper” in the walls in each primary class.

Those symbols create a language between teachers and students.

Ex: Students give their works to the teacher to correct them. The teacher in this first draft correct each work using the symbols that students already know. Then the teacher gives it back to the student and they will have to correct their own mistakes.

v  CODE GRADING

The first thing we have to do is to set out the punctuation in each draft and each part of the work/exam. Ex:

CODE GRADING	60% (1ST DRAFT)	40% (2ND DRAFT)
ORGANIZATION	1	T O T A L
GRAMMAR	2
VOCABULARY	1
CONTENT	1
MECHANIC	0.5
ORIGINALITY	0.5

Once we have established each punctuation, we give them the marks we consider they have.

CODE GRADING	60% (1ST DRAFT)	40% (2ND DRAFT)
ORGANIZATION	0.5/1	3/4
GRAMMAR	1.5/2
VOCABULARY	0/1
CONTENT	1/1
MECHANIC	0.5/0.5
ORIGINALITY	0.5/0.5
TOTAL : 7/10

To sum up, we write the final punctuation. In this case it will be: 7/10

-          What to write?

v  WRITTEN PRODUCTION

Ø  E-MAIL

-          Beginning: from / to / reference

-          Development: colloquial language: dear, hi, regarding / it’s about…

-          Ending: take care, be in touch, love, kisses…

Ø  NOTES (public notes)

-          Wanted

-          Who are you

-          Demanding (requesting)

-          Giving in return

v  Using always capitals

Ex: MY NAME IS MARIA. JUST ARRIVE FROM SPAIN AS A ERASMUS STUDENT. I’M LOOKING FOR A BIKE. MY BUDGET IS BETWEEN 50 AND 80€. CONTACT ME IN…. THANKS FOR READING.

Ø  SHORT MESSAGES

-          Apologizing

-          Inviting

-          Refusing

-          Giving thanks for

-          In response to…

v  We use usually indirect speech

v  Verbs include the action à performating verbs: refuse, thank, cancel, suggest…

Ex: Michael was wondering if Luis was coming to the party. Luis apologized because of his bad behavior.

Ø  SUMMARIES

-          NO indirect speech

-          NO individual fact

-          NO much more coordination

-          NO chaotic sequence of event

-          NO necessary chronological order

-          NO proper names

-          YES general view

-          YES orientation

-          YES coherence order

Ex: This reading is about a weird teacher. She lives with her sister in a very small, poorer house outside the city. The story takes place during a music performance evening the music teacher has organized. The story ends with…

Ø  APPLICATION FORMS

-          Student/bus/train card

-          Studies/vocational work

-          Summer camps…

Ø  LETTERS

-          Formal

-          Informal

Ø  RECIPES

Ø  SMS / WHATSAPP

Ø  TELEPHONE NOTES TAKING

Ø  TRAVEL BROCHURES

Ø  CREATING A STORY

-          Who, where, when

-          Events

-          Resolution

-          Create a description

§  Introduction (general): particular features, like / love / hate  food, sports.., ambition, I would like to..

§  Place: school, house..

§  Process

§  Object / picture (directions): at the top, in the left, from front…

§  Narrative / reports/ essay à newspaper’s news, newspaper’s opinions

What to write?                                       

NOTE: Axioma lingüístico: forma de hablar característica de un determinado idioma. Toda lengua se construye para ser usada y todo proceso verbal es usado por alguien/algo y recibido por alguien/algo. Toda lengua conlleva una intención comunicativa, esa intención puede ser referencial, fática, poética, metalingüística, etc…

Variety of textuality:

·         Narrative

·         Description

Variety of texts:

Ø  Persuasive

Ø  Argumentative

Ø  Descriptive (person, place, process)

Ø  Explicative (definition, essay)

Ø  Dialogic (factual)
Ø Poetic (liric, novel, dramatic)

META-FUNCTION
-Narrative
-Descriptive

MACRO-FUNCTION
-Persuasive
-Explicative
-Poetic
-Dialogic

MICRO-FUNCTION
-E-mail
-Recipe

WHAT SHOULD CHILDREN WRITE?

Ø  Review

·         Title

·         Author

·         Types of book

·         Content

·         Opinion

Ø  Reports (explicative texts are not lead to an specific audience but general).

·         Orientation

·         Description

·         Narrative

·         Closing

Ex. Report “the frogs”

o   Orientation: a general description about what is written in the text.                  

o   Description: appearance, habit, behavior.

o   Narrative: what can frogs do (jump, croak…)

o   Closing.

NOTA: Explicativos / Argumentativos / Persuasivos Estos tres tipos de textos son muy parecidos, pero no iguales porque tanto los argumentativos como los persuasivos son para un público muy específico; mientras que los explicativos no.

 

Ø  Advertisement: it is an explicative text and contains a short message. The difference with definition’s text is that it is a differential and receptive text.

Ø  Definition: it is an explicative text and contains a short message. The difference with advertisement’s text is that this kind of texts are technical, referential or meta-linguistic.