TeachingEnglish: How to teach writing

Enrolment for How to teach writing is now closed. Find resources connected to the course contents on this page, and sign up for our newsletter to keep up to date on when our courses open.

Welcome to TeachingEnglish: How to teach writing

How will the course help you?

Improve your learners' writing skills by exploring the sub skills that make good writers and ways of developing them in the classroom.

What does the course include?

How to teach writing is a free self-study training course, which is divided into three-hour modules. It also includes:

a dedicated Facebook community of course participants with up-to-date insight, resources and innovative ideas for you to try out
engaging discussions taking place in the Facebook community
live events with your course tutor and language teaching experts
A free workbook with extra learning content and resources.

What will you learn?

Module 1: Understanding writing

The aim of this module is to provide an understanding of the skill of writing and what's involved in the process. During this module you'll learn through doing; you'll need to write so that you can analyse and understand the process.

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

- understand the process of gathering information and ideas, writing and editing a text
- identify whether writing activities follow a product- or a process-oriented model
- evaluate how what's written outside the classroom can be transferred to the classroom
- adapt writing activities to suit specific learner needs and context.

Module 2: Engaging with writing – process writing

The aim of this module is to provide a process writing framework for use with learners in the classroom. The module identifies pre-writing techniques and provides practical knowledge of drafting, editing and publishing of written work. You'll have the opportunity to produce a piece of writing using a process writing framework.

By the end of the first unit of this module, you'll be able to:

- understand and use a process-writing framework
- identify appropriate pre-writing techniques
- recognise the importance of producing a draft as part of the writing process
- apply skills for reviewing, writing and editing
- generate ideas for publishing learners' written work.

Module 3: Engaging with writing – activities

The aim of this module is to analyse what makes writing activities effective and to give practice in preparing them. The module identifies sub-skills that lead to good writing. You'll evaluate whether activities focus on accuracy of language or communication of meaning, and also consider how to select appropriate methodology and resources for introducing and practising specific areas of writing.

By the end of the first unit of this module, you'll be able to:

- identify sub-skills that lead to good writing
- categorise writing activities in terms of their main focus – accuracy of language or communication of meaning
- recognise the value of focusing on context, audience and purpose when writing
- plan effective writing activities for use in the classroom.

When is the course?

Enrolment for How to teach writing is now closed. Sign up to the free newsletter to keep up to date on when our courses open.

How much does the course cost?

The course is free.

How can you get a certificate?

You will receive a certificate if you successfully complete all self-study modules.

What level of English do you need?

Minimum CEFR B1

What can you do next?

If you're interested in learning more about teaching writing, you can:

get teaching ideas from our Courses for teachers Facebook community.
access learning content related to our courses on Facebook (Facebook account required)
access teaching resources on the TeachingEnglish website
download the free course workbook
sign up to the free newsletter to keep up to date on when our courses open.

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