Explore Ways to Improve Students' Writing Ability

摘 要：Writing as one of Students’ Four Abilities （Listening， Speaking， Reading， Writing） placed in the last place for higher vocational school English teaching. However， it really does not mean that writing is the least important in English teaching. In fact， writing is vital in testing students’ English competence and showing whether a student is really good at English. This paper thinks about the current obstacles of students' writing ability firstly， looks for the reform path， and finally gives a feasible path to improve students' writing ability.

【關鍵詞】Writing Ability， Students' Writing

Introduction

A good English writer should be able to express himself in proper words， applying what he has learnt in both the English class and extracurricular time. It requires that the student / writer must be comprehensive， imaginative and expressive in writing. The students have to spend sufficient time in training their writing.Higher vocational school teachers， on the other hand， have to lay great emphasis on training students’ writing in and out of English class， which must be consciously and systematically carried out. Only by this can the students improve their English writing capacity and do well in English testing.Of course there are many different ways of improving students’ writing. In general， the following are what English teachers can do.

Improve Students’ Writing Step by Step

It is often said that Rome is not built in one day. We cannot train and improve students’ writing just once for all. The long-term process should be gradually and continuously advancing from the easiest to the hardest. Teachers ought to be well aware of this and firstly improve students’ language skills. At the beginning， students should be taught to write simple English elements （letters， words， phrases， clauses， sentences and so on） correctly and accurately. They should also learn to know when and where to capitalize and punctuate in sentences. Before the students can write a good passage， they should be first taught to write some short simple sentences， which can be joined together to form paragraphs. For example， My Family is a common topic in English writing. The students can write by themselves some simple sentences about their families. The sentences may be： There are three members in my family： my father， my mother and I. My father is an engineer. My mother is a worker. I am a student in a vocational school. My parents are busy all day. I often help them with the housework. They love me deeply. I love them，too. Then the students try to expand the sentences to longer ones： There are only three members in my small family： my father， my mother and I. My father is an engineer in Sony Co.， Ltd. My mother is a worker in the same company. I am a student in Wuxi Higher Vocational School of Tourism and Commerce. My parents are busy with their work all day. I often help them with the housework after I have finished my homework. They love me deeply. I love them，too. We live happily. Sometimes， the second version is more concrete and thus better than the first one.

Teachers can often ask students to have such practice before they can write a full-length composition. While writing， students must pay attention to the common grammars such as how to choose the right tense and voice for the passage. For example， Yesterday I went to call on my teacher. He was preparing his lessons. He told me that he began to teach English in 1996.He said he would help me with my English.

In addition， when going over what they have learnt in English class， students can be required to write about some relevant topics. For instance， after students have learnt the unit about The Olympic Games， they can write a composition about I will make a contribution to the Beijing Olympic Games. Most students tend to be interested in the topic， and they will improve their expression and comprehension about the topic by writing.

Ask Students to Finish Writing in Given Time

In this case， students have to understand the topic and finish writing， shortly after the teacher gives the topic and the requirements. This is the key element in such practice. It is also very difficult for students to do it well at the beginning. For a start， students must know that they must not either translate the given Chinese sentences into English or write freely without being about the given topic. They are required to think carefully over the given materials， understand them and write a composition on the topic. It aims to test students’ ability to express themselves properly and promptly. Teachers should ask students to follow the instructions：

（1） Understand the topic and requirements， and know the key points as well as the main structure of the composition.

（2） Pay attention to the tense and voice， and more importantly， the consistency between sentences.

（3） Stick to the requirements of English sentence structures.

（4） Check it carefully and correct mistakes after finishing the composition.

Students have to be sure what to do in such practice， and finish their compositions in the given time. In no case can they delay handing in their compositions when time is up. After practising for several times， students will greatly improve their lash-up writing ability. They will not be afraid of writing in given time any longer.

Give Students as Many Samples as Possible

When students are writing short compositions， teachers should offer some samples in different styles in order to explain the differences between them. The teacher can demonstrate and explain the different structures of diaries， messages， letters， notices， etc. After giving the topic， the teacher can write the composition while the students are writing. When the time is up， the students put down their pens and listen carefully to the sample composition written by the teacher. The teacher’s sample must be of standardized style， using the key points and grammars. It should also be written in various English expressions. Comparing with the teacher’s sample composition， students can correct the mistakes in their compositions and discuss their common writing problems in groups. Thus will they avoid making the same mistakes in future testing.

Ask Students to Correct Their Compositions by Themselves or in Pairs

Students can first correct some of their mistakes in writing when comparing their own compositions with the given sample. On the other hand， allowing for that some expressions are not included in the sample and that students make different mistakes in their compositions， the teacher can also ask students to exchange and correct their compositions in pairs. The checker can be the other’s deskmate. He can mark the places where there seem to be wrong. Then the students return their compositions and have a discussion in pairs. If they both agree on those mistakes， they can immediately correct them. If they are not quite sure of the mistakes， they can ask the teacher for help. The students as well as the teacher are always happy to have the right version in writing. Finally， each student ought to read his composition for several times from the beginning to the end， making sure that his composition is wonderful without any spelling or grammatical mistakes. If all is right， he can transcribe his composition and hand it in.

Give Instant Comment on Students’ Writing

After correcting the students’ compositions， the teacher ought to make comment in the next class. It will greatly help students improve their writing competence if the feedback is given in time. The teacher can comment on students’ writing in different ways.

（1） If time is limited， the teacher can check some of the compositions， especially those of whom are not quite good at writing. The teacher can ask the students to correct their compositions while he is checking.

（2） The teacher should make notes about the usual and typical mistakes while correcting the compositions. This is to prepare materials for the next writing class.

（3） Put up or read some well-written compositions to encourage the other students.

（4） The teacher should be well-prepared for the feedback -- commenting on their writing， helping all the students at different levels to improve their writing.

Conclusion and Suggestion

To sum up， the training in English writing is one of the most important factors in our English teaching. The above are only some suggestions. Students must be encouraged to apply sufficient opportunities to practise their writing. Also as we all know， listening， speaking， reading and writing are the four elements in English learning. They depend on each other and cannot be split or isolated. Writing should be based on good listening comprehension， oral English and reading comprehension. Therefore， teachers of English should encourage and instruct students to practise their English more by different methods. Students will find it easy to express themselves if they can insist on training their writing.

References

[1]Xiao Minghui；Design of English Writing Teaching Based on Big Data[J]，Science Tribune， 2016（27），67-68.

[2]Xu Yangping；Discussion on the Reform of English Writing Teaching in Higher Vocational College Based on the Big Data[J]，Professional Space-time，2016（04）：72-74.

[3]Hu Guangming；Analysis on the Characteristics of English Writing Error of Higher Vocational Students Based on Big Data-Intermediary Language is the Carrier[J]，Modern Education Science，2016（09）：71-75.

Author’s Information

Zhang Jianguo， male， born in Wuxi in June 1976， assistant lecturer in Wuxi higher vocational school of tourism commerce， baccalaureate， research direction in English writing of higher vocational colleges.