Use of English in Teaching: Written Language

Why is this course necessary? What is this course about?

Use of English in Teaching: Written Language Why necessary?

1. Teachers -

must be able to write in English for classroom purposes: to be more confident in using English in class to be good models of correct written and spoken English for their students

UET: Written language

Use of English in Teaching: Written Language Why necessary?

Teachers need to communicate in English with others for professional purposes - to interact with overseas educators or with experts - to exchange ideas or participate in discussions via the internet - to request for information or service
2.
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Discussion 1
In country X, science teachers were told to switch to using English to teach science. One teacher closed her classroom doors when she had to teach the topic of density. She did not want her colleagues to hear her poor English. Suggest what she could write out the night before so that she would be more confident using English to teach density.
UET: Written language

What are our aims?

In UET: Written Language, you will aim to: Learn to write questions and instructions to guide and assess your students use of English in reading, writing and oral language tasks. Write texts that serve as models for teaching purposes Practise being aware of reader and social context during writing for teaching or for communicating for any professional purpose
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How this course will be taught

Brief explanations by instructor with student participation Small group discussions: responding to texts, sharing of ideas for planning and revising writing, constructing social contexts Writing tasks, individual and collaborative writing Students taking responsibility for their own learning
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What view of writing do we take?

Writer: role, purpose Reader role, purpose Situation, events

Thinking

Social-Cultural

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Experience writing as social activity and thinking

You are writing an email to invite Professor Nathan to talk to your English class. Would you say: During your visit to next month, kindly come and speak to my class for 30 minutes. Or When you visit next month, I wonder if you would be able to give my English class a 30minute talk.
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Kindly come OR I wonder if you would Thinking influenced by social interaction: Interacting with reader (professor); not a friend; must be formal, polite Writers purpose = ask for a favour: Language must be polite (I wonder if you would); not ordering the professor (Kindly come) Readers role: can decline or accept Language allows R to decline (I wonder if you would)
UET: Written language

What do we study in UET: Written Language? Topics:

Questions and instructions for developing reading skills Writing texts and instructions to scaffold students writing of narratives, recounts and non-narrative texts Writing to ask for and give information Writing to request for service and to arrange for action

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Topics (continued):
Expressing and supporting opinion or comment Constructing coherent paragraphs Writing to direct student activity and learning Writing responses to students work

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Assessment

Portfolio of written work (5 writing tasks, 50%)

Test (end of semester, 50%)

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