Zina:

Yes the writing process is essential but choosing content and technology that relates to the students interests are also very important in motivating them to write. The attached is an example of how the latter can work together in helping to teach English to students including second language speakers. I hope you find it helpful for you.

Best regards,

Debra

Conference Paper Social Media in Education: Bringing Your Classroom to Life -...

Hi Zina, As both previous commenters have said, literacy is a crucial aspect of the overall language learning process and writing is a necessary component.  This actually applies to both first and second language learning. As Cherie said, writing is a process as well as a product and for learning the process is important.  Connie Weaver, among many others, has demonstrated (in L1) that reading and writing are excellent ways to teach both content and the grammatical aspects of the language being learned but in a kind of incidental way that doesn't focus on the form to the detriment of the content.  This is because the literacy process often provides excellent context and enables the focus on meaning-making while also providing grammatical practice (and vocabulary practice) in the PROCESS of the meaning-making.  Importantly, this also enables the L2 learner (and involved others) to be able to monitor the language output of the learner so that the output hypothesis advocated by Michael Long and others like Merrill Swain can be accommodated. Writing is a cognitively rich process that is both more salient than speech and more enduringly overt....so output is much more easily addressed.  As Debra suggests, however, motivation regarding the opportunity to write what the L2 learner wants to write is important.  Two excellent books that focus on literacy in L2 are  listed below:

Freeman, D.E. & Freeman, Y.S. (2001).  Between Worlds.  Access to second language acquisition.  Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann  (for younger students)

Cloud, N., Lakin, J., Leininger, E, Maxwell, L. (2010). Teaching adolescent English language learners. Essential strategies for middle and high school. (for older students)

Cloud, N., Genesee, F., & Hamayan, E. (2009). Literacy instruction for English language learners. A teacher's guide to research-based practices. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. (excellent overall)

Obviously, in an EFL environment where skills are integrated, the writing skill is part of the game and should be taught with the whole package, but things might look different if we dive deeper into the program requirements. The questions that might arise are related to the level of the students, and the objectives of the course. Is it a course heavily loaded with grammar, is English taught for communicative purposes or is English used to teach reading and writing for academic purposes? Writing goes hand in hand with reading, so exposing your students to a variety of reading passages (examples of different genres) will definitely model students' understanding of how writing works for different purposes yet make sure that writing emerges from scaffolded activities which challenge students' critical thinking skills and address certain aspects of grammar for the writing per se!

Dear Zina,

  Yes, writing process is essential during the second language acquisition. However, a successful teaching process must be oriented on teaching through different aspects. The experience of my home university can be useful in this respect:

    https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287205749_Methodologies_of_Teaching_Foreign_Languages_at_the_Higher_Education_Institutions_on_the_basis_of_comparative_analysis_of_methodologies_used_at_Ivane_Javakhishvili_Tbilisi_State_University_Georgia_and_?ev=prf_pub

   Moreover, the appropriate usage of strategies of teaching acquires the greatest importance:

   https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286624705_FOR_THE_IMPROVEMENT_OF_TEACHING_FOREIGN_LANGUAGES_ON_THE_UNDERGRADUATE_LEVEL_ON_THE_EXAMPLE_OF_THE_REFORMS_CARRIED_OUT_AT_THE_FACULTY_OF_HUMANITIES_OF_IVANE_JAVAKHISHVILI_TBILISI_STATE_UNIVERSITY_GEOR

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276542671_SOME_STRATEGIES_OF_THE_EFFECTIVE_TEACHING_OF_FOREIGN_LANGUAGES?ev=prf_pub

Best wishes!

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I believe that  writing process is very fundamental for EFL students since writing is the most important skill to learn .The teacher plays a major role in developing students level, he  should select suitable materials and encourage them to follow the steps , including  pre-writing ( brainstorming) , drafting , revising and editing , and rewriting. The students will write successfully if the teacher focuses on the writing steps repeatedly as practice makes perfect and In order to enhance their writing ,the students also need to focus on other skills, particularly reading because the more you read the better you write. 

I also agree that writing process is very important. For early learning about 2-5 months building vocabulary should be a goal, but later gradually, learners should be focused on learning to write those already learned words and new words should be learned with pronunciation and spelling, too. If we live in a country where English language is not official language, learners show better results if they regularly practice writing. The teachers should lead them through grammar, spelling and word orders in sentences, adjectives and adverbs.  

It seems to me that written language promotes a metacognitive awareness that can be helpful.  It is important, however, to offer students access to a wide variety of written registers if the goal is communicative competence. 

Social media, blogs, and twitter are becoming more and more important, for example, and being able to read and write in these platforms is an important language skill.  The balance between the standard form and its carefully described rules and the behavior of what Agar calls "wild herds of sentences out on the open range" is as important on the written language side as it is on the spoken language side.

Yes, process is very important. Some formative assessment models include a draft-re-draft process and incorporate giving feedback to assist in the process of writing rather than just evaluating the 'product'. I think it's particularly important to focus on process given not only the role metacognitive processes have but also the fact that many cultures have very different ideas as to what 'good writing' should look like.

In the education ecosystem where English is a foreign/second language, students' writing experiences should be process based as it enables them to be aware of their strengths and weaknesses. My study had confirmed that students who are weaker improve at a better rate when they experience the writing process. Besides, social media can be a supplementary tool in aiding the writing process and simultaneously engage students in their writing tasks at the various stages.

I think writing is a vital skill both as a means of teaching language and as an end product. However, I tend to believe in the integration of the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. In the book below, I gave an account on this INTEGRATION process:

Abdallah, M. M. S. (2011). Teaching English as a Foreign Language from a New Literacy Perspective: A Guide for Egyptian EFL Student Teachers. VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, Saarbrücken, Germany.

"

Like any other language, the English language includes four main language skills, namely listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Each of these skills has its own set of sub-skills. However, things are not so evident and straightforward as they might seem. I have noticed that linguists have attempted many classifications of these skills from different perspectives. In this regard, the four skills were divided into two main categories active skills (which include speaking and writing) and passive skills (which include listening and reading). This division is based on how active the person’s performance and mental processes are while using a certain skill; thus, a person is assumed to be totally passive while s/he is listening or reading doing nothing more than deciphering or decoding the language content s/he receives; on the other hand, s/he is assumed to be active during speaking and writing, making use of all his/her mental abilities to produce a linguistic content, either orally or in writing.

Unfortunately, this classification is quite inaccurate and incomprehensive since in reality the person is not totally passive while s/he is listening or reading; his/her mental abilities are always in action since s/he is supposed to comprehend the target content s/he is listening to or reading, and sometimes gives feedback, comments, and/or interferes to correct something or take notes.

Therefore, a new alternative classification from a different perspective came to the fore: dividing the four language skills into receptive skills (i.e. listening and reading) and productive skills (i.e. speaking and writing). I think this classification sounds more accurate as it draws on the person’s dominant performance while using a certain skill. In this sense, a receptive skill is not an equivalent to a passive skill; a receptive skill can be active in a way or another.

Sometimes the language skills are classified in terms of communication channels into oral skills (i.e. listening and speaking, both of which rely on the oral channel), and written skills (i.e. reading and writing, which rely on the written channel).

Current trends in language teaching are trying to minimise these artificial and superficial boundaries and divisions. In theory, such divisions might be acceptable at a conceptual level. In practice, however, it is hard to isolate in the teaching/learning situation the language skills into discrete units or entities and assume that they can stand separate from each other. For example, in speaking exercises, it is impossible not to utilise (and sometimes develop) the listening skill. Oral interactions between teacher and students or among students themselves depend greatly on their ability to listen carefully and pay attention to what is being said before/while speaking.

Thus, an integrative approach that treats the four language skills as connected to (and independent on) each other, is currently dominant. According to this approach, the language teacher should utilise and develop the four language skills in concert so that learners use them coherently and flexibly without feeling with any boundaries or dichotomies. This approach is also known as the holistic approach: an approach to language teaching which seeks to focus on language in its entirety rather than breaking it down into separate components, such as reading, listening, and writing (Richards & Schmidt, 2002)."

In the same book, you'll find a full chapter on writing where you might find an answer to your question..This chapter starts:

CHAPTER TEN: TEACHING WRITING

10.1 Introduction

Generally, writing is a language skill, an everyday practice, a form of literacy, a communicative activity, and sometimes a means through which learners can be assessed, especially within the Egyptian context. As a method of communication, for example, writing can be used to establish and maintain contact with others, transmit information, express thoughts, feelings, and reactions, entertain, and persuade. As a personal or private activity, it can be a powerful tool for learning and remembering. It can be used to explore and refine ideas, organise thoughts, and record information. At school, learners are usually asked to use writing to display what they know, and thus, writing becomes the medium through which pupil learning is measured (Browne, 1999: p2).

Therefore, people write for different reasons and in a wide range of contexts. They normally write in order to:

- Get their message across;

- Convey important information and facts to others;

- Communicate their own intentions and purposes;

- Help and support others;

- Prove that they have mastered something;

- Put ideas on paper so that they are not lost;

- Plan for doing something by creating a schedule or timetable;

- Guide and direct others;

- Succeed in life and pass tests;

- Modify and re-draft something;

- Make money and earn living;

- Express themselves;

- Socialise and participate in different events;

- Organise ideas and say what one cannot communicate orally;

- Share ideas and experiences with others;

- State reflections and jot down personal diaries;

-Teach/Train others and provide them with feedback;

- Learn and internalise some linguistic aspects (e.g., vocabulary and grammar); and

- Simplify something.

 According to Harmer (2007), composing or writing in a foreign language is always a demanding process where language learners need to employ many skills and strategies. As a productive skill, writing draws on other language skills such as listening and reading. That is why language teachers usually delay it until their students have done a great deal of listening and reading in the target language.

 In its simplest form, writing may take the form of notation: copying in conventional graphic form something already written, or reproducing in written form something that has been read or heard. This act hardly involves anything more than the ability to use the writing system of the language. Writing in the language becomes more complicated when it involves writing meaningful segments of language which might be used in specific circumstances by native speakers. This is the type of writing involved in things like grammatical exercises, the construction of simple dialogues, and dictation. In its most highly developed form, writing refers to the conveying of information or the expression of original ideas in the target language. These distinctions among the types of writing activities reflect the major areas of learning involved in the writing process. Students must learn the graphic system and be able to spell according to the conventions of language. They must learn to control the structure according the canons of good writing. They must learn to select from among possible combinations of words and phrases those which will convey the meaning they have in mind (Rivers, 1981)."

Book Teaching English as a Foreign Language from a New Literacy P...

Actually, writing is regarded as a tool of learning. Thus, having competence in the writing process will promote learners' written performance and language learning as well.