No 7, Vol. 3, 1997 p. 31 - 33 Copyright forfatterne og Sprogforum

Theme: From grammar - to system acquisition

Second and foreign language process writing and grammar

Pernille Rosberg Frederiksen MA in Danish as a foreign and a second language. The Study School.   Stine Kragholm Knudsen MA in Danish as a foreign and a second language. The Study School.

Some important steps are being taken at various places in Denmark within the field of writing. Teaching in process writing is being contrasted with - and is replacing - traditional teaching in writing at many educational institutions (the Folkeskole, upper secondary education and the university). This applies to teaching in the mother tongue, but the second and foreign language area is also beginning to see the considerable potential that lies in this method.

Over the past three years, we have carried out experimental teaching that attempts to adapt process writing to adult second and foreign language learners. During this period, we have experienced that the method is an ideal tool for acquiring written communicative competence.

The teaching of process writing is criticised from time to time for exclusively focusing on the process. Many people are of the idea that the linguistic level (grammar, vocabulary and orthography) play a less important role than the other levels in the competence model (see, for example, Færch et al.: 1984). This is a myth which would like to dispel once and for all. Teaching process writing also respects the end-product. Here, too, linguistic competence is viewed as an integral part of communicative competence - without it, no text.

One of the characteristics of process writing teaching is that the pupil works in writing situations that resemble those of the real world. He is made aware that every text has a purpose and an addressee - and he never writes a text without having set himself targets for both. We have found that this makes it easier for pupils to see and understand what use they are going to put the work with the texts to - including what function grammar has, why it too has to be in order in a good, well-functioning text.

Written competence is incredibly comprehensive. There are, in comparison with the concept of communicative competence (Færch et al.: 1984), many levels that have to interact before communication is successful. But we cannot teach all of this at one time. Paradoxically, we have to split a competence that can only function as one whole into a number of units. The pupil rarely has sufficient cognitive resources to understand and use, for example, a grammatical rule the first time it is introduced. He has to have time to practise and process the new item of knowledge. There is some fumbling to begin with, but gradually he becomes more confident and gains en route resources to seek to grasp something new, once an item has been acquired. That is why we focus on one thing at a time in our writing classes. In practice, this means that we only deal with one element of the written language at a time. If, for example, the majority of the pupils have problems with adjectives, we focus on them in various ways in various texts and tasks for a while. We find reading texts that are full of adjectives that the pupils can analyse for rules and functions. They are given small descriptive or narrative types of tasks that call for a use of adjectives. More especially, we encourage them to focus on adjectives in their own texts when editing (correcting the grammar). They replace other people's adjectives with their own adjectives to see just how the impression created by a text changes. They are given dictations with adjectives, are asked to collect beautiful, ugly, sweet and sour adjectives and to write texts using them, are encouraged to notice adjectives around them when they listen to or use language, etc. Consider the following examples:

Task 1

1. What is an adjective?
   Sit in pairs and discuss what an adjective is - what do we use it for?
2. Plenum discussion in the class.
3. Do you know the rules for adjectives? Find adjectives in the poem "The Street" and try to explain the main rules to each other. Note examples from the poem.
4. Plenum discussion of the rules for adjectives.

Task 2 - "In town with Dan Turréll"

After talking a bit about Dan Turréll, his poem "Last walk through the town" is handed out - minus the adjectives.
1. Read Dan Turréll's poem "Last walk through the town".
2. Sit in pairs and find adjectives that would fit the poem - insert them in the text.
3. Check with each other whether you have declined the adjectives correctly.
4. Discuss with the group next to you whether the adjectives fit the text - why? - why not?
5. Discuss with the others in the class.
6. Hand in the poems to me.

Task 3

The following teaching period, Dan Turréll's poem "Last walk through the town" was handed out complete with his adjectives. The poem, which is on the record "Mind your money", is then listened to on tape. Dan Turréll is reading his own poem. The pupils listen and, to begin with, are asked to concentrate on the content. The content of the poem is discussed. The tape is then played again and the pupils are this time to focus on the adjectives (underline them). They are gone through one by one - the pupils explain what word(s) the individual adjective refers to and why it is declined in the way it is:
1. Listen to the tape.
2. Have you any questions, e.g. as regards new words?
3. Listen to the tape again and underline the adjectives.
4. Plenum explanation of the declination of the adjectives.

Task 4

During the rest of the task the focus is on acquisition of vocabulary. The pupils have to compose a text that contains Dan Turréll's adjectives. This enables them to make the adjectives an active part of their own language and gives them the chance of testing and forming hypotheses:
1. Write down Dan Turréll's adjectives on a piece of paper. You are to write a text using some of them.
2. Sit in pairs and discuss who you want the addressee of your text to be, and what you want to write.
3. Write the text - write quickly, you only have 10 minutes.
4. Read through the text, add new ideas.
5. Read through the text, add new ideas and remove bad ones. (The rest of the process cannot be described here.)

So the aspect of the written language that is focused on is dealt with and tried out in a number of ways. There must be enough space for the pupils to form and test out a number of hypotheses about precisely the idea that is in focus - and they have to be given optimum potential for acquiring it before we move on to something new.

When we have finished focusing on one aspect of the written language, we have not finished even so. For there will always be certain things that have not completely been acquired and some things that have been acquired but which will disappear if not constantly used in practice. Therefore we are constantly consolidating new terrain. The spotlight is on the new, but the pupil is now aware that that aspect of the language is also important if his text is to work. That has to be taken into account every time he writes a text.

Secondary literature

Færch et al.: Learner Language and Language Learning. Gyldendals Sprogbibliotek, 1984.

Translated by John Irons

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