The analysis of the necessary writing activities is considered to be a complicated process influencing the level of language knowledge obtained by a student. Taking into account the fact that the native language of the student under consideration is Chinese, one should stick to the methods and strategies being suitable for foreigners. Low level of English writing and lack of fluency in the speaking process are the principles issues for the development of the necessary methods in order to improve the process of learning.
A Chinese student is not fluent in speaking and has poor pronunciation though the spelling is quite normal. The method of freewriting will fit for the development of the student’s language skills. It should be noted that this method means the writing process devoted to the theme, which is interesting for the student. This aspect can result in particular progress in the broadening of vocabulary knowledge. The student is good at grammar which means that she sticks to the rules of English usage. It should be noted that freewriting is considered to be a sophisticated but interesting process allowing one to evaluate one’s level of writing and speaking language knowledge. Thus, the particular student’s activities should be merely based on oral speech and free communication. Freewriting involves the activity of the topic discussion. Groups united according to their interests and selected a particularly interesting theme are to share their opinions involving brainstorming and experience reflection. The process of communication in the nonformal atmosphere will stimulate the student to express her thoughts freely and without hesitation. Teamwork is always stimulating and can inspire discussions. Taking into account the fact that the student is not active enough during the communicative process at lessons, this activity can involve the student’s participation in the oral discussion indirectly by her need to stand her ground or offer some interesting ideas. Students encourage each other to speak by asking questions or providing constructive comments. A better understanding of the group members will provide active participation in the communicative process. (Bello, n.d.).
The process of writing following the discussion is devoted to the thoughts disclosure of the student. She will have an opportunity to strengthen her ideas by writing everything in constructive form. The previous discussion of the writing purpose will allow personal organizing ideas in the most appropriate way. In the process of the freewriting method the student is to pay attention to the following aspects:
- Spelling;
- Punctuation;
- Grammar; lexical usage of the English vocabulary.
It is important to note that the student is weak in communication and pronunciation. That is why the process of oral speech and active discussion should be especially stressed. (Chandler, 2000).
The interests of the student are very broad, that is why the choice of the learning strategies can be unlimited. She likes interesting articles and the lessons devoted to the reading process. The student is hard-working enough. That is why the approach of report writing can also be used. It is an effective approach resulting in profound language skills development. The process of report writing is very complicated and can be used by students having a particular level of language knowledge. The student has been studying English for seven years; nevertheless, her English is not fluent enough for communication. The writing report method will allow developing the following abilities of the student:
- The ability of paraphrasing: The student has to work with some literature sources, and the process of paraphrasing will teach her to organize language units in various forms.
- This process stimulates logical thinking: It should be noted that the process of language learning requires logical thinking, which should be fulfilled in a foreign language. In case the student can think in English, the process of communication can be improved. (Nagappan, 2001).
- The usage of the language techniques in the process of writing and paper organizing.
- Various language techniques learned in class as a theoretical issue can be used in practice for report writing. The student can summarize and make concluding parts in the appropriate way.
- The usage of technical, scientific, and factual English language for the theme development.
The language used by the student should be in constant development. That is why it is important to use different scientific and technical notions in the writing process to enlarge the vocabulary. (Miller, 2006).
The cycle of the learning process is quite individual and requires effective approaches to development. Thus, one of the basic issues in language study for every student is considered to be the thinking process. Psychologists consider this method to be the key one as it leads to constructiveness in speech and profound lexical analysis. The direction of thinking can be changed by the student. One of the important points of this approach is considered to be the combination of mental and psychological processes aimed at language specifics learning. According to psychologists, this strategy leads to effective results because of the point that it covers a lot of linguistic aspects such as idea organizing, vocabulary usage, the logical direction of thoughts, and conclusions making. The process of thinking requires a proper understanding of the problem analyzed. In case the student can think logically, the structure of her thoughts and sentences will be constructive and properly organized. (Firth, 2002).
The analysis of the Chinese student’s abilities and language skills resulted in the possibility of an appropriate problem solution. The main strategy of English learning should be aimed at the communicative process. As it was proved, the student is good in grammar, but lack of oral speech led to weaknesses in pronunciation and language usage. The method of teamwork aimed at some global problem solutions allows the participants to use all their abilities and skills. The lesson should be compulsorily divided into several sections making it interesting and important at the same time:
- The reading part devoted to disclosing interesting articles or important material;
- The communicative section allowing the student to express one’s opinion and provide personal ideas involving in the process of speech;
- The writing aspect teaching the student to organize thoughts, grammatical structure points and think over the necessary vocabulary.
Thus, the specific learner should concentrate her knowledge on the practice rather than on the theory. The constant process of grammatical rules learning is necessary, but it never leads to the development of communicative skills, which are important for fluent English knowledge.
References
Bello, Tom. (n.d.) Improving ESL Learners’ Writing Skills. Fairfax County Public Schools Adult Education, Virginia.
Chandler, Daniel. (2000). Writing Strategies. The Act of Writing. New York.
Miller, Stan. (2006). Report Writing Process and Language Skills Development. State of Victoria, Department of Education.
Nagappan, Rajendran. (2001). Language Teaching and the Enhancement of Higher-Order Thinking Skills. Malaysia.
Firth, Penelope. (2002) Strategies for Effective Grant Writing. American Association for the Advancement of Science.