Answer/Quote:
“This paper reports the findings of an in-depth study of 12 sixth grade ESL
students’ writing by comparing their written production on three
teacher-assigned tasks with their writing to the teacher in their dialogue
journals.” P. 142.
Quote: “The results
suggest that ESL students may explore and demonstrate a more complete range of
their writing abilities in ‘unassigned’ writing about self-chosen topics where
there is a communicative purpose and a genuine response, than in ‘assigned’
writing about teacher-chosen topics, produced for evaluative purposes. It is
argued therefore that although a variety of assigned writing tasks are
essential for developing students’ expressive abilities in various types of
writing, unassigned writing in which students choose their own topics and
purpose may also be a necessary part of an ESL writing program.” P. 142.
Quote: “The study
contributes to the ongoing discussion of the usefulness of providing
opportunities for informal writing about student-chosen topics as part of an
overall program for developing writing competence among limited English
proficient students.” P. 143.
Quote: “Thus,
unassigned writing of the sort that can occur in dialogue journals might be an
important aspect of any writing program—with high- as well as low-proficiency
students—as an opportunity for them to reflect on and personalize what they are
learning, consider new ideas without having to worry about particular genre and
structure conventions, explore the relevance of academic content for their own
lives, and make connections between academic content and their own ideas.” P.
167.
Comment: Makes sense. Controls on formal assignments might restrict ESL students’ development
of their written expression. RayS.
Title: “The Influence
of Writing Task on ESL Students’ Written Production.” JK Peyton, et al. Research in the Teaching of English (May 1990), pp. 142-171.
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