Thomas Brock, our resident travelling English teacher shares some advice for anyone learning English right now. This week he tells us about his process of helping his students with their English writing.

Read on to hear What advice Thomas has for all English learners!

Vocabulary List

Some Thoughts on Writing

Hello again everyone,

This week I thought I would share a lesson that I had with one of my students.

This lesson shares an idea that seems to come up time and time again in my teaching, especially in lessons with students who want to improve their writing, and many of my students are actively seeking to improve their writing ability.

Why Improve your Writing?

Improving your English writing skills can be difficult.

For one thing, you have to actually write. Writing can be daunting. Writing can be time-consuming. Writing can be inconvenient. Writing can be difficult. However, writing can be amazing.

So, whilst I would like to share my thoughts more generally about English writing, I wanted to share an idea that is connected to learning to write in a second language.

The idea is all about originality.

I was giving my student some feedback on their writing, a short story in this case. In my first read-through, I’m mostly looking for mistakes. I scan the page for errors and things that really do not work.

These tend to be spelling mistakes, vocabulary issues, or uses of grammar that don’t work as intended.

Once I’ve added my comments and suggested changes, I then read the passage again and think a little more critically about the parts that aren’t necessarily wrong but could be better.

This is called editing and is completely subjective.

As I am an English teacher, you may think that my English writing ability is perfect, but that’s not the case. I am by no means perfect, and in all honesty, there is no such thing as perfection when it comes to writing, or any other language skills for that matter.

Should You Try to Write Like a Native?

I try my best to keep an open mind.

I think it is important to strike a balance between what my student wants to express and how easily it can be understood by a reader. The thing that connects these two points is, of course, the infinite possibilities of the English language.

So, if a passage seems a bit odd to me, or my student chooses a word that I wouldn’t personally use, or if the sentence structure seems unnatural to me, I do not immediately delete it and replace it with my own native voice.

I instead start a dialogue with my student.

I think it is so important to explain my initial thoughts as a native writer on why something could benefit from being changed and to balance this with my student’s inner thoughts.

I try to be objective in my explanations, I give context as to why a word might seem odd, or why something may be unnatural to native English readers. I give the writer the knowledge to decide if they want to include something strange or a little different in their writing.

After all, it is their writing, not mine.

How Do You Want to Write?

Writing is a tool, of course, and it is important to be able to express your point clearly and correctly. But writing is also something to find enjoyment in, to be excited by and proud of. Writing is an incredible way of sharing your ideas.

The point I am trying to make here is that writing is original.

I can’t tell my students how to write, I can only help them to make that which they do write, more accessible for an English reader. I’m not in the business of rewriting other people’s work to fit my expectations or style.

I love reading what my students write because it is an expression of their own thoughts.

I wouldn’t ever tell anyone how to think.

Final Thought

And so this is how I help my students to improve their writing. I give them my intuitive reaction as a native English reader. I then ask them about their writing intentions and the ideas they want to express. By adding context and identifying these two points, we can find the best way to join them together through the English language.

This is my job, and I love it.

Thomas

Do you write in English?

Are you trying to improve your writing skills?

Do you value originality or accuracy in your writing?

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