LEARNING TO TEACH WRITING THROUGH WRITING


ENGLISH REVIEW: Journal of English Education ISSN 2301-7554
Vol. 1, Issue 2, June 2013 http://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/ERJEE

LEARNING TO TEACH WRITING THROUGH WRITING

Svetlana Suchkova
Samara State Aerospace University, Russia

suchkova_s@yahoo.com

Gulnara Dudnikova
Povolzhskaya State Academy of Social Sciences and Humanities, Russia

dudnick@mail.ru

APA Citation: Suchkova, S. & Dudnikova, G. (2013). Learning to teach writing through writing
English Review: Journal of English Education, 1(2),159-170

Received: 09-03-2013 Accepted: 30-04-2013 Published: 01-06-2013

Abstract: This paper discusses some major issues concerning teaching writing to future
teachers. There are a lot of EFL/ESL textbooks focused on teaching writing. However, those
that are intended for trainee teachers are rare on the market. The goal of this paper is to
share the result of several years of work on the writing syllabus and materials that is
effective in the process of teaching future teachers. It contains sample of tasks based on
certain principles that may promote teachers to become effective writers for themselves and,
at the same time, to acquire initial professional skills necessary in their future career. A
course book can not address any audience in general. It must focus on a particular learner,
the objectives, and content of the process of learning. In the situation when no textbook
meets these requirements, the problem of providing students with an appropriate textbook
must be solved by creating new textbooks.
Keywords: writing skills, strategies, professional needs, syllabus, teaching/learning materials.

INTRODUCTION
Mastering writing skills is crucial

not only to students’ success at the
university, but getting a good job after
graduation, too. Acquiring this skill is of
paramount importance, especially now,
in the internet era. In all major fields of
study, research, and business, it is
absolutely necessary for a person to be
able to communicate well in writing. No
wonder, every EFL/ESL course book
offers materials aimed at developing
effective writing skills. Some universities
also run online and blended courses
focused on academic writing. With all
the abundance of materials on the
educational market, it looks like there is
no need to create something new in the
field of teaching writing. However, to be
able to write well and to successfully
teach how to write are two different

competences. Both, obviously, should be
developed in teacher training institutions.

After many years of experience in
training would-be teachers, methodology
research, and struggle with students’
papers, we decided to create a new
university course on writing, different
from what is usually offered on the
curriculum in Russian pedagogical
universities. It is different both in the
underlying philosophy and approach.

The work on the syllabus and
materials involved several stages: (1) a
thorough analysis of major difficulties
Russian university learners experience in
writing in English – learners’ needs; (2)
identifying professional skills future
teachers should acquire to be able to
teach writing in English to high school
students – professional needs; (3) a
syllabus design; (4) a students’ survey of

mailto:suchkova_s@yahoo.com
mailto:dudnick@mail.ru


SVETLANA SUCHKOVA & GULNARA DUDNIKOVA
Learning To Teach Writing Through Writing

the topics they would like to write about;
(5) collecting students’ materials and
creating activities based on them; (6)
piloting the materials and revision; (7)
getting students’ feedback; (8) a course
book publication.

It took us several years to collect
and pilot materials, modify and improve
tasks, write and rewrite them. The
product of years of work and piloting the
materials was the course book Learn to
Write with Us: a Process-based Writing
Textbook (Suchkova et al, 2013), which is
now used in the course of writing in
several Russian universities. The course
book is intended for students, future
teachers of English, whose level of
language proficiency corresponds to B2+
according to the Common European
Framework of Reference (Council of
Europe, 2011). It is a process-based
course book that invites students to
master the skill of writing in English
gradually, step by step, from a
paragraph to longer pieces. Writing is
seen as a skill of expressing ideas on
paper clearly and effectively. The
purpose of the course is to help students
develop essential writing strategies and
apply their knowledge to writing
assignments they will receive in the
university courses in the future, taking
language exams, or teaching writing to
their own students.

The unique feature of the textbook
is that almost all the activities are based
on students’ written papers who gave
their consent to use their papers as a
basis for teaching/learning materials.
The students of Samara State
Pedagogical University, Samara State
Aerospace University, and Povolzhskaya
Academy of Social Sciences and
Humanities can be called co-authors of
this book.

The article contains the description
of the writing course syllabus, the course

book principles. It considers the major
difficulties Russian students have when
writing in English. The article also
provides information about the content
and organization of the course book
written for future teachers of English.
Finally, the authors offer some writing
strategies and tasks from this course
book.

SYLLABUS OF THE WRITING
COURSE

The syllabus below is offered here to
illustrate the main elements of the
writing course as part of the curriculum
at the English language Department of
Povolzhskaya State Academy of Social
Sciences and Humanities, Samara, Russia.
Target group: students majoring in
English and teaching methodology
Duration: three semesters, 96 face-to-face
academic hours in class/120 outside
class
Aim:
 to enable students to write clear,

detailed, well-structured texts on a
wide range of subjects (from
paragraph to more extended pieces
of writing)

Objectives:
 to provide students with a variety of

effective writing strategies, thus
facilitating development of their
writing skills

 to form initial teacher’s professional
skills in needs analysis, creating
materials for teaching writing, and
assessing written papers

Topics for consideration:
 Identifying strengths and

weaknesses as a writer; setting goals
 Pre-writing strategies
 Paragraph writing: topic, main idea,

paragraph structure and purpose,
paragraph types

 Unity, cohesion, and coherence of
the paragraph



ENGLISH REVIEW: Journal of English Education ISSN 2301-7554
Vol. 1, Issue 2, June 2013 http://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/ERJEE

 Punctuation and mechanics
 Drafting, editing, and proofreading
 Essay writing
 Article writing
 Review writing
 Report writing
 Resume writing
 Letter writing
 Story Writing
 Avoiding plagiarism, paraphrasing

strategies
 Assessment criteria, self-check, peer

reviewing
 Written feedback

Functional Language:
 Concluding and summarizing
 Giving examples and focusing
 Expressing opinions
 Suggesting solutions
 Introducing main ideas
 Introducing listing
 Showing sequence and time
 Showing comparison/contrast
 Introducing cause-effect
 Phrases for reviews
 Phrases for report
 Phrases for letter writing
 Action verbs
 Narration verbs

Materials
 Suchkova, S., Dudnikova, G.,

Adayeva, O. (2013). Learn to Write
with Us: A Process-based Writing
Textbook (Student’s Book). Samara.

Controlling end-of-semester activities:
Semester 1 – paragraph writing, letter
writing

Semester 2 – options: review /
essay writing
Semester 3 – options: report /
article writing

Assessment criteria: 1-5 scale
 Content
 Text organization
 Word range

 Sentence fluency (sentence length
and structure variety, appropriate
connectives)

 Accuracy (spelling, grammar and
usage, use of capitals, and
punctuation)

The syllabus requires an explanation
of how one can learn to teach writing
during the process of being taught. To do
this, it is necessary to describe the
materials used in the course and provide
samples to illustrate the points. This will
be done in other sections of the article.

The syllabus was designed to cater
for the learning needs of Russian
students. Observation and analysis of
papers written by Russian learners of
English (2003-2011) shows that students’
major difficulties are (1) inability to
structure a text properly: divide it into
meaningful parts, formulate the main
idea clearly and develop it, (2) lack of
cohesion or coherence, (3) inconsistent
register, (4) poor vocabulary and
primitive grammar, (5) plagiarizing.

Partly, the difficulties result from the
fact that students tend to think that
writing in English is much like writing in
their native language, which is far from it.
A paragraph in English normally follows
a straight line of development (the
paragraph often begins with a statement
of its central idea, followed by a series of
subdivisions of the central idea with the
purpose of developing the topic
sentence). Conversely, the thought-
pattern of Russian speakers is a zigzag
line, sometimes interrupted by rather
complex digressions: irrelevant, off-topic
material is introduced in a paragraph
(Kaplan, 1966, p. 15).

The analysis also shows that the
writing problems also account for certain
gaps in pre-university training, i.e.
underestimating of teaching such things
as paragraph structure: introduction,
main body, and conclusion; basic



SVETLANA SUCHKOVA & GULNARA DUDNIKOVA
Learning To Teach Writing Through Writing

features: unity, coherence, and cohesion;
writing purpose and paragraph types:
description, process, opinion,
comparison/contrast, narration, and
problem-solution; text organization
models: listing, sequence,
comparison/contrast, and cause-effect.
There is clear evidence that they all
require special focus in instruction and
practice. For this reason, all of these
problems are highlighted in the course.

As can be seen from the syllabus, the
biggest part of the course is devoted to
writing on a paragraph level as a
paragraph is a prerequisite for writing
longer pieces. The problem of accuracy is
dealt with in special units of the
materials. The problem of plagiarism and
how to avoid it is tackled separately, too.

PROFESSIONAL NEEDS
As the main intent was to target the

materials on professional requirements
for the teacher, certain skills have been
identified as major ones. The authors of
the article share the opinion of K. B.
Yancey who states the fact that “in the
21st century, people write as never
before – in print and online. We thus face
three challenges that are also
opportunities: developing new models of
writing; designing a new curriculum
supporting those models; and creating
models for teaching that curriculum.”
(Yancey, 2013, p. 1) Writing as “an object
of study has been neglected until recently,
but today it is an essential part of the
pedagogical institutions curriculum”.

Unfortunately, however, we have to
agree with Scane and Doerger (2010, p.
51) that “While pre-service teachers
receive explicit instruction in methods
for teaching writing to elementary and
secondary students, they are less likely to
receive explicit instruction about the
writing skills necessary to be a successful,
professional educator. The writing skills

of many teacher candidates often do not
align with expectations for professionals
and most introductory courses in writing
offered at universities do not address the
specific needs of those planning to
become teachers.”

On the one hand, modern educators
are expected to write in the way that will
enable them to communicate
professionally with colleagues from the
world, sharing ideas and discussing
challenges and teaching experience, via
professional blogs, forums, and
conference papers. On the other hand, in
addition to academic writing skills they
acquire themselves, teachers should be
able to develop materials in order to
train students how to write effectively
with the reader in mind. They should
know how to develop such skills of their
students as generating and arranging
ideas, drafting and editing, overcoming
drawbacks and difficulties, they should
be in the know of a variety of methods
and techniques, and, of course, teachers
should be trained in carrying needs
analysis and correction techniques.

The Partnership for 21st Century
Skills together with the National Council
of Teachers of English worked out the
skills necessary for a modern student and
teacher. Some of them are creativity and
innovation, critical thinking and problem
solving, communication and collaboration,
information and literacy. To enable future
teachers to acquire the above mentioned
skills, we implemented this course and
are using the textbook. Later in the article
we offer a number of activities that are
aimed at developing the skills.

THE COURSE BOOK’S UNDERLYING
PHILOSOPHY

The underlying principles of the
offered course are integration of
language skills, reflective practice,



ENGLISH REVIEW: Journal of English Education ISSN 2301-7554
Vol. 1, Issue 2, June 2013 http://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/ERJEE

individual approach to students, and
collaborative learning.

A certain system of activities is
designed to make the process of
acquiring this most challenging language
skill gradually, from easy to more
complicated tasks. The teaching
/learning process is built on students’
background learning experience; the
prior knowledge is elicited, and the
process is targeted on the learners’ needs.
Moreover, the activities are directed
towards getting students to think for
themselves; they are always provided
options to choose from. Setting their own
goals and monitoring their own progress
(which is part of the teaching
methodology used) is often referred to as
learner-centeredness and learner
autonomy (Harmer, 2008).

The skills of reading and writing are
integrated with a focus on developing
critical thinking skills, stimulating
creativity, and fostering learner
autonomy. Good reading samples, used
with the purpose of their analysis and
evaluation, further serve patterns for
writing. Learners first make discoveries
and perceive differences of ideas
arrangement, consolidate their
understanding of text structuring, and
then create meaningful texts of their own.

The book also follows some
principles which are very important for
future teachers. First, students are
recognized as individuals with their own
learning style, background, pace, and
interests. Their initiative is appreciated;
they are encouraged to take on an active
role in the process. Second, students are
involved in different modes of classroom
management: individual, pair, and group
work, which are indicated in the
instruction to the exercises. This teaches
them how to organize an activity in a
more efficient way. What is also
professionally-oriented is the fact that

students are invited to evaluate their
peers’ works. Such peer review
“encourages students to monitor each
other and, as a result, helps them to
become better at self monitoring”
(Harmer, 2008, p. 150). The material itself
has certain educational value, too: there
is a great variety of tasks and topics;
many activities are creative and focused
on applying strategies.

WHAT THE BOOK INCLUDES
Learn to Write with Us starts with an

introduction written for students that
explains the ideas behind the textbook.
The course book contains 18 units; each
places an emphasis on a certain issue of
the writing process. Each unit starts with
a preliminary activity which provides a
stimulus to thought and introduces the
subject under discussion. The main
points of each unit are emphasized in
special tables, where explanatory
comments are provided.

The book is also abundant in useful
language presented in the boxes. A
particular focus of the book is learning
how to handle various tasks; that is why,
it has a lot of helpful tips and effective
strategies. The students are offered a
variety of different activities to be done
both in class and at home. Moreover, the
book comprises several appendixes that
are meant to assist students in evaluation
their own work and the papers of their
peers. They are aimed at encouraging
students to use the guidelines until they
get into the habit of editing their papers.
There is a bibliography list which
contains both methodology books and
textbooks, printed and electronic
resources that can be used for further
reference in order to develop writing
skills.

Each unit is structured in such a way
as to first start students’ thinking and
elicit what they already know; then,



SVETLANA SUCHKOVA & GULNARA DUDNIKOVA
Learning To Teach Writing Through Writing

through a variety of exercises they
acquire more knowledge about writing
conventions, effective strategies, format
characteristics, etc. At the beginning of
the course, students write on the level of
phrases and sentences, then continue
with a complete paragraph, and next
proceed to longer pieces of writing such
as letters, stories, essays, articles, reports,
etc. Each unit has a wrapping up exercise
to emphasize the most important points
of the unit.

TOPICS TO WRITE ABOUT
Discussion of topics selected

according to students’ interests and
concerning different spheres of their life
and professional activity makes for
raising their cooperation, communicative
competence, and motivation. It is known
that teachers may expect better results if
they invite students to write on the topics
that are relevant and involving to them.
We tried to consider our students’
worlds of thought and experience in
order to provoke their engagement with
the material. That is why, before creating
teaching materials, a survey was
conducted in the Pedagogical University
of Samara, which allowed having a list of
topics students are likely to be interested
in writing about. The questionnaire
contained one open-ended question:
What topics would you like to write
about?

Among the most favorite topics were
films, food, outstanding people, favorite
places and travelling, technology and the
internet, and others. All these topics can
be found in the course book activities.
Some of the topics, such as societal
problems, cultures around the world,
creativity, were added by the authors as
they are considered to be thought
provoking and developmental. As we
see our role, the teachers’ job is not only
to teach a language, but also to educate

their students. The real education value
of learning can be achieved by discussing
culturally educational and social content.

THE PRINCIPLES AT WORK
This section aims to illustrate the

principles underlying the course with
samples taken from the course book.

The first and most important basis for
professional progress is simply your own
reflection on any issues that arise.
Reflection is the necessary basis for
further development: it is the “hallmark
of the conscientious professional” (Ur,
1996, p. 319). The book has a lot of tasks
which invite students to reflect. Here are
some of them.
 How is an essay genre different from a

letter, report, diary, and other pieces of
writing? What can you compare it with?
What is the difference between an essay
and a paragraph?

 Think back on the types of paragraphs you
have already learned. What is the
underlying principle for their
classification?

 Work in small groups and discuss the
following questions.
1. What is the purpose of a

resume/CV?
2. Have you ever written one in

English/in Russian?
3. Are the conventions of writing a

resume/CV in English and in
Russian similar? If yes, in what way?

4. Can you write a resume/CV once
and use it to apply for different jobs?
Why /why not?

 Think of all possible types of letters and
create a mind-map. Mark those you have
an experience of writing.

As for the integrated skills
approach, it seems the most natural as it
reflects a real-life process of
communication in which it is impossible
to separate one skill from another.



ENGLISH REVIEW: Journal of English Education ISSN 2301-7554
Vol. 1, Issue 2, June 2013 http://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/ERJEE

Many activities begin with a series
of discussion questions which aim at
activating students’ pre-existing
knowledge of the world and engaging
them in a topic that they are going to
read or hear about. Speaking sessions
allow students to investigate their
personal experience, thoughts, and
feelings about a topic.
 Work with a partner and discuss the

following questions.
1. What is the purpose of a review?
2. How is it different from a letter,

essay, or diary?
3. Where will you find a review?
4. What kind of information does a

review usually include?
Much language production work

grows out of texts that students read. At
the next stage students are asked to read
a review and answer questions. Together
with focusing on certain points, the text
serves as a model and can be the basis for
a written task. Thus, texts are used to
stimulate students into some other kind
of work.

 Read the review and answer the questions
below.

1. What kind of film is being reviewed?
2. What is the film about?
3. Where does the action of the film take

place?
4. Who are the characters of the film?
5. What names are used in the review?

What for?
6. Is it a positive or a negative review?

How do you know?
7. Would you like to see the film?

Why/why not?

The next stage involves the second
reading of the same review and filling in
the chart.
 Read the review again and complete the

chart below. Note down what kind of
information is presented in each paragraph

Paragraph 1 film title, director …
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 5 summary …

After students have worked on the
review structure, its language, students
are invited to discuss with their partner
the book/film of their choice. Thus,
knowledge about what is a review is
incorporated into the process of
communication and, consequently, into a
language skill, which makes its
mastering conscious. This activity is also
important as a preparation for writing
itself.

 Think of the best and worst
films/books/shows you have seen/read
recently. List their good and bad points.
Then tell your partner about each
film/book.

The final product of students’ work
is a creative writing task which can be
treated as a wrap up of the exploration of
the topic. It is writing a review. When
students are asked to write creatively,
they usually strive harder than usual to
produce a greater variety of correct and
appropriate language than they might

Tip:
For question 6, highlight words
and expressions that helped you
answer it.



SVETLANA SUCHKOVA & GULNARA DUDNIKOVA
Learning To Teach Writing Through Writing

for more routine assignments. Students
are offered some options and guidelines
to assist them, which makes the task
more learner-friendly.

 Choose one of the options and write a
review (about 220-260 words).

Option 1
A review of a must read book for your
university newsletter.
Option 2
A review of your favorite film to post it
on a web page “Films that Are Always
with Us.”
Option 3
A review of the worst ever TV show for
the rating “No-Show”.
The following guidelines can help you follow
the review format.
1. Don’t fail to give background details of

the product reviewed: the author,
name, theme, main characters, etc. in
the introductory paragraph. Also,
indicate your purpose of writing and
the addressee, and general impression.

2. In the body part of your review,
present the main points that guided
you in your evaluation, e.g.
soundtrack, actors’ performance, style
of writing, etc. Remember to touch
upon one topic in each paragraph (the
plot, characters, language, etc.). Focus
on good/bad features of the
book/film/show and consider the
following questions: How did I feel
reading/watching it? What makes it
enjoyable/dull? Why and whom would I
recommend / not recommend it?

3. In the conclusion, express your
positive or negative opinion and give
recommendations to the reader.
Summarize the reasons why the
film/book/show is recommended or
not recommended.

Tip:
For more guidelines use Appendix
II “Paper Self-Evaluation List.”

The integrated skills approach
gradually builds students' confidence in
applying different strategies, stimulates
them to obtain and present concepts and
ideas, develops a feel for the use of the
language in various tasks, and,
consequently, leads students to
meaningful communication in English.

An individual approach to students
is reflected in tasks which offer a choice
of options in terms of topics. Moreover,
they are asked to produce a piece of
writing on their own, at their own pace,
thus working in a pattern of
individualized learning. This is a very
important step in the development of
learner autonomy. As Harmer (2008: 394)
suggests, “giving students agency
(enabling them to be the doers rather
than the recipients of learning action) is
one way of helping to sustain their
motivation”.
 Write down 5-7 topics you would like to

write about. Share them with your group
mates.

 Choose one of the topics below and write
the topic sentence around it. Think of how
you would like to develop your topic
sentence.
 a favorite place to relax
 nights owls vs. early birds
 the best part of the day
 a societal problem
 dreams and reality
 an ideal partner



ENGLISH REVIEW: Journal of English Education ISSN 2301-7554
Vol. 1, Issue 2, June 2013 http://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/ERJEE

Tip:
Remember that the topic sentence is a
general statement which is supposed to
cover the content of the paragraph.

 Look at the topics below and decide how
you would develop them: with details,
examples, or explanation. Discuss the
ideas with your partner. Are the answers
the same? Why/why not?
 a learning style
 an unusual adventure
 Russian wedding traditions
 a genius
 a blog
 a card game

The textbook has a lot of tasks built
around collaborative learning, where
students work in pairs or groups, trying
to achieve the best results they can. They
have a chance to exchange ideas with
their group mates, thus learning from
each other. In many cases, students’
work is read and commented on by their
fellow students, as two or more minds
are often more creative, effective, and
efficient in solving problems than an
individual mind. In collaboration,
students contribute to each other’s work,
on the one hand, and are made more
aware of their own, on the other.

Work in groups of 3-4. Discuss all the
stages that come into writing. Create a mind-
map together. Compare it with other groups’
mind-maps.
a) In pairs, brainstorm ideas to compare and
contrast
 people: _________ and ______________;
 places: _________ and ______________;
 things: _________ and ______________.

b) Agree on the topic, add aspects to discuss,
and write a paragraph together.

 Work in groups of 3 or 4 and discuss how
to close an essay effectively. Consider the
following questions.

1. What makes an essay complete?
2. How can you help the reader feel

satisfied?
3. How can you signal that you have

finished?
One of the many roles a teacher has

to play is that of a materials designer.
Although there are many resources
available, many teachers continue to
produce their own materials for
classroom use. Teachers need to create
effective teaching materials to ensure
that students are learning to their
maximum potential. Materials
development is a major skill a future
teacher must possess. The course book
provides many opportunities for
students to develop this skill.
1. Write a paragraph of five to six sentences
on one of the following topics.

 how to cook pizza
 going on a package tour
 reasons for going abroad
 why to have/not to have plastic

surgery
Begin with a topic sentence and develop it in
the form of steps or examples.
2. Now add one sentence that is off target to

the paragraph you have written and put
your sentences in a less effective order.
Number them.

3. Work with a partner. Read each other’s
paper. Find the sentence that is off target.
Suggest a more effective order for the
sentences.
In terms of professional competence,

it is also very important for a future
teacher to be able to see mistakes and to
correct them, which is peer correction or
review. The textbook has tasks aiming at
practicing the skill of commenting,
assessing, making amendments,
proofreading and editing a piece of work.
Trainee teachers need to be able to learn



SVETLANA SUCHKOVA & GULNARA DUDNIKOVA
Learning To Teach Writing Through Writing

to read critically for style, content, and
language accuracy. They must be ready
to give each other feedback. Below are
several samples that illustrate this idea.

a) Write a comparison paragraph (pointing out
likenesses) or a contrast paragraph (pointing out
differences) on one of the following topics.

A. two movies or two television shows
B. two cafes/restaurants
C. two jobs
D. two dictionaries
E. other
b) Write comments on your partner’s
paragraphs. Suggest ideas for improvement.
Use Appendix I to guide you through the
editing process.
 Together with your partner, evaluate the

essays above using the questions below as
guidelines.

1. Was it interesting to read the essay?
Why/why not?

2. What is the main message? Is it clear?
3. Is the information relevant to the

thesis?

4. Are there enough facts and
examples to support ideas in the
paragraphs?

5. Does the author know who s/he is
writing for? Why/why not?

6. Does the essay have a good opening?
7. Does the writer finish the essay in

style/strongly?
8. Is the purpose achieved?
9. Is the organization appropriate to

the topic and purpose?
10. What can be improved?

 Exchange the essays with your
partner and assess each other’s paper
using “Assessment Criteria” given
in Appendix IV. Give feedback: state
good and weak points and
recommend ways to improve the
essay.

 Study the texts with the teacher’s
comments. Editing your friend’s
paper can help you improve your
writing skills, too. In pairs, think of
how you can improve the paragraphs
taking the teacher’s notes into
consideration.

1. Is it the topic sentence or one of the reasons? Add a link.
I travel a lot and for me going somewhere on my own is
quite boring. Why? In addition Punctuate. I always joke:
in a new and unknown place it’s always better to have
someone who starts panic Correct collocation? earlier than
you do – it usually makes me feel more confident. Can you
specify the idea? Link? Traveling with friends is always
fun: I would’ve never had so much excitement in Vegas if I
were grammar there alone or with my family. Why? Some
details could be added. But even close friends’ interests may
differ. So it may turn out to be a real pain in the neck to
figure how to reach a compromise and make everybody
happy. Check. Are you sure it’s relevant? Touching upon
Not clear. traveling alone again, I would say it’s not for
everyone: you would never think of visiting China on
your own without knowing the language for example,
Check punctuation. though some real trill-seekers might
find it to be a good idea to get new impressions.
Vocabulary and structures are varied, but it’s not clear
whether you are for or against traveling with friends. The
paragraph also needs a conclusion.

2. My former classmate is my best friend.
Make the topic sentence more specific. For
one thing, we have almost the same
interests. Some details could be added: what
interests? and go everywhere Where?
together. Another thing I value about
her is that I can tell her everything not
being worried that she will betray me.
We’ve been together long enough How
long? to confide our secrets to each other.
Great Make it a sentence. to have a person
whose opinion you can trust. Moreover,
I’m not sure the link is good here. she is a
very loyal and reliable person. There is no
conclusion. How about making it strong to
show that you can’t imagine your life
without your friend? Why don’t you give
him/her a name?



ENGLISH REVIEW: Journal of English Education ISSN 2301-7554
Vol. 1, Issue 2, June 2013 http://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/ERJEE

The book also has lots of tasks which
encourage students to search and
research – another necessary skill for
teachers. By making a “systematic, self-
critical enquiry” (Rudduck & Hopkins
1985: 8), students open something new in
terms of language as well as advance
their educational level perceiving it in
the course of learning.
 Google the net for samples of

recommendation letters and collect
phrases you think useful. Exchange the
lists of phrases with your partners.

 Google for samples of invitation and
apology letters. Collect useful phrases,
bring them into the classroom, and
share with your group mates.

 Make up a collection of the Internet
resources with anagrams, riddles,
rhymes, poems, etc. Include those that
provide an opportunity to post your
own. Have a try!

The use of such tasks reflects an up-
to-date tendency in education – focusing
on discovery learning (Joolingen 1999:
385). These tasks are definitely conducive
to developing critical thinking and,
besides, they are professionally relevant
to future teachers.

STUDENTS’ FEEDBACK
Although many Russian learners find

writing the most difficult skill to acquire,
by the end of the course, students feel far
more confident about their ability to cope
with the writing demands. The process
of becoming a good writer requires time,
hard work, and perseverance. And yet
the reward is well worth the wait. Being
“essential” and “valuable”, is a general
opinion of the students who have been
taught this course. Some more quotes
from students’ feedback are as follows:
“The course is very comprehensible and
involving,” it is “thoroughly drawn up,”
“simultaneously challenging and
entertaining,” “it undoubtedly meets the

needs of future teachers,” “writtеn in a
straightforward manner, and it fеels a bit
like being taught by a knowledgeable
friend.” We value the opinion of our
students and feel grateful for such
appreciation of our work.

CONCLUSION
To sum up, a course book cannot

address any audience in general. It must
focus on a particular learner, the
objectives, and content of the process of
learning. In the situation when no
textbook meets these requirements, the
problem of providing students with an
appropriate textbook must be solved by
creating new textbooks. In our
understanding, the textbook Learn to
Write with Us, oriented towards the
audience of future teachers of English is
optimal and effective because it
combines language learning and
professional training.

While learning to write at the level
required at tertiary level, would-be
teachers also acquire basic professional
skills of how to teach writing. A
systematic approach to training these
skills helps to achieve this two-fold goal;
a variety of tasks and topics, well
thought over introduction of materials
make the way to this goal enjoyable and
efficient.

REFERENCES
Council of Europe. (2011). Common

european framework of reference for
languages: Learning, teaching,
assessment. Retrieved from
http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education
/elp/elp-reg/cefr_EN.asp

Harmer, J. (2008). The Practice of English
language teaching. Harlow: Pearson
Longman.

Kaplan, R. B. (1966). Cultural thought
patterns in inter-cultural education.
Language Learning, 16(1).



SVETLANA SUCHKOVA & GULNARA DUDNIKOVA
Learning To Teach Writing Through Writing

Joolingen, W. van. (1999). Cognitive tools for
discovery learning. International Journal
of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 10.

Rudduck, J. and Hopkins, D. (1985). Research
as a basis for teaching: Readings from the
works of lawrence stenhouse. London:
Heinemann Educational Books.

Scane M., Doerger, D. (2010). Good teachers
need to be good writers: Designing
and implementing a professional
writing course for pre-service teachers.
Studies in Learning, Evaluation,
Innovation and Development 7(1).

Suchkova, S., Dudnikova, G., Adayeva, O.
(2013). Learn to write with us: A process-
based writing textbook (Student’s Book).
Samara.

Syllabi: Направление 050100.62
Педагогическое образование.
Профили: «Иностранный язык» и
«Иностранный язык»; направление

050100.62 Педагогическое
образование. Профиль
«Иностранный язык»; направление
035700.62 Лингвистика. Профиль
«Теория и методика преподавания
иностранных языков и культур».

The National Council of Teachers of English
at (NCTE) http://www.ncte.org/.
retrieved on March 24th, 2013.

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills at
http://www.p21.org/index.php.
retrieved on March 24th, 2013.

Ur, P. (1996). A course in language teaching:
practice and theory. CUP.

Yancey, K.B. A Report from the National
Council of Teachers of English.
Writing in the 21st Century.
http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEF
iles/Press/Yancey_final.pdf. retrieved
on March 24th, 2013.

http://www.ncte.org/
http://www.p21.org/index.php
http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Press/Yancey_final.pdf