Making Language Visible

Module 5 concludes our course Teaching students from a refugee background (c) State of NSW (Dept 0f Education) 2016. Looking at the module outline I have been pondering why it bears the simple title, Teaching Writing – but more of that later.  

To be able to write well is definitely ‘hard work’. Stephen King says that, the scariest moment is always just before you start. John O’Hara is of the opinion that becoming a reader is the essence of becoming a writer and Doris Lessing insists that you only learn to be a better writer by actually writing. Our goal as teachers of English Language (EL) learners is to scaffold our lessons through activities that involve substantive conversations and immersion in rich texts so that our students are not afraid to put pen to paper.

How can we as teachers help our students to progress from being able to write and copy…