ELT365 · Day 200 — Writing for Real Audiences: Authentic Tasks
Idea — Authentic writing tasks — real emails, review posts, complaint letters — motivate because the audience is real. The writing must work, not just be…
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ELT365 · Day 199 — Teacher Feedback on Writing: Code, Don’t Correct
Idea — Error-coded feedback (WO = word order, T = tense, VF = verb form) returns responsibility for correction to the learner. Research (Ferris) suggests it…
ReadELT365 · Day 198 — Peer Editing: What to Train Learners to Notice
Idea — Untrained peer editors either praise everything or correct spelling. Trained peer editors follow a checklist: Is the aim clear? Does each paragraph develop one…
ReadELT365 · Day 197 — Cohesion Devices: The Linkers Learners Actually Use
Idea — Cohesion is achieved through reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunction, and lexical chains — not just “however” and “furthermore.” Over-teaching connectors creates mechanical, unnatural writing. Example…
ReadELT365 · Day 196 — Paragraph Structure: Topic Sentence First
Idea — A paragraph works when its topic sentence signals what follows and every subsequent sentence develops that one idea. Teaching this explicitly reduces the “list…
ReadELT365 · Day 195 — Guided Writing: Models, Not Molds
Idea — A model text shows learners what the target genre looks like — its structure, register, and key phrases. Guided writing uses the model as…
ReadELT365 · Day 194 — Process Writing: Four Stages Every Teacher Needs
Idea — Process writing treats writing as recursive, not linear: planning → drafting → revising → editing. Each stage is teachable, and each improves the final…
ReadELT365 · Day 193 — Delayed Feedback: The Hot Correction Slot
Idea — Delayed feedback collects learner errors during a fluency task and addresses them immediately after — while the language is still warm. It protects flow…
ReadELT365 · Day 192 — On-the-Spot Error Correction: When and How
Idea — Immediate correction suits accuracy-focused tasks — drills, written exercises. During fluency tasks, it breaks flow and discourages speaking. Decide the task aim first, then…
ReadELT365 · Day 191 — The Task-Based Speaking Cycle (Willis)
Idea — Willis’s TBL cycle: pre-task (introduce topic, activate language) → task (meaning first) → planning and report (prepare to present) → language focus (reflect on…
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