ELT365 · Day 197 — Free writing — generating fluency

Idea — Free writing gives learners a topic and minimal constraints. It is the writing equivalent of a fluency task: quantity over accuracy, ideas over form. Timed free writing removes the blank-page paralysis many learners feel.

Example — ‘Write everything you know about your favourite place for 5 minutes. Don’t stop. Don’t correct. Just write.’ Learners are often surprised by how much they produce.

Try — Try a 3-minute timed free write with your class on a topic they know well. No correction, no stopping. Read one or two aloud without identifying the author. Debrief: what ideas came out?

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