Writing is difficult and so is teaching it. At the beginning
of a semester, on day one of the class, I ask students two questions:
1-
Who is their favorite author?
2-
Do they like writing?
Usually, the first question gets a very positive and
enthusiastic response because most of them read fiction. The answer to the
second one is generally “not so much,” “just a little,” or a plain “no.”
In order to draw their attention to the importance of writing, I share with them Desiderius Erasmus famous saying:
Some students are surprised that how can writing something
lead to the desire to write more? I tell them to hold on to that question and
answer it at the end of the semester.
After sharing with them Steve Shipley’s I love writing, but it is hard work I ask them to write on any topic they appreciate or like and that’s the start of our semester-long journey of writing.
I teach writing (W 130) at IU South Bend. I also taught ESL to the undergrad classes at Al Qassim University, Saudi Arabia. Interestingly, many of the Arab students were very good at speaking English, and I expected the same performance in essay writing. After looking at their written work, I asked them how they have learned to speak English? The answer was “Hollywood movies.” That day for the first time I realized that there is some good usage of movies as well.
I aspire to create a love of writing in students. The primary reason for creating this blog is to share my teaching experiences and also learn from other teachers ‘experiences as well.
I would love to hear from you that as a teacher what are your ideas about teaching writing or teaching in general? How do you engender students’ interest in a subject they believe is difficult?
Photo credits: Pexels.com
