1990 – « Learning to Write / Writing to Learn »

Abstract

Writing may have two main roles in English language teaching: as a goal of teaching/learning, ie. ‘the skill of writing’ and as a mode of teaching/learning, ie. as a means towards general language development. This article examines these two aspects and argues that writing could and should take a much more central role in classroom work. The final part of the article discusses a relatively new task type – interactive writing – and shows how it may contribute towards allowing learners more opportunities for general language development as well as enabling a greater degree of autonomy in language use.