Chapter II

Writing as a Vital Skill for

Communication
 CHAPTER II

WRITING AS A VITAL SKILL FOR COMMUNICATION

Writing as a Language Skill

In the acquisition of language skills, writing is learned only after the

acquisition of the other three skills. Though it appears to be true, it should be

noted that using language for academic and professional purposes does involve the

acquisition of all the four skills together. In fact, each skill supports the

development of the other one. Dubey (1991) argues:

If the second language acquisition and the development of

writing occur in the same way, then it can be said that writing

activity is not Teamed’ but ‘acquired’ through extensive

reading in which the focus of the reader is self-motivated and

is being done with genuine interest.(p: 11)

Like speaking, writing is yet another medium through which one expresses

his or her ideas and makes an attempt to convey information and above all to

influence the readers. Through the specific choice of words, one wishes to express

likes and dislikes, love and hate, joy and grief, hope and despair, etc. White and

Amdt (1991) state:

We are able to share ideas, arouse feelings, persuade and

convince other people. We are able to discover and articulate

ideas in ways that only writing makes possible. (p: 8)

53
 Writing can be described as an act of discovering oneself. It is rather a

purposeful activity and goal-directed in nature. Moreover writing makes it

possible to have anyone’s ideas immediately available for review and re-

evaluation, Emig (1981) states writing, “..... does not proceed in linear sequence-

rather it is recursive”, (p: 223)

Writing demands a lot of efforts from the learner. To view it with reference

to the present situation, the writing skill is necessary for the students of the present

generation. It is their academic writing referred here and the factor to be noted is

that the writing skill of the students of present generation does not help them in

achieving anything other than the exam-related tasks. The general or common

writing skills of the students do not get developed during their academic career.

Common writing here means the writing skills used by an individual for other academic

and professional purposes at a later stage. This is applicable even for writing from a

letter to writing promotional literature. A student, whose rote learning helps him to

reproduce the memorised answers, fails miserably to produce a genuine piece of

writing on his own, be it a letter or a paragraph on a given topic.

Unlike the other skills, writing requires greater precision and care. Since

writing is a more formal activity it needs to be more unambiguous. The objectives

of writing will be effective only when it is clear, concise, exact and appropriate.

The learning of writing includes the learning other skills also. It includes a number

of sub-skills. Kamala Suganya kumari (2005) lists out the following sub-skills:

54
 1. Mechanics Hand writing, spelling punctuation etc.

2. Word choice Vocabulary, idiom, tone.

3. Organisation Paragraphs, topic and support, cohesion

and unity.

4. Syntax Sentence structure, sentence boundaries

stylistics etc.

5. Grammar Rules for verbs, agreement, articles,

pronouns etc.

6. Contact Relevance,clarity, originality, logic etc.

7. The writing process - Getting ideas, getting started, writing

drafts revising etc. (p: 6)

The speaking skills bring in instantaneous responses and respect which are

temporary whereas writing brings in response and respect which is permanent in

nature. The corporate world expects the candidate to be good in both speaking and

writing skills.

What is the reason behind the lack of concentration on the part of the

students in developing the writing skills? In most of the schools, oral competency

is emphasised right from the beginning and the students who are fluent in speaking

command respect. Those who lack in that skill are not considered on a par, as far

as their communication skills are concerned. To fix the responsibility for this, the

following stake holders can be taken into account.

55
1. Government

The government and its various institutions like the Universities, statutory

bodies of education planning and research, the policy makers etc. always aim at

the holistic development of an individual. No educational system aims at an

uneven development in the acquisition of language skills by an individual.

2. Society

The corporate and the other career providers and the parents comprise the

social segment. The job providers always encourage and invite the individuals

who have mastery over all the skills of the language. Moreover, in the global

competitive climate, the concept of communication skills does certainly mean the

development of all the four skills put together.

Parents, the other part of the social segment, take pride in their ward’s

fluency in speaking. They appreciate the speaking ability of their children as they

are able to exhibit their oral competency in the midst of others. This may be

correct to a certain extent. When it comes to writing competitive exams either for

higher education or for a job, the lack of writing skills makes them unemployable.

Hence, it is necessary that writing skills are to be equally developed along with

oral competency. Moreover, it is implicitly understood that writing skill develops

the process of organised thinking, making communication possible and successful

with a distant receiver. Above all, it gives confidence to the individual to organise

the content and present it successfully. Hence, it is appropriate to say that it helps

56
one to improve one’s competency level in a language. It is evident from the

following facts that writing skills assist in the acquisition of other skills.

What is Writing?

Dubey(1991) expresses:

When writing is taught as a process of discovery it implies

that the revision becomes the main focus of the course and

that the teacher helps the students to develop their personal

voice through writing, (p: 12)

Byrne (1979) defines writing:

As the production of a sequence of sentences arranged in a

particular order and linked together in certain ways to form a

coherent whole that is a text. (p:7)

He further expresses that writing starts with the use of graphic symbols or letters

to form words, which are then arranged in a particular order and linked together to

form sentences.

Writing is one skill that demands the conscious effort which involves the

transfer of thoughts into language. Writing is actually a mode of linguistics which

represents a writer’s ideas graphically. It is otherwise a process to consider and

refine our ideas.

Shaughnessy, M.P (1977) points out writing, “is a process whereby an

initial idea gets extended and refined”, (p: 317)

57
 Writing can be understood as a process of discovering meaning. We can

say that when a writer writes, he creates, discovers and shapes meaning. Murray

(1978) comments, “Writing is a process of using language to discover meaning.

In writing, a writer is involved in various thinking processes”, (p: 378)

Flower and Hayes (1981) describe writing as:

The process of writing is best understood as a set of

distinguished thinking processes which writers orchestrate

or organize during the act of composing. (p: 369)

It is through writing that ideas are explored, classified and reformulated and

as this process continues new ideas suggest themselves and become assimilated

into the developing patterns of thought. Emig (1977) identifies the process of

writing as a mode of learning, “It is observed that writing allows us to have our

ideas immediately available for review and re-evaluation”, (p: 123)

Writing is considered as an act of discovery. It is not mere documenting

ideas but goal- oriented and a purposeful activity. The act of writing demands the

involvement of a conscious exploration of the subject matter to be written about.

Moreover writing includes the involvement of a synthesis.

Asseefa (2007) comments, “In the act of writing an author selects an idea,

limits, defines and discusses it”, (p: 23)

Writing can be considered as an act of synthesising of ideas. Writing,

according to the composition theorists, is a process of conveying information.

58
Also it is understood as a process in which the messages are produced by a writer

to facilitate processing and comprehension. All these references clearly indicate

that writing is a skill which is not inborn but can be learnt and acquired.

Like the other skills, constant practice is the only instrument to master the

writing skill. Turk and KirkMan (1989) point out:

....... few people lack the basic equipment to learn to ride a

bicycle (balance, strength, sight) but must become skillful

cyclists only after much practice. Confidence is the main 1

necessity and one must have the courage to get on and try) : :! 5^
The same is true with writing. Most people have the basic V. ^\

reinforcements (experience, language) but like riding a \

bicycle, writing is a skill that must be learnt doing it. (p: 1)

In fact perfection is the outcome of practice. In the acquisition of any skill,

practice is a major component. Asseefa comments:

Practice brings coordination and control. Continuous practice

will change writing from an apparently random exercise to an

efficient means of getting somewhere. (p: 23)

Compared to speaking, writing is the skill which can be learned only through

practice. Unlike the spoken language, which is a natural activity, writing requires

guidance and practice. Scholes and Klaus while discussing the process of writing, argue

that we leam speaking without formal instruction. But writing must be taught formally

59
and studied deliberately. Many of the problems that arise in learning to write are simply

problems in finding the proper equivalent for the materials of speech..

The differences between talking and writing are tabulated by Emig (1977)

as follows:

SPEAKING WRITING

Natural and even Learned behaviour

irresponsible behaviour.

Natural process Artificial process

Not slower than writing Slower than talking

Rich, luxuriant, inherently Stark, barren, even naked as a

redundant medium

Leans on the environment Must provide its own content

The listener is usually Audience is usually absent

present

Does not result in a visible Usually results in a visible

graphic mode graphic mode

Since no product involved Because there is a product

not much a committed act involved tends to be a more
responsible and a committed act.

Proved to be ephemeral Throughout history, an aura, an

and treated mundanely ambience a mystique has
usually encircled the written
word.

Not a source of learning Embodying both process and

product, readily a form of
source of learning

(p: 124)

60
 From these views, it can be understood that writing is a complex, a learned

behaviour and slower than speech.

Writing is a conscious effort. It sprouts from the continuous effort of an

individual. Byrne (1979) comments:

Writing is neither an easy nor a spontaneous activity.

It requires some conscious mental effort thinking out our

sentences and considering various ways of combining them,

re-reading what is written as a stimulus to further writing.

(p:7)

White and Arndt (1991) admit, “there is no point in pretending that writing

is easy”, (p: 8) Writing, for ESL or EFL learners, is a strenuous task. The

acquiring and mastering of writing skill demands a lot of continuous efforts on the

part of the learner. While describing the condition of the ESL and EFL learners,

White (1987) states:

Writing is challenging to ESL and EFL learners because it

involves discovering ideas, discovering how to organise them,

and discovering what is that one wants to put across to the

reader. Writing cannot be separated from thinking when

students compose. The learning of the writing process is

difficult and at times it may bring anxiety and frustration to

learners. (p: 18)

61
 Writing is not to be identified as a skill in isolation. Since it produces an

end product, it is a purposeful and goal-directed skill. It promotes our thinking

process and helps in the enhancement of our learning. We do not write in order to

be understood. We write in order to understand.

Scardamalia and Bereiter (1987) state:

Successful writing includes successful thinking. Thus it helps

in the shaping and crystallising of ideas. When thinking

becomes better, writing becomes finer, (p: 116)

Through writing, the writer will be able to communicate his ideas to the readers

more effectively and clearly. To quote White and Arndt again:

Through writing, we are able to discover and articulate ideas

in ways that only writing makes possible. But a matter of

even higher importance is being a tool for thinking. The close

relationship between writing and thinking makes writing a

valuable part of any language course.

Murray (1982) also accepts:

Writing is a significant kind of thinking in which the symbols

of language assume a purpose of their own and instruct the

writer during the composing process. (p: 376)

62
 Thinking and composing in writing are inseparable processes. Writing

involves the assimilation and organisation of ideas and bringing them into the

desired form. Thinking is primary and writing follows thinking.

Kellogg (1994) writes:

.... thinking involves a set of mental skills that create,

manipulate and communicate to others the personal symbols

of mental life .... or it is a set of processes whereby people

assemble, use and revise internal symbolic models....(p: 10)

Secondly, thinking is a process that entails manipulating representations of

what one knows about the world. The act of composing a text, for instance,

involves retrieving information from memory, organising ideational and linguistic

structures, reading source materials and evolving text and several other operations.

Thinking is typically complex and operationally intensive. Writing is one process

through which the writer makes an attempt to communicate his ideas to the outside

world. Writing is a powerful instrument of thought. In the act of composing, writers

learn about themselves and their world and communicate their insights to others.

NCTE Documents (1984) present an opinion on writing as:

Writing confers the power to grow personally and to effect

change in the world, (p: 612)

63
Flower and Hays (1981) are of the opinion:

Writers may spend more time in planning at the beginning of

a composition session. Planning is not a unitary stage, but a

distinctive thinking process which writers use over and over

again during composing. (p: 369)

Ideas get developed in the process of writing. In the beginning, the

organisation of ideas proceeds to the act of writing and in the process ideas get

developed. Harriston (1982) states:

Writers have only a partial notion of what they want to say

when they begin to write, and their ideas develop in the

process of writing. ( p: 79)

As it has been stated earlier, no skill is developed in isolation. Learning to

read helps to write and it is an integral part of the thinking process.

Arapoff (1984) argues:

Writing is more than an orthographic symbolisation of

speech. It is most importantly a purposeful selection and

organisation of experience. This selection and organisation

requires active thought.....The process of learning to write is,

therefore, largely a process of learning to think more clearly.

(p: 577)

64
 These references explicitly explain the relationship between writing and

thinking. It is evident that good thinking is impossible without good writing.

Similarly it is true that quality writing can not be achieved without quality

thinking.

Writing not only involves thinking but also helps learning. Byrne (1979)

reflects the same view by commenting:

The act of writing helps in strengthening the vocabulary and

grammatical structures to which the learners have been

exposed to. (p: 7)

Writing, one of the major skills in a language teaching course, is known to

be a powerful tool of learning. Among other things, it serves as an aid to retention

and provides the learner with some concrete evidence that he/she is making

progress.

Rivers (1978) comments:

Writing helps to consolidate learning in the areas of listening

comprehensions, speaking and reading, and gives a writer

practice in manipulating structural variants adding the

reinforcement of the kinesthetic image to the auditory and the

visual information (p: 244)

65
Emig (1977) states:

Writing represents a unique mode of learning not merely

valuable not merely special, but unique writing serves

learning uniquely because writing as process - and - product

possesses a cluster of attributes that correspond uniquely to

certain powerful learning strategies, (p: 129)

This view is strengthened by adding the comments of Crowley and Redman

(1975) state:

The process of composition enriches the lives of students

both practically and aesthetically by giving them new tools

for processing information from experience; this in turn helps

them to increase their self-perception and environmental

awareness, (p: 279)

Further to add value and strength to the idea that writing helps learning,

Maguire and Greaves (2001) argue:

Writing is learning. It is really helpful because we can use our

imagination. The more we write, the more we learn to write.

It is like speaking, the more we speak, the more we can learn

how to speak, (p: 562)

66
Since writing strengthens the process of thinking and plays a vital role in the

learning process, it must be considered as an important academic skill. The skill of

writing helps in learning other disciplines also.

Sommer (1989) rightly comments on:

... Writing is a way of learning other subjects, it can be

(or ought to be) used in every discipline as a strategy for

teaching and learning, (p: 3)

Thus how one teaches any subject is closely allied with how one teaches

writing. Referring to Hedge (1988), Asseefa states, “.... writing increases

student’s creativity and ability to solve problems”, (p: 23)

Writing helps the processes of thinking and learning which implicitly point

out the relationship between writing and communication. Writing helps to explore

the individual’s deepest thoughts and feelings. Discussing the communicative

competence. Widdowson (1974) argues:

There is a strong case for the teaching of communicative

competence through the written discourse for it is through the

written mode, the way language actually functions as

communication can be satisfactorily demonstrated.(p: 35)

67
The skill of writing helps one to organise his ideas and communicate effectively.

Celci Murcia (1991) referring Kroll adds:

Writing, in addition, being a communicative skill of vital

importance is a skill which enables the learner to plan and

rethink the communicative process (p: 241)

Writing as a part of discourse helps the writer in developing his skills in

coherence, cohesion, unity in organisation, grammar and vocabulary. The message

to be communicated must be grammatically well organised and presented.

Coherence and cohesion refer to the logical development of thoughts in writing.

Commenting on the effective writing process, Lorch (1981) points out:

... effective writing is unified. It contains no sentences or

paragraphs that do not relate directly to the purpose of the

writing. An effective writer does not include ideas, which do

not directly relate to the point that he or she is making no

matter how interesting he may find them. He keeps his

purpose clearly in mind throughout the writing, making sure

that every sentence works in some way to support the main

point (p: 25)

Writing in Li and L2

It is a known fact that the LI influence can not be done away with while

teaching L2. The fluency and mastery over the speaking skills will not be equal

68
with the mastery over writing skills. Byrne points out the following as the reason

where he comments that they (learners) have well- developed command of the

spoken language, adequate at least for their social needs, but their experience of

the written language is still very limited,

.... Writing is a totally new experience for most of them.

The degree of expressiveness and fluency in first language

writing may not reach the highest level for many learners.

(Byrne, 1979, p: 4)

It is not necessary for us to believe or expect that all the students will have

proficiency in Li writing skills. Thus it can be understood that the process of

organising one’s thoughts and the ability to write in the source language (Lj) may

help one to write in the target language (L2)

The Necessity for Teaching Writing

Writing as a skill needs constant guidance and practice on the part of the

learners. Unlike speaking, writing is a solitary activity which involves the usage of

different types of structures which are uncommon in the speaking mode. Writing

can be only learnt through the process of instruction. The teaching of writing in

English helps in the development of (i) academic (ii) professional/ occupational

and (iii) personal writing skills. Teaching writing has many purposes. Chief

among them is consolidating the student’s grasp of vocabulary and structure, to

complement the other skills and to use language appropriate to the context.

69
 Byrne stresses the need for teaching writing to students, by pointing out the

following benefits that could be achieved.

(i) Exposure to written form of the language and appropriate varieties

(ii) Raising awareness of the way writing functions as a system of

communication

(iii) Selection of realistic tasks, guidance and supports to be provided

while attempting writing tasks

(iv) Viewing learners’ efforts and problems in writing

Emphasising the importance of training writing skills to students,

Hitesh.D.Raviya (2002) suggests:

Students need training in organisational skills. Comprehensional

and expressional skills are also included in the syllabi even

though we teach English as a library language (p: 12)

Stressing on the importance of writing skills, Prema, E (2007) emphasizes,

“.... With all the first three skills namely LSR added on the product ‘writing’

reaches perfection”. (p: 9)

The suggestion is also made here that oral communication as well as

written communication are based on two common skills namely listening and

reading. Commenting on writing, Raimes reiterates that teaching writing helps

learners to experience a new way of learning. While attempting different kinds of

texts when a learner writes, he/she tries to make use of the existing knowledge of

70
the language, establishes similarities, contrasts between old and new information

and makes use of new vocabulary, new formats, etc.

Therefore it is clear that learning different texts helps learners to meet their

future needs in real life situations. The statement of Raimes is reassured with the

confirmation of Penny Ur (1996):

The objective of writing in a foreign language is to get

learners to acquire the abilities and skills they need to

produce a range of different kinds of written texts similar to

those an educated person would be expected to be able to

produce in their own language (p: 162)

Writing involves learners to express their ideas, which help them to be

creative and to participate in various writing activities. Supporting this view,

Hyland (2003) states:

that materials are generally used to provide a stimulus to

writing or discussion, as a starting point for language input and

analysis, and as ideas for organising teaching activities (p: 37)

In EFL contexts, moreover, materials play a particularly important role as they

may be the only contact that learners have with English and offer the only

opportunities for them to study authentic texts.

71
Problems in L2 Writing

The acquisition of LSRW skills in LI and L2 are dissimilar. This is because the

LI situation is entirely different from that of L2. As for L2 most of the students can

learn only in a formal academic situation. Talking about the difficulty in learning L2 in

general and writing skills in particular, Widdowson (1979) comments:

Writing is usually an irksome activity and an ordeal to be

avoided whenever possible. It seems to require an expense of

effort disproportionate to the actual result, (p: 42)

He further adds that fortunately for his self-esteem, this experience is a common

one. Most of us seem to have difficulty in getting our thoughts down on paper. It is

true that organising the thoughts and putting them down in black and white on the

paper is a difficult task. Most of the time, the LI background or expertise may not

help in understanding the particular meaning of certain words, phrases etc.

Describing the difficulty of understanding the rules of L2,

Asseefa adds:

In a second language situation where syntactic rules have not

been mastered, the mind is engaged with linguistic matters

learning little capacity from the communicative function of

the text. (p: 37)

This is a major problem which makes writing a difficult task for the non­

native learners.

72
 The problems in L2 learning can be listed as follows:

i) Psychological

ii) Linguistic and

iii) Cognitive problems

(i) Psychological Problems

While speaking can be taught through some group activities, writing is

viewed as a solitary activity. This involves students’ interaction and feedback

without which writing is very difficult. The major problems that could be listed are:

i) Lack of motivation

ii) Lack of right aptitude

iii) Negative attitude to learning and

iv) Lack of confidence

The problems manifest themselves at every stage. Harris.J (1993) reiterates:

Writing is a process that occurs over a period of time,

particularly if we take into account sometimes the extended

periods of thinking that precede the creation of an initial draft.

Even in the more immediately focused stage of constructing a

text, writers pause, think, write, and revise and so on. This

somewhat halting progress reveals the number of decisions

that have to be made by the writer alone and also the extent to

which reflection is an essential part of the process.(p: 98)

73
 Since it is stated earlier in the chapter that writing is a skill to be taught and

practiced under continuous monitoring, the responsibility of taking necessary

initiatives and employing necessary suitable strategies to overcome the problems

rest heavily on the shoulders of the teachers.

(ii) Linguistic Problems

Most of our students lack expressionistic skills in L2. Their inadequacy in

vocabulary and poor knowledge of grammar makes it very difficult for them to

express their ideas in L2. Commenting on this, Hyland (2003) adds:

....... most of us have a vocabulary of several thousand words

and an intuitive ability to handle the grammar of the language

when we begin to write in our Libut L2 writers often carry the burden

of learning to write and learning English at the same time, (p: 47)

Compared to oral communication, written competency needs a higher level of

language proficiency in terms of grammar, vocabulary and format, etc.

Byrne (1979) remarks:

Oral communication is sustained through a process of interaction

except in special circumstances, such as a lecture. The participants

help to keep it going. Because speech is spontaneous, we have

little time to pay attention either to organising our sentence

structure or to connecting our sentences. (p: 4)

74
In writing we have to compensate for the absence of these features. We have to

keep the channel of communication open through our own efforts to ensure, both

through our choice of sentence structure and by the way our sentences are linked

together and sequenced.

When learning to practice the writing skills, the learner has to be careful in

the choice of structures, sentences and above all the organisation of the text.

Cognitive Problems

The term ‘cognitive’ is used by the psychologists to refer to the processing

of information or invoking of knowledge, conscious as well as unconscious,

deliberate and automatic. The term cognitive refers not just the thought process

but denotes more than that. The term is relatively used to refer to a sequence of

processes, recognising and classifying.

Richards et al (1985) used the term ‘Cognitive Variables’ (p: 14) to denote

the relative processes. Learners are individuals and their perceptions are also

individualised. Talking about students, Runin (1981) comments, “When they come

to the class, they come with their own individual perceptions and ways of

learning”, (p: 124)

The individual perceptions and behaviour influence the process of learning.

When ESL students must deal with concerns that are linguistic specific, it seems

that it is their writing strategies and behaviour and not primarily language

proficiency that determine their composing skills.

75
 While discussing the individual specific problems, Me Leod (1987) writes

that when many of his students write:

They show evidence of autonomous nervous system arousal-

paper wadding, pencil chewing, sighing but they describe this

agitation in negative terms. They are frustrated, blocked; they

have difficulty in continuing. He further adds that there are of

course cognitive possibilities for some students’ distress; they

may not have an adequate repertoire of plans, or they may

have right rules that keep them from moving on in the writing

process. (p: 429)

Hence, a teacher has to bear in mind all the problems that may arise while

teaching writing skills and concentrate on the remedial measures.

Objectives of Writing

Writing is of many forms and for many purposes. There are various kinds

of writing such as creative writing, social writing, personal writing, study writing,

public writing and institutional writing. While teaching writing, the objectives are

to be very clear to attain the desired results.

I. Lee and H.Lee (1997) report the objectives of teaching as

Writing to establish and maintain relationships, to exchange

ideas, to get things done (interpersonal dimension objectives)

76
 to provide or find out, interpret and use infonnation; to

express and apply ideas; to solve problems (knowledge

dimension objectives) and to respond and give expression

to real and imaginative experiences (experience dimension

objectives). (p: 79)

The teacher has to focus on strategies to be used for developing writing.

Writing involves planning, execution and correction. The activities can be

organised in three phases.

Phase -1

Oral activity- brainstorming for ideas on a particular topic. (Stimulation)

Phase-II

The teacher’s role here is to guide and help the students to a logical

organisation of their ideas.

Phase-III

The learners are helped by the teacher correcting their errors at various

levels. Thus writing is to be learnt cautiously through instruction.

Methods and Approaches

Before choosing a method for teaching writing, it is necessary to have a

review of some of the approaches used to teach language at various times of

history. This will help to validate the usefulness of the present method used by the

researcher to fulfill the objectives in L2 writing.

77
 The majority of world’s population is bilingual. 500 years ago, Latin, one

of the classical languages, was the language of education, commerce, religion and

politics in the western world. The sixteenth century witnessed French and English

gaining importance. Most of the school learning consisted of rigorous introduction

to Latin grammar. This made school going an unpleasant experience. In the sixteenth

and the seventeenth centuries, Roger Ascham, Montaigne, Comenius and John Locke

attempted reforming the existing language teaching and learning practices.

The text books and the exercises in the text books aimed at supplying the

rules of grammar to the students. The only form of instruction was mechanical

translation. There was no encouragement for oral work. This approach was known

as Grammar Translation Method. The leading exponents of this approach were

Johann Seidenstucker, Karl Plotz, H.S.Ollendorf and Johann Meidinger.

The Grammar Translation Method attempted to teach the language through

a detailed analysis of its grammar rules. This knowledge was applied to the task of

translating sentences and texts into and out of target language. Commenting on the

methodology. Stem (1983) observes, “The first language is maintained as the

reference system in the acquisition of the second language, (p: 136)

Since the approach had no basic theory, a rationale or justification to relate

it to issues in linguistics, psychology or education, the approach faced opposition

in the mid and late 19th century in several European countries. This paved the way

for the ‘Reform Movement’.

78
The Reform Movement

The Reform Movement was provided with the intellectual leadership by a

group of practical minded linguists namely Henry Sweet from England, Wilhelm

Vietor from Germany and Paul Passy from France. The discipline of linguistics

revitalised phonetics. The scientific analysis and description of languages was

established. Speech was given more emphasis than the written word. In 1886, the

International Phonetic Association designed the International Phonetic Alphabets

(IPA) to enable the sounds of language to be accurately transcribed. The following

objectives were advocated by the association:

i) The study of spoken language

ii) Phonetic training in order to establish good pronunciation habits

iii) Use of conversation texts and dialogues to introduce conversational

phrases and idioms

iv) An inductive approach to the teaching of grammar

The reformers believed that

i) Language is primary.

ii) Phonetics findings should be applied to language teaching.

iii) Learners should hear the language first before seeing in writing.

iv) Words are part of sentences and they are used in meaningful contexts.
Hence they need not be taught in isolation.

v) The students should learn the rules after they have learnt the context.

vi) The use of translation is sparingly allowed.

79
 The Reform Movement formulated principles and theoretical foundations

for a principled approach to language teaching. The Reform Movement showed

interest in developing principles for language learning. This has paved the way for

‘Natural Methods’ which ultimately led to the ‘Direct Method’.

The Direct Method

In the middle of 19th century, L.Sauveur (1826 - 1907) used intensive oral

interaction in the target language. He opened a school in Boston in 1860 and

introduced ‘Natural Method’. He emphasised that the second language has to be

taught through demonstration and action. The Natural Method laid the foundation

for Direct Method.

The Direct Method was introduced in France and Germany. In the United

States, Maxmilian Berlitz introduced the method in his name as Berlitz Method.

The Direct Method provided the following guidelines for teaching oral

language.

i) Never Translate Demonstrate

ii) Never Explain Act

iii) Never make a speech Ask Questions

iv) Never imitate mistakes Correct

v) Never speak with single words Use sentences

vi) Never speak too much Make students speak much

vii) Never use the book Use your lesson plan

80
 viii) Never Jump Around Use your plan

ix) Never go too fast Keep the pace of the student

x) Never speak too slowly Speak normally

xi) Never speak quickly Speak naturally

xii) Never speak loudly Speak naturally

xiii) Never be impatient : Take it easy

(Jack ,C.Richards et al, 2001, p : 14)

The principles proposed earlier were systematised in the Direct Movement.

Above all, it laid the foundations for the British approach to the Teaching of

English as a Foreign Language (TEFL).

Subsequent developments witnessed at this period, were Audiolingualism

in the United States and the Oral Approach or the Situational Language Teaching

in Britain. In short, it can be summed up that the Direct Method is the first

language teaching method which has caught the attention of teachers and language

teaching specialists. This method offered a methodology that moved language

teaching into a new era.

The Oral Approach and Situational Language Teaching

The approach was developed by the British applied linguists from

the 1930s - 60s. The approach helped in shaping the design of many widely used

EFL/ESL textbooks and courses. Quoting Hubbard, Jones, Thornton and Wheeler,

Richards (1985) writes, “This method is widely used at the time of writing and a

81
very large number of textbooks are based on it. (p: 100) The approach increased

the emphasis on reading skills as the goal of foreign language study.

Harold Palmer and A.S.Hornby were the prominent figures of this

approach. Vocabulary was seen as an essential component of reading proficiency.

It was emphasised that there should be a rational and scientific basis for choosing

the vocabulary content.

The approach formulated the principles of selection, (i.e.) choosing lexical

and grammatical content, gradation, (i.e.) organising and sequencing of the content

and presentation, (i.e.) techniques used for presentation and practice of items in a

course. The major events during this period were the classification of major

grammatical structures into sentence patterns. (Substitution tables). In 1953,

‘The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English’ was compiled.

The approach on the whole helped in the development of systematic approaches to

the lexical and grammatical content of a language course.

Even though, the Direct Method used oral procedures, it lacked a

systematic basis in applied linguistic theory and practice.

Communicative Methodology in Teaching Writing Skills

The Communicative Approach mainly aimed at developing the

‘communicative competence’ of the learners. Communication has become the

buzz word of today. Prema, (2007) aptly comments:

82
 There is no aspect of our lives that does not involve

communication and with the availability of modem

information technologies; the world has been reduced to the

proverbial global village. (p: 38)

She further adds that today, in an atmosphere of international tensions,

fears and insecurities, the channels of communication realised through oral and

written medium, between people should be kept open. A person’s ability to

communicate clearly to his fellowmen what he is what he desires and what he

believes in is needed. The world has, of late, realised that a man is made or marred

because of his legible or improper, communicative capacity. In communicative

approach priority is not given for grammar. It emphasised that grammar should be

leamt along with the usage of language in the original situations. The main

characteristics of the Communicative Approach (CA) are:

It is understood that a second language is best leamt by using it in

‘real life’ situations. Hence it is expected that the materials used

for teaching CA should be authentic and the classroom activities

should be seen in real communicative situations.

The learning of grammar rules and application through

communication is emphasized CA is not after the learning of

grammar and grammar rales at the first instance. It advocates

the value of words through discourses.

83
 Appropriateness rather than the correctness fluency or

accuracy of usage of language is stressed. The role of the

teacher in a communicative class is that of the organiser,

observer and a consultant. The students are encouraged to

speak and write. (Asseefa, 2007. (p: 32), quoting Balet, (1985)

Scholars, while expounding the salient features of the Communicative

Language Teaching (CLT) say that the learner occupies the central position in the

system.

i) In CLT, the content of teaching and the selection of methods begin with an

analysis of socially defined learner needs and styles of learning.

ii) The principles of CLT apply equally to all language skills. The core of CLT

lies in the engagement of learners in communication, (both written and

spoken), and helps them develop their communicative competence. Terms

such as ‘process - oriented’, ‘task -based’ and ‘discovery-oriented’ are

sometimes used to refer to CLT.

iii) Frequent opportunities to practice writing, with equally frequent opportunities

to receive significant feed back from peers and teachers.

iv) Opportunities to practice a variety of rhetorical strategies aimed at different

audiences.

84
v) An emphasis on collaborative learning so that students can help each other

with the different stages of writing.

(Byrne 2004, Domyei and Scott 1997, Harmer, 2001, River 198las cited in

Asseefa, p: 48)

Design and Methodology of Communicative Syllabus

The papers written between 1976 and 1980 by Keith Johnson deal with the

approach to language teaching named ‘communicative’. The communicative

approach, unlike the older ones, is a move away from the traditional views. Earlier

to this, it would be better to have a short review of the change in the L2 pedagogy.

In the early 1980s there was a substantial change in L2 pedagogy. The period

witnessed the emergence of Communicative, Approach. This approach is centered

on developing the communicative ability in the language learners. The importance

of the role of grammar in the process of language teaching was not ignored .On the

other hand, usefulness of the grammatical rules, without their application to real

life situations was questioned. There was a search for a new type of

communicative syllabus. These papers recognised the four modes of

communication namely gestures, speech, writing and graphics. The collection

consisted of four sections.

The section one consists of three papers. In that the first two papers

provide the historical background of language and language teaching. The need for

85
CA is well defined. The third paper describes the Council of Europe’s Framework

and explains the concept of notional functional syllabus.

Section two contains six papers which deal with the design of the syllabus.

The first two papers discuss the problems associated with the development of

functional - notional syllabus. The rest of the papers deal with the question of

adoption and relevance of the functional syllabi in various teaching situations like

general courses, adult beginners, remedial and short term courses.

Section three contains three papers. It is the theoretical section highlighting

some of the serious criticisms of a notional functional approach. Section three also

makes an attempt for the consideration of possible alternative syllabi.

Section four contains seven papers on methodology. Except for the first two

papers which are theoretical in nature, the rest of the section deals with highly

practical ideas.

The Functional - Notional Approach: The Book from Theory to Practice

Authored by Mary Finocchiaro and Christopher Brumfit the book provides

suggestions for preparing a multi-lingual curriculum for learners of all ages. This

includes both linguistic cultural content of a learning programme at various levels

and abilities. The learners develop the skills through a variety of in-class and out

of class tasks and activities.

86
 A brief overview about language learning and language teaching in the 18th

century is presented. Further, the other methods and approaches are briefly

discussed. Through this, a basis of the functional-notional approach is given. The

preliminary definition of the functions and notions and the theoretical bases of the

functional-notional approach are provided.

The constraints on the curriculum, criteria in curriculum planning, the

content of the curriculum, the teacher’s responsibilities, their specific tasks, basic

steps in preparing lesson plans and provisions for group discussion, etc, are

discussed in detail.The teaching of grammar and techniques is also dealt with in

the chapter. The following three chapters are dedicated for providing suggestions

for developing the communicative abilities and a description of strategies;

activities, tasks, techniques and lists of learning resources and materials of

instruction.

Canale and Swan (1980), analysed the CLT under four dimensions.

1. Grammatical competence

2. Sociological competence

3. Discourse competence

4. Strategic competence (p: 12)

Wilga Rivers and Littlewood (1981) proposed models of activities for CLT.

Littlewood classified the communicative activities which support learning as:

87
 1. Whole task practice

2. Motivation

3. Natural learning and

4. Context (p: 244)

Further, the activities under the communicative methodology were classified into

(i) skill - getting or pre-communicative and (ii) skill-using activities. These

activities are divided by Little Wood as

1. Functional communicative activities and

2. Social interaction activities

Johnson, K (1982) in his book ‘Communicative Syllabus Design’ sets out five

principles which teachers would take into consideration while designing a

communicative syllabus. They are

1. Information transfer

2. Information gap

3. Task dependency

4. Correction of content

5. Jigsaw (p: 30)

Hymes, (1972) remarked “The rules of grammar will be useless without the

rules of use”.(p: 270)

Widdowson favours the shift in language teaching from an emphasis on

sentence in isolation to the use of sentences in combinations. While Savignon

88
(1983) and others favoured the CA, Paulston (1984) and Howatt (1984) opined

that there is nothing new in CA. Howatt in 'A History of English Language

Teaching’ commented that there is no reason why communicative performance

cannot be promoted on the basis of traditional syllabus, provided the linguistic

material is suitably selected, presented and exercised. The CA focuses on the shift

from language form to language use and development.

The communicative approach in the Indian context is found to be difficult

to practice. Prema (2007) observes:

In India it is difficult to make use of CA as the learners and

teachers work in different social, economic, cultural and

educational conditions. (p: 34)

In a typical Indian academic situation, an average class is sixty to eighty

strong, where an overwhelming majority of learners are from the economically

and culturally weaker or disadvantageous sections of the society. There is a little

motivation to learn a foreign language, where the linguistic and communicative

competence of the average teacher is extremely poor. Also the library facilities

are inadequate and above all an ineffective examination system controls and

governs all teaching and learning. These are the practical difficulties to implement

the western theories in the Indian class room.

89
Syllabus Design

In principle, CLT focuses on

i) Language activities involving in real communication

ii) Carrying meaningful tasks through activities and

iii) To engage the learner in meaningful and authentic use of language

through activities.

The teaching of English through Communicative Language Teaching aims

at teaching English for communication and not “English through communication”.

In such a situation the responsibility of the teacher is to develop an atmosphere for

the learners to use the language. It is to be seen that the learner attains

communicative competence through constant use of language rather than linguistic

competence acquired through conscious learning. The term communicative

competence was coined by Dell Hymes in 1972. Noam Chomsky (1965) a

sociolinguist has made a strong claim that competence is to be associated

exclusively with the knowledge of the rules of grammar. Little Wood (1981)

defines communicative competence as:

The degree of mastery of a very considerable range of linguistic

meaning and appropriateness in language and the learner’s ability

to develop effective strategies for communicating in the second

language, (p: 244)

90
 Savignon observes that communicative competence (CC) is relative and not

absolute. She further adds that CC depends on the co-operation of all the

participants involved. Brown supporting Sauvignon’s observations, comments that

CC is a dynamic interpersonal contract that can only be examined by means of the

overt performance of two or more individuals in the process of negotiating

meaning.

Richards (1992) defines CC as:

The ability not only to apply the grammatical rules of a

language in order to form grammatically correct sentences but

also to know when and where to use these sentences (p: 62)

Communicative competence includes knowledge that speaker-hearer has of

what constitutes appropriate as well as correct language behaviour and also of

what constitutes effective language behavior in relation to particular communicative

rules.

Domeyll and Thurrell (1994) and Bhatia (1998) (Asseefa, p: 46) considered

learners interaction in the classroom as a ‘key factor’ in the process of acquiring

L2. It was also observed that the learner’s grammatical competence can be

developed through his/her interaction.

The above factor about the various approaches on language teaching has

helped the researcher to understand the classroom situation very well. The students

at the tertiary level, though from various socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, are

91
in the age group of 18 to 20 yrs. They are admitted into the engineering

programmes only after they have scored good marks in their higher secondary

examinations. They have studied English only as a subject up to their XII std. At

the tertiary level, as it has been stated early, the importance of English as a

language of communication is realised due to the academic and professional

needs. This realisation on the part of the learners makes the work of the researcher

less difficult. The students are made to understand that the global scenario of

opportunities demands a higher level of communication skills in using English.

Also to understand their subjects, to score good marks in their subjects, their

writing skills are to be improved. Since the tertiary level demands presentation

skills in various forms in various situations, the necessity for improving their

communication skills in both writing and speaking has increased on the part of the

students. The situation itself provides sufficient motivation and reason for the

students to improve their communication skills.

The studies reveal the fact that not much of research in writing has been

carried out in India using the Communicative Approach (CA). The works cited

here are presented in a chronological order.

Savignon, who is considered to be one of the pioneers in the field of

communicative strategies training, relaised that the mastery of mechanics of

language did not ensure the ability to use the language. In order to create

authenticity in teaching L2 in the classroom she conducted an experiment to study

92
the communicative and grammar skills of three groups of learners enrolled in an

introductory audio-lingual French course in the United States.

All the groups were given the same hours of instruction in the standard

programme. The first group known as the communicative competency group was

given one hour additionally per week for communicative tasks. The main idea

behind it was to get the meaning across through the tasks. The second group was

named as ‘Culture Group’ wherein one additional hour was allotted for ‘Culture

Lab’ programme. The third group was given an additional hour of exposure to

language lab to achieve grammatical competence.

The observations from the experiment brought out the following inferences:

• No significant difference in tests on grammatical competence.

• The cultural group scored higher than the other two in communicative tests.

• The learners who had received training in communicative skills were well

prepared to use their limited knowledge of French to their advantage.

Eapen, Lalitha.R (1979) conducted a study on ‘Towards Designing a Course in

Functional writing for Degree Classes’. She has, in her study, investigated the

different approaches, methods and classroom techniques used in composition

classes in degree courses in South India. Her work was an attempt to find an

efficient teaching approach to the teaching of composition to make writing

meaningful, relevant and an interesting process to learners.

93
 The specific functions such as writing as against those of speaking and

functional writing against creative writing was examined in the context of L2

learning. It was concluded that the approach presented and developed and the

materials produced improved communication. The learners were made aware of

linguistic forms to express communicative categories, and to distinguish between

polite and not so polite styles; formal and informal modes. The learners are:

i. Interested in achieving functional writing

ii. Able to realise the purpose of writing in their academic and professional lives.

Mohanraj (1980) conducted a study on ‘Teaching and Testing of the

Writing Skills at the Undergraduate Level’. In his study he has made a brief

review of ELT situation as it exists in India. He further emphasised the need for

continuing to teach writing skills at the tertiary level. He has recommended tools

in the form of grids for evaluation where each component could be assessed

separately.

The following inferences were presented as the outcome of the research:

i. Writing to be taught in a more systematic way.

ii. There is a need for special kind of material.

iii. The materials used in the past were found to be inadequate.

iv. New materials have been developed since 1975.

v. The materials used set tasks closer to life situations and motivated the
learners to write.

vi. The present system tends to be largely subjective and impressionistic.

94
Saraswathi.V (1981) conducted a study in applied linguists. ‘The study was

confined to the needs of B.A / B.Com / B.Sc learners of Madras University’. An

approach for a course design in English for Other Purposes (EOP) was presented

through the study for learners at the tertiary level in Tamil Nadu.

A material in EOP different from the existing material in the text on Business

English was developed. It was concluded that the design and approach yielded

good results. The main outcome of the study was that the classroom experiences

suggested that learners enjoy being treated as thinkers and problem solvers.

Soumini.P (1984) designed a course based on CA to ELT in the regional medium

high schools for IX and X standard learners. Science was used as content.

A proficiency test, a pre-test and post test and questionnaires were used for the study.

It was finally observed that activity- oriented language learning has to be reshaped by

designing suitable tasks so as to facilitate the development of communicative skills.

Gotelibeb, Margo (1985) studied the role of communicative competence in the

first and second language achievement. The study was aimed at examining the

communicative and academic proficiencies of first and second language learners

with the intention of improving current learner assessment practices.304

intermediate grade level learners in the third school district in Illinois were taken

as samples. The findings indicated that development of entry and exit criteria for

educational programmes should rest on both theoretical research and classroom

practice.

95
Jallaluddin.K (1985) conducted ‘A study of the Course Book, Communication

Skills in English, introduced by Osmania University for FirstYear Degree

Learners’. He has examined different types of approaches in comparison with the

communicative approach. His study concluded that Communicative Approach was

more effective than the existing methods of approach to ELT.

Bose, Navaneethakrishna.M (1985) carried out a research on ‘Learning in

Structural and Communicative Classes at the Primary level’. His study aimed at

using CA along with Structural Approach (SA) in ELT at the primary level. The

study showed that CA would also be used at the primary level based on the

structures of English language. This contradicted the general opinion that CA can

be adopted only after a certain level of language skill has been attained.

Deepa Reddy (1986) conducted a study on ‘The Role of Teacher in the Teaching

of Writing at the College Level’. She aimed at presenting the salient features of

the traditional way of teaching composition and the new methods. Also she made

an attempt to find out, through a questionnaire, how well informed the lecturers

are about the new insights that research in writing has provided in the last two

decades. The main objective of the study was to clarify issues, at a theoretical

level, so that the teachers could better understand their role in the teaching of

writing at the college level.

Buch, Anitha (1989) conducted a study to develop the ability of Communicative

Skills in learners who were inhibited from using CS. The study was carried out to

96
find out whether the proposed activities are teachable in the classroom situation

and whether they contribute to the development of CS. A 14-day pilot programme

was carried out at Gujarat Land Society Institute of English (GLSIE), Ahmedabad.

The use of mother tongue was allowed and encouraged at the initial stages.

A positive change was observed towards the end of the programme. It meant that

the strategy helped the learners to participate in the TL communicative situation

effectively.

Baskar Nair.P (1991) conducted a study on ‘Writing in a Second Language:

APedagogic, Perspective on the Interactive Processes in Language Structuring and

Composition’. The study was set with the assumption that the nature and the

problem related to learning writing in L2 or a foreign language can be fully

understood only if it is studied in relation to second language acquisition of which

writing is a part. He argued that the reason for failures of a learner to master the

TL in and outside the classroom still remains unanswered. The study perceived the

intricate relationships existing among culture, cognition and language on the one

hand, and between thought and language on the other. It was also argued that a

society does not teach its language to its new-boms in terms of the alphabet,

pronunciation, structures and vocabulary but by showing the child ‘how to wean'

through the use of the meaningful units in the language. The study was primarily

an elucidation of the different aspects of the centrality of meaning and the

meaningful units in language acquisition and language pedagogy. The study

97
intended to serve as a fitting challenge to the existing practice of importing

fragmentary theories from acquisition rich first language environments for use in

the acquisition poor second or foreign language contexts and for writing

instruction in such contexts.

Priscilla, Sumalini (1993) studied a communieational approach to the teaching of

vocabulary at the intermediate level. In her study, she attempted to focus on

semantics, which is a neglected area in our teaching / learning scheme. She concludes

by stating that given an improved awareness about effective learning of vocabulary,

the ESL teachers will be able to do better justice to their vocabulary teaching.

Rao, Radika.T (1996) carried out a study on “Developing Writing Skills in L2

using the LI Abilities in a Bilingual Methodology”. The study was an alternative

teaching strategy to develop L2 writing abilities in the mother tongue medium

learners’. The study was based on the assumption that the nature of writing in L2

and the problems related to its teaching and learning can be understood if it is

studied in relation to L2 acquisition.

The aim of the study was to enable secondary level learners form the

Mother Tongue (MT) background to write effectively in English using appropriate

cohesive devices. The bi-lingual study consisted of a pre-test, training stage and a

post-test. The results showed that the learners are able to perform relatively better

in their writing skills in English. This was reinforced by sustained training

sessions to achieve the desired outcome. To conclude, the bilingual methodology

98
proposed in the study also supported the contention that L2 writing skills of a vast

number of MT medium learners can be developed successfully by harnessing their

LI writing abilities.

Sushma, Chaturvedi (1999) explored group dynamics through communicative

tasks in a secondary classroom based on her experiences in teaching English at the

secondary level. One of the techniques used in the study was dividing the class

into groups and involving the learners into task based activities. One thing implicit

in her argument was the belief that different kinds of strategies resulted in

differential opportunities for communication and negotiation of meaning. The

study was conducted in one class of IX standard in a CBSE school where CLT

was just introduced. Although the entire class was involved in all the tasks the data

was collected from three identical groups, one homogeneous, one homogeneous

not so articulate group and one heterogeneous group. The study revealed that the

tasks influenced the quality and quantity of interaction more than grouping.

However, the influence of group characteristics and grouping influenced turn

taking and negotiation of meaning and hence the interaction to some extent.

The findings of the study have implications for materials production, teacher

training, learner training and ELT research.

Rafik Ali Mohamed Al-Shamiry (2000) undertook a study on ‘YemeniLeamers’

Oral Communicative Competence in English at the Tertiary Level’. In his study,

he has made an attempt to identify the nature of problems faced by Yemeni

99
learners in communicating with competent native speakers in English. He opined

that the traditional method of intensive vocabulary and grammar teaching at the

tertiary level does not help really the learners in actual oral communication. His

study focused on the nature of problems and reasons for failure of the Yemeni

learners in oral communication. For the study, a detailed questionnaire was

administered to the teachers and learners. The study followed the usual pilot study

format. It was found that the learners’ lack of communicative strategies is the

major factor that adversely affected the learners’ ability to communicate.

Assefa, Zern Tedla (2007) explored ‘Issues in Teaching Expository WritingSkills

to the Students at Addis Ababa University’, Ethiopia’.The students of Addis

Ababa University were taken as samples. A pilot study programme followed by a

questionnaire was used as the tool for conducting of the study.The study revealed

the lacunae in the learners’ ability to master their writing skills and suitable

remedial measures were suggested.

Overview of the Review of Related Literature:

The review has revealed that a few studies have been taken up in the field

of CA in ELT. The review helps the researcher in framing the objectives and

hypotheses of the study. The method of investigation has been designed based on

the light thrown by related studies. Moreover, these works have given the

investigator an idea about communication abilities and communicative strategies.

100
Conclusion

The second chapter, in a detailed manner presents the arguments in

favour of developing writing skills for developing other three skills of language

learning. The methods and approaches for learning a language are presented for a

better understanding of the process of language learning. The review of related

research works has been presented for a better understanding of the work.

Depending on the need of the students, the teaching modules are planned

by the researcher. The regular class hours, have been engaged by the researcher

for teaching the modules designed for the purpose. An entry test has been

conducted as a part of the pre-assessment. The exit test at the end of teaching the

modules has been conducted to evaluate the performance of the students.

The project’s execution and findings are dealt with in detail in the following

chapters.

101
 Works Cited

Arapoff, A.N. Writing and Reasoning. Review of Education Research, vol. 4, no.

54, 1984.

Byrne, D. Teaching writing skills. London: Longman House, 1979.

________Teaching writing skills - A Handbookfor Language

Teacher. London: London House, 1988.

Byram, M. Ed. Routledge Encyclopedia of Language Teaching and Learning.

London: Rout ledge, 2004.

Canale, M. and Swan. M. “Theoretical Bases of Communicative Approaches to

Second Language Teaching And Testing”. Journal of Applied Linguistics.

vol 1, no.l, 1980.

Celce Murcia.M. Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. Los

Angeles: Newbury House, 1991.

Crowley, S. and Redman, G. “Why Teaching Writing?”, College Composition and

Communication, vol. 3, no. 26, 1975.

Dubey, M. Evolving a critical strategy for Teaching Written Communication at

the Tertiary Level. PhD Dissertation, Hydrabad: CIEFL, 199.

Domyei, Z. and Scott, M.L. “Communication Strategies in Second Language

Definitions and Taxonomies”. Language Learning, vol. 1, no. 47, 1997.

102
Emig, J. “Writing as a mode of learning”. College Composition and Communication.

vol. 2, no. 28, 1977.

______ , J. “Non Magical Thinking: Presenting writing Developmentally in

Schools”. C.Frederisken and J.Dominic(ed). Writing process Development

and Communication. Hilldale: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1981.

Flower, L. and Hayes, J.R. “A cognitive Process theory of writing”. College

Composition, vol. 32,1981.

Harris, J. Introducing writing. London: Clays Ltd., 1993.

Harris ton, M. “The winds of change: Thomas khun and the Revolution in the teaching

of writing”. College Composition and Communication, vol. 1, no. 33,1982.

Hedge, T. Writing. Oxford: Oxford University press, 1988.

Hithesh, D.Raviya. “Rethinking concerns of English language Education in India”,

University News. Vol. 45, no.40, 2002.

Howatt, A.P. A History of English Language Teaching. London: Oxford

University Press, 1984.

Hyland, K. Second language writing. Cambridge: Cambridge university press, 2003.

_______ , “Genre - based pedagogies. A Special Response to Process”. Journal

of Second Language writing. Vol.l, no. 12, 2003

Hymes, D. “On Communicative Competence”. J.B.Pride and Homes. Eds, Social

Linguistics. Harmonds Worth: Penguin,!972.

103
Johnson, K. Communicative Syllabus Design and Methodology. Oxford: Pergamon

Press, 1982.

Kellog.R. The Psychology of Writing. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.

Lee. I and Lee, M., “Facilitating Writing in Language Classroom”. Guidelines. 1972.

Littlewood, W.T. Communicative Language Teaching. An Introduction.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981.

Lorch, S. Basic writing. A practical Approach. Cambridge: Winthrop Publishers, 1981.

Me Leod. “Some Thoughts about Feelings: The Affective Domain and the Writing

Process”. College Composition and Communication, vol. 4, no. 38, 1987.

Macquire M.H. and Greaves B. “Speaking Personalities in Primary School Children’s

L2 writing”. TESOL Quarterly, vol. 4, no. 35,2001.

Murray. “Write before writing”. College Composition and Communication, no. 29,1978.

______ , Learning by Teaching: Selected Articles on writing and teaching. Ports

mouth: Heinemann, NCTE Documents, 1982.

Nunan, D. Syllabus Design. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.

O’Malley et al. “Learning strategy application with students of English as a Second

Language”. TESOL Quarterly, 1985.

Oxford, R. Language learning strategies: what Every Teacher should Know. New

York: New Bom House Publishers, 1990.

104
Prema E. Significance ofNon-Literary Materials in Developing Communicative Skills

Among Tertiary Level Second Language Learners. Ph.D Dissertation. Madurai:

MK University, 2007.

Richards, J.C. et al. A Dictionary of Applied Lingidstics. London: Richard Clay

Ltd., 1985.

Richards, J.C. and Rodgers, T.S. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

Rivers, W.M. A practical Guide to the Teaching of English as a Second or Foreign

language. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1978.

______, Teaching Foreign Language Skills. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press,

1981.

Runin, R. “Study of Cognitive Process in Second Language Learning”. Applied

Linguistics, vol. 11, 1981.

Scardamalia, M. and Bereiter. C. “The Philosophy of Composition”. Harvard

Educational Review. No. 49,1979.

Shanghnessy, M.P. “Some Needed Research on writing”. College Composition and

Communication, vol.28, 1977.

Stem, H.H. Fundamental Concepts ofLanguage Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University

Press, 1983.

105
Sommer, R.F. Teaching writing to Adults: strategies and concepts for improving

learner performance. London: Jossey Brass Publishers, 1989.

Scardamalia. M,Bereiter.C. “The Philosophy of Composition”. Harward Educational

Review, no. 49,1979.

Suganya Kumari. Kamala K., “A Linguistic Assessment of the writing skills of

Graduate Students in English Composition”. PhD Dissertation. Coimbatore:

Bharathiar University, 2005.

Tedla, Zem, Asseefa. “Exploring Issues in teaching Expository Writing Skills at

the Undergraduate Level at the Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia”. PhD

Dissertation. Hyderabad: CIEFL, 2007.

Turk, C and Kirkman, J. Effective Writing. London: E and F.N.Spon, 1989

Ur, P. A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press, 1996.

Venkatewaran, S. Principals of Teaching English. New Delhi: Hindustan Printers,

1995.

Widdoson, H.G. Teaching Language as Communication. Oxford: Oxford University

Press, 1979.

White, R.T. Writing Advanced. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987.

White, R.and Arndt. Process Writing. London: Longman, 1991

106