Providing opportunities for spoken communication in the classroom is

often simpler than doing so for writing. Writing is frequently treated as a

homework task, which is unfortunate because writing—particularly
communicative writing—can significantly contribute to the classroom
experience.
1. Definition:
Written communicative activities refer to pedagogical tasks designed to
enhance students' ability to express their ideas and convey meaning
effectively through writing. These activities prioritize the authentic use of
language, encouraging students to engage with real-world writing
scenarios. By focusing on communication rather than mere grammatical
correctness, these activities help learners understand the importance of
clarity, coherence, and context in their written expression. The goal is to
prepare students for effective communication in various settings, whether
personal, academic, or professional.
2. Types of Written Communicative Activities:
* Relaying instructions:
- Making models: this technique involves hands-on learning, allowing
students to visually and physically engage with the material before
articulating their understanding through written instructions.
- Giving directions: is an effective technique within the broader
framework of relaying instructions in written communicative activities. By
having students write directions that their peers must follow, educators
can foster clarity in communication, enhance critical thinking skills, and
promote collaborative learning experiences. This technique not only
improves students’ writing abilities but also prepares them for effective
communication in various contexts, ultimately contributing to their overall
language proficiency and confidence.
- Writing commands: This technique is an activity where students
compose clear and direct commands for their classmates to follow.
* Writing reports and advertisements
- The news broadcast: is an engaging classroom activity where students
individually write news items on pieces of paper, which are then collected
and combined by their peers to create a complete news broadcast.
- The tourist brochure: students create informative and persuasive
brochures designed to promote a specific location, event, or attraction
from their own ideas in the first stage and after collecting more
information from their friends.
- The advertisement: students are required to select a product and write
an advertisement or they can be given a period of time to design the
artwork for their text instead. Work in groups.
* Co- operative writing
- The fairy story: students are divided into equal groups and start by
writing the opening sentence of a story: "Once upon a time there was a
beautiful princess who lived in a large castle at the edge of a forest..." They
then pass their paper to the left, adding the next sentence to the new
story in front of them. This continues until all papers have circulated, at
which point students write the second-to-last sentence and return the
papers to their original authors to add a concluding sentence. Finally,
students share their completed fairy tales with the class.
If teachers don’t want a fairy story, they might give other original
sentences to the class.
- Story reconstruction: students first write 2 sentences about pictures
they have seen and then work in groups, collecting these sentences from
other members to construct a narrative.
- The word processor: students are asked to complete a written task- the
writing of a story, a letter,... . Students do it on their own books or with a
word processor.
* Exchanging letters
- Writing messages: students write messages and send them to their
classmates to reply.
Ex:
The original messages:
To Jennie,
What do you usually do on the weekends?
From Jisoo
And the reply:
To Jisoo,
I usually visit my grandparents with my parents on the weekends.
Sometimes, I go to the park with my lovely dog.
From Jennie.
- The agony column: students write letters to the agony column- the part
of a magazine or newspaper where letters from readers about their
personal problems are printed, together with advice about how to deal
with them. = Students invent problems and help each other solve
problems.
- The complaining customer: students work in groups, write complaining
letters about goods they have just bought through advertisements. Then
they pass these letters to other groups, other groups will decide what to
do about these problems and then pass again to the original groups.
- The job application: students read a job advertisement and write
attractive applications. They then work in small groups to evaluate letters
(not written by their group) by scoring them from 0 to 5 based on
suitability. The group selects the winning applicant and writes two letters:
one inviting the successful applicant to a meeting and another notifying
the unsuccessful ones. The winning letters are shared with the class for
feedback, making this a great writing exercise for intermediate and
advanced students.
* Writing journals
student journals, where students can freely write about various topics,
including their thoughts on classes, personal experiences, or stories.
Regular journal writing encourages frequent writing practice, but teachers
must decide how to handle them. It's recommended that teachers respond
to the content rather than correcting language errors, engaging with the
students' ideas in a conversational way. This fosters individual connection
and helps teachers better understand their students.
3. Principles:
- Meaningful Communication: The focus should be on conveying ideas
and meaning rather than just on grammatical correctness.
- Real-World Relevance: Activities should reflect authentic contexts and
purposes to increase engagement and motivation.
- Integration of Skills: Written activities should connect with other
language skills (reading, speaking, listening) to provide a holistic learning
experience.
- Feedback and Revision: Providing constructive feedback is crucial for
students to improve their writing skills, emphasizing that writing is a
process involving drafting and revising.
- Variety in Genres: Exposure to different writing styles and genres helps
students understand the conventions and expectations of each.
4. Implementation Strategies:
- Use of Authentic Materials:
Incorporate real texts (e.g., newspapers, blogs) into lessons to enhance
relevance and applicability.
- Collaborative Group Work:
 Facilitate pair or group activities where students brainstorm, draft, and
revise together, enhancing peer interaction and support.
- Role-Play Exercises:
Design scenarios that require students to write from different
perspectives, promoting creativity and empathy in writing.
- Structured Feedback Sessions:
Create opportunities for peer and teacher feedback, focusing on both
content and language use. Implement revision workshops for students to
improve their drafts based on feedback.
- Reflective Practices:
Encourage students to maintain journals where they reflect on their
writing processes, strategies used, and learning outcomes. Facilitate
discussions about what works well and what can be improved.
5. Goals:
- Develop Writing Competence: Improve students' ability to write
clearly, coherently, and appropriately for different contexts and audiences.
- Enhance Critical Thinking: Encourage students to think critically about
their writing choices and the effectiveness of their communication.
- Foster Independence: Promote self-directed learning by encouraging
students to reflect on their writing processes and take responsibility for
their improvements.
6. Assessment:
- Holistic Assessment: Evaluate not only the final product but also the
writing process, including planning, drafting, revising, and reflecting.
- Formative and Summative Evaluation: Use both types of assessment to
guide instruction and provide feedback. Formative assessments can be
ongoing throughout the writing process, while summative assessments
can evaluate completed work.
7. Challenges and solutions:
Implementing written communicative activities may present several
challenges.

Challenges Solutions

Limited Language Proficiency: Students Provide Scaffolding: Offer structured

may struggle to express their ideas clearly support through sentence starters,
due to limited vocabulary or grammatical vocabulary lists, or grammar guides to help
knowledge, leading to frustration or students express themselves more
incomplete communication. confidently.
Fear of Making Mistakes: Students may Create a Safe Environment for Feedback:
hesitate to write freely due to fear of making Encourage a positive classroom culture
errors, which can hinder creativity and where mistakes are viewed as opportunities
fluency. for learning. Use constructive feedback to
focus on improvement rather than criticism.

Lack of Engagement: If the writing activities Make Activities Relevant: Design tasks that
do not seem relevant to students' real-life are connected to students’ interests and
experiences or interests, they may feel real-world contexts. This makes the
disengaged or unmotivated. activities more engaging and motivates
them to participate actively.

Time Constraints: Writing activities, Balance Time with Shorter Tasks: Use a
especially those involving drafting and mix of short writing tasks that can be
revising, can be time-consuming, which completed within class time, along with
might be difficult to manage in a busy longer assignments for homework or
curriculum. projects. This helps manage time effectively
while still allowing practice.

Unequal Participation: Some students may Encourage Collaboration and Equal

dominate group writing activities, while Participation: Use structured group
others might not contribute as much, activities where each student has a clear
limiting the benefits of collaboration. role in the writing process to ensure
everyone contributes equally. Peer review
activities can also encourage more active
participation.