Image 3: Students discussing the Writing Process
When we first discussed writing with students in Spanish class, there were a few common reactions. Strong writers in English felt frustrated by limited literacy in a new language. Others seemed reluctant to learn and improve their writing skills, doubting their ability to become writers in a foreign language. Other students did not feel any connection to writing and perceive it as ‘long and boring.’ Given this wide range of interest and ability, process writing and a workshop approach allowed teachers to focus on a variety of students’ needs.
As the students of Spanish became more familiar with the process approach to writing, they were reminded to consider their particular challenge or focus for each step. One student reflected: “I need to include the big ideas from my planning stage into my draft. This is the first draft so it does not need to be perfect...” Peer revising and editing tools helped students to focus on a particular language feature or one aspect of writing, which allowed students to move forward when they were ready. Over time, students understood their own writing process: revising their own work before conferring with the teacher, gaining independence and developing as writers.
Writing Workshop/Taller de escritura
To build on students’ background knowledge and incorporate best practices in literacy instruction, we also adapted the writing workshop model to Spanish class. Several components of this structured approach to individualizing student writing instruction were particularly useful in the world language context.
Mini lessons: Starting classes with a short mini lesson allowed us to focus on different skills, one at a time, such as using connectors in Spanish, or writing effective leads for introductions. Mini-lessons also included culture by discussing how writing style changes and how organization may differ across languages. Building on a teaching point, the teacher could differentiate depending on individual student needs.
Mentor texts: Using mentor texts connected writing to another language skill: reading. We used mentor texts to emphasize the value of reading what others write and seeing how words and ideas are put together. Mentor texts were usually created by the teacher, especially for the lower proficiency levels, to connect to the unit topics we were discussing. For the higher levels, the teacher selected published texts, or guided students to read and select their own mentor texts.
Guided practice: Guided practice allowed the teacher to differentiate for both writing and language proficiency by grouping students depending on their needs or having different students look at a specific point to practice or review. The teacher could build basic language or writing skills for some students, while stronger writers and more proficient speakers could practice extension activities such as experimenting with a different voice.
Conferring: Conferring was perhaps the most powerful tool added to the Spanish class, providing valuable class time for teachers to work one-to-one with students. Conferences were individualized, and the use of Spanish varied depending on the student’s level of proficiency. Conferring allowed for formative assessment when the teacher offered specific, personalized feedback. When conferring with students, the teacher checked understanding
use of the target language in speaking and writing. Feedback helped to move the learner forward in language development while improving both the content and process of student writing.
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