Effective Approaches to Improving Senior High School Students’EFL Writing Ability

【Abstract】Improving students’ writing ability is one of relatively weak links in English teaching and learning in senior high middle schools. This paper approaches this subject on improving students’ English writing ability from multiple angles and levels. Before beginning this paper， source texts of senior high school students have been surveyed and analyzed. In this paper， the author first presents the existing problems and then puts forward the corresponding solutions.

【Key words】English writing； existing problems； corresponding solutions

【作者簡介】齐永富（1982.3- ），男，汉族，枞阳人，池州市东至二中高中部，大学本科，一级教师，研究方向：英语课堂教学。

Writing is a very effective and convenient method for us to express our thoughts and exchange our emotions. For a foreign language learner， writing ability fully indicates how a foreign language learner has mastered the foreign language. To improve students’ writing ability has cost both teachers and students a large amount of time， but the result is not that satisfactory.

In order to help students score higher in examinations， it is inappropriate and futile to force students to do a large load of objective questions， such as multiple choices. And finally， we cannot really help students improve their ability to use English. In our practical teaching， the teachers should clarify the students’ aims of learning English. Learning English is not for examinations only. Instead， the teachers should work as a facilitator to help students strengthen their ability to use English to express their thoughts and communicate information and finally， teachers can help students improve their ability to use English on different occasions.

According to my survey and analysis of the students’ source texts， the author has found the following commonly existing problems：

I. Deficiency of English learners

Pronunciation， vocabulary and grammar are the three basic elements of a language. It is presupposed to master enough vocabulary if a language learner intends to fully and effectively express the thoughts. And it is our basic task to accurately understand the meanings of words including connation and denotation.

II. Negative interference of mother tongue

In the process of their foreign language acquisition， the language learners are devoid of a systematic cognitive and psychological training， thus they are negatively influenced by Chinese when they use English to express meanings and ideas. When they organize words and structure the whole passage， they conform to Chinese ways of thinking and expressing.

III. The need of a set of writing skills

There exist many differences in ways of thinking between Chinese and English， which can also be existent in writing techniques. Chinese writers tend to adopt a roundabout method to present their ideas in the writing while English writers prefer to present ideas directly at the beginning of the writing. And the students are not fully aware of these differences. As a result， their writing is poorly structured.

The corresponding solutions to the above-mentioned problems：

1. Students accumulating as much as possible in the daily learning

2. Removing the unfavorable influence of Chinese thinking patterns

3. The introduction of scientific and practical writing skills

Good writing achieves a clear purpose.

Good writing involves thoughtful revision.

Good thought is the essence of good writing.

Good writing， then， must achieve your intended purpose. If you want to write about how to make dumplings， your reader should get everything he or she needs to know about how to make dumplings， from the necessary ingredients to step by step instructions. If your purpose is to convey the sublime and soul-awakening beauty of the morning sun burst out of the horizon in misty Huangshan Mountain in Anhui Province， you should describe it in such a way that your readers should be able to visualize the scenery.

Learning and using English language is one of the important skills that students should master in the 21st century. And it is of great importance for students to develop and improve their ability to use English on different occasions， Writing is an integrated skill. There are several things that work to your advantage on your way to success in English writing as a non-native speaker. Teachers should solve this problem from a multi-dimensional perspective. And therefore， teachers can help students improve their listening， speaking， reading and writing ability. Finally， teachers can， to the best， help students improve their competence of using English.

References：

[1]朱巧蓮.高考英语写作[M].上海：上海教育出版社，2010.