TeachingEnglish: How to teach writing

Welcome to 'TeachingEnglish: How to teach writing'

Improve your learners' writing skills by exploring the sub skills that make good writers and ways of developing them in the classroom.

In this free 4-week online course, you will learn about the following:

• Understanding writing
• Engaging with writing – process writing
• Engaging with writing – preparing activities

How do I sign up for the course?

Please follow the steps below carefully to access this free training course.

IMPORTANT: If you are already logged in to your free TeachingEnglish account, we recommend that you log out and log in again.

Step 1: Log in to your existing TeachingEnglish account or create a free TeachingEnglish account.

You MUST be logged into your free TeachingEnglish account to access the course. Click or tap to Create a free account or log in to your existing account. 

Step 2: Enrol on your course

Click or tap the button below to enrol on this free course.

Having problems enrolling?

Please see our troubleshooting guide at the bottom of the page if you are having problems accessing the course.

How do I access the course after I have enrolled?

IMPORTANT: If you didn't log out of TeachingEnglish after your previous visit, do this first.

From your desktop or laptop computer

1. Log in to your free TeachingEnglish account.
2. If you have enrolled in the course, you will see 'MY PORTFOLIO' in the menu bar at the top of the page next to the Home button.
3. Move your mouse over MY PORTFOLIO to see the drop-down menu.
4. Click on ‘My courses’ to access your training.

From your mobile device

1. Log in to your free TeachingEnglish account.
2. Tap the three horizontal lines next to the home button to open the menu.
3. Below ‘Home’, you will see MY PORTFOLIO and ‘My courses’ below. Tap on MY PORTFOLIO if you don’t see ‘My courses’.
4. Tap on ‘My courses’ to access your training.

Having problems accessing the course?

Please see our troubleshooting guide at the bottom of the page if you are having problems accessing the course.

About the course

'TeachingEnglish: How to teach writing' is a free four-week self study training course, divided into three-hour modules. You can complete all four modules any time before 5th June. If you have completed the module 'Getting started' on another course with us, you don't have to repeat it.

Module 1: Understanding writing

This module compares different approaches to teaching writing and explores whether real world writing can be transferred to the classroom. You'll also learn to adapt writing activities for your learners.

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

- understand the process of gathering information and ideas, writing and editing a text
- identify whether writing activities follow a product- or a process-oriented model
- evaluate how what's written outside the classroom can be transferred to the classroom
- adapt writing activities to suit specific learner needs and context.

Module 2: Engaging with writing – process writing

his module provides a process writing framework for use with your learners. You'll also explore pre-writing techniques and ideas for drafting, editing and publishing written work.

By the end of the first unit of this module, you’ll be able to:

- understand and use a process writing framework
- identify appropriate pre-writing techniques
- recognise the importance of producing a draft as part of the writing process
- apply skills for reviewing, writing and editing
- generate ideas for publishing learners' written work.

Module 3: Engaging with writing – preparing activities

This module will help you recognise sub-skills that enable good writing, categorise writing activities that focus on accuracy and communication and plan effective classroom writing activities.

By the end of the first unit of this module, you’ll be able to:

- identify sub-skills that lead to good writing
- categorise writing activities in terms of their main focus - accuracy of language or communication of meaning
- recognise the value of focusing on context, audience and purpose when writing
- plan effective writing activities for use in the classroom.

Course format

This is a self-study course.  

Participant workbook

All course participants will receive a link to download a Participant Workbook, which they can use during the course to reflect on their learning and access additional resources.

Start dates and duration

The 12-hour course is open for self-study from 9th May 2023 and enrolment ends on 29th May. There are four modules and each module involves approximately three hours of study.

Community and forum

Interact with tutors and course participants in our vibrant course community. Join us in our community on Facebook to take part in live events, access extra content and discuss how to apply ideas from the course in your teaching.

Click or tap here to join the course community

Cost

Free

Certificates

For participants who successfully complete 100% of all tasks in the online exercises, there will be a downloadable certificate of completion at the end of the course.

Level of English required

Minimum CEFR B1

Support and troubleshooting

If you have signed up for this course and have problems accessing your learning, please make sure you are logged in, then click or tap the link below:

https://open.teachingenglish.org.uk/Home/MyProgrammes

If you are accessing from a mobile device, please see the following additional guidance:

• Accessing your online course on a mobile device (PDF)
• Accessing your online course on a mobile device (Video)
   

If you are still having problems accessing your course, please see the advice below:

I can't register for the course

Please make sure you have created a free TeachingEnglish account or that you are logged in to your existing account. If registration is available, you will see instructions for 'How do I register for this course?' at the top of this page. If registration is not available, you will see the message 'This course is not available for registration'.

I can't access the course. I am logged in to my account, but when I click or tap 'My courses' from MY PORTFOLIO I just go to my profile page

Check that you are not logged into your TeachingEnglish account on a different device or browser. Log out of your account on all devices and browsers, and log in again. Click or tap 'My courses' from MY PORTFOLIO. You should be taken to your training course. If you still can't access your course, log out, clear the cache on your browser and log in again.

I can't get my certificate

Certificates are available to participants who complete 100% of the course material. To access your certificate, go to the course platform where you have done your training. Click or tap 'My awards'. If you have completed 100% of the course, your certificate should be available to download.

The name on my certificate is wrong

On the course platform where you access your training, please use the 'Help' button to request a new certificate. Names on certificates are taken from your personal details in your free TeachingEnglish account. To change your name, click or tap on your name to edit your profile. Update the details on your profile page and save the new details.