Creating an authentic ESL process writing lesson: making ‘brainstorming’ fun and meaningful / Anis Shaari

Hi everyone! This is to share with you some integrated activities I once conducted in my ESL class. Among others, one of the objectives of the lesson was to get the students to learn and apply the brainstorming process before they can establish an essay outline and later write an essay. As to have an authentic lesson, I chose the topic related to the current world phenomenon – the Palestine-Israel conflict. For the set induction, the lesson began with the lecturer showing the students a video of a poem recitation (Language skills involved: listening). The students were asked to jot down certain words or phrases that intrigued them which they might use later in their essay writing. They were also asked to take note of certain words which they had never heard before. Then, I asked them to share and discuss the words they have captured with their classmates (Language skills involved: speaking). Here, I explained the importance of ‘input and output’ in language learning.