The fourth Reflective Journal (TLL)

Technology to Teach Writing

Writing is one of methods to express or deliver something besides speaking. Based on SLA, there are four major approaches to guide us in writing instruction; those are form-focused approach, process-focused approach, content-based approach and reader/audience-dominated approach. All the methods have different focus on their own approach. We can guess the approach easily from the name of approach itself. For example: form-focused approach focus on the form, so that’s why we are not confused to identify each approach. After knowing the focus by guessing the name, we can know deeper about the content of it.

The accuracy belongs to the form-focused approach because it focuses on grammatical and discourse structure. Emphasized on the pattern of the sentence, paragraph, topic in the sentence, and other kinds of pattern are the main focus on form in writing. The existence of technology helps the writer in writing for focusing the form by providing some website which is content of some grammatical and discourse structure guideline.

 If you focus on what’s your expression, your draft about something by using your brainstorming and communicate with authentic audience even you publish your writing, it means that you emphasis in the process of writing. It refers to what the writer writes, how the writer writes and the evaluation after writing. Accessing web database, electronic bibliography writes, composing with the word processor and networked peer response group are some of the example of using technology in process-focused approach.

Writing a science report or academic writing needs the high critical thinking. Of course it needs some literatures as the sources to make a good writing and rich of content. A good writing is supported by giving the data and proof to make sure that the writing is a valid writing. In this case, the technology supports the writer to look for some literatures because the internet connection can search the proof easily. Yet, there are so many data which is invalid. We have to be careful in looking at the proofs in the internet.

If a writer focuses on the readers, the result of the writing has to be the important thing for the writer. The readers are not only the individual person but also the community who has large number of members. Thus, the content and the form are very important. Publishing into media is a part of reader oriented. The media it self can be magazine, newspaper or through internet. So the technology really helps the writer in writing.