The seventeenth Journal Club Session organized by BRAC Institute of Languages (BIL) was held on November 24, 2016, at the Writing Centre. The speakers of the event, Ms. Nipa Nasrin and Ms. Sumaiya Jamal, discussed the key points of the chapter ‘Writing as Design’ from Richard Kern’s book Literacy and Language Teaching.
In this chapter, Kern focuses on the importance of teaching writing, which is a skill he deems crucial for students as it allows more diversity of linguistic choices and individuality. The author also mentions that writing is dependent on different factors such as physical situation, purpose, audience, topic, roles, familiarity, as well as immediate need and future contexts. Furthermore, the author talks about three different approaches for teaching writing to students including product-based approach, process-based approach, and genre-based approach.
During the session, the speakers highlighted the essential characteristics of the different approaches mentioned by the author. They also discussed the criticisms of these approaches and the effectiveness of each approach at various developmental stages of learners. The participants were encouraged to reflect and share their own practical experiences regarding the effectiveness and drawbacks of the different types of approaches. The speakers concluded their session by mentioning some limitations of the article and provided suggestions regarding it.
Overall, the session was interactive, informative and engaging for the faculty members of BIL. It was further enriched by the lively discussion and input from the participants’ own practical teaching experiences and reflections.