Event Date: 19th March 2022

Abstract:

There are numerous resources available for teachers to teach writing skills at the intermediate and advanced levels. However, there seem to be fewer resources for teaching the basics of writing to lower-level students.

Writing can be challenging for English language learners of any level for a number of reasons. However, lower-level learners face some challenges that they need to overcome in order to write more easily at higher levels.

In this webinar, we begin by examining a few of these reasons. Participants then look at some samples of students’ writing and, using the chat feature, identify some issues that lower-level learners may have. Finally, we discuss some strategies for dealing with these issues in the language classroom. In the process, participants also practice their own writing skills.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Lynn W. Zimmerman is Professor Emerita of Education from Purdue University. She has a PhD in Curriculum & Teaching with a concentration in the Cultural Foundations of Education from UNCG; a Master’s in TESOL from Shenandoah University; and a Master’s in Information & Library Science from UNC Chapel Hill.

She has lived and worked in the US, Poland, Albania, Belarus, Moldova, Russia, Chad, and Uzbekistan. She recently served as a Virtual English Language Specialist in Pakistan. She began in TEFL as a Peace Corp Volunteer. Since then, she has served as a Fulbright Scholar three times. She also has been an English Language Fellow and is a three-time English Language Specialist, US State Department programs.

Currently, she does a variety of online lesson development and teaching, as well as works a few hours a week as a Professional Writing Tutor at a local community college.