Teaching Productive Skills to the Students: a secondary Level Scenario

a. 
Reinforcement Writing: It is a simple form where students are asked to write 
sentences using grammar they have recently learnt, write paragraphs or longer 
compositions to practice recently focused-on aspects of language. Students also can be 
asked to write a story about something that happened in the past (to practice past 
tenses), or to write a description of someone they know to use the character and 
physical description vocabulary. The aim of this phase is to give students opportunity to 
practice and remember new language they have learnt better. The act of writing these 
exercises makes them think about the new vocabulary or grammar. 

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b. 
Preparation Writing: 
When learning second language sometimes it is more 
useful to use writing as preparation for some other activities. J. Harmer suggests using 
preparation writing for example when students are asked to prepare discussion. Writing 
sentences “gives the students time to think up ideas rather than having to come up with 
instant fluent opinions, something that many, especially at lower level, find difficult and 
awkward.” (Harmer, 2004, 33) Another technique that Harmer suggests to use is for 
students to talk in groups to prepare their arguments. It is effective for students to make 
notes which they can use during their discussion. 
c. 
Activity Writing: 
Writing is frequently used with activities that focus on 
something else such as language practice, acting out or speaking. Activity writing is 
used with activities in which students are asked to write their dialogue before they act it 
out. It is helpful for students to plan and write the dialogue before they act it out. Other 
types are questionnaire type activities. Groups of students design a questionnaire and 
then they circulate around the class asking their colleagues the questions they have 
prepared. They write down the answers and later students report what they have found 
out. The aim of activity writing is to use writing to help students to perform other activity 
but “students need to be able to write to do these activities, but the activities do not 
teach students 
to write.” (Harmer, 2004, 33)