Every Student is a Writer (Part 1)

“O.K., guys. Now prepare your pen and paper. What you have to do now is that you write down an essay based on your own experience in learning English at this school. You need to write it on two pages. You have to submit your work as soon as the bell rings”, My English teacher instructed the assignment to us. Then, he sat down on the chair and started examining other classwork.

Every Student is a Writer (Part 1)
Ilustrasi (Foto: iStockPhoto)

Dr. Teguh Sulistyo, M.Pd*

 

“O.K., guys. Now prepare your pen and paper. What you have to do now is that you write down an essay based on your own experience in learning English at this school. You need to write it on two pages. You have to submit your work as soon as the bell rings”, My English teacher instructed the assignment to us. Then, he sat down on the chair and started examining other classwork.

 

I, and my classmates, of course, kept silent and wondered how to start writing, what to write. For 5 to 10 minutes, I ‘enjoyed’ my silence period – doing nothing except getting stuck to writing the first word.

 

“Come on, class. You must start to write unless you will run out of time." He reminded us since we ‘produced’ nothing on our paper. Being aware of limited time allocation, I had no idea to avoid semi- frustrated atmosphere. I forced myself to write whatever floated in my mind without realizing the mistakes or inappropriate expressions.

 

Unfortunately, by that time, my vocabulary was so limited. These conditions pushed me into a tremor shock. My teacher never taught me the nature of writing, the approaches to teaching writing, or the writing process. Thus, writing was something terrible for me. 

 

Somehow, I had to finish my essay as soon as possible. Neglecting the result of my writing, I finally finished my text by the bell rang. It offered me no chance to edit or revise my text. When I asked some of my classmates about their essays, they merely said with a cold expression that it was always hard to write a text.

 

The following week, my teacher distributed the essays. I got an 8.5 score with his comment: “Good. Thanks”.

I was so surprised to get that score without knowing anything concerning the weaknesses and strengths of my essay. Accordingly, I decided to do the same thing if I had to write in the future with the same atmosphere.

 

Being compared with my classmates’ scores, mine was at the average score writing. Also, I knew that some of my classmates did not know whether their essays were good as they knew little about writing.  

 

The illustration above happened to me when I was studying at Senior High School. The aim of teaching writing was score oriented. It obeyed the approaches and the process of writing activities. The teacher neglected the needs of students to activate their schemata related to the topic before they started to write a text.

 

Effectively, everybody learns to speak at least one language fluently, but few can write confidently. Why should this be so? One of the answers must be that writing requires some form of instruction. Writing must be mastered by students since it has power in everyday affairs.

 

There are expressions or ideas found everywhere to attract people to do the same thing as the writers’ opinions. It means that writing has power. Building students’ rhetorical awareness is a big problem to solve for anyone involved in the field of education.

 

In other words, how to make the slogan 'every student is a writer' drives teachers to the steps of teaching writing. It implies that every student must be able to produce written productions in daily affairs. Accordingly, they must understand the importance of writing activities, including the processes of writing and the awareness of rhetoric.

 

Getting stuck writing in any language may come from learners’ shortage of practice writing or insufficient support from teachers. Thus, the awareness of rhetoric power should be given to the students. The teachers may explain the writing power in daily affairs. The power of writing can be mirrored by the success of novels, books, or other kinds of writing products that lead the writers to the peak of fame or success.

 

As every writer uses the process differently, the teachers should teach them according to the student’s developmental writing stages. Every stage has its own characteristics, so the teachers should realize the approaches given to the students. ‘One fits all’ may not be implemented in teaching writing. Not all students of the same age or grade level write in similar ways. Thus, the teachers may prepare various process writing activities for the students.

 

To support and manage a writing process workshop, teachers should take time to ensure that students understand how the classroom structure and instructional activities work together. It is necessary to treat the students in the writing process instead of just paying attention to the score-oriented case.

 

The teachers, of course, play beneficial roles in building student self-confidence to express their minds in printed texts and make the slogan ‘every student is a writer’ come true. Last but not least, teachers should encourage them to the purposes and audiences of writing.

*Penulis adalah Dekan Fakultas Bahasa dan Sastra Universitas PGRI Kanjuruhan Malang dan anggota Dewan   Pengawas Perkumpulan Ilmuwan  Sosial Humaniora Indonesia (PISHI).

Tulisan ini disunting oleh Dr. Dewi Kencanawati, M.Pd. dosen Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Universitas Nusantara PGRI Kediri dan Ketua 5 PISHI