Foreign Language Teaching Methods: Writing

Editing

Editing can be a part of the main writing activity or the post-writing sequence as a form of feedback from a peer or the instructor. Byrd (2003) describes several types of peer-editing that can be effectively implemented in any level of foreign language classroom:

• Classical editing: author reads paper; peers in small group take notes on content, organization, accuracy (both lexical and grammatical); discuss comments
• Silent editing: each partner reads quietly then gives feedback during debriefing session (with or without specific check-lists)
• Select editing: members of group get different colored pencils; each is responsible for one aspect of paper to give feedback on
• Post-teacher editing: teacher gives feedback; students work collaboratively in pairs making corrections and resolve any questions they may have about the instructor's comments (this seems to be the most satisfying for students and results in the least amount of hypercorrection)

In peer-editing, both the writer and the reader(s) have different responsibilities, as Byrd (2003) outlines:

Writer's Responsibilities	Reader's Responsibilities
Come to class with completed draft. Jot down your questions and/or concerns. Be open to suggestions. Decide if editor's comments are valid or not. Make changes you think are appropriate.	Pay attention to the draft. Make note of concerns the author has. Offer both positive and negative critiques. Discuss with the author concerns & praise. Realize that comments such as "liked it" are not helpful; be specific, honest & respectful.

Teacher feedback during the editing process should focus on both content and form, global and detailed information. Not everything needs to be corrected; focused attention will help students improve their writing more effectively. Share commonly used editing marks, such as:

angl.	Anglicisms, literal translation
con.	Logical connection between ideas/paragraphs/etc. missing
voc.	Questionable lexical choice
del.	Delete (word, idea, paragraph, etc.)
vt.	Verb tense

The process of editing does not have to center on one writing activity. Students do not have to re-write the same text in order to improve their writing. The learning process can and should take place over several writing assignments, over a long period of time, over the course of several semesters and years.