Ingles

Introduction
Writing (not simply copying and pasting information with a web browser and word processor) is inherently a CREATIVE act. That process therefore has inherent, creative and ideological value...The more we blog, the more we reflect, the more we think and write about learning and our practices as professional educators, the smarter we're all going to get Dr. Stephen Krashen, EmeritusProfessor at the University of Southern California, confirms this conclusion is supported by educational research.
Lets see how does writing is related with cognitive development.







Krashen's (1984) early work in this field draws the distinction between writing competence and writing performance. Competence is the largely sub-conscious, abstract knowledge of what constitutes goodprose. Competence is acquired for the most part through reading.§§ Performance, on the other hand, refers to the conscious application of strategies or rules that have been learned and practised. The distinction between competence and performance in writing parallels that between acquisition and learning in second language development.
In his later work Krashen (2003) investigates how writing cancontribute to cognitive development. He summarizes research that shows how various writing activities, in particular note-taking and summary writing, are significant aids to learning §§.
More on writing
Krashen claims that writing competence, "the feel for what good writing looks like", arises through reading. Writing practice has no impact on competence. However, the quality of the learner'swritten end product, a school composition for example, can indeed be influenced by practice and the grammar/usage rules that the student has learned. Krashen devotes much attention to the writing strategies that have been found to be effective in improving writing quality. These include flexible planning, frequent revision, and postponement of editing.
Krashen states further that practice, i.e.,regular writing, correlates with creativity. It is wrong to believe that ideas and inspiration must precede writing; on the contrary, these often result from regular writing and the periods of incubation in between. When we write down ideas, the ideas become concrete. They are then more readily available for inspection and modification.

Comments

The important insight from Krashen's work is thatneither competence nor performance is alone sufficient in the production of a good piece of writing. Extensive reading, regular writing practice and the acquisition of writing skills and strategies are all necessary to ensure a strong end product.

More comments on writing

Performance strategies, such as frequent revision and the delaying of editing, form part of the learner-centered approachto the development of writing ability commonly known as Process Writing. This approach became very popular in the latter decades of the twentieth century, replacing skills and rules-based writing instruction that had formerly dominated. Process writing, as it is practised in some schools, has come under fire recently. It has been criticised for the emphasis on process at the expense of product, andfor the assumption that writing skills will be acquired intuitively. Some critics are concerned that expository writing is neglected in favour of narrative or fictional writing. Other criticism focuses on problems with peer response, an important stage of process writing.

Implications for mainstream teachers

Students who take notes in class and make summaries learn more than those who donot. Teachers should therefore consider requiring students to have a notebook and pencil at the ready in every lesson. ESL students can be encouraged to use their own language in noting down information and ideas. Teachers may also wish, from time to time, to have the students write a short paragraph summarizing the essential content of the lesson or section of it. Again, in the case of ESL...