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=Welcome to ID5128*=


 * Introduction to EFL Writing 2008 wiki (April 21-July 11, 2008)**


 * Participants**: Intermediate engineering and basic sciences students, ages 18-22, in Caracas, Venezuela.
 * Facilitator**: Prof. Bertha Leiva, office EGE 209-B, phone: 906 3792
 * Schedule**: Tuesdays 11:30-1:30 at CB1-lab, first floor.

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Writing is a personal and challenging process. In this course we will work on developing our own process through a variety of assignments which may include autobiographical pieces, reflections, CVs, letters of recommendation, statement of purpose, university application forms, essays or even the creation of a video or slide show. You will work in small workshop groups to help one another improve your writing. Ideas for your assignments may come from discussions we have as we read given texts or any other source we deem appropriate. In order to get a top grade in this class, you must be actively involved by participating in class/online discussions, openly sharing your writing with your peers, and respectfully helping your classmates improve their own writing. Your writing and that of your peers are the true materials of this class.

The course has been designed for Universidad Simon Bolivar students who already have a certain knowledge of the English language and need to improve their writing skills. You will progresively develop your writing from the basic composition of a paragraph to longer pieces with an introduction, body and conclusion as well as summaries that reflect your capacity to understand, synthesize and present information. You will hopefully learn to write by writing extensively and revising constructively the writing of peers.

GENERAL OBJECTIVES:
1. To recognize yourself as a writer, able of trying several syles and capable of improving your writing through the process of peer feedback, multiple drafts and teacher conferences. 2. To have frequent opportunities to write extensively in English through formal and informal writing assignments. 3. To focus writing as a way of generating and organizing ideas on a given topic. 4. To practice writing in a collaborative social environment where the key element is authentic communication with a real audience. 5. To place yourself in the role of a critical reader. 6. To learn to learn by taking your learning process in your hands.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:
1. To use basic elements to write and develop a coherent paragraph. 2. To follow steps to build a complete and cohesive text. 3. To express yourself in a clear and coherent way, either orally or in writing. 4. To review your work and edit it to improve its form and/or content. 5. To give constructive and effective feedback to peers when evaluating their work. 6. To use several online tools to share your work with the class and a larger audience.

METHODOLOGY
This course follows the principles of sociocultural theory whereby learners have opportunities to work collaboratively and exchange ideas with each other, the teacher and perhaps a wider audience to develop linguistically and communicatively out of social interaction. Although writing will be the main skill to practice, there will also be the integration of reading, listening and speaking as input for composing written text. The teacher will mostly be a facilitator who will create learning scenarios and guide participants through the course. Text correction will be generally addressed through self, peer and group review. There will be individual student-teacher consultation conferences several times during the term. Students are expected to write weekly reflective diaries on their process of becoming better writers and language learners. Some of the content will be developed as the term progresses depending on the needs and interests of participants who may want to design course activities themselves.

Getting Started:
Username and Password
 * Our wiki can be seen by everyone, but only ID5128 participants can edit or create new pages.
 * Click the [|JOIN THIS SPACE] in the top left sidebar. After your registration has been approved, you will click the **SIGN IN** link in the top right corner of this page and enter your username and password from there onwards. Try to use the same email account, username and password when you sign up in our online spaces.
 * Check out our tutorial page in the sidebar to join in our fun. Participants will have to create new pages as a means to share their work with the rest of the group and possible visitors, as well as to write their reflections on the process of becoming better writers.

Please click on the links in the sidebar to view our weekly materials/activities and participant pages. Thank you!


 * * This Wiki course format follows Tesol-Electronic Village Online Workshop designs . **