ESL Letter Writing Exercise

Engaging ESL students in real-life writing situations will reinforce their belief in the practical value of writing.

Jan 26, 2007

Unlike assigning personal essays or expository reports, having ESL students write letters or emails that may get a response supports the aim of the writing itself.

Writing letters is one of the easiest ways for ESL students to experience a practical result of their writing efforts. It is not uncommon for ESL teachers to hear the common refrain from students that in-class writing exercises and essay assignments have no long-term practical value for their future careers and lives. And to be sure, it is a difficult argument to counteract.

In reality, few working professionals outside the world of academia experience the knuckle-whitening frustration of creating the ideal five-paragraph essay, and if some ESL students are convinced that it will not be useful for them, ESL teachers may choose letter or email writing as an alternative strategy for passing along important writing themes such as organization, clarity, purpose, etc.

One idea would be to find out from your ESL students about some recent shopping or dining experiences they have had - whether positive or negative. Perhaps one of them had a very helpful and patient waiter or waitress at a local restaurant, or maybe someone tried to communicate with someone in a store and did not receive the kind of customer service they felt they deserved. Both examples provide wonderful opportunities for email or letter writing.

Having ESL students write honest letters of praise or criticism with the intention of actually sending the letters in hopes of a response will often increase each student's desire to make their meanings (and therefore their grammatical structures) as clear as possible.

Should there be any responses to these letters, the potential for in-class activities can be extraordinary. And by incorporating peer review exercises that allow classmates to comment on ideas such as tone, word choice, paragraph structure, etc., ESL teachers can motivate their students to aim for a level of clarity and purpose that may not be encouraged by a personal essay to be read solely for a grade.

Take a look at my blog and get some more ideas on the kinds of letters you might have students write in your ESL writing classes.

The copyright of the article ESL Letter Writing Exercise in English as a Second Language is owned by Marc Roberts. Permission to republish ESL Letter Writing Exercise in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.