This is a report on the intermediate level writing class of the Japanese Language Center for International Students of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies in which students get preparatory training for university studies.
The writing class aims to teach the writing of essays and research reports which students are expected to write at universities.
It is not easy for international students to pursue composing essays or writing research reports after practising basic writing. In order to bridge the gap between basic writing and academic subject writing, we have made some shifts in teaching of writing at an intermediate level as follows:
1) The goal of the intermediate writing class is to write expository essays which are focused mainly on clarity of discription, and critical essays based on argument. It is not enough to indicate a goal, but to instruct how to get to it. Therefore, we have taught them how to find ideas and put them appropriately on paper with unity, coherence and development, though teachers are usually to concerned mainly about grammatical accuracy in the teaching of writing.
2) In the Center, curriculum of Japanese is designed to integrate students' skills (reading, listening, speaking and writing). As for writing class, to perform the instruction effectively we devised some teaching method in terms of integrated approach. We use a model composition and some reading materials for reference, and let the students discuss the theme according to each point of instruction.
The significance of the class should be discussed further in the context of current demands for second language learning.