Developing Language Scaffolding Materials for Explanation Texts: An Idea for Teaching Intermediate Writing Skills

Two key questions that writing teachers usually ask are about the necessity to focus on linguistic form and when this kind of language activity occurs in writing tasks. The answers to these questions are language activities are central to genre-oriented writing classes and language exercises are a staple of ESL writing instruction and most teachers acknowledge that language proficiency can seriously frustrate their L2 students' attempts to create effective texts. Moreover, despite variations in teaching practices, there is a strong case for providing learners with the linguistic and rhetorical resources they need to express themselves at the point they need them: when they are beginning to draft, especially disadvantaging weaker learners. This paper aims at discussing the development of language scaffolding materials in the writing activity which is based on the genre-based approach. "Scaffolding" in this case is the activity to provide any kind of support for students while they are establishing their understanding of a text and their linguistic competence to create the text. The materials provide input, tasks, and instruction that can be used to encourage and as well as to challenge students.