A Project-based Focused Freewriting Approach to Teach Writing

Abstract

Student-center approach has prevailed in educational sector in the new era, as more and more educators emphasize the importance of students’ voice and their engagement in classroom in facilitating learning achievement. One of the most popular approaches that advocate the student-center theory is the project-based approach, which has been applied in various disciplines including language teaching. Although various researches have analyzed PBL in foreign language classes, fewer are concentrated on writing course, as writing is normally deemed as a personal task and confined to personal expression, whereas project-based approach incorporates more people to collaborate in learning. According to Geoff Scott (2005), “learners will need to be immersed in learning situations that engage them in action, that are authentic, reflective and collaborative” . Therefore it can be fruitful to teach English writing in a project context. Free writing is a prevailing approach in teaching writing, as indicated and proved in many studies. This article will review literature on project-based approach and free-writing approach to synthesize a new approach which can assist teachers in teaching writing.