Practical English writing tips for Arabic speakers

Emina Tuzovic
The London School of English
Our expertise. Your experience. Clear outcomes.
Bringing language to life for 100 years
www.londonschool.com
PRACTICAL
WRITING
TIPS FOR
ARABIC
LEARNERS

EXAMPLE
(pre-intermediate student)
i am wife and mither two boys and tow giurls .first my live
i did not import English bacos i have liteil word but bifor
open the waird with twitter and instagram you tube also
minuo som the ristrint aneth country .mast and import
study English because i can stand with hasband tha werid
and i can speak english with pipol because i visited london
before two years sea the harods.londan eyi .oxford streat
.haud bark and madem toso I hope study English and finish
my master. I like to spend my free time visited import
hostry in London and shoping.

EXAMPLE
(university student)
At the early of the morning, you can see great cities clearly. Everything
is quite. But not completely quite. because you can hear the voice of
the milkcans Policeman who walkes in the streets, or may be Just a
passers-by. But however it is, he will greet you friendldy. at this
moment every body will become friend of you because the noise of life
hasn’t begin. Also you may pass to a man who wears his evening
dresses, walking, singing to himself and saying to you Goodnight to tell
you it is the end of the night. The sun begins to rise to the bridge, and
the river under it lookes clean and fresh because At this moment it is
not only a way to cross it. After that the sun spreades in every where
so the life is changed. You can see buses, lorries, few people who rush
to the station or others who stop to drink a cup of tea or coffe, and
may be you see the policeman again, but he will not greet to you. So
the city is coming to life with filled streets and rushing people who
become friendly at this hour.

CONTENTS
1. Introduction (writing)
2. Reasons for poor writing skills in English
3. Useful tips for teachers + exercises
(word→ sentence→ paragraph→ text level)
4. Appendix

INTRODUCTION
• In 2013/14 -around 30,000 students from the Middle East
were studying in the UK
• More than 80,000 students in the US (source: Institute of International
Education)
• Anglo-American educational system heavily relies on
reading and writing

INTRODUCTION
WRITING SPEAKING
A complex process (not
linear)
Developmentin real time
(linear)
Time-consuming Takes longer to notice
progress
Communicativevaluenot
that instant
Instant
Culturaldifferences more
obvious
Cultural differences

REASONS FOR DIFFICULTIES
WITH WRITING IN ENGLISH
CULTURAL REASONS AND EDUCATIONAL REASONS
Arabic is an ‘oral culture’
EDUCATIONAL REASONS:
Reading in L1 and L2
‘If you want to write well, you need to write’
LINGUISTIC REASONS (negative L1 transfer)
• script and orthography (short vowels not written in
Arabic)
• problems with word decoding and spelling in English

WRITING IN ARABIC - OVERVIEW
GENERAL:
• Arabic script
• Reading and writing direction: right to left
• Standard Arabic (MSA)
• Run-on sentences
• Paragraphing not necessary
• A paragraph can start with ‘and’
• Abundance of coordination (and; also, as well as;
furthermore, in addition; (and) then, etc.)
• Pronouns without clear reference (no clear antecedent)

WRITING IN ARABIC - OVERVIEW
STYLE/RHETORIC:
• Ornate; florid
• Cyclical style of writing
• Synonyms in one sentence are used by eloquent writers
• Persuasion is very common (adds to credibility)
• Repetition of ideas
• Stylistic devices such as exaggeration/hyperbole and
superlatives are very common
• Religious points and references as supporting points

WITH WRITING IN ENGLISH:
TYPICAL GRAMMATICAL ERRORS
• Indefinite article
• Verbs (copula)
• Relative clauses
• Prepositions

TYPICAL GRAMMATICAL ERRORS
1. Difficulties with the copula (even with advanced
students)
*My teacher very angry.
*He absent. *I tired.
2. Verbs describing states are common in Arabic:
He rages (vs he’s angry)

RELATIVE CLAUSES
There is no relative pronoun in Arabic (there is a relative
particle which combines two complete clauses-
coordination)
*I saw the boy who he has red hair. (definite antecedent)
*I saw a boy he has red hair. (indefinite antecedent)
*This is the car which I bought it.
TYPICAL GRAMMATICAL
ERRORS

What can we do to help Arabic learners with their writing?

USEFUL WRITING TIPS FOR
TEACHERS
GENERAL TIPS
• Explain the differences in writing even at lower levels (linear
thought)
• Try to give precise writing instructions and be consistent
• Try not to look at the sentence level only but start teaching
paragraphing asap (try not to correct only grammar)
• Writing needs to be guided
• Encourage your students to read as much as possible
• Pre-teach the vocabulary (planning stage)
• Get them to rewrite what they have written
• Difference between main and supporting ideas

TOPIC SENTENCE/MAIN IDEA:
• cause/effect
• example
• explanation (if...; this means; in this way…)
• comparison (similarity/contrast)
TOP SPELLING TIPS FOR
TEACHERS

TEACHERS
• Writing by hand is really important!
• Get students to break the words into syllables and get them to count
them:
E.G. Con - se – quence (3)
(Encourage them to clap/tap syllables and not look at the word while
doing it)
• Get ss to use another colour to highlight vowels
• Get them to notice root, any prefixes and/or suffixes
• Give them 10 secs to memorise the spelling; LOOK, COVER, WRITE,
CHECK
Revise vocabulary by gapping the vowels:
E.G. C_ns_q_ _nc_; h_w_v_r
And try not to give them letters to unjumble!
• Give ss cards with digraphs (e.G. ‘Ie’; ‘ou’) and clusters (e.G. ‘Spl’)
(not just individual letters) and get them to make words

TEACHERS
From: How to Teach Writing

TEACHERS
From: Keep Writing 2

TEACHERS
COPYING FROM THE BOARD

TEACHERS
SENTENCE-LEVEL
• Give students the beginning of a sentence and get them
to complete it (e.G. I went to the shop to……)
• Give ss sentences in isolation and get them to connect
them with ‘and’ ‘but’ and/or ‘so’.
• Give them some guidance:
- ‘And’ can usually be used ONCE in a sentence to join
smaller sentences
- To avoid starting a sentence with ‘and’, ‘so’ and ‘but’.
• Provide ‘sentence frames’ (a formula) to help them with
e.G. The passive

TEACHERS
From: Keep Writing 2

EXERCISES: SENTENCE
PRODUCTION

TEACHERS

TEACHERS
PARAGRAPH LEVEL
• Highlight/explain the differences between paragraph/text
structure in English and Arabic
• Do a short dictation as frequently as possible (not only words
but also whole paragraphs); running dictation
• Don’t allow ss to overuse coordination linkers, esp. At the
beginning of a sentence (e.g. In addition, furthermore, also;
then, after that); instead encourage them to use more
subordinate clauses
• Give ss sentences in random order; they have to put them in
the right order to create a paragraph
• Give ss key words, get them to discuss cause/effect ideas in
pairs and then write a paragraph together (e.g. Earthquake;
devastation of local industry; unemployment; increase in crime)

_Topic sentence/main idea_
cause/effect_______________________
example_______________________
explanation (if...; this means; in this way…)
_______________________
comparison (similarity (similarly; in the same way)/contrast (on the
other hand)
Put these sentences in order to make a paragraph which follows the
structure above. Then rewrite the whole paragraph.
In Britain, around 100,000 people die due to cancer related to smoking.
If you would like to give up smoking, you can see your local GP who can help
you out.
It can cause many different lung-related diseases.
One of the most serious illnesses is cancer.
Smoking is very unhealthy.
EXERCISES: WRITING A
PARAGRAPH

DEVELOP THE FOLLOWING TOPIC SENTENCES:
• London has the highest number of billionaires in the world.
(give explanation- tax)
• Fish is good for you.
• People should exercise a lot.
• Transport creates a lot of pollution.
• The unemployment rate in my country has risen.
EXERCISES: WRITING A
PARAGRAPH

TEACHERS
WRITING STORIES
• First lines and/or last lines (e.g. When she looked outside the window, she
saw…; he said he would never go to the cinema by himself)
• First paragraph and /or last paragraph
• Give students pictures to describe; then they write a story based on those
• Show ss one picture and ask them to write about what happened next (e.G.
A man crossing a canyon)
Less controlled:
• Give ss a series of pictures of random objects (a bicycle, a pack of cards, an
aeroplane); tell them to choose 4 of them and write a story which connects
them
• Give ss a picture and a headline and ask them to write a story about it which
would make sense

TEACHERS

STYLE AND RHETORIC
• Explain the differences in writing style/rhetoric
• Get students to ‘soften’ the use of superlative:
*He is the most famous author in this field → *He is one of the most famous
authors
• Get them to avoid overgeneralisation : *Everybody thinks that..→ The
majority of people think that/ it is widely believed that..
• Get them to use more modal verbs (and structures) of/for probability: *The
trend will change → The trend will probably/might/is likely/ to change
• Encourage the use of ‘In my opinion’, ‘I believe’
• Get them not to repeat words in one sentence or in consecutive sentences
• Try to get them not to overuse ‘good’ and ‘bad’ by giving them a couple of
synonyms for those (positive vs negative; advantages vs disadvantages)
• Get them to use ‘very or ‘extremely’ instead of ‘really’
TEACHERS

1. Photosynthesis is a process. This process changes CO2 into O2.
it
2. Photosynthesis is a process WHICH changes CO2 into O2.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. My father smokes cigars. My father gets the cigars from the local
shop.
he them
2. My father smokes cigars WHICH he gets ( ) from the local
shop.
3. My father smokes cigars ( ) he gets ( ) from the local shop.
TEACHERS

• SENTENCE-COMBINING EXERCISES:
Nearly all the teachers (the teachers taught there) were
experienced.
The first school (I went to that school) is on the main road.
• LESS CONTROLLED EXERCISES:
The first school is on the main road. I went to that school.
The teachers brought lunch with them. Their homes were
far from the school.
TEACHERS

DEFINITIONS AND EXEMPLIFICATIONS:
1. Bronze is an alloy. It is produced from copper and tin.
2. A college __________ students receive higher or professional
education.
An elephant _________ lives in Africa and Asia.
3. Sociology-science-nature and growth of society and social behaviour
4. More extended definitions: social economics-economics-
measurement, causes and consequences of social problems.
5. Tie in exemplification: e.g. Linguistics is the science of language
which deals with different areas, such as its structure, sound systems
and meaning systems.
From: Academic Writing (p.37; 39)
TEACHERS

To get ss to use more subordinate structures, focus on:
Adverbial clauses of:
• Time (when, before, after, as soon as, once, by the time)
• Place (where, wherever)
Wherever we travel, that seems to be an interesting destination.
• Result (so that, in order that, so…that, such… that)
The Roman built walls in such a way that they’re still standing.
• Concession (although, even though)
• Cause (because, since, as)
• Purpose (in order to, so that)
Participial clauses:
*I was very astonished and a little bit frightened, and when I saw my father
and mother a little bit confused, I tried to be courageous, and I went out to
see what was happening.
I was very astonished and frightened when I saw my father and mother a little
bit confused. Trying to be courageous, I went out to see what was happening.
TEACHERS

TEACHERS
Punctuation
(Notice, punctuate, explain why)
• Analyse texts together
• To reduce run-on sentences, give them sentences without
a full-stop:
When I get older I want to have a big family I like big families.
(From: http://englishforeveryone.Org/pdfs/run%20on%20sentences.Pdf)
• Copy a paragraph/text from the internet, delete the
punctuation, change all the capital letters into small
letters and get ss to correct those
FROM: GREAT PARAGRAPHS (CAPITALISATION
ACTIVITIES P.228, 229)

Read the following text and use appropriate punctuation.
Traffic Problems Essay
traffic congestion in many cities around the world is severe one possible solution
to this problem is to impose heavy taxes on car drivers and use this money to
make public transport better this essay will discuss the benefits and drawbacks
of such a measure one of the first benefits of such a measure is that the heavy
taxes would discourage car owners from using their cars because it would
become very expensive to drive this would mean that they would begin to make
use of public transport instead thus reducing traffic problems and pollution as
well another benefit would be that much more use would be made of public
transport if it was improved it is often the case that public transport in cities is
very poor for example we often see old buses and trains that people would
rather not use high taxes would generate enough money to make the necessary
changes nevertheless there are drawbacks to such a solution first and foremost
this would be a heavy burden on the car drivers at present taxes are already
high for a lot of people and so further taxes would only mean less money at the
end of the month for most people who may have no choice but to drive every
day in addition this type of tax would likely be set at a fixed amount this would
mean that it would hit those with less money harder whilst the rich could likely
afford it it is therefore not a fair tax to conclude this solution is worth
considering to improve the current situation, but there are advantages and
disadvantages of introducing such a policy
TEACHERS (PUNCTUATION)

TEACHERS
Paragraph:
• How many full stops are there?
• How many sentences are there?
• Do all the sentences start with a big letter?
• How many commas are there?
• Why are they used?
• How many linkers can you see? Circle them.
Text:
• How many paragraphs are there?

Simplify the rules for punctuation and try to stick to those:
For example, when do we use a comma?
1. After adverbials at the beginning of the sentence (firstly; at
first, etc.)
2. In the ‘if’ and time clauses (when, before, after, etc.)
3. When you enumerate thigs and before ‘such as’
4. With relative clauses
Do the same for capital letters.
Point out that there is no gap before a comma:
*In this essay, I will talk about advantages of generating green
energies .
TEACHERS

HANDWRITING

Letter-tracing and letter-forming
How good in my handwriting?
• Are the letters clearly formed?
• Are the capital letters bigger than small
letters?
• Are there spaces between the words?
• Is the writing on the line?
• Do the letters point in the same direction?
• Does the writing begin at the left-hand side of
the page?
From: Pintrest
(http://toddler-net.com/writing_worksheets.html)
HANDWRITING

CONCLUSION
• Provide guided writing (analyse, do exercises, get ss to produce)
• Give them precise instructions; be consistent!
• Get ss to write by hand and to rewrite what they have written
• Explain the differences between writing in Arabic and English (ideas
development; style/rhetoric )
• Don’t only correct grammar; sometimes correct only e.G.
Punctuation.
• Start teaching paragraphing asap
• get them to write something every day
• get students to write about something they’re familiar with
• Get students not only to write but read as well!
• Praise them for good work

REFERENCES
• Harmer, J. (2004). How to Teach Writing. Longman.
• Harrison, R. (1992) Keep Writing 1 & 2. Longman
• Kharma, N. & Hajjaj, A. (1997). Errors in English among
Arabic Speakers. York Press.
• Thompson-Panos, K. & Thomas-Ruzic, M. (1983). The
Least you Should Know about Arabic: Implications for the
ESL Writing Instructor.

englishforeveryone.org:
• http://www.englishforeveryone.org/Topics/Punctuation.ht
m
• http://www.englishforeveryone.org/Topics/Run-On-
Sentences.htm
• http://www.englishforeveryone.org/Topics/Paragraph-
Correction.htm
• http://www.englishforeveryone.org/Topics/Word-
Searches.htm
Stirling, J. English Spelling Garden. (spelling for Arabic
speakers) -
http://www.elgweb.net/spelling_article.html#aprob
USEFUL LINKS

Emina Tuzovic
The London School of English
Our expertise. Your experience. Clear outcomes.
THANK YOU.

Practical English writing tips for Arabic speakers

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