Motivate Your Language Learners with These Passionate Writing Assignment Ideas

Motivating Language Learners with Passionate Writing Assignments


No Native Writers

“Not again”, the students whined. “Teacher, we don’t like to write. Especially not in English.”

Oh, how true, how very true.

It’s difficult enough to get your language learners to read – they don’t like doing THAT either. But with interesting, relative material they can usually be easily persuaded to breeze through short passages before expounding and commenting on them. Writing though, is a totally different matter. You see, while there can be native speakers of a language, there are NO native writers of a language. Everyone, native speaker or not, must learn to form sentences, then paragraphs and finally coherent expositions, compositions or articles, often to their dismay. An academic paper? Are you kidding me? It’s the area where learners of virtually every college major “cheat” (and plagiarize) the most extensively. How about a book? Again, even most native speakers of a language absolutely cringe at even the suggestion of attempting such a feat. Hey, I don’t exactly “chuckle with glee” about it either.

Motivating Your Language Learners to Write

Motivating your language learning students to write – and now in a foreign language – is indeed a challenge. That is, up until now. Here are some English as a second language classroom-tested writing assignment types that frequently tend to motivate learners to perform their best. As we’ll delve into further on in this article, your learners must be encouraged to write with “passion”. “What I did on my Summer Vacation” simply won’t cut it unless you had a hot date with a movie star. If so, then - Gosh, who was it? Tell me everything. I want details!

1. How - To or “Teaching” Writing Assignments

Everyone knows how to do or make something. Not only that, but they’re usually quite proud of their knowledge, skill or ability. They’ll require little encouragement to get the ball rolling to talk or write about it. Your language learning students should also feel free to attach an image or series, drawings or step-by-step illustrations to their piece too. This will add visual and graphic support to the text as well as increase the interest in their writing assignment.

2. Expound on a News Event

Any news or current event that stirs the fires of your language learners’ imaginations is ripe fodder for a writing assignment. Okay, so YOU may not be particularly enthralled by a daring bank heist, a new community center or a severe storm that destroys property and causes destruction locally. Your learners however, may be personally vested in such events and be able to weave a spell-binding composition related to such events. Imagine: “Teacher, there was that really bad storm last month that was in all the papers, but you know, it tore most of the roof off our house, so …” Sometimes the events may not exactly be positive ones, however, the learner can then elaborate of the effects and solutions to create an interesting, informative dialogue on the events.

3. Writing Up Reviews

Who hasn’t read, seen or experienced something that they truly loved, were stirred or moved by – or hated with a passion. That’s the key, you see – passion. With passion you can drive almost any endeavor in life from a hot date to a breakout career or from a cold shoulder to the departure from a negative lifestyle. So, let your English as a second language learners write about any topic they are truly passionate about. That is unless it’s taking drugs or the like, in which case I’d recommend a change of subject – and passions.

Make the Language Learning Writing Experience Engaging

Everyone, native speaker or not, must learn to form sentences, then paragraphs and finally coherent expositions, compositions or articles. Why not make the writing experience an engaging one for your English or other foreign language learners? You can quite easily do this by incorporating these writing assignment types into your language learning classes. We'll continue with more passionate writing assignment ideas in the next posts. Stay tuned ...


Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 100 countries. Get your FREE E-book, “If you Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" by requesting the title at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com If you need a blogger or copywriter to promote your school, institution, service or business or an experienced writer and vibrant SEO content for your website, blog or newsletter. Then E-mail me for further information.

A Simple Approach to Write an Essay for EFL Learners

Can Your EFL Learners Write an Essay in English?

“Teacher, if we have to write an essay and it’s going to be a problem for us.”

“No problem, I’ll show you a simple format you can use to write an essay in English.”

Thus began an intermediate course in Writing for my EFL learners. What about your English as a foreign language learners? Do they have problems with writing in English?

A Natural Tendency with Foreign Language Learners

A natural tendency with foreign language learners is to write in the same way they would – in their first language (L1). While this may on occasion be a good thing, for the most part it can be the root of a string of serious problems when you write an essay. A foreign language is not a “translation” of English. Neither is English a “translation of a foreign language, even if they are in the same language family. This can even be true for varieties of English. In the “Queen’s English”, written structure can and often does differentiate composition and structure. Sure, an American can easily read a British English composition, but would most likely NOT write a composition or essay of their own in the same way. The Queen could certainly read an essay written by an American, although it would almost certainly be done in a far different style than issues forth from Cambridge or Oxford.

The Spanish Language

The Spanish Language is one case in which distinctive differences in writing clearly emerge. If you were to read a translation of “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez, (pictured above) you’d immediately note, even in English, a substantial style deviation from say, Ernest Hemmingway in his “The Old Man and the Sea”. Not just the writing style, but lexis, grammatical structure, syntax and means of expression are all so clearly different that you would most probably know these two men are not from the same culture. Nonetheless, clarity and organization are important when you write an essay. But I digress.

A Simple Format to Write an Essay for EFL and ESL Learners

A simple format for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ESL) learners to write an essay, is none other than the old standby, “The Five Paragraph Essay”. This writing structure is, of course, based on writing on a topic using five paragraphs. Briefly, here’s how it is set up.

Paragraph One – When you write an essay, the first paragraph provides the introduction to the essay or composition. It tells what is to be discussed and why. Your main points or arguments are briefly introduced. This paragraph need not be a lengthy one, four to five sentences will usually suffice.

Paragraph Two – In the second paragraph more background information is provided in more detail. Your first, often strongest main point or argument is expanded upon. This second paragraph is usually longer than the first or introductory paragraph. There is a topic sentence, three to five sentences of information, then a summary or concluding sentence which is used to allude or transition to the next paragraph’s content.

Paragraph Three – The third paragraph provides your second key point or argument and ties it into your theme, when you write an essay or composition. Frequently, it is similar in length to the second paragraph. Information, support and background for your second key point or argument are the main content here. Once again, the last sentence of the paragraph transitions to the content of the forth one.

Paragraph Four – In this fourth paragraph, you’ll present your third key point or argument. More in-depth information and background on this point is provided here. Be sure to relate this point to your composition or essay topic. Also, add quotations, statistics, facts, examples and other relevant data to support this third point or argument. As before, the last sentence is a transitional one.

Paragraph Five – The fifth and final paragraph is used to summarize or conclude when you write an essay or composition. It shows how the three key points or arguments you have presented compare or relate to each other. It also clearly re-states your initial position from the introductory paragraph.

Final Points to Write an Essay in English

Some additional, final points to remember when you write an essay of five paragraphs are:

• Do not use contractions
• Do not use the first person, “I” unless told that this is allowed
• Use simple or compound sentences only – NO complex sentences should be used
• Keep your writing well organized
• Use quotations, examples, statistics, facts and relevant supporting data in each paragraph

“The Hazards of Moviegoing” by John Langan is a good five paragraph essay sample.


Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 125 countries worldwide. Get your FREE, pdf format report on CD or via e-mail, "Creative, Dynamic Ways to Motivate and Teach English as a Foreign Language to Diverse Groups of Reluctant Learners" by requesting the title at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com