Expressions in English

Persuasive Language

July 2, 2006 at 1:04 am | In Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Students have recently been exploring the ways that language can be used to persuade others.  They have completed a range of activities in class, which have culminated in the writing of a letter to the editor on a current issue or topic of interest.

Students are more aware of writing for an audience now, and one thing I have found interesting in doing this task has been the increase in students wanting to actually send off their letters to newspapers or magazines.  Now that they have had a taste of a real audience through their blogs, returning to a task based on an artificial audience seems (and should seem) hollow and irrelevant.  They have new expectations that their ideas and their writing will be seen and/or heard by real people.  It’s fantastic!  The challenge, of course, for me as their teacher, is to continue to provide authentic learning experiences for them.