7. Talking about writing - the “gossipy approach”

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There is plenty of evidence to suggest that it’s worth finding the time to get learners to talk about writing. The “gossipy approach” is one way to get learners to discuss their writing as an initial step to a wider conversation.

• Rather than working in groups of 4-5 as you did with the creative memory task, work in threes. The learners need a copy of the texts created by the other two in their group.
• The writer listens without comment while the readers read the piece out to each other and talk about the writer’s piece as if he/she were not there. They can say whatever they like, so long as it is moving towards improving the piece. The writer takes notes.
• Swap around until all three pieces have been read out.
• Get the learners to redraft their texts using the feedback from the other two.

You might like to review the discussion about giving feedback in Module 2 Section C.