6 STRATEGIES TO ELABORATE IDEAS FOR LOWER INTERMEDIATE (GALUS) SPM 1119/2 CANDIDATES

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How can ESL teachers help SPM 1119/2 candidates who always tell them, “Kami ada idea sir/teacher, tapi kami tak pandai nak tulis dalam BI” or sometimes they reveal this, “Kami tak tau nak tulis apa sir/teacher”. In short, they claim they do not know how to write their ideas as well as to elaborate or develop them.

Based on my personal experience, there are six strategies to coach weak learners to develop ideas. They are very simple yet practical and relevant to lower intermediate learners who always have issues when it comes to writing. The six strategies are:

1. Write about anything relevant

2. Use creativity / logic

3. Write about fictitious characters / places / events / ideas

4. Develop idea 1 before idea 2

5. Repeat ideas / verbs / nouns / pronoun

6. Give 3-6 examples

Let’s examine the two essay questions below (Part 2 of SPM 1119/2) which are followed by model answers that apply some of the strategies mentioned above.

PART 2: QUESTION 1

Your class has been discussing on sports. Your teacher asked you to write an essay on your opinion about teenagers and sports.

In your essay, you should write about:

• sports that teenagers enjoy

• why some teenagers do not like sports

• how to promote sports among teenagers

Write your essay using all the notes and giving reasons for your point of view.

Model essay:

Note: Each number in brackets refers to the six strategies mentioned above.

PART 2: QUESTION 2

Your class has been discussing on the topic of saving environment. Your teacher asked you to write an essay on your opinion about an environmental project.

In your essay, you should write about:

• one gotong royong project to save the environment

• what volunteers can do in the project

• why it is important to protect our environment

Write your essay using all the notes and giving reasons for your point of view.

Model answer:

Note: Each number in brackets refers to the six strategies mentioned above.

Of course, lower intermediate or galus candidates need more writing practices. Having the knowledge and understanding of the six strategies alone is insufficient. They must apply the strategies by constructing sentences as much as possible. If they are not ready to write a complete essay yet, at least they must apply the strategies in paragraph writing practices.

What is the best way to apply those strategies? There is no one fixed or definite answer. It depends on the lower intermediate learners’ readiness, attitude towards writing and the availability of time to apply the strategies. It would be good if teachers can begin with group activities and then followed by pair activities. Finally, when lower intermediate learners are ready, the writing tasks can be assigned individually. Each ESL teacher who is the key decision maker in his or her class, knows the class very well and may have the “right” answers. All the best teachers!