TESOL Trainers: Education Consultants
Connect
  • Home
  • SIOP Institute
  • Remote Teacher Training
    • Remote K12 Professional Development
    • Remote Summer SIOP Institute
  • K12 Professional Development
    • SIOP Professional Development
    • TESOL Strategies Professional Development
    • Engaging Students in the Classroom
    • Scaffolding Professional Development
    • Active Listening Strategies
    • Academic Vocabulary Professional Development
    • K12 Best Practices Professional Development
    • Peer Coaching Professional Development
    • Working With English Learners Professional Development >
      • Strategies for ELs in Content Classes Professional Development
    • Reflective Teaching Practices Professional Development >
      • Reflective Teaching Practices For K12 Teachers
      • Conscious Competence Learning Matrix
    • ESL and World Languages Teachers Professional Development
  • SIOP
    • SIOP Professional Development
    • SIOP Summer Institute
    • SIOP Components and Features
    • SIOP Lesson Preparation >
      • SIOP Feature 1 Write content objectives clearly for students
      • SIOP Feature 2 Write language objectives clearly for students
      • SIOP Feature 4 Identify Supplementary Materials to Use
      • SIOP Feature 6 Plan meaningful activities that integrate lesson concepts with language practice
    • SIOP Building Background >
      • SIOP Feature 7 Explicitly link concepts to students backgrounds and experiences
      • SIOP Feature 8 Explicitly link past learning to new concepts
      • SIOP Feature 9 Emphasize key vocabulary for students
    • SIOP Comprehensible Input >
      • SIOP Feature 10 Use Appropriate Speech for Students Proficiency Level
      • SIOP Feature 11 Explain Academic Tasks Clearly
      • SIOP Feature 12 Use a variety of techniques to make concepts clear
    • SIOP Strategies >
      • SIOP Feature 13 Provide ample opportunities for students to use strategies
      • SIOP Feature 14 Use scaffolding techniques consistently throughout lesson
    • SIOP Interaction >
      • SIOP Feature 16 Provide frequent opportunities for interaction and discussion
      • SIOP Feature 17 Use Group Configurations that support language and content objectives
      • SIOP Feature 18 Provide sufficient wait time
    • SIOP Practice and Application >
      • SIOP Feature 20 Provide hands-on materials and/or manipulatives for students to practice using new content knowledge
      • SIOP Feature 21 Provide activities for students to apply content and language
      • SIOP Feature 22 Provide activities that integrate all language skills >
        • Four Domains of Language Speaking
        • Four Domains of Language Listening
        • Four Domains of Language Writing
        • Four Domains of Language Reading
    • SIOP Lesson Delivery >
      • SIOP Feature 25 Engage Students 90-100% of the Time
      • SIOP Feature 26 Pace the Lesson Appropriately to the Students Ability Level
    • SIOP Review and Evaluation >
      • SIOP Feature 27 ​Give a comprehensive review of key vocabulary
      • SIOP Feature 29 Provide feedback to students regularly on their output
  • SIT TESOL Certificate Course
    • Getting TESOL Certified
    • About the SIT TESOL
    • SIT TESOL Course Schedule >
      • Winter 2021 TESOL Schedule
      • Summer 2021 TESOL Schedule
    • SIT TESOL Certificate Tuition & Fees
    • Apply to SIT TESOL Certificate Course
    • SIT TESOL Certificate FAQs
    • TESOL Employment and Jobs >
      • TESOL Teaching Opportunities
      • Teaching English at home and abroad
  • Other Programs
    • Teacher Training for TESOL Programs
    • Professional Development for Higher Education >
      • SIOP for College Faculty
    • Multicultural Education Professional Development >
      • Intercultural Competence Training Programs
      • The Culture of US Academia
    • NM TESOL Endorsement >
      • Getting Your TESOL Endorsement
    • International Schools Professional Development
  • CONTACT
  • More...
    • Resources >
      • TESOL Trainers K12 Resources
      • Lessons >
        • CCM >
          • Conscious Competence Example Scaffolding
          • Conscious Competence Example Graphic Organizers
        • SIOP >
          • SIOP Unscramble components and features
          • Reflecting on SIOP
          • SMART Objectives
          • SMART Objectives Secondary
        • Vocabulary >
          • Vocabulary Cloze 6
          • Vocabulary Cloze 8
          • Vocabulary Cloze New
          • Tongue Twisters
          • Intonation Skits
          • Vocabulary Teaching Techniques
        • Amphibians and Reptiles >
          • Amphibians and Reptiles Roll & Share
          • Write about amphibians and reptiles
          • Write about amphibians and reptiles 2nd grade
          • Amphibians & Reptiles SIOP LP
          • Amphibians and Reptiles Technique Sheet
        • Parts of a Paragraph >
          • Parts of a Paragraph SIOP LP
        • Inventions >
          • Some Great Inventions
        • Corresponding Angles >
          • Corresponding Angles
          • Corresponding Angles Engaging Students
        • Math Key Words >
          • Math Key Word Hunt
          • Math Key Words SIOP LP
        • Central Message >
          • Find the Central Message V2
          • Find the Central Message V3
        • GRR >
          • Find the GRR I
          • Find the GRR II
        • Polynomials >
          • degree of polynomials
        • Jamboard >
          • Jamboard Groups 1
          • Jamboard Groups 2
        • Warm Up Stories
        • Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells >
          • Compare and Contrast Cells
          • Write about Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells
        • For board Game
        • Clouds >
          • Attributes of Clouds
        • State of NM
    • Blog
    • Careers with TESOL Trainers
  • Reviews of TESOL Trainers

The Four Domains of Language:  Writing

Writing is critical language skill that most teachers have students do, but few teachers show them how.

On this page, John Kongsvik reviews what writing is, what it involves, and how to develop it in the classroom.

Contact TESOL Trainers

What are the four domains of language? ​

The four domains of language (or the four skills) are the four ways that we interact with language.  We speak and listen; we read, and we write. Of these skills, two of the skills, speaking and writing, are considered productive skills since we create language with each of these. On the other hand, listening and reading are described as receptive skills because we are receiving the from an outside source.  This is important to know because the type of skill (or language domain) it is determines how to support its development.

​Writing:  A Productive Language Skill

Definition:  Writing is communicating through the written word.

What Writing Involves

  • Putting thoughts and ideas into words in written form.
  • Knowing how to form letters and to combine them into words.
  • Knowing & using the appropriate vocabulary, spelling, and grammar to convey meaning.
  • Knowing and using the appropriate form for the type of writing (e.g. lists, paragraphs, letters). 
  • Knowing and using the appropriate form for the audience (e.g. formal or informal).
  • Revising, editing, and publishing.
TESOL Trainers Four Domains of Language - Writing

What Qualities does an Effective Writing Lesson Have?

TESOL Trainers Four Domains of Language - Writing
  1. The teacher considers students’ needs and chooses to focus on:
    1. Mechanics (e.g. Spelling, punctuation);
    2. Organization (e.g. Paragraphs, salutations, topic and support);
    3. Content and style;
    4. Vocabulary;
    5. Editing (for grammar and cohesion).
  2. The topic is of interest to students.
  3. There is an audience other than the teacher.
  4. Students do more than one draft.
  5. Students revise, edit, and correct errors.
  6. Students’ work is read and responded to by others (there is an audience).
  7. Shows students models of good/poor writing and gets them to discuss why.

Typical Writing Activities

  • Draw and describe: Students create an image & describe it with key words.
  • Sequence and summarize: Students order events (dates/words/pictures) and write them.
  • Change it up: Students alter something about a text (point of view, vocab, descriptions).
  • Graphic Organizers: Students use graphic organizers to plan and write a text.
TESOL Trainers Four Domains of Language - Writing

TESOL Trainer' Professional Development

The Four Domains of Language

Speaking
Listening
Writing
Reading
Copyright © 2020. All Rights Reserved.
Written by Dr. John Kongsvik - TESOL Trainers
Designed by: Ciego Productions