Improving letter writing skill through eliciting exercises for grade 10 students

I Introduction Nowadays, in the integration period and with the globalization trend, foreign languages, especially English, play a very important role in society English becomes an international language It is used in many fields such as business, trade, communications, tourism and diplomatic activities, etc In 2015, there were 54 sovereign states and 27 non-sovereign entities where English was an official language Of the approximately 1.5 billion people who speak English, less than 400 million use it as a first language That means over billion speak it as a secondary language Therefore, English is an ology which is never saturated due to its newness and popularity in all fields Our Party and government showed their particular interest in teaching and learning foreign languages English is considered as a main subject at upper secondary school It is also one of three primary subjects in the GCSE exam In addition, The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment,[1] abbreviated in English as CEFR or CEF or CEFRL, is a guideline used to describe achievements of learners of foreign languages across Europe and, increasingly, in other countries As with the growing degree of office automation and diffuse use of electronic media, such as e-mails, written business communication is becoming a key element to promote synergies, relationships and disseminating information about products and services Task recognition and the definition of strategies and suitable vocabularies are some of the activities that office workers deal with each time a communicative intent has to be effectively transferred and understood by a given addressee This paper introduces a web-based intelligent training system based on the constructivism theory and self-directed learning paradigms for assisting company workers in the drafting business letters-writing task A case-based engine suggests ad hoc rhetorical letters that users have the chance to adapt to their particular contexts and save them into user-defined case libraries Teaching English with the communicative approach is our aim How to improve all skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) completely for our students is our duty All skills are important and it is necessary for us to develop them Curricula and textbooks are issued with a view to carrying out this aim successfully However, writing skill seems to be one of the most difficult skills for students Most writing tasks, for example writing letters, are not interesting enough to attract them They not know how to deal with these tasks: They not know how to write a formal or an informal letter They mistake the words or phrases they can use in each form of letter, either, etc… “What can I to help my students?” “In what way my students write them well?” “What should I to make these writing tasks easier and more attractive?” The best way I did to assist them is that I used the exercises to lead them to the way of writing each type of letters I would like to share my teaching experience “Improving letter writing skill through eliciting exercises for grade 10 students” in the hope that my colleagues can apply in teaching and we can discuss more to get the best result in teaching students how to write letters II Content Chapter 1: Theoretical and practical background 1.1 Theoretical background 1.1.1 “Letter” Definition of “letter” The term "letter" has also multiple meanings:  A letter is a written or printed communication addressed to a person or organization and usually transmitted by mail (http://www.dictionary.com)  A letter is a written message from one person to another, usually put in an envelope and sent by post (Cambridge Dictionary)  A letter is a written or printed message to someone (Laban Dictionary) Letters are often used to express the writer’s ideas, feelings or emotion to the receivers  A letter is a written message from one party to another containing information Letters promote the preservation of communication between both parties; they may bring friends or relatives closer together, enrich professional relationships and provide a means of self-expression Letters contribute to the protection and conservation of literacy.[1] Letters have been sent since antiquity and are mentioned in the Iliad.[2] Works by [3] both Herodotus and Thucydides also mention letters 1.1.2 Writing a letter History of letter writing Historically, letters have existed from the time of ancient India, ancient Egypt and Sumer, through Rome, Greece and China, up to the present day During the seventeenth and eighteenth century, letters were used to self-educate Letters were a way to practice critical reading, self-expressive writing, polemical writing and also exchange ideas with like-minded others For some people, letters were seen as a written performance For others, it was not only seen as a performance but also as a way of communication and a method of gaining feedback Letters make up several of the books of the Bible Archives of correspondence, whether for personal, diplomatic, or business reasons, serve as primary sources for historians At certain times, the writing of letters has risen to be an art form and a genre of literature, for instance in Byzantine epistolography.[4] In the ancient world letters were written on a various different materials, including metal, lead, wax-coated wooden tablets, pottery fragments, animal skin, and papyrus From Ovid, we learn that Acontius used an apple for his letter to Cydippe.[5] As communication technology has diversified, posted letters have become less important as a routine form of communication For example, the development of the telegraph drastically shortened the time taken to send a communication, by sending it between distant points as an electrical signal At the telegraph office closest to the destination, the signal was converted back into writing on paper and delivered to the recipient The next step was the telex which avoided the need for local delivery Then followed the fax (facsimile) machine: a letter could be transferred electrically from the sender to the receiver through the telephone network as an image Today, the internet, by means of email, plays a large part in written communications; however, these email communications are not generally referred to as letters but rather as e-mail (or email) messages, messages or simply emails or e-mails, with only the term "letter" generally being reserved for communications on paper The study of letter writing Due to the timelessness and universality of letter writing, there is a wealth of letters and instructional materials (for example, manuals, as in the medieval ars dictaminis) on letter writing throughout history The study of letter writing usually involves both the study of rhetoric and grammar.[6] 1.2 Practical background Letters is such a written message that we sent to person who are far away from us and we want to convey our message to them in a clear and forceful manner We usually write letters to our friends and relatives Although advent of IT-Telephones, Mobile SMS’s and Chat- has reduced the importance of personal letter writing as we can send our messages through these mediums very easily but this art is still required where there is need of formal communication Some time we have to send an application in the school for grant of leave and at other time we have to complaint about someone Same way we get a lot of chance where we have to send formal letter Thus this art of letter writing is no more an ornamental accomplishment but something that every educated person must acquire for practical purposes How to Write a Letter The most important element of writing a good letter is your ability to identify and write to your audience If you are writing a letter to your love interest, it will be crafted in an entirely different manner than if you are writing a letter to the human resources department of a large corporation Learning to write a good letter also takes practice, knowledge about proper form and the ability to put into words your feelings, thoughts, and/or ideas If you learn the basic parts of a letter, it will help you to create letters for a variety of audiences and occasions 1.2.1 The Presentation of the Letter The presentation of the letter can be hand-written for informal letters (friendly letters) that are addressed to friends and family members, especially thank-you letters Formal letters which are written on behalf of businesses or to professional contacts (business letters) should always be typed The letter should also be free of grammatical and spelling errors, so proofreading it after it is written is of the utmost importance Parts of the Letter: If writing an email, Your Address, Date, and Inside Address should be ommited Your Address At the top of your letter, you will put your address, so the reader will know where to send their reply to Date Put the date on which the letter was written in the format Month Day Year i.e June, 7, 2014 Inside Address The inside address is only required for a paper business letter and will include the address of the person you are writing to along with the name of the recipient, their title and company name If you are not sure who the letter should be addressed to either leave it blank or try to put in a title, i.e "Director of Human Resources" The Greeting The greeting will address the recipient that the letter is being sent to This is usually completed in the form of "Dear Anne" or "Hey Anne", for less formal letters The Introductory Paragraph The first paragraph and will generally outline the purpose for the letter and the reason that the letter is being sent This can address any issues that are outstanding and is used to set the tone for the entire rest of the letter In this first paragraph, the summary of the letter can be found and the intentions which will be displayed through the rest of the letter should be outlined From the first paragraph of the letter, the recipient should be able to note the tone of the letter The Body The body of the letter will expand upon the introductory paragraph and you can extend your thoughts and feelings further when it comes to the letter The body of the letter will usually be just a few paragraphs for most letters The Closing Paragraph In the closing paragraph of the letter, you will close the letter and finish any thoughts that have been mentioned The Complimentary Close The complimentary close of the letter comes in various forms from yours truly, if you are familiar with the recipient, to a traditional sincerely which is a versatile closing that can be used in a variety of letters detailing many situations 1.2.2 Rules for all letters - It is important that your handwriting be neat and clear - The writer's address is written in the top right-hand corner - Leave a space between the address and date - Spell out the month in full, e.g 15th February 2006 - Begin the letter Dear , on the left-hand side - The first paragraph of the letter begins under the person's name - A formal letter usually ends with either: Yours sincerely, or Yours faithfully, followed by your signature (Note: 'Yours', always begins with a capital letter, but 'sincerely' and 'faithfully' begin with a small letter - Always use plain unlined paper and the same colour envelopes A large size writing pad is best for most letters - Write your letter in blue or black pen only - Revise the rules for using capital letters - Always use paragraphs when writing a letter 1.3 The situation Have you ever wondered, when these smart phones, SMS, email and other modes of transmitting information was not available to the people, then how they convey their messages to others? You might have known about letters, which are used by individuals earlier to interchange information, however, nowadays their use is confined to business and official purposes only Letters are a form of verbal and written communication, which contains information or message, send by one party to another, to convey the message There are two types of letters, i.e formal letters and informal letters The former is used for professional purposes, while the latter is used for personal purposes Definition of Formal Letters A formal letter is any letter written in the professional language, with a prescribed format for a formal purpose, i.e it can be a recommendation letter, enquiry letter, complaint letter, cover letter and so on All business letters are formal, but vice versa is not possible Such letters are used for a variety of reasons like a formal invitation, proposal, reference, making a complaint or inquiry, applying for a job While writing a formal letter one should keep in mind the following things:  It should be in specified format  It should avoid the use of unnecessary words  It should be straight to the point  It should be relevant and objective  It should be complex and thorough  It should be polite, even if it is a complaint letter  It should be free from any mistakes, i.e grammatical or spelling Definition of Informal Letters An informal letter is a letter written to someone; we know fairly well The letter can be used for some reasons like conveying message, news, giving advice, congratulate recipient, request information, asking questions, etc It is a personal letter, written to whom you are familiar with, like friends, siblings, parents or any other closed one There is no specific format prescribed for writing this letter While writing an informal letter, one can afford to be friendly, and make use personal or emotional tone Slang or colloquial terms, codes, abbreviations, etc can also be used at the time of writing it, depending on the familiarity with the recipient In the writing tasks in Tieng Anh 10 there are some letter writing tasks Students find it difficult to write them UNIT 4: SPECIAL EDUCATION - Writing a letter of complaint After studying for two weeks at English for Today Center, you notice that everything is worse than what the advertisement says Write a letter of complaint about that Le Thi Linh – 10A1 wrote: Student’s writing Errors She only wrote the part which is required to complete Some spelling mistakes: - adversiment → advertisement - cascettle →cassette classrom → classroom - finisho → finishes Grammar errors: Vietnam → Vietnamese - classrom are → classrooms are UNIT 6: AN EXCURSION – Writing a confirmation letter Read the situations and write a confirmation letter responding to each of them Lan is going to have a birthday party at 8:00 p.m on Saturday She asks you to buy her two bunches of bananas, three kilos of oranges, ten mangoes, and bring them to her house an hour before the party You agree to help her Vu Thi Trang – 10A12 wrote: Student’s writing Errors Grammar errors: - I’m is → You are - for → for it - will you buy → will buy you Copy the request of the task, not the writing “bring them to her house an hour before the party You agree to help me” UNIT 8: THE STORY OF MY VILLAGE – Writing an informal letter: Giving directions Your house is A on the map Write a letter to Jim, telling him the way to your house from Roston Railway Station Bui Anh Quan – 10A1 wrote: Student’s writing Errors Shouldn’t use “You can take a taxi” when giving the directions Some mistakes: - souvenir → souvenir shop - home → house - beside to → next to - ,my house is beside to → My house is next to it UNIT 10: CONSERVATION – Writing a letter of invitation Nam invites his friend – Lam, who is now living in a different town, to spend a weekend with him Help Nam to write a letter, using the cues below Dear Lam, we/ not meet/ since/ you/ move I/ miss/ a lot we/ both/ have/some days-off/ between/ two terms/ soon if/ not make/ other plans/ why/ not spend/ weekend/ together? feel/ like/ visit/ forest/ near/ my grandparents’/ again? Look/ quite different/ now/ because/ very many young trees/ plant/ the TreePlanting Festivals Do come/ if/ find/ possible/ and/ I/ make/ all/ preperations Give/ love/ your parents Your friends, Nam Truong Văn Kien – 10A1 wrote: Student’s writing Errors He hadn’t finishes his writing yet Grammar errors: - are move → moved - are we not → don’t we - in → omit “in” UNIT 11: NATIONAL PARKS – Writing a letter of acceptance or refusal One of your friends has invited you to go for a picnic to Cuc Phuong National Park next weekend Write a reply letter accepting or declining his/ her invitation Dang Thi Khanh Linh – 10A12 wrote: Student’s writing Errors Some errors: - fresh air there → the fresh air there - make → - revising and reviewing → revising (because “revising” has closest meaning to “reviewing” Chapter 2: The solution In order to improve writing skill in writing letters for students, I guided students distinguish formal and informal letters and carried out some eliciting exercises in optional classes at classes 10A1 in this school-year (2016-2017) so that students can realize the form of letters I gave out posters and handouts with the eliciting exercises for these writing tasks In order to help students distinguish these types of letters profoundly, I often ask them revise and repeat these notes when the letter writing is given out First, I ask students to complete this table in order to realize which letter is formal and which is informal Exercise 1: Complete this table Allotted time: 2-5 minutes - written in formal language, in the stipulated format, for official purpose - written in an friendly manner, to someone you are familiar with - Personal Communication - Professional Communication - No prescribed format - Written in prescribed format only - First person - Business letters, third person - others - Business, college/institute, employer, organizations, etc - Friends, family, acquaintances etc First, second or third person Active Long and complex Concise Used Passive Short and simple Large or concise Avoided Comparison Table BASIS FOR FORMAL LETTER INFORMAL LETTER COMPARISON Meaning Objective Format Written in Written to Voice Sentences Size Contractions and Abbreviations Key: See (Appendix 1) After doing this exercise, students can identify formal and informal letters So, before start writing letter, first of all, they should identify who is the recipient If they are having a professional relationship with the recipient, then they should go for a formal letter, whereas if the recipient is someone very close to them or they know the recipient well, then the informal letter is the right choice for them Then, I give students some other exercises to know how to use language in each type of letters Exercise 2: Ticking Allotted time: 1-2 minutes FORMAL INFORMAL LETTER LETTER One address (yours) Two addresses (yours and the recipient's) Love/Yours/Best wishes + first name Dear Sir/Madam Dear Mr/Mrs + surname Dear + first name Yours faithfully + full name Yours sincerely + full name Key: See (Appendix 2) Exercise 3: Letter Writing Quiz Put a tick in the box beside the correct answer Allotted time: 1-2 minutes When you write an informal or formal letter you always put your address on: A The top left B The bottom left C The top right hand corner hand corner hand corner The date of a letter always goes: A Under your address B Under your signature C Under the greeting When you not know the name of the person you are writing to you begin your letter with: A Dear Sir B Hi C Dear Sir/Madam In a formal letter when you know the name of the person you are writing to the sign off you use is: A Yours faithfully B Yours sincerely C Lots of Love You are writing to a person called Ronan Quinn, who is the Manager at Sports World You want to complain about a tracksuit you bought The colour has faded after one wash How would you begin the letter? A Dear Ronan B Dear Mr Quinn C Dear Quinn You are writing to the Principal of a school Which sign-off would you use? A Yours faithfully B Your friend C Love You are writing to the manager of Max Petrol Station to ask about vacancies for part-time work It's on Summerhill Road, Castletown, Dublin You don't know the name of the manager How would you address your envelope? A Max Petrol Station B The Manager C The Manager Summerhill Road Max Petrol Station Summerhill Road Castletown Summerhill Road Castletown Dublin Castletown Dublin Dublin Key: See (Appendix 3) Exercise 4: Divide the following expressions into formal (F) and informal (I) Allotted time: 2-5 minutes Beginning  It was great to hear from you  I am writing with reference to your letter of 25 May  Thanks for writing to me Congratulations  Well done!  I would like to offer congratulations on your recent promotion  Please allow me to congratulate you on your recent success Advice / suggestion  Why not try  What about going  It is recommended that you contact  You could visit  I urge you to consider the points I have made  If I were you I’d Linkers  Moreover,  Then again,  Furthermore,  Better still,  What’s more,  Additionally, Endings  Do drop me a line if you have time  I look forward to hearing from you without delay  Hope to hear from you soon  Keep in touch  I hope to hear from you at your earliest convenience Key: See (Appendix 4) Exercise 5: Put these words into the right columns with the suitable pairs: Allotted time: 2-3 minutes find out , inform me, put up, cancel, kids, contact, set up, obtain, go up, apologize, make up, postpone, request, ask for, compensate, check up on , establish, delay, discover, handle, drop, investigate, get, tolerate, say sorry, increase, let me know , children, get in touch, deal with Formal letters Informal letters Key: See (Appendix 5) Lastly, I can give more exercises or some useful language for each unit if necessary For instance: UNIT 4: SPECIAL EDUCATION - Writing a letter of complaint Useful language for Letters of Complaint Exercise 6: Put these phrases into the right headings: Allotted time: 8-10 minutes Opening Remarks Useful phrases Linking words Closing Remarks - I look forward to receiving a prompt reply - I should have been informed that - I would therefore be grateful if you could give me a full refund - However - I am writing to complain about/regarding/on account of/because of/on the subject of - I was very disappointed to find that - Finally - I am writing to draw your attention to - To make matters worse - I am writing in connection with - I demand a full refund - Besides - I look forward to hearing your early reply - I am writing to express my strong dissatisfaction with - I hope/assume you will replace - I would like a full refund as soon as possible - Furthermore - I look forward to hearing from you in your earliest convenience to offer me a complete refund - I would like to have all or part of my money refunded - I am afraid to say I have numbers of complaints about - I feel I am entitled to a partial refund in addition to an apology for the inconvenience caused - In addition - I would be grateful if you could - I believe you can appreciate how disappointed I was when - I am sorry to say that I was very disappointed with - I hope that I will not be forced to take further action - I insist you replace the item at once - Moreover - I am not satisfied with - Firstly - I would like to hear your explanation for the above problems - I was appalled at - I hope we can sort this matter out amicably - Even though - I feel I must protest/complain about - We ought to discuss the matter - Secondly - I trust the situation will improve - I hope the matter will be resolved - The first problem was Another problem was The most visible problem - I hope you will understand that I was very dissatisfied Key: See (Appendix 6) UNIT 6: AN EXCURSION – Writing a confirmation letter Useful Language Exercise 7: Brainstorming Allotted time: 5-7 minutes agreement agreement A confirmation letter H el p La n on time Le nd Mi nh a boo k later time UNIT 8: THE STORY OF MY VILLAGE – Writing an informal letter: Giving directions Useful Language - Keep walking until you reach … - Go along … until you reach … - Go as far as … and then … - Go straight to … (over/ across/ past) … - Keep straight on for … meters - Walk past the … then look on your right/ left - Turn right/ left (at …) - Take the first/ second turning on (to) the right/ left - Keep to the path/ footpath/ footway/ pathway - When you get to the …, turn right/ left - It’s just around the corner - It’s next to/ opposite/ (right) behind the … You can’t miss it - A crossing/ pedestrian crossing/ a zebra crossing - A one-way street - A roundabout/ traffic circle/ rotary - A T-junction - Traffic lights UNIT 10: CONSERVATION – Writing a letter of invitation Useful Language for Informal Letters of Invitation Exercise 8: Tick into the right headings: Allotted time: 1-2 minutes Useful language Opening Closing Remarks Remarks - I hope you'll be able to make it - I'm writing to invite you to - Hope you can come - I'd love it if you could come to - Looking forward to seeing you then - Please let me know as soon as possible - We're organising a and would love it if you could come Key: See (Appendix 7) UNIT 11: NATIONAL PARKS – Writing a letter of acceptance or refusal Useful Language for Letters Accepting or Refusing an Invitation Exercise 9: Put these structures into the right column Allotted time: 1-2 minutes Accepting an Useful language Refusing an Invitation Invitation Opening Closing Opening Closing Thank for the invitation, but See you then I hope we can get together some other time Thanks for the invitation to It sounds lovely I'm really sorry we'll have to miss it We're really looking forward to it Thanks for inviting me to , but I'm afraid I can't come Key: See (Appendix 8) Chapter 3: Discussion 3.1 Effect After practicing these changes in my lectures, my students have made some progress in their writings Their writings not only contained fewer mistakes but also showed a right style They know how to write a letter and are confident to write as well UNIT 4: SPECIAL EDUCATION - Writing a letter of complaint After studying for two weeks at English for Today Center, you notice that everything is worse than what the advertisement says Write a letter of complaint about that Dau Thi Viet Ha – 10A1 wrote: Student’s writing Comments A full writing with: - enough ideas clear complaint Some errors: - repeats: there are… - not only start late but also finish early → It not only starts late but also finishes early UNIT 8: THE STORY OF MY VILLAGE – Writing an informal letter: Giving directions Your house is A on the map Write a letter to Jim, telling him the way to your house from Roston Railway Station Cao Pham Ha My – 10A1 wrote: Student’s writing Comments A good writing One mistake need correcting: I’m so happy → I’m so happy to hear UNIT 10: CONSERVATION – Writing a letter of invitation Nam invites his friend – Lam, who is now living in a different town, to spend a weekend with him Help Nam to write a letter, using the cues below Le Thanh Huyen – 10A1 wrote: Student’s writing Comments Well-done 3.2 Comments from teachers and students I made a survey to know what students find about writing lessons by the questionnaire (Appendix 9) and had some replied information as below Most students know that writing lessons help them not only practise writing skill but also develop all skills fully They also stated that writing is very important but it is sometimes difficult As a result, although they prepared the lesson before the class, they still had difficulties when doing the task Therefore, they did not participate in writing lessons actively When I carried out the survey with class 10A1 – a rather good at English class with 40 students, 28 students believe that the writing lessons are very important - containing 70%, 12 students think they are not very important containing 30% and noone finds they are not important at all While only students in this class never prepare the lesson before class – containing 5.0%, 37.5% sometimes carry out, the left always or often this work – containing 57.5% However, a large number of the students (92,5% with 37 students) find it difficult to write a letter before they the given eliciting exercises Through the questionnaire, students also said that there are main reasons that make them difficult to write letters 100% (38 students) in this class assume that “lack of vocabulary and you don’t know how to write” and “You have a mistake in using vocabulary for each type of letters” are the main reasons With the reason “You don’t know how to write”, students always (12.5%), 28 students sometimes (70%) and students never (17.5%) These students stated that the way of using eliciting exercises was carried out in the writing lessons such as Unit – Special Education (Tieng Anh 10-Page 44), Unit – An excursion (Tieng Anh 10-Page 62) and Unit 11 – National Parks (Tieng Anh 10-Page 112) they find it easier and more exciting when writing 33 students (86,9%) agreed that using eliciting exercises not only help them define the type of letters exactly but also makes letter writing easier For the teachers who observed the class (Appendix 10), they also appreciated the way that I guided my students to write a letter Most of them agreed strongly or apparently with the criteria given in the observation sheet, especially objectives, materials, activities and techniques These figures have already shown that using eliciting exercises in writing a letter can help students practise this skill more effectively III Conclusion Realizing the difficulties students faced in writing a letter, I tried to find out a good way for them to solve their problem This technique has helped my students find their tasks easier to do, so they feel more confident to take part in the lessons I present this teaching experience with a view to sharing my own experiment in teaching students how to write a letter with colleagues though everything has its strong points and weak ones Because of the shortage of time, this method must have some mistakes that I cannot realize I’m willing to receive readers’ comments and if possible, you can add some more techniques so that I can improve it I hope this method will help you and your students find it easier and more interesting in writing a letter If the writing tasks have available cues, teacher can elicit some more useful expression to make the lesson more interesting and attractive I think it is also a good way to motivate students’ studying spirit which brings much benefit in teaching and learning Sầm Sơn, April 4th, 2018 Writer Lưu Thị Tuyết IV Reference Blake, Gary; Bly, Robert W (1993)- The Elements of Technical Writing Macmillan Publishers p 125 ISBN 0020130856 Cambridge Dictionary Jump up^ Homer, Iliad, 167–70 Jump up^ Ebbeler, J (2009) "Tradition, Innovation, and Epistolary Mores" In Rousseau, P A Companion to Late Antiquity Chichester: WileyBlackwell p 270 ISBN 978-1-4051-1980-1 Jump up^ "Epistolography" in The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford, 1991, p 718 ISBN 0195046528 Jump up^ Ovid, Her 20 Jump up^ Carol Poster and Linda C Mitchell, eds., Letter-Writing Manuals and Instruction from Antiquity to the Present (Columbia, SC: U of South Carolina Press, 2007) Junior Certificate School Programme Support Service - Letter Writing 2006 Hoang Van Van (2007) Tieng Anh 11, Giao Duc publisher 10 Tran Thi Ai Thanh (2011), Nhung bai viet mau Tieng Anh Trung hoc thong, Hanoi National University publisher 11 Websites: http://ama.edu.vn http://en.wikipedia.org http://www.dictionary.com http://www.essaybuilder.net http://www.slideshare.net/jacquelineblan/observation-sheet-for-teachers2391027) http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/activities ... the exercises to lead them to the way of writing each type of letters I would like to share my teaching experience Improving letter writing skill through eliciting exercises for grade 10 students ... improve writing skill in writing letters for students, I guided students distinguish formal and informal letters and carried out some eliciting exercises in optional classes at classes 10A1 in... formal letters and informal letters The former is used for professional purposes, while the latter is used for personal purposes Definition of Formal Letters A formal letter is any letter written in