Emig is a pioneer who radically changed the writing education in the U.S. She has targeted the process of writer's creation itself in the light of a pedagogical, psychological, linguistic and sociological approach based on scientific research.
She has aimed to improve writing through the activity of speaking. She classifies four language skills: listening, talking, reading and writing, and argues which skill is based on natural behavior or learned behavior. Since her argument is targeted native speakers of English, we will soon find that non-native speakers don't follow this process. In short, different teaching methods are required between an English teacher of Language Arts and an ESL teacher.
What is important for an English teacher is to know that the second language acquisition doesn't follow the same order as native speakers. The mechanism of second language acquisition is different from that of the mother language.
In fact, language competence is operated by a different part of the brain between mother language and foreign language. According to cerebral psychological study, part of the brain responsible for mother language is the left brain, and part of the brain that controls what you learn is the right brain.
She says, "talking is natural, even repressive behavior... talking is organic, natural, earlier (123-124)", but this is not the case for non-native speaker. For language learners, talking activity is also "learned behavior" and "technological device", as a writing activity, because they have to organize grammatical and semantic elements in their mind while they talk.
Mother language will be acquired in the order: listening-speaking-reading-writing, but we will presume that foreign language will be acquired in the order: reading-writing-speaking-listening.
For the successful acquisition of the second language, continuous effort and repetition of practice are necessary. Therefore, a teacher has to encourage the motivation of his/her students and to provide the opportunity for effective practice.
