Sysmn. Vol. 18. No. 3. pp. 335-342. 1990 Printed in Great Britain 0346-251X/90 $3.00 + 0.00 Pergamon Press plc LITERACY FOR A NEW MEDIUM: WORD PROCESSING SKILLS IN EST KEN HYLAND Department of Language and Communication Studies, PNG University of Technology, Papua New Guinea While word processing skills are becoming increasingly important in tertiary courses in EST, there has been little discussion of what these skills are or how they might best be taught. This paper argues that word processing is a new creative environment which demands a radically different approach to writing. Originating, revising and formatting are important new literacy skills which students need to make effective use of the medium. The importance of developing these new skills is emphasized and some pedagogical implications of the relationship between thought and writing are discussed. INTRODUCTION Knowledge of word processing, like a good telephone manner, is rapidly becoming a professional survival skill. As technologists and engineers are increasingly called upon to produce their own finished documents, word processing is developing as a central aspect of technical writing courses. Learning how to use a word processor is especially useful for advanced students of English for Science and Technology. Not only because it will help them in their studies and careers, but because it calls upon them to practice and develop essential new language skills. Those of us introducing word processing have found that the task involves more than technical familiarization or developing mechanical skills. The medium is clearly not just a typewriter with some fancy additions. Despite the differences between packages, all allow documents to be created, amended and reproduced with a new ease. This influences the very process of writing itself and demands a whole new approach to creating written text. The advent of the word processor inaugurates a new literacy. On-screen editing entails entering a new creative environment with completely different ways of composing and assembling thoughts in writing. As a consequence, language teachers are presented with the challenge of helping EST students cultivate radically new ways of generating and organizing their technical documents. This paper briefly outlines some of the ways that creating word processed text seems to differ from traditional pen and paper methods. It then goes on to describe some classroom techniques which develop the relationship between thinking and writing that the new medium demands. 335