Reading and writing integration to enhance students’ performance in writing

Abstract

Reading and writing are often thought of as integrated skills. Some thinkers consider that they ought to be taught as a single subject, while others see the opposite. In our immediate environment, we notice that in the Teachers Training School they are taught as separate modules; while in Mentouri University there is no room for reading. This situation leads us to think that if reading is really indispensable for the mastery of writing, then we are tempted to believe our students are handicapped; in that, they learn writing without reading. This study aims first at shedding light on the different approaches and methods of teaching and integrating reading and writing, as well as assessing the development of the writing skill in the second year students of both departments. Second, it also aims at investigating the potential positive impacts that reading might have on improving the writing skill. We hypothesize that if Reading and Writing were taught as integrated skills, the students' performance in Writing would be enhanced significantly. To test our hypothesis, we have chosen the descriptive method. Teachers and students questionnaires with students‟ scores in Written Expression and Reading Techniques were analyzed and manipulated with adequate statistical procedures to study the perceptions of the informants and compare the performances of the students in the exams. This revealed that the Teachers Training School students were better writers and readers than Mentouri Brothers University students. Through this study, we assume that reading plays an important role in developing students‟ writing performance. Hence, we want to prove that reading needs to be taught as a module on its own right in the English Department of Mentouri University to help our students improve their writing skills.