Can reading lead to better writing?

CAN READING LEAD TO BETTER WRITING?

Willy A Renandya, 15 Oct2021

Introduction

Research shows that reading and writing are closely connected. Students who can read well can be expected to write well. However, repeated observations show that this is not always the case. L2 students continue to experience difficulty when they try to express themselves in writing.

In this article, I first discuss why writing is difficult for L2 students. In the second part, I discuss the nature of the relationship between reading and writing, arguing that while the two skills are closely linked, the processes of reading and writing are not identical.

In the last part, I present an instructional model that can strengthen the link between reading and writing so that L2 students can more systematically notice language and discourse features present in the target text and later use these in their writing.

Why is writing difficult?

ELT experts agree that writing is one of the most challenging language tasks for L2 students. This is true of lower as well as higher proficiency students. They may have developed a higher level of comprehension skills, but their ability to express themselves in writing in a way that is linguistically acceptable continues to lag behind. I list below some of the most important sources of writing difficulties (Hyland, 2019; Lewis, 2009):

• Unlike spoken language which allows greater variations in style and format, written language tends to be more rigid. L2 writers need to follow specific writing conventions (e.g., spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and sentence structure, text structure etc).
• L2 writers need to use longer and more complex sentences. In addition, they also need to use sign-posting devices (e.g., first, second, therefore, etc) to help the readers navigate the text smoothly.
• Academic writing is particularly challenging for L2 writers. They need to have deep understanding of the contents, and also the complex rhetorical structure of an academic essay.
• Finally, writing is cognitively taxing. The process is slow and requires sustained mental effort. Student writers have to go through the process of planning, drafting, revising their essay before submitting their final draft.

What is the relationship between reading and writing?

The link between reading and writing is well-established in the professional literature. I summarize below relevant insights from decades of research (Fitzgerald & Shanahan, 2000; Grabe, 2001; Hirvela, 2004).

• There is a reciprocal relationship between reading and writing. Reading can improve writing in the same way that writing can improve reading.
• Children learn to read first before they learn to write
• Children who read a great deal tend to write better than those who don’t read as much.
• With systematic instruction, readers can be more strategic in their reading so that they can learn the contents and notice the rhetorical features used in the text, thus enabling them to later use these features in their writing.

It is clear that there is a close connection between reading and writing and that reading can help students develop their writing ability. As Stotsky (1995) points out, “reading experience would seem to be the chief source of a developing writer’s syntactic, generic, and lexical knowledge (p. 773)”.

Fitzgerald & Shanahan (2000) however argue that while the relationship is quite strong, research suggests reading does not automatically lead to good writing: “If reading and writing really were identical and not just similar, then…everything learned in one would automatically transfer to the other” (p. 43).

Agreeing with Fitzgerald & Shanahan, Renandya, et al (2021) point out that reading is ‘receptive’; writing is ‘productive’. Receptive knowledge does not automatically become productive knowledge. Furthermore, from a cognitive perspective, reading largely involves semantic processing, while writing requires syntactic processing, which for most L2 students is linguistically demanding.

An instructional model that links reading and writing more closely together

Since reading and writing are not identical, L2 writing teachers play an important role in helping their students build a stronger connection between reading and writing. Renandya et al (2021) present an instructional model that can help students make use of what they read to support their writing. The model comprises four major elements: theory of language, theory of language learning, the role of the teacher and the role of the student.

Theory of language

One language theory that is particularly useful is the genre theory. The theory considers a text in terms of its purpose, audience, context and language features. For example, a story is written to entertain the readers and is usually organized around 5 elements, i.e., the characters, setting, plot, conflict and resolution. The language used in a narrative often includes the past tenses, time sequence markers, direct and indirect sentence structures, etc.

Similarly, a piece of academic writing (e.g., research report) is written for a specific purpose and audience, organized using a specific structure (e.g., Introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion and conclusion), and characterized by typical language features (e.g., nominalization, passive sentences, etc).

Theory of language learning

Two language learning theories are particularly relevant: the input and noticing theories. The input theory suggests that language learning is best facilitated when learners are exposed to large amounts of comprehensible language.

In the context of our discussion, this means that before students write a story, they need to see a number of stories so that they become familiar with the rhetorical, lexical and grammatical features of a story. The noticing theory maintains that input alone is not enough; students need to allocate their attentional resources to notice the textual features of the story, if they are to use these features later in their writing.

Role of the teacher

One of the key roles of the writing teacher is to use a teaching method that reflects the theory of language and language learning discussed above. This teaching method (often called the Genre-based methodology) revolves around three major steps, as outlined below:

• Building knowledge about the target text. This step involves the teacher explaining the social context and the purpose for which the text is written.
• Modelling and deconstructing the text. This step refers to the teacher showing multiple model texts and highlighting key language features.
• Scaffolding and joint construction. This step involves the teacher providing calibrated guidance to the students before they do their independent writing practice.

Role of the student

To become good writers, students need to develop a good reading and writing habit. They need to read a great deal, and more importantly they need to systematically engage in the kind of reading that allow them to attend to both the contents and the language features of a text. Three roles are outlined below:

• First, read like a reader. Students should first read a text for comprehension. This often requires that they read the text several times so that they can build a deeper level of understanding.
• Second, read a text like a writer. Also known as ‘writerly reading’ (Hirvela, 2004, p. 110), This type of reading allows students actively extract rhetorical, linguistic and lexical features in the text.
• Third, write like a reader. As well as being a writerly reader, a student should also be a readerly writer (Myhill, Lines & Jones, 2020). i.e., produce a piece of writing that is audience-friendly. Students would need to re-read their initial drafts several times and put themselves in the shoes of their target readers. They then do several revisions to make their essay flow more smoothly and coherently.

Conclusion

I explained above the link between reading and writing and offered suggestions on how this link can be further strengthened so that L2 students can learn more from their reading and use what they learned when they write an essay. One final note I’d like to add is that like any other skills, writing requires a lot of deliberate practice. When students do the kinds of reading and writing that I described in this article and they do it regularly, they might just be able to become more successful L2 writers.

 

References

Fitzgerald, J., & Shanahan, T. (2000). Reading and writing relations and their development. Educational Psychologist, 35(1), 39–50.

Grabe, W. (2001). Reading-writing relations: Theoretical perspectives and instructional practices. In D. Belcher & A. Hirvela (Eds.), Linking literacies: Perspectives on L2 reading-writing connections (pp. 15–47). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Hirvela, A. (2004). Connecting reading & writing in second language writing instruction. Michigan: University of Michigan Press.

Hyland, K. (2019). Second language writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Lewis, M. (2009). Teaching writing. Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Language Centre.

Myhill, D., Lines, H., & Jones, S. (2020). Writing like a reader: developing metalinguistic understanding to support reading-writing connections. In R. A. Alves, T. Limpo & R. Malatesha Joshi (Eds), Reading-writing connections: Towards integrative literacy science. (pp. 107-122). Springer, Cham.

Stotsky, S. (1995). The uses and limitations of personal or personalized writing in writing theory, research, and instruction. Reading Research Quarterly, 30, 758–776.

Renandya, W.A., Tangkiengsirisin, S., & Floris, F.D. (2021). Bridging the reading-writing gap in second language learning. In N. Hayati, U. P., Astuti, S. Andreani, & Suharyadi (Eds.), The changing face of ELT: A festschrift for Prof. Ali Saukah and Prof. M. Adnan Latief (pp. 1-13). Malang, Indonesia: Universitas Negeri Malang Press.

The published version of this article can be viewed here:

Renandya, W.A. (2021). Can reading lead to better writing? The Language Teacher, 45(6),11-13.