Students who do extensive reading are better writers : a study based on action research and a descriptive study

الملخص EN

is study is based on classroom observation in which the researcher-teacher has tried to find out if relation exists between reading and writing in English.

That is to say the study is trying to prove if reading affects writing and if those students who read more write better than those who do not and vice versa.

The researcher has observed that those students of English who do extensive reading and go beyond the prescribed courses are better in their writing than those who do not.

To confirm this observation the researcher administered a questionnaire to the chosen sample (level one students of English).

The questions elicited if the respondents read beyond the course materials and if they believe that reading influences writing.

The results of the questionnaire confirm the observation data, and the two null hypotheses that there is no link between writing and reading, and if the students were aware of this relation, are rejected and the alternative ones are, therefore, accepted.

Thus the study shows that there is a strong link between reading and writing and that when the students do more reading this will be reflected in their own writing style.

Some recommendations then are given to both teachers and students.

Teachers are advised to encourage students to read outside the course materials.

They are also recommended to create awareness among students of the importance of extensive reading.

Moreover, it is recommended that students should be trained on the different reading strategies and they should be informed of the characteristics of the good language reader.

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