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Article Excerpt
Abstract
The study investigates the effects of an extensive short story reading program on the EFL writing skills development of intermediate-level university students in Ankara, Turkey. Two groups displaying similar performance on the writing proficiency pre-test were formed, an experimental group and a control group The experimental group was exposed to a three-month extensive short story reading program, and at the end of the program, both groups were administered a writing proficiency post-test. For statistical analysis, ANOVA procedures were applied to the test scores of both groups. The study revealed that the EFL learners in the experimental group exposed to the extensive short story reading program attained a higher level of writing proficiency post-test scores. The findings of this study indicate that although the extensive short story reading program played a facilitative role in EFL writing proficiency, longer extensive reading programs seem to be necessary to obtain statistically significant improvement in the writing skills of the students.
Introduction
Many studies have been carried out on the acquisition of writing skills, and the development of writing competence, over the past two decades. They attempt to understand how L2 writing is done and how to promote L2 writing proficiency. These studies inspired theoretical models of writing, as well as the theoretical analyses of the process, product and place (settings, functions & background) of writing have had implications on classroom procedures. Since writing is a complex process, one that requires proficiency in several areas of skill and knowledge, research into writing has developed in psychology, cognitive sciences, linguistics and first and second language education.
Recent models of process of writing in a second language have been either comparisons with first language models or extensions of them (Kroll, 1990; Silva, 1993; Zimmerman, 2000). The writing product has also been the subject of quite a number of studies (Conner, 1994; De Beaugrande, 1990). Many recent analyses of textual structure have focused on internal regularities and structuring in texts and on factors influencing textuality (Connor & Johns, 1990; DeBeaugrande & Dressier, 1981; Halliday & Hasan, 1976). Moreover, analysis of the structure of texts by second language learners have mainly focused on developmental issues like the appearance of newly learned items (Hecht & Green, 1993; Wessberg, 2000), or on changes in discourse structure (Archibald, 1994). The context of writing, the interactivity between a text and its contents of production, has been emphasized in poststructuralist and postmodernist analyses. Issues of ideology (Bennsch, 1993), politics, power (Fairclough, 1989), identity (Ivanich, 1998), have also been important topics in writing research.
A considerable amount of research on process, product and place has stemmed from analysis of second language classroom situations, analyses of the learning process, strategies of second language writers, as well as the role of learning and instruction and their implications on L2 writing. Studies by Cumming (1989, 1995), Raimes (1985, 1987), and Silva (1993) highlighted the distinctive and peculiar features of L2 writing and called for models of L2 writing and the development of classroom processes that accounts for this. Raimes (1991) focuses on emerging traditions in approaches to writing and discusses the recent consequences of some of the issues of product, process and place for the classroom.
Wolff (2000) argues that, from a psycholinguistic perspective, L2 writing skills are different, but at the same time also dependent on, L1 writing skills. From an instructional angle, the specific writing skills a L2 learner unconsciously develops should be taught in order to promote L2 writing competence. Wolff also argues that L2 writing competence is related to L2 reading competence, and especially to the frequency with which the L2 learner makes use of his/her reading competence, which are both psycholinguistic and instructional issues. Wolff...
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