DevelopingESLLearners’ReadingandWritingAbility

【Abstract】There is now more and more international exchange and cooperation between China and other countries.A great deal of attention is paid to teaching and learning English.Increasing numbers of Chinese people are interested in learning English.As a result， English as a Second Language （ESL） teaching is very important and popular in China.This paper is intended to illustrate the relationship between English reading writing and the techniques and strategies that can significantly improve reading and writing teaching

【Key Words】ESL； English teaching； reading and writing； techniques； strategies

Introduction

Since 1978， China has followed an open-door policy to the outside world.There is now more and more international exchange and cooperation between China and other countries.A great deal of attention is paid to teaching and learning English.Increasing numbers of Chinese people are interested in learning English.As a result， English as a Second Language （ESL） teaching is very important and popular in China.English is used by Chinese as a tool to understand the West， and at the same time， let the world recognize China at its greatest extents.

English has become a required course in schools.Generally， English is taught from grade 3 on in Chinese elementary schools.For years， the Chinese government， local educational institutions， and schools have sought to dramatically improve ESL teaching and invest much money and energy in the task.English proficiency test centers are set up all over the country - in all provinces - in order to handle nation-wide English tests.However， ESL teaching methods in China are very traditional and old-fashioned.This paper is intended to illustrate the relationship between English reading writing and the techniques and strategies that can significantly improve reading and writing teaching.

1.Relationship between reading and writing

The relationship between reading and writing is very strong.Writing and reading have long been considered to be related activities.Along with listening and speaking， they have been treated by educators as essential components of the English language arts "pie，" at least since the National Conference on Research in English Charter in 1932 （Petty， 1983）.Basically， reading affects writing and writing affects reading.Reading is a vital skill to master to become proficient in all aspects of the language.Reading brings a lot to the reader， from vocabulary and grammar to a basic understanding of the language works.Meanwhile， writing brings its own advantages to people who want to read.According to recommendations from the major English/Language Arts professional organizations， reading instruction is most effective when intertwined with writing instruction， and vice verse.Research has found that when children read extensively they become better writers.Reading a variety of materials helps us learn text structures and language that we can then transfer to our own writing.In addition， reading provides us with prior knowledge that we can use in our writing.One of primary reasons that we read is to learn.Especially when we are still students， a large portion of what we know comes from what we read.Writing is the act of transmitting knowledge.We must have information to write before we actually write.Therefore， reading plays an important role in writing.At the same time， practice in writing helps us build our reading skills.The process of writing helps us analyze what we read.We can apply what we read to what we write.

2.Techniques and strategies to improve reading and writing teaching

How to develop students reading ability in writing and vice verse？ Its always a question for many ESL teachers.Over the last ten years research has shown that reading and writing are more interdependent than we thought.Since the two are so interdependent， how to combine them while teaching？ Here are some thoughts.

2.1 Preparation before class.In the textbook “Go for it” （a textbook which is used in many middle schools in China）， there is a writing topic in each of its unit， but the reading information about the writing topic is very limited， only about 100 words.Its far from meeting the students need of reading.Students cannot use the information as reference， either.The teacher needs to do the followings to combine writing topics with reading materials.

2.1.1 Look for reading materials according to writing topics.

The teacher needs to look for reading materials according to the writing topic， or choose the writing topic based on reading materials the teacher already has.

2.1.2 Prepare background information.The teacher should assign students to preview the writing topic and reading material and do some research about the topic.While the teacher introducing the background information in class， he could ask students to share their research results about the background information so that students can learn from each other.Since students have had some background information of the topic， its easy for them to understand the topic.

2.2 Teaching procedures in class

2.2.1 Vocabulary learning.There are a lot of new words in each unit of “Go for it”.The teacher needs to explain some important words to make students prepared to read and write.

2.2.2 Idioms learning.There are thousands of idioms in English.Idioms are words， phrases， or expressions that cannot be taken literally.When idioms are used in everyday language， they have a meaning other than the basic one the dictionary.Learning idioms makes understanding and using English a lot easier and more fun.However， idioms are very difficult for non-native speakers to learn.So， the teacher needs to pick out the idioms in reading materials and explain to students.Students also can enlarge their vocabulary while learning idioms.Later， students will be able to use the idioms in their writing.

2.2.3 Article reading.According a psychologist named Goodman， reading is a guessing game of psychological linguistics.The process of reading is a process of making choices of reading materials.

2.2.3.1 Teaching the content of the article.The traditional method in teaching reading always focuses on important language points in reading materials.Its not good for students to learn the content of the article.The teacher needs to focus on analysis of the content of the article instead of explaining single word， single grammar point and single sentence in order to widen students horizon， develop students communication skills.There is a teaching method called “a forest before a tree”.While teaching reading， the teacher should first teach the forest--- the content， and then the trees--- language points.

2.2.3.2 Teaching the structure of the article.Articles of different genres have different structure.The teacher needs to guide students to analyze the genre of the article and then analyze the structure of the article.This lets students know the basic structures of different genres.When they write the article， they will be able to decide the basic structure according to the genre.

2.2.3.3 Teaching sentences.The teacher needs to emphasize on analyzing the function of the sentence and the relationships between sentence and sentence instead of simply explaining the meaning of the sentence.For example， the teacher can pick a paragraph to analyze as an example.The teacher needs to explain in that paragraph， which sentence is the topic sentence， how other sentences support the topic sentence， and what the relationship of the supportive sentences.Then， the teacher can ask students to analyze other paragraphs or write their own paragraphs using the structure of the example paragraph.

2.2.3.4 Teaching important language points.There must be some new words in the article， but its impossible to look up dictionary whenever we meet any new word.First， the teacher needs to encourage students to read the article without thinking about the new words.Then， the teacher asks students to guess the meaning of the new key words which affect their understanding of the sentence or even the main idea of the article according to the context.At last， the teacher explains the exact meanings of the new words.After these three steps， students may have a stronger impression and better understanding of the new words.

3.Writing about a topic

Involving in the learning process will improve students learning results dramatically.So the teacher should start a discussion about the related knowledge about the article students are reading and encourage students to share their opinions and feeling after reading the article.After the discussion， students will be asked to write about a topic which is related to what they have read.The teacher needs to give some suggestions about writing.

4.Editing and summing up

4.1 Peer-editing.Students may notice their own shortcoming and learn from each other through editing their peers essay.

4.2 Comment and appraise.The teacher needs to comment on students essays.The teachers comment should be positive.The teacher needs to find at least one good point of the students essay to comment on and appraise.This will inspire confidence in students so that they feel comfortable expressing themselves regardless of their level of ability.

4.3 Feedback from the teacher.Giving timely feedback on students essays allows them to immediately see where improvement is needed.In addition， accurate and specific feedback and advice show students that the teacher does indeed evaluate and take the time to look at their efforts.When a teacher shows that he/she puts in just as much time as students， it translates into respect， motivation， and higher achievement.

Conclusion

English reading and writing are very important skills students should master.They are strongly related.The two do have an impact on one another.ESL teachers should realize the close relationship between reading and writing， and make them combined while teaching in order to let them complement each other to the largest extent.

References：

[1]Ji， Shaobin.“English as a Global Language in China.”9 April 2009.

[2]Langer，Judith A & Flihan， Sheila.“Writing and Reading Relationships： Constructive Tasks.”

[3]Liao，Fumei.“Developing Writing Ability in English Reading.”

[4]Mao，Jun.“English Reading and Writing in the New Curriculum.”

作者簡介：張遠艷（1982- ），女，漢族，云南文山人，文山學院外國語學院講師，主要從事英語教學法和英美文化研究。