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European Journal of Scientific Research ISSN 1450-216X Vol.66 No.3 (2011), pp. 352-365 EuroJournals Publishing, Inc.

. 2011 http://www.europeanjournalofscientificresearch.com

The Effect of EFL Reading Comprehension on Writing Achievement among Jordanian Eighth Grade Students
Ahmad Alkhawaldeh University of Jordan Abstract This study examined the awareness among Jordanian Eight grade students of the relationship between EFL reading comprehension and writing and the associated effect on writing skill development. Eighty students split into experimental and control group students responded to an open questionnaire concerned with their awareness of the relationship between reading comprehension as manifested in their eight grade EFL curriculum and their writing skill development. Descriptive results demonstrated that the impact of reading on writing was exhibited in the provision with vocabulary needed for writing, general ideas and background knowledge to write compositions together with the linking words and using the reading text to check spelling. The study revealed that high achieving students scantly referred to the reading text while low achieving counterparts excessively relied on it. There was a positive impact pertaining paragraph development and the structure of the topic as well as beginning and end of the composition. Difficulties in the reading/writing relationship embodied the idea that the writing style of the reading passage is difficult to understand, that reliance on the reading text limits the learner's writing and that the words in some passages are difficult to handle. The study encouraged using the reading text as a model by students to benefit from in their writing. Analysis of covariance revealed significant differences between the above two groups in writing skill achievement ascribed to the effect of reading comprehension.

Keywords: EFL reading, writing, effect of reading comprehension on writing skill development

1. Background
The Jordanian English language curriculum highlights the connection between the various EFL skills on the assumption that they cannot be taught separately. The General Guidelines and Curricula for the Basis and Secondary Stages (2002) explicitly call for integrating, among other language skills, the reading and writing skills. For example, relevant activities embodied writing short reports based on written or visual material, writing a paragraph on the content of a chapter or a story previously read by students, completing sentences in a text and constructing a paragraph on the basis of a model. This study was undertaken to examine the impact of an instructional program based on raising the awareness of students of the reading and writing relationship. The EFL reading comprehension and writing connection was highlighted by Action Pack EFL textbooks in Jordan. According to the general guidelines of the 2002 English language curriculum this helps students to reinforce their reading comprehension skill, providing them with a refreshment of related grammar and essential vocabulary to enhance their language proficiency. The listening, speaking and writing activities are based on the

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students' reading comprehension exemplified in their textbooks which unfolds essential interrelatedness among these language skills. Some literature has stressed the bond between these two skills. Krashen (1989) studied the contribution of reading to language acquisition on the basis that reading becomes comprehensible once texts are interesting and understandable, therefore, according to him, they capture the learners attention. He advocated that reading exposure reinforces the view that reading increases reading comprehension, vocabulary acquisition, besides it improves the learner's grammatical development and writing style. Krashen (1989: 109) stated that reading exposure is the primary means for developing various language skills. Based on this hypothesis, Wai-King Tsang (1996) carried out an experiment comparing the effectiveness of an extensive reading program and a frequent writing program on the acquisition of descriptive writing skills in English by a group of Hong Kong secondary students. The related study findings demonstrated the value of linguistic input in the acquisition of writing skills, questioning whether students writing can improve with activities that exclusively focus on output. Like wise, Wai-King Tsangs study showed that in the area of language use, the reading program was the only one of the three administered to students that showed significant effect on acquirable writing skills. Whyte, (1985) referred to some research that has indicated that there is a connection between reading and writing. For instance, D. Graves, L. Calkins, G. Bissex, and M. Baghban. Cognitive theorists believe that reading and writing involve similar schema or structures. Much of the pedagogy and research suggest that the processes of reading and writing are reciprocally reinforcing, therefore, they should be taught together as related to each other. Research on how writing affects reading comprehension has focused on sentence combining. Paraphrasing and writing abstracts were found to be useful methods for improving reading comprehension. Research on the writing process undertaken by Flemming showed that peer conferencing encourages students to get involved as readers and writers and that the decisions and awareness that springs from this process transfer to reading comprehension. Finally, reading and writing were found to be affecting learning. Therefore, educators are invited to teach reading and writing together within a contextual framework. Still much research is needed on how these two skills equally affect each other. This study tackles the handling through writing of another writer's writing text, therefore, it is important to reflect on how students benefit from rewriting another person's writing. Gay (1921) summarized the advantages of rewriting another persons thoughts by stating that the students could have two standards to compare their products represented by the original and their classmates' versions. The second benefit is that the students can write under the eye of their teacher. The third advantage is the discovery by the students is that writing may be an artistic discipline practiced with the presence of a model. Through reading ideas are printed in the minds of the students that can not be easily forgotten. The bond between reading and writing is traced back in second language research to the 1980s when the theory of Cummins (referred to as the common underlying proficiency hypothesis) which suggested the literacy transfer from mother tongue to the target language. This theory highlighted that certain types of literacy skills transfer to support L2 literacy development. Researchers, who followed this view, still debate about the influence of these two skills on one another (Grabe, 2003). The second theory stressed that the reading/writing relationship is traced back to (the language threshold hypothesis) which proposed that L2 writers should develop a reasonable L2 proficiency before the transfer happens. These two theories have stressed the link between reading and writing (Alderson, 1984). The four language skills were looked at as comprising the pie of the language arts (Petty, 1983). With the emergence of the constructive approach, the linkages between these two skills were viewed as strong because the learner is looked at as an active and problem solver who draws on background knowledge, reading text and context. Anderson, Spiro & Montague, (1977); Bereiter & Scardamalia, (1982); Hayes & Flower, 1980; Spiro, Bruce & Brewer, (1980) stressed the connection between these two skills. Other related research of Socio-historical nature undertaken by Chafe, (1970); Cook-

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Gumperz & Gumperz, (1981); Halliday, (1976); Heath, (1983); Scribner & Cole, (1981); Stubbs, (1980); Vygotsky, (1978), (1986), has also confirmed the strong links between the above two language skills. Some researchers relied on reader-response theory to investigate the connection between reading and writing. According to this theory, what the text conveys as meaning is determined by the reader of that text not its author. This theory also helps in understanding the processes of reading and writing and how they overlap (Hirvela, 2004). Ito (2011) referred to a broad spectrum of studies that pointed out there is a relationship between reading and writing. Indicating that there has been little attention given to the investigation of the relationship between reading and writing, sufficient studies were conducted to examine the relationship between first language and second language reading skills, between first language and second language writing skills and second language proficiency and second language writing skills. Reading and writing relationships were confirmed by research which was conducted in the 1960. For example, Stotsky (1983) reviewed co-relational and experimental studies and demonstrated that good writers tend to be good readers and that good writers tend to read more than weak writers, and that better readers tend to produce more syntactically mature writing than in the case of weak readers. Elley (1991) compared language development of students who learned an L2 in traditional classrooms and those who learned through reading-based program in New Zealand. Results demonstrated the superior performance which participants showed in the reading-based program as revealed in three tests which examined the respective effectiveness. The participants in the readingbased program outperformed students who learned alongside with the traditional instruction. Abu-Rass (1997) highlighted the relationship between reading and writing. They assured that the reading texts should provide a background for writing which helps students become confident about what to say and that these texts are benefited from by low as well as intermediate levels students. Eckhoff (1983) studied second grade students' writing and found that students they had a tendency to imitate the style and structure of the basics used for reading instruction, which impacted the organizational structures as well as the linguistic complexity of these students' writing. Chall & Jacobs (1983) studied writing and reading development belonging to poor children. Their findings indicated that reading and writing were tightly related and they suggested that the two skills have an impact upon each other, with an implication to enhance learning. The study also suggested a need to figure out the underlying processes of these two skills and the manner in which they connect up with each other. Some studies attempted to investigate how literature reading affects writing. According to Groeben (2001) students may absorb qualities of literary content composition and style and so use this knowledge when they want to write poems and short stories. This is referred to as literary reception and production. It is reported that there is a scarce evidence as to the empirical investigations into the relationship between these two skills. Ito (2011) conducted a study to examine the relationship between ESL reading and writing skills as demonstrated by Japanese high school students, based on reading and writing test scores which the researcher gathered in 2006. The subjects of the study were 68 Japanese high school learners learning English as a secnd Language. The correlation between L2 reading and writing was found statistically significant The results imply some influence of L2 reading skill on L2 composition in Japanese ESL high school. Giuliano (2001) and McGann, (2001) revealed the strong relationship between reading and writing as constructive processes. The related literature highlights the similarity between comprehension and composition (Vygotsky, 1986). Similar results were confirmed by Fearn & Farnan, (2001); Halliday & Hasan, (1976); Langer, (1986); Tierney & Shanahan, (1991) who reflected on the positive interaction between reading and writing and emphasized that this connection requires the use of cognitive strategies. (Tierney, Soter,OFlahavan, & McGinley, 1984). Tierney & Shanahan, (1991) highlighted the development of critical thinking in the relationship between reading and writing. Block

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& Pressley (2002); Giuliano, (2001); McGann, (2001); Tompkins, (2001); Underwood & Pearson, (2004) called for a balanced approach in reading and writing instruction. The readingwriting relationship is described as multidirectional where reading assists in the improvement of writing via the provision with models to the students to follow (Garrigues, (2004); Hansen, (2001); Mayo, (2000). That reading is inseparable from writing is also supported by different studies conducted by Graves (1984); Noyce & Christie (1989) and Smith (1983). In contrast, by referring to a reading text, writing may enable the reader to better understand what is read (Beach, (1998); Daniels, (1994); Giddings (1999); Langer (1992) (1995); Marshall (1987). According to Murray (1999) good writing depends on the skillful manner in reading. According to Kieft (2004), there were few empirical studies on the effect of literature reading on the students' writing. Likewise, Lancia (1997), for example, reported that young children borrowed literary elements from stories they read, putting them in their stories. Similar findings were reported by Weih (2005), who discovered that listening to and discussing native American folktales positively influenced the narrative writing of fifth grade students. Dressel (1990) pointed out that children who read of higher quality stories which were more complex and more varied both in style and language wrote better stories. Hoewisch (2001) proposed that reading as well as listening to stories may assist children to overcome their anxiety and unwillingness to write and that this affects quality of their creative writing. A recent 2011 study was conducted by Ito (2011) which highlighted the investigation of the relationship between reading and writing. He referred to a study carried out by Carson et al. (1990) that showed a weak but significant, according to this study, correlation between these two skills as exhibited by Japanese students learning of English as a second language. Their study demonstrated the moderate significant relationship between the two skills as manifested by the Chinese ESL students. At the Jordanian university EFL context, the writing skill as reported by several concerned instructors does not seem to be a strong skill. Al-Bua'inain (2010) confirmed that students are weak in writing courses where university students demonstrated this weakness as confirmed by English language instructors. She called for the investigation of this problem where sound solutions can be reached to remedy this situation and to elevate this weakness on the part of students. The eighth grade syllabus in Jordan encompasses a number of reading passages and writing tasks with the aim to integrate the various English language skills.
Table 1: Eight grade reading texts and the associated writing tasks performed by the students during the study

Related writing task Writing an e-mail to a friend about one's 1 plans for next week Comparing between using and non-using of 2 How the internet works How an e-mail is sent Brain power technology Writing a paragraph about the ecosystem 3 The environment Our study of ecology the learner chooses Explorations: the boy from the past The Sindbad voyage A link: Writing some advice to help people reduce 4reduce, reuse, recycle energy use and recycle Inventions: the boy from the past The buried treasure Electricity Writing a short summary of Thomas Edison 5 Inventors who lit the world: Thomas Edison or Nikola Tesla or Nikola Tesla 6 Creativity: Be creative Seeing the possibilities: X-rays/ Penicillin Write about a famous inventor * In this study, the above reading and writing tasks were provided to the subjects in both groups with the experimental group students' attention was drawn to the possible linkage between reading passage and writing tasks

No

Reading passage giving to the students in this study Ideas and thoughts: the boy from the past Making plan (making arrangements)

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2. Context of the Study


The present study was built on the assumption which is that after the students take a reading comprehension text, they are asked to take a related and immediate writing task where they at the same time required to respond to an open questionnaire soliciting their views about how they vision the relationship between reading and writing and what content they obtain from reading that can be transferable into their writing of the composition.

3. Statement of the Problem


This study was based on the relevant literature and on the findings of a preliminary study conducted by Alkhawaldeh (2011) accepted for publication by EJSS) which revealed related descriptive results about the contribution of reading to writing among University of Jordan sophomore students. The development of the writing skill among eight grade students as the main purpose of this study is according to the general guidelines of the English language school curriculum and as outlined in the different curricula where writing activities and reading activities do correlate with each other. The major assumption is that all language skills are integrated. The students' complaints and their teachers is that writing in English is generally described as low due to various reasons. On the basis of several studies reported in the related literature, reading and writing are closely related and so they could inform each other. This would open the door for any chances of improving the writing performance at all educational levels. This study is both a qualitative and quantitative study (quasi- experimental) study and attempts to examine how reading could contribute to and inform the development of writing in English and in what areas.

4. Research Questions
This study was set to answer these questions 1. To what extent are the eight grade students aware of the relationship between EFL reading comprehension and the writing skill development? 2. Are there any significant differences between experimental group and a control group due to the use of an awareness raising technique of the relationship between EFL reading comprehension and writing?

5. Significance of the Study


Being the only descriptive and interventionist study at the local level in Jordan to the author's knowledge, that addresses the relationship between reading and writing skills in the English language instruction and among a few number of regional and international studies that investigate the reading writing connection, this study represents an investigation into how reading impacts writing. This is useful in assisting teachers and instructors who teach at both college and school levels to enable students to deal with reading as a model to learn from in their writing skill development. This also challenges existing instructional practices which look at these two skills separately. Syllabus designers in TEFL/ TESL may benefit from the findings of the present study in how the establish the connection among the four skills to reach a balance and integration of the skills. .

6. Methodology
Students who participated in this study were in their Eighth Grade level in Amman 2nd Directorate of Education. These students were given reading comprehension texts as part of their ordinary public school curriculum in English as a foreign language with the teacher used to alert them to several benefits as an instructional methods. They were asked to fill out and respond to an open questionnaire.

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The open questionnaire consisted of items which explored their views regarding how they perceived the connection between reading text and their writing composition. The open questionnaire which was used in this study covered the relationship between reading and writing with respect to the degree of the reading passage contribution to the composition writing, the contribution of the reading passage in areas such as the layout of the writing composition, general ideas of the writing competition, specific ideas of the writing topic, sentence development, paragraph development, linkages among paragraphs in the writing composition, grammar of their writing, vocabulary of their composition, style of writing, structure of the writing task, linking words, punctuation marks, number of paragraphs, checking the spelling of their writing, beginning and end of their writing, beginning and end of their writing, the types of reading texts most appropriate for writing, difficulties faced in writing while referring to reading text and other suggestions. A special rubric was used to assess the writing achievement of the students in both groups of the control and the experimental group.
Table 2: Overall Writing Marking Rubric used in this study top assess writing achievement
This is very easy to understand. Your ideas are very well organized. You have used the correct layout. This is easy to understand. Your ideas are well organized. You have used the correct layout with a few errors. You have used the correct level of formality with a few errors. I can understand this. Your ideas are organized. You have used the correct layout with some errors. You have used the correct level of formality with some errors. This is difficult to understand. Some of your ideas are organized logically. You have used the correct layout but with a lot of errors. You have used the correct level of formality but with a lot of errors. This is very difficult to understand. Your ideas are disorganized. You have not used the correct layout for this type of writing. You have not used the correct level of formality.

Communication

Organization

Layout

Style

You have used the correct level of formality.

Language:
You use complicated structures correctly. You use a very good range of vocabulary. Your punctuation and use of capital letters is very good. Your spelling is very good. You use complicated structures correctly with a few errors. You use a good range of vocabulary. Your punctuation and use of capital letters is good. Your spelling is good. You use simple structures correctly but not complicated. You use a range of the right vocabulary. Your punctuation and use of capital letters has some errors. Your spelling has some errors. You use some simple structures correctly. You use some of the right vocabulary. Your punctuation and use of capital letters is weak. Your spelling is weak. You dont use simple structures correctly. You dont use the right vocabulary. Your punctuation and use of capital letters is very weak. Your spelling is very weak.

Grammar

Vocabulary

Punctuation

Spelling

6.1. Validity The open questionnaire and the instructional program based on awareness-raising of the relationship between reading comprehension and writing skills were shown to seven experts in linguistics and language teaching (TEFL) who taught at various public and private universities in Jordan who

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examined the relevance of the questionnaire items and the appropriateness of the related instructional program. A part from few modifications proposed to the items, all responses revealed the relevance and appropriateness of the instrument including the achievement writing test and the above assessment rubric. 6.3. Sample This study attempted to examine the connection between reading comprehension texts available in school textbooks in English in Jordan and the writing skill. This involves counting the number and types of vocabulary taken from reading texts, the syntactical structures taken and the style of writing in these reading texts. For the purpose of this study, eighty (80) students split into control and experimental group participated as respondents to the open reading/writing bond questionnaire and as subjects of these two groups. They were all in their second year of study. This took place during the second semester 2011. 6.4. Implementation of the Study This study was implemented during the second semester 2011. Two eight grade students' sections were randomly selected where students were randomly distributed over these two sections. Eighth-grade students who participated in this study were first given a reading passage as outlined above, then were asked to write a related writing composition in view of the above reading text. While they were developing their writing composition they were given an open questionnaire to respond to items connected with the relationship between the writing task they were required to perform and the reading comprehension text they took in the same unit. The reading task and the writing tasks took two consecutive lectures where each is a sixty minute lecture. 6.5. Data Analysis A prewriting test was administered to the two groups of students. The experimental group was taught along side the awareness raising technique of the relationship between reading comprehension and writing. The control group received the usual instruction on writing. In assessing the writing of the two groups, the researcher assessed their writing following up the rubric above where the total mark was 40. Then using the appropriate statistical treatment, the analysis of covariance was computed to find any statistically significant differences between the two groups in relation to the effect of the independent (reading comprehension) variable on the dependent (writing) variable. The data obtained via the open questionnaire were analyzed to collect further information about eighth grade students handling of the relationship between reading comprehension and writing as represented in their texts. 6.6. Reliability As a quantitative and qualitative investigation, the open questionnaire instrument used in this study was reapplied to a smaller 12 students sample to check if it manifests consistent results with the results of the first experiment. A strong match was noticed between the first time and the second one estimated by inter-reliability as 86% and the intra-reliability as 84% where two analysts analyzed the related qualitative data which were regarded s high.

7. Findings
Research Question One: What are the various aspects of The contribution of the assigned reading comprehension to the associated students' writing as emerged from the open questionnaire results which solicited information concerning the reading comprehension writing relationship?

The Effect of EFL Reading Comprehension on Writing Achievement among Jordanian Eighth Grade Students
Table 3:

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The benefit from the reading passage in the Eight grade students' writing skill development as expressed by both groups
No. of Control group students who confirmed the various aspects of benefit from % reading comprehension material in their EFL textbooks 29 72.5 10 5 9 23 10 10 9 12 10 5 12 6 14 15 13 15 16 25 12.5 22.5 57.5 25 25 22.5 30 25 12.5 30 15 35 37.5 3.25 37.5 40 No. of Experimental group Students who confirmed the various aspects of benefit from the reading comprehension material 33 7 5 25 21 18 16 19 25 25 20 23 16 24 29 24 31 29

Degree of benefit from the reading passage

-Benefited from the reading passage to a high degree Benefited from the reading passage in writing the composition to a medium degree Benefited from the reading passage in writing their composition to a low degree Benefited from the general reading text framework Benefited from the general ideas Benefited from specific ideas Benefited from sentence development Benefited from paragraph development Benefited from paragraph connection Benefited from grammatical structures of the reading passage in their writing Benefited by using vocabularies in the reading passage in their writing Benefited from the required writing style Aligned the writing composition with the structure of the reading passage Benefited from connectives ( relative words) available in the reading passage Benefited from punctuation marks available in the reading passage Benefited from the spelling of words available in the reading passage Benefited from beginning and end of the writing composition Benefited from the reading passage by formulating an idea about how to write

82.5 17.5 12.5 62.5 52.5 45 40 47.5 62.5 62.5 50 57.5 40 60 72.5 60 77.5 72.5

As to the preferred reading topics of the control group students, the following table illustrates relevant findings.
Table 4: Preferred reading topics as expressed by control group students most contributory to their writing development
Reading interest area Preferring reading texts that are close to one's interest Preferring reading texts that are in the form of imaginative stories Preferring reading texts that represent talents, catastrophes and myths Preferring reading texts that represent adventures and discoveries Preferring reading texts that represent scientific topics Preferring reading texts that represent stories Preferring reading texts that represent sports Preferring reading texts that represent e-mails Preferring reading texts that represent internet related topics Preferring reading texts that represent animals Preferring reading texts that represent study related topics Preferring reading texts that represent summer holiday No 1 1 1 2 3 2 4 3 2 2 1 1 % 2.5 2.5 2.5 5 7.5 5 10 7.5 5 5 2.5 2.5

Serial no 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

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Table 5:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Ahmad Alkhawaldeh
Preferred reading topics as expressed by experimental group students
General topics Preferring reading texts that represent New topics such as astronomy and discoveries Preferring reading texts that represent Stories Preferring reading texts that represent Summer holiday Preferring reading texts that represent Letters e-mails Preferring reading texts that represent Plans (future planning) Preferring reading texts that represent Internet Preferring reading texts that represent Historical stories Preferring reading texts that represent Biographies 1 2 3 2 1 7 3 2 1 2.5 5 7.5 5 2.5 17.5 7.5 5 2.5

As far as the benefit from the general ideas in the reading passage, the control group students were either similar or just a bit higher than the experimental group students. This was not the case with the two groups as far as the specific ideas are concerned where the experimental group students views were outnumbered those of the control group.
Table 7: The obstacles 8th grade students faced in transferring material from the reading passage into their composition writing
No of control group students 2 1 1 14 2 1 1 1 1 3 3 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 No of experimental group students

No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

Obstacle That the learner misidentifies some words in the reading passage Existence of some difficult vocabularies in the reading passage where the learner is unable to write them in their composition Lack of new words that help in writing Difficulty in understanding some new words in the reading passage No difficulties There are difficulties without reporting on them The length of the reading passage The tense of the words in the reading passage Connections among words in the reading passage (syntactical relations) Connection of ideas in the reading passage Spelling of words in the reading passage which are different from words in the learner's mind Analyzing sentences and words Lack of familiarity with the reading passage Understanding the reading passage Punctuation marks Understanding relative phrases in the reading passage Difference between meanings in the dictionary and meanings of new words from the context of the reading passage The instructional methods used in teaching reading comprehension Reading difficulty Anxiety of not jotting down the right staff from the reading passage and transferring it into the writing task The selection from the reading passage of appropriate words to put in the writing task using appropriate words from the reading passage in their appropriate positions in the writing task Using appropriate grammatical structures from the reading passage into the writing tasks

% 5 2.5 2.5 35 5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 7.5 7.5 2.5 2.5 5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 5 2.5 2.5 5 2.5

7 3

17. 5 7.5

7.5

1 1

2.5 2.5

2 1

5 2.5

The Effect of EFL Reading Comprehension on Writing Achievement among Jordanian Eighth Grade Students
Table 7:

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The obstacles 8th grade students faced in transferring material from the reading passage into their composition writing - continued
1 1 1 3 2.5 2.5 2.5 7.5

24 25 26 27

Misunderstanding the reading passage which can not help me in the writing task Understanding Connected sentences Forgetting about the general meaning of the whole reading passage which affects my writing No difficulty when seeking assistance from the reading passage in the writing task

The table above suggests that the types of challenges that control group students outnumbered those of the experimental group students.
Table 8:
No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Experimental and control group students' suggestions regarding the reading and writing relationship
Experimental group students 1 1 12 1 7 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 % 2.5 2.5 30 2.5 17.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 x x x x 1 3 2 x x x x 20 x X x X x x X X x x 4 1 1 1 1 2 1 x x x x x x x x x 10 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 5 2.5 Control group students % x x 50

Suggestion Devising appropriate reading lessons to develop the writing skill Inserting stories and novels in English reading lessons to develop the writing skill No suggestions Specifying some reading sessions to train students on reading comprehension and the memorization of reading related vocabularies to aid students in their writing Assistance to the needy student by the teacher to understand the reading comprehension passage to help students in their writing Reducing anxiety on the part of some female students when the teacher wants to get them understand the lesson Co-operation among students and the teacher as a model in getting to understand the lesson to help students in their writing That the reading lesson should be analyzed and paragraphs are taught one after another to help students in their writing Training on the beginning and end of the writing task as is the case with the reading lesson Lack of concentration when transferring from the reading passage into the writing task That the reading passage should have familiar vocabularies That the students should being extra reading passages to present in the classroom which improves their vocabulary Before writing, the teacher should provide the students with vocabularies to assist them in their writing That the reading passage needs to be interpreted in mother tongue Bilingual education: asking the student to memorize meanings of words in the reading passage both in Arabic and English Using different methods to assist the student to understand the reading lesson Emphasizing meanings of vocabularies Emphasizing reading comprehension as it helps in writing Training students on writing by giving them related reading topics Making reading vocabularies easier for students to understand

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Research question two: Are there any significant differences between experimental group and control group in the relationship between reading comprehension and writing ascribed to the instructional reading/writing program? The experimental group received instruction in this study over the second semester 2011 where, unlike the control group students, were taught about the connection between reading and writing, where for example, their attention was drawn to the closeness between the writing composition assignment and the related reading text in terms of essential vocabularies, types of vocabulary taken from the reading text, the syntactical structures taken and the style of writing in these reading texts. Other reading content aspects embodied related main and supporting ideas from the reading text that a student can use in the writing task.
Table 9:
Group Control Exp Total Source

Univariate Analysis of Variance


Pre test n Mean Std. Deviation 40.00 17.48 9.064 40.00 19.2 10.214 80.00 18.34 9.634 Tests of Between-Subjects Effects Mean Square 6731.331 277.542 6.070 F 1108.881 45.721 Post test Std. Deviation 8.771 10.376 9.925

mean 18.53 23.93 21.23 Sig. .000 .000

Type III Sum df of Squares pre 6731.331 1 group 277.542 1 Error 467.419 77 Total 7781.950 79 a. R Squared = .940 (Adjusted R Squared = .938)

This table reveals statistically significant differences between experimental group students' achievement in writing following a special writing assessment rubric and control group students' writing achievement due to an awareness raising technique used by the concerned teacher about the relationship between reading and writing.

8. Conclusion
One main conclusion emanating from the results of this study was the effect of reading on writing of the eighth grade students in Jordan. Reading has a significant effect on the 8th grader's writing in Jordan is evident with respect to four writing assignment given to the students where from among them the fourth assignment (the school project) showed that significant progress achieved by the experimental group students whose number were 40 students compared with the control group students' writing performance as judged according to the above mentioned rubric validated by a jury of judges. The issue that the fourth assignment which showed the difference between the two groups is understandable as the final assignment which revealed a real progress in the learners' writing in comparison with the control group students. This indicates the incremental progress in the effect of reading on writing and that it might not be from the first assignment, but the fourth and beyond that the progress emerges in the writing of the 8th grade students' writing due to connection with the assigned reading passages in their EFL textbooks. Eckhoff (1983) studied second grade students' writing and found that they had a tendency to imitate the style and structure of the basics used for reading instruction, which impacted the organizational structures as well as the linguistic complexity of these students' writing. Chall & Jacobs (1983) studied writing and reading development belonging to poor children. Their findings indicated that reading and writing were tightly related and they suggested that the two skills have an impact upon each other, with an implication to enhance learning. The study also suggested a need to figure out the underlying processes of these two skills and the manner in which they connect up with each other. According to Groeben (2001) students may absorb qualities of literary

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content composition and style and so use this knowledge when they want to write poems and short stories. This is referred to as literary reception and production. It is reported that there is a scarce evidence as to the empirical investigations into the relationship between these two skills.

9. Recommendation
Based on the results of this study and with particular reference to the table above table 1, what can be concluded is that the experimental group students benefited from the reading passage in their writing while in this was not the case with the control group students. This nictitates the systematic awareness raising of students of the relationship between reading comprehension skill and the writing skill. A teacher for example, can especially in the initial stages of writing development, can give writing assignments that are closely tied up with the reading passage for students can benefit from the general ideas, specific ideas and the general framework of the reading passage to align their writing with this reading passage. Also, it is advised the preferred reading topics of the students in this study can benefit both syllabus designers and teachers to rethink syllabus design and the instructional process to enable students in the development of their writing skill in relation to the reading skill.

References
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