Improving EFL learners' writing through enhanced extensive reading

Abstract

This study’s purpose is to seek out methods of improving reading and writing for EFL learners. This one-year study focuses on an enhanced design of extensive reading (ER) towards improving learners’ writing abilities. Pre- and posttests used the Jacobs, Zingraf, Wormoth, Hartfield, and Hughey (1981) measurement of writing, including content, organization, vocabulary, language use, and mechanics. A sixth subscale, fluency, was also added. The results indicate significant differences in gains on all of the subscales favoring the treatment group. A measurement of effect size also demonstrated small to large effects across the six subscales. This study demonstrates that an enhancement of previously established ER protocols can achieve significant gains and sizable effects among learners.