From reading thrill to writing skill: The effect of extensive reading on writing skills in EFL

Project summary

The project aims to study the effect of reading on the development of writing skills among 11-13 year-old learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). Additionally, the project aims to investigate learners’ preferences with regard to the choice of texts, and whether and to what extent this choice is influenced by gender. It is a longitudinal study involving 170 learners over a period of 14 months with both experimental and control groups. The experimental group read extensively during three cycles of four weeks each whereas the control group have ordinary English lessons. Four written texts are collected from each learner during the project totaling 680 texts. In addition, the research material comprises learner questionnaires as well as teacher interviews.