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Candidate: Supervisor:
Broad of Examiners:
Chairman9
Prof. Said KESKES- Professeur - Universit Ferhat Abbas . Stif
Year 2012
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DEDICATION
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AKNOWLEDGEMENTS
HACENE HAMADA, for his patient tutoring and invaluable advice at every stage of the
thesis, guiding me through the ideas, writing and revisions. His support over the years carried
I am thankful to the board of examiners Professor Said Keskes and Doctor Abdelhak
I am also indebted to Professor Hacne Saadi, and Dr Riad Belwaham, who gave
I would also like to thank all students who took part in the study for their patience and
invaluable feedback. It would not have been possible without their assistance.
I also extend my thanks to all my dearest friends and colleagues in Constantine, especially
Toualbia Habiba, Kemouch Rym, Mr Ferani, Lebaili Aicha and Hamour Lynda for their help.
Last but not least, my deepest gratitude goes to my parents, Koussa Ammar and Kitous
Aicha for their endless love, sacrifices and moral support. Without their encouragement, I
would never have been able to overcome every hardship throughout the road to the completion
of this dissertation. I also thank my husband Dr Bouhalli Abd Alaziz, my sisters, and my
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ABSTRACT
This study attempts to elicit EFL learners and teachers beliefs and attitudes regarding the use
and the effect of teachers authentic reading materials design on learners proficiency in
writing at the secondary school level in Constantine. This study will show how teachers adapt
through the use of simplified texts (ST) and modified tasks (MT) to meet their learners needs.
The study is based on two questionnaires addressed to both learners and teachers from a
randomly selected representative sample of the participants to elicit their opinions about the
teaching and the learning of the reading and the writing skills. Classroom observation is
another tool used for the present investigation to show what takes place in the classroom. Then
two separate analyses of pre and post-test data were conducted concerning the implementation
of the first unit of the textbook At The Crossroad entitled Getting Through with sixteen
first year secondary school learners who have been selected and assigned randomly to two
groups (experimental and control group) for a period of six weeks. The control group has
received the textbook reading materials (adoption). However, the experimental group is
provided with the teachers own reading materials on the same topic (adaptation) within the
same period of time. Evaluation involved learners writing production The application letter
which is considered as the project work of this unit. Thus, the descriptive and experimental
research design incorporated both qualitative and quantitative instruments to accomplish the
objectives of the study. The analysis of the results indicated that there was a significant
difference between the two groups. In terms of progress, EG learners have made
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improvements in their post-test gaining significantly higher means than the CG learners.
Besides, learners and teachers had positive attitudes toward the design and the use of authentic
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
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LIST OF TABLES
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Table 19: Types of writing ............................................................................................99
Table 40: Teachers use of their own designed reading materials 117
Table 46: The project work and the writing practice 122
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 1
1. Statement of the problem .. 2
1. Reading-writing connection..13
2.Reading Definition:........... 15
4.2.Reading as a skill:.. 23
4.2.2.StageTwo:Sentence level:.23
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4.2.3.Stage Four: Reading Longer Selections..25
5.1.Reading as decoding: . 26
5.2.Reading as Prediction . 26
8.Reading strategies 31
9.Reading activities..36
9.1.Prereading Activities:..36
11.1.Writing as a process 39
11.2.Writing as a skill 42
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12.Writing approaches..45
Conclusion. 51
Introduction 53
5.1.Types of syllabuses 60
6.Syllabus Vs curriculum 61
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6.1.Syllabus design 61
8.2.Materials development 66
13.Materials evaluation 75
14.Materials revision 76
Conclusion 76
PROFICIENCY IN WRITING
Introduction......................................................................................................................79
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1.The learners questionnaire......................................................................................... 81
1.1.The sample........................................................................................................... 81
1.2.Description of the questionnaire............................................................................ 81
1.3. Analysis and interpretation of learners questionnaire................................................ 84
2. Teachers questionnaire............................................................................................. 112
2.1. The sample...........................................................................................................112
2.2. Description of teachers questionnaire..................................................................... 112
2.3 .Analysis and interpretation of teachers questionnaire.................................................113
3.Classroom Observations..............................................................................................134
3.1.Classroom observations comment and interpretations ................................................135
3.2. Classroom observations sheets..................................................................................136
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................142
Introduction ..144
1. Methodology..145
1.2.Qualitative methods..145
1.3.Quantitative method147
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5.1. Pre-test: description and results.. 191
Conclusion
Introduction 210
3.Limitations. 217
GENERAL CONCLUSION......222
BIBLIOGRAPHY223
APPENDICES :
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INTRODUCTION
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INTRODUCTION
This research study investigates the effects of teachers own produced reading materials on
the learners proficiency in writing. It attempts to check whether the process of designing
materials positively affects learners proficiency in writing or not. In a situation such as that of
Algerian secondary schools, the process of materials design tends to involve simply looking at
open-market commercially developed materials; Secondary school teachers are just selecting
the materials which best fit their learners needs and appeal to their beliefs and values. Only
few teachers have the desire to design their own reading materials and task types similar to
those in available commercial materials, but with different texts which are more suitable to
their learners needs. In this respect, secondary school teachers tend to contribute in the
process of producing more appropriate and effective materials for their learners (Mc Grath,
Teachers of English in secondary schools are not satisfied, to a large extent, with the
textbook materials they are using, since they do not fit well within their own teaching context.
When first year secondary school teachers tackle the textbook reading materials, they
encounter many problems, among which, a lack of learners centered activities, texts that are
uninteresting and that target only the learners comprehension at the expense of stimulating
In addition to their dissatisfaction with the textbook At The Crossroad, teachers do not
dare to produce alterntive materials because the process of materials design and evaluation is
considered as a time-consuming task. As it is mentioned above, only few teachers have tried to
produce new materials to respond to the interests and needs of their learners.
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When we tackle the issue of selection, adaptation and creation of teaching materials, we are
commercially developed ones (Nunan, 1991, p. 208). If the syllabus defines the objectives and
the goals, teachers, according to their instructional materials, can put flesh on the bones (ibid).
Learners needs have a crucial role in improving their reading and writing proficiency
through arousing their motivation. In other words, teachers own produced materials tend to
arouse in learners a desire to learn the language and a feeling that the language they are
learning is useful via taking into account their needs and interests in the design process
(Masuhara, 1998, p.241, Al-Mutawa & Kailani, 1989, p.156). Thus, this research takes into
In addition to the learners needs and motivation, a further aspect has to be taken into
and candling (1987), for instance, advise teachers to focus on what the learners already know
( learners background knowledge) in designing their reading materials, i.e., adopting a top-
down view to reading rather than a bottom-up view. Furthermore, the use of the language of
real world situations in the classroom is another important element that should be taken into
account in the process of designing reading materials. Teachers, therefore, have to incorporate
authentic materials in their reading instruction rather than using artificial ones.
The main purpose of this study is to show the positive correlation between the development
of effective reading materials and the learners proficiency in writing. The study also aims at
sheding light on the reasons why teachers might need to adapt their teaching materials. It
explores the process of materials development among teachers and their feedback on the
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shortcomings of the first unit Getting Through of the first year secondary school textbook
At the Crossroad, in terms of reading materials and their effect on learners proficiency in
writing. In addition, it aims at establishing to what extent learners use their vocabulary
knowledge as well as the degree of importance they give to reading and writing in general.
More specifically, this study investigates whether the design and implementation of
authentic reading materials contribute to learners better perceptions of the tasks of the first
unit entitled Getting Through as a whole and promote learners performance in writing their
project wokshop of writing an application letter. The study focuses on the variables that
should be taken into consideration by the teachers as material designers to improve the
To achieve the purposes of this study, qualitative procedures (questionnaires, and classroom
observations) are used to investigate if the reading materials including texts, classroom tasks
and activities which are either adopted from the textbook or adapted and designed by the
teacher, play an essential part in improving learners proficiency in writing; pre- and post tests
are also implemented to evaluate the learners reading and writing processes.
Designing and adapting materials is a common practical activity carried out mainly by
teachers in order to make their work more relevant to the learners with whom they are in direct
contact. It is, however, a comlex exercise which includes the importance of learners needs
and interests as well. Furthermore, teachers should take into account the setting of objectives
in a particular educational context to meet their learners needs ( Mc Donough &. Shaw,
2003).
The process of materials design is of crucial importance because many teachers may find
that the coursebook materials are not intresting or are linguistically too difficult and they,
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consequently, write their own produced materials for their learners. More commonly, teachers
use textbook materials because the process of designing materials is a time-consuming not
because of their satisfaction with the textbook materials. Thus, teachers do engage in
frustrating process of self-training by trial and error (Dwyer, 1985). Many educators
believe that learners perform better through developing effective materials. However, only
teachers who have both creativity and experience can provide learners with effective
materials.
This study, hence, tackles some of the issues surrounding the selection, adaptation, and
creation of teaching materials. As these are important elements within the curriculum, the
focus of attention will be put on teachers- developed materials. If the syllabus defines the
goals and objectives, the linguistic and experiential content, instructional materials as
developed by the teachers- can put flesh on the bones of these specifications (Nunan, 1991).
According to Tomlinson (1998, p.1), teachers who are involved in materials development
should go through particular steps in order to provide useful professional development tools
among which:
1-Clarify the terms and concepts commonly used in discussing materials development.
2-Carry out systematic evaluations of materials currently in use in order to find out to what
3-Conssider the potential applications of current research into second language acquisition.
4-Consider the potential applications of what both teachers and learners believe is valuable in
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When selecting the adapted materials for design, it is important to match the materials with
the goals and objectives of the programme, and to ensure that they are consistent with
The present investigation is carried out to answer the following research questions:
1. To what extent do learners perceive the use of the coursebook, as a means of instruction
2. To what extent has the first unit Getting Through as a whole been successful in
responding to the learners needs and interests in terms of selections of reading strategies, of
3. To what extent the modified reading materials, the simplified texts or the authentic
versions brought by the teacher, contribute to learners better perceptions of the tasks and the
unit as a whole?
4. Do the adapted versions, create greater positive learners perceptions of the materials than
5. Does the use of the teachers designed materials promote learners better performance?
Accordingly, it is assumed that when the teachers own reading produced materials are
appropriate and relevant to their learners needs, interests, beliefs, attitudes, as well as, to the
educational programs objectives and goals, their learners proficiency level in writing would
The major hypothesis that appeals to the current problem is that if teachers reading
materials design are effective, learners proficiency in writing will be improved, i.e., teachers
reading material design has a positive effect on learners proficiency level in writing.
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5. Research Methodology and Tools
The data is collected through the use of three research tools namely, teachers and learners
addressed to first year secondary school teachers, aims at determining the role reading
materials play in teaching writing, and their attitudes toward designing their own produced
reading materials to enhance their learners writing performance through targeting their needs
and increasing the level of task enjoyment. The learners questionnaire, addressed to first year
secondary school learners, will provide their preferences in learning reading, and the
Classroom observation and experimental investigation are two other tools used for the
present investigation. Such means of research allows direct contact with what takes place in
the classroom. To achieve the aim of this study, the participants are pre-tested prior the
beginning of the experiment through Text-Focused Approach to writing. After the pre-test,
each group follows particular reading instruction materials for six weeks. During the treatment
period, the control group (CG) follows the textbook reading materials and the experimental
group (EG) follows the teachers designed reading materials (i.e, the EG doesnt follow the
same reading materials but their teachers produced ones). At the end of the experiment both
groups are post tested. The collected data, of the pre-test and the post test, are compared via a
t-test analysis. The analysis of the collected data aims at determining whether designing
authentic reading materials which are relevant to learners needs, interests and beliefs enhance
their proficiency in writing. After analysing the results, we will draw conclusions to accept or
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6. Definitions of the Basic Terms and Concepts
We provide the reader with the definitions of some key terms which can be found in
evaluation, language teaching. These terms are differently defined by many authors, but the
provide sources of language input and to exploit those sources in ways which maximise the
likelihood of intake.
6.2.Materials adaptation
Making changes to materials in order to improve them or to make them more suitable for a
particular type of learner. Adaptation can include reducing, adding, omitting, modifying and
supplementing. Most teachers adapt materials every time they use a textbook in order to
This term refers to attempts to measure the value of materials, and to predict whether or not
language.
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6.5. Coursebook
A textbook which provides the core materials for a language-learning course. It aims to
provide as much as possible in one book and is designed so that it could serve as the only book
which the learners necessarily use during a course. Such a book usually includes work on
grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, functions and the skills of reading, writing, listening and
speaking.
6.6. ELF
English as a lingua franca the English used by non-native speakers or the use of English
Activities which involve repetition of the same language point or skill in an environment
6.8.Language use
The present work is divided into five chapters. The first two chapters constitute the
literature survey. Chapter One provides a brief background in the teaching of reading and
writing as a process and as a skill, particularly the strategies used by both teachers and
learners in the teaching and learning process focusing on the connection between reading and
writing. Chapter Two reports the criteria of designing reading materials, with emphasis on
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ESL/EFL studies and shows how the analysis of learnrs needs influence the selection of
reading texts and learning tasks. The main focus of this chapter concerns materials revision
and evaluation.
The last three chapters constitute the empirical part of the work. Chapter Three concerns the
analysis of the data collected by means of the teachers and learners questionnaires, on the
one hand, and classroom observation, on the other hand. Chapter Four is the core of this
research. It covers our experimental study. Sixteen participants have been selected to
participate in this study. To know their writing level, they have been pre-tested. These
participants, who have been randomly assigned to either experimental group or control group,
spend six weeks following particular reading instruction materials. At the end of the treatment
period, both groups will be post-tested. In order to analyze the collected data, we use a
quantitative analysis relying on a t-test. Finally, Chapter five summarises the research findings
and provides suggestions and pedagogical implications concerning the design of reading
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CHAPTER ONE
Introduction:
1. Reading-Writing connections.
2.Reading Definitions.
16.Teaching vocabulary
Conclusion
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CHAPTER: ONE Reading And Writing Convergences.
Introduction
This chapter provides a brief theoretical background on the teaching of reading and writing
skills. It first looks at the connection of reading to writing as interwined, mutually dependent
literacy skills. In this respect, reading and writing reciprocally shape and support one another.
First, it addresses the issue of reading process and investigates the strategies used by good
readers to improve their writing proficiency. Then, the chapter presents writing as a cognitive
process and introduces the writing strategies used by good writers who are supposed to be
good readers as well. Finally, the chapter reports the different kinds of feedback on learners
writing as an outcome.
1. Reading-Writing Connections
The transition from seeing reading and writing as separate cognitive processes (1970s) to
seeing reading and writing as mutually dependent entities of composing (1990s). Connecting
reading to writing in second language writing instruction is used by the majority of teachers to
enhance their learners proficiency in writing. Thus, reading and writing processes are no
longer considered as two separate entities, but rather they are presented as interwined,
mutually dependent literacy skills. Reading and writing reciprocally shape and support one an
other. In this respect, teachers tend to use rich reading activities to teach learners to write
(Stone, 2009).
Most teachers today use and focus on reading to teach writing, in other words, reading-to-
write. Reading-to-write according to Flower (1990) is a tool that includes different activities
and tasks to improve writing instruction. Besides the reading-writing relationship in teaching
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aimed at using reading activities to motivate learners to improve the learners proficiency in
writing ( i.e., When learners are reading, they are involving in writing). However, teachers
focus on the influence of reading to teach writing in schools. In other words, the reading phase
supplement the learners with enough vocabulary stock ( i.e., key-words about the topic ideas)
which enable learners to write effectively, in this sense, reading paves the way for writing.
Similarly, (Carson & Leki 1993, in Hyland, 2003) state that reading can be the basis for
writing in academic settings. Integrating reading with writing is based on the idea that reading
and writing complement each other because learners usually use what they read as vocabulary,
punctuation, grammar and form to what they write. As a result, different research studies show
that learners who read more tend to be good writers. This hypothesis implies that good readers
When learners are reading, they are involving in writing. Generally speaking, when learners
are writing, they make use of the information acquired from books, texts and reading
instructional materials they have already read. Thus learners should be invited to write about
what they are reading and to read about what they are writing (the real value of reading-
Linda .Burkey, Lisa. Lenhart, Christine. McKeon, 2006, p.367) cited that writing and reading
has been described as two sides of the same process. In the past, elementary and secondary
teachers used to teach reading and writing separately as they are strangers to one an other. The
connections between reading and writing have been examined formally through research
studies. In this respect, (Shanahan, 1990; Tierney & Shanahan, 1991in Jonnel.Vacca, ibid,
p.368) draw conclusions about reading and writing relationships among which:
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1. Reading and writing processes are correlated; that is, good readers are generally good
2. Students who write well tend to read more than those who are less capable writers.
4. Good readers and writers are likely to engage in reading and writing independently
These conclusions suggest that reading and writing are related. The two processes share
some common characteristics: both are language based skills, both involve learners in the
process as active elements and in both skills, language is considered as communication, .i.e.,
2. Reading Definitions:
If we want to speak about the reading skill, we can say that, it is the act of decoding graphic
symbols. Different definitions are given by different authors. Some of them defined reading as
a skill, others defined it as a process. According to Peregoy and Boyle (2004, in T.Linse &
Nunan, 2005, p.69) who consider reading as a set of skills defined reading as follows:
Reading is a set of skills that involves making sense and deriving meaning from the printed
word and also comprehend what we read.. For second language learners there are three
different elements which impact reading; which are respectively, the learners background
knowledge, the learners linguistic knowledge of the target language, and the strategies and
techniques the learner uses to tackle the text. (Peregoy and Boyle, 2004 in T.Linse, 2005,
p.96)
However, other linguists defined reading as a process rather than as a skill. In this respect,
(Randi Stone, 2009, p.85) noted that:
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Reading is not a technical skill acquired once and for all in the primary but rather a
developemental process. A readers competence continuous to grow through engagement with
various types of texts and wide reading for various purposes over life time. (Stone, 2009,
p.85)
From these definitions, we can say that reading can be defined and thus can be taught either
as a skill or as a process. Besides, we can deduce that reading is not acquired with finality at
once, however, it is a process that takes place throughout our lives by exposing ourselves to
various texts.
The teaching of foreign language reading in recent years has been influenced by changes in
the understanding of the nature of the reading process. On the one hand, reading theory has
longer viewed as a process of decoding, but rather as an integration of top-down processes that
utilize background knowledge and schema (Carell, Devine, and Eskey, 1988 in Richards,
1990). Besides, reasearchers tend to focus on readers themselves to identify the strategies
employed by successful readers as they interact with the reading text. Thus, the old
instructional reading methods and techniques brought by grammar translation and audio-
lingual approaches (1990s) are no longer efficient and appropriate in the process of learning
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and teaching language structures (Crystal, 1997; Nunan, 1999). More recent approaches have
Richards (1990, p.87) summarizes, the objectives of a reading course under seven points:
The use of reading in the language classroom is based on both schema theory (reading as
process) and decoding theory (reading as a skill). Schema theory, also known as top-down
processing, involves the application of prior knowledge to working on the meaning of a text
(Hedge, 2000, p.189). However, decoding theory which is referred to as bottom-up processing,
includes decoding the letters, words, and other language features of the text (Hedge, ibid).
knowledge, as well as, knowledge of the language to decipher the text. Nunan argues that
reading is an interactive process, in which the reader constantly shuttles between bottom-up
and top-down processes (Nunan, 1999, p.254). Leaerners should rely on their individual
experience to grasp the reading text. For instance, Krashen (1980) argues that the input
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shouldnt be too linguistically difficult and must be comprehensible for successful language
learning to occur. Brown (2001) also says that the ability of the reader to acquire meaning
depends on the accessibility of the L2 vocabulary. That is, as long as the reader knows the
words in the given text, he can infer the meaning from the context. In this respect, both
Reading as a skill or as a process has a close relationship with the term interactive (Tericia
Hedge 2011, p.188). In this sense, (Carrell, Devine, and Esky, 1988; in Hedge, ibid.) have
used this term to describe the second language reading process and skill.
ways. First, it describes a dynamic relationship with a text as the reader struggles to make
sense of it. This means When the reader is trying to create and deduce meaning from the text,
he is involved in an active process which Goodman (1967 in Hedge 2011, p.188) called a
psycholinguistic guessing game (i.e, engaging in reading is similar to playing a game); the
reader combines and gathers information from the text and his background knowledge, brings
them to read and achieve a complete understanding of the text. From this perspective, reading
can be seen as a kind of a dialogue between the reader and the text, and even between the
reader and the author (Widdowson,1979 in Hedge, 2011, p.188). The second interpretation of
the term interaction refers to the syntactic and morphological knowledge that a reader
In this sense, Hedge (ibid, p.189) noted : Two of these, syntactic and morphological
knowledge, help readers to decode the language of a text and can together be called systemic
or linguistic knowledge. Therefore, both the reading process including, general world
knowledge, and the reading skill which includes knowledge of decoding the language of the
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text morphological and syntactic knowledge enable a reader to work with the language of
the text in order to interpret its meaning. L2 reading is often categorized into the following
types: (a) receptive reading, (b) reflective reading, (c) skim reading, (d) scanning, and (e)
intensive reading.
According to (Hedge, 2011, p.190), reading can be a process in three ways, either an
interactive process or a purposeful process, as well as, it can be considered as a critical process
as follows:
Reading can be an interactive process through the use of Schematic knowledge and
Language knowledge
Generally teachers start their reading lessons with the warm up to make use of schematic
knowledge. In this sense, the introductory task which can be a problem-solving activity
demonstrated the importance of schematic knowledge in reading which generally enable the
reader to work with the languge of the text in order to interpret its meaning (Hedge, 2011,
p.189). The term schematic knowledge has been usefully defined by Cook (1989 in Hedge,
predict the contents of the particular situation which the discourse describes.
Nunan(1999) asserts that the Schema Theory is based on the principle that readers prior
experience directs them building mental constructions to facilitate getting meaning from their
experiences. According to Hedge (ibid), certain words or phrases in the text or in the reading
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materials can activate prior knowledge in the mind of the reader. This is demonstrated by
current research into the reading process which has uncovered what happens in silent reading
by asking learners to think aloud (ibid), and reporting on how they are responding to the
text, and by recording expressing their thoughts. In this respect, many studies suggest that
reading methodology have to activate schematic knowledge among learners before reading
(Hedge, ibid).
Through the use of interpretative procedures the participants supply meanings and
input underlying patterns even though the surface content will not reveal the
meanings to an observer unless his model is directed to such elaborations (Cicourel,
1973 in Nunan, 1990, p.68)
The schematic knowledge has a crucial influence on the comprehension processes, in
the sense, it helps learners to interprete the text (interpretive processes). Widdowson in (ibid)
has related this notion to three aspects of language. The first of these is concerned with
propositional meaning, while the second related to the functional level of language and the
third element is related to our interpretive ability to make connections which do not exist in
the text (Strategies used by good readers to grasp the meaning of the text). Nunan (1991, p.
63) used the Top- down view on the nature of reading to refer to schematic knowledge,
which suggests that We use discoursal and real world knowledge to construct and interprete
aural messages.
Language knowledge enables readers to work on and through the reading material given to
Good readers can easily recognize, and decode quickly and accurately, words, grammatical
structures, discourse signals, and other linguistic features. In other words, a fluent reader has a
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good knowledge of language structure and can recognize and understand a wide range of
vocabulary automatically through the text (Hedge, p.192).
Similarly, Nunan (1991, p.63) outlined the bottom-up view on the nature of reading to
decoding the individual sounds we hear to derive the meaning words and hence utterances.
Pugh, 1978; Lunzer & Gardner, 1979 (in Hedge, Ibid, p.194) described various styles of
reading, and gave their terminology which has been taken into ELT methodology as follows:
4.1.2.a. Receptive Reading: Which is undertaken, for example, when a reader wants to enjoy
a short story, follow a line of arguments, or understand the the main stages in a textbook
description.
4.1.2.b. Reflective Reading: Which involves episodes of reading the text and then pausing to
reflect and check whether the new line of argument is consistent with opinions expressed
4.1.2.c. Skim Reading: Which is used to get a global impression of the content of the text. In
other words, the reader reads rapidly, and focusing on headings and first lines of paragraphs.
4.1.2.d. Scanning: Scanning involves searching rapidly through a text to find a specific point
of information.
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4.1.2.e. Intensive Reading: Generally speaking learners engage in intensive reading with their
teachers in classrooms which is directed and chosen by the teacher. According to Hedge (ibid,
p.193), intensive reading texts should be chosen carefully by the teacher, as a student of
literature who would look at a poem to appreciate the choice of words. This kind of reading is
designed to enable learners to develop specific receptive skills, such as: ( identifying the topic,
predicting and guessing, reading for general information skimming, reading for specific
information scanning, interpreting texts (Nunan, 2001). Similarly, Almutawa and Alkilani
(1989) defined intensive reading as follows: Intensive reading is a classroom activity carried
on under the guidance of the teacher. (Almutawa and Alkilani, 1989, p.116). Besides,
(Hedge, ibid) points that intensive reading is partly done to teach learners how to employ good
reading strategies, so that when they are engaged in extensive reading (that is, when they are
4.1.2.f. Extensive Reading: Here, teachers encourages learners to choose for themselves
what they read and to do so for pleasure ( Harmer, 2001). Extensive reading is usually done
at home for pleasure or to acquire general information(Al mutawa & Alkilani, 1989, p.116).
Critical reading views reading as a social process (Kress, 1985 in Hedge, ibid, p.197). In this
sense, texts are constructed to some extent by writers in order to shape the perceptions of
readers towards the acceptance of a given ideology of the text(Hedge, ibid.). Those who
advocate the development of critical reading skills as part of the reading curriculum argue that
the ability to read critically depends on an awareness of how writers can manipulate and use
helps one learn a language. Learners who want to or like to read usually improve their reading.
Those who like what they read keep reading. They also read more (extensive reading), and
there is a high correlation between those who read a lot and those who improve in their
comprehension and vocabulary acquisition when they read (Silver, 1997). Thus, choosing
what types of writing to read, and identifying the critical features of the genre, becomes
important. The point of making these distinctions is that different purposes for reading
Now, English Language Teaching (ELT) methodology tries to consider real purposes for
reading outside the classroom and to build these into reading activities. Rivers and Temperley
(quoted in Hedge, ibid, p. 199), for instance, make the point that : reading activities, from the
beginning, should have some purpose and we should have some purpose and we should
concentrate on the normal purposes of reading. Similarly, (Rivers & Temperley, 1978, p.187
in Hedge, ibid.) list the following reading purposes: (1) To get information; (2) to respond to
curiosity about a topic; (3) to follow instructions; (4) to perform a task; (5) for pleasure,
amusement, and personal enjoyment; (6) to keep in touch with friends and colleagues; (7) to
know what is happening in the world; and (8) to find out when and where things are. These
purposes are used by many language learners in their real life because they use English as a
part of their environment, or because they have needs such as studying in English or using it in
professional life.
Al-Mutawa & Kailani (1989) argue that reading as a skill is a developemental process. They
note that: Reading skill is a development process which goes through several stages starting
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from words and phrases to advanced reading and communication practice. ( Al Mutawa &
Taisseer Kailani, 1989, p.120). To enable learners to build this reading and communicative
practice, the FL teacher must have authentic reading materials for all these stages to help
learners develop their reading efficiency. The reading stages are described by ( Al Mutawa
At the word level, the concern is with the association of form and sound symbol, spelling
and sound. Learners should spend enough time on sound-symbol correspondence. Flash cards
are useful in recognizing shapes (i.e., single letters and common diagraphs).
At this level, the teacher gives pupils practice in patterns of high frequency. Learners may
read sentences from dialogue material familiar to them. The following activities provide
3. Pupils may practice reading sentences in the class or in the language laboratory.
4. Songs are an excellent technique for improving pupils pronunciation, rhythm and stress.
At this stage pupils are introduced to simple narrative on conversational material. Passage
shouldnt exceed one printed page. This is done under the guidance of the teacher who often
39
uses the materials provided in the textbook. However, additional selections can be used for
The following are some reading activities which are suitable for this stage:
1. Reading for structure signals,where the teacher should draw the pupils attention to written
grammar signals.
2. Techniques of inference where the teacher guides pupils to infer meanings or simple
3. Techniques of paraphrase with which pupils try to grasp the meaning of the text.
a. The beginning level with questions that require restatement of the text;
b. The intermediate level with content questions that require the pupils to demonstrate their
c. The advanced level with questions initiated by pupils who also provide the answers to their
own questions and suggest a suitable title for the whole passage.
As pupils progress in learning the language needed for reading, they should read longer
selections in addition to guided reading passages. That is, pupils reading activities may be
classed as intensive and extensive. The former is what they have in the text reader or
coursebook, whereas extensive reading is meant for enjoyment, for general information. Pupils
should be offered a choice of readings and select topics which interest them. They may also be
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4.2.5. Stage Five: Individualized Reading:
This is the advanced stage of reading. Learners are given the freedom to select from a list of
available materials what they wish to read. Learners depend on themselves in reading as they
feel confident enough to pick up a book or a newspaper and read it for their own pleasure.
Nevertheless, the teacher may provide the class with a list of readings from different fields of
To discuss how to teach learners how to read in a second language, there are various points
of view that can be considered. Some linguists believe that reading in the second language is
the same as in the first language, others believe that the process is completely different, i.e.,
colored by our beliefs about the influence of native language competences and strategies in the
second language (Murcia 1991:169). In this sense, Murcia (ibid.) has included three basic
areas of reading instruction that ought to be taken into consideration when teaching learners to
It refers to the relationship between the letter and the sound. ( Murcia, 1991, p.170) noted
that: The emphasis here is on the letter to sound correspondence It is word decoding
operations. So the emphasis here is looking for the relationships between letters and sounds.
In this respect, good readers are those who can decode the linguistic aspects of language. This
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2. decoding systematic information derived from structure as expressed in word-order,
prefixes, suffixes, question, statement, noun, verb, tenses, sentences, or parts of sentences;
Good readers have the ability to predict what will probably follow while holding in ones
immediate memory elements of what preceds. This cognitive ability combines general
solving. The reader usually draws from what he already knows, as already established
experience, to set probabilities of new experience and acquiring of new things. Furthermore,
the reader holds in short term memory instant facts and language elements which help him set
ground for possible suggested solutions, results, denouement or conclusions about what he is
reading.
So, one characteristic of good readers is that they are able to make predictions (Cohen
and Hosenfeld, 1981; Goodman, 1967; Hochberg, 1970; Hossenfeld, 1977; Weaver 1980
quoted in Murcia, 1991, p.173): We scan a line, fixate at a point to permit eye focus we
pick up graphic cues and make a guess, a prediction about what appears on the printed page.
The guessing process (Goodman 1967, mentioned in Murcia, ibid.) is the act of picking up the
key words from the reading passages to make semantic relationships. Readers can identify
important words in reading, and can in fact make semantic predictions about their relationship
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5.3. Reading as Schemata Script Building:
Schemata is the plural of schema are defined by Murcia (1991, p.176) as the fundamental
elements upon which all information processing depends, similarly, (Rumelhart, 1977 in
Murcia, 1991, p.171) calls building blocks of cognition which are used in the process of
interpreting information and data from memory (ibid). According to Rumelhart (1977,
p.34), schemata are elements of information which are used in interpreting and retrieving
As such, they are used in the process of interpreting data, in retrieving information from
memory, in organizing actions, in determining goals and subgoals, in allocating resources, and
generally, in guiding the flow processing in the system. (Rumelhart, 1977 in Murcia, 1991,
p.171)
So, schemata are Units of knowledge (Murcia,1991,175) that represent our attitudes,
opinions, beliefs about some objects, events or sequences of events, our actions and reactions.
In this respect, if our schemata of scripts or texts are incomplete or they do not provide us with
enough information from the text, then we will have big difficulty in understanding the text. In
the idea of schemata or scripts has an important role to play because when any reader start to
read, he has a background of experiences that has given him a repertoire schemata through
which we analyse and understand our world. So we interpret the text we read in light of this
knowledge structure (Weaver,1980, Mason; 1986 in Murcia ,1991, p.177).
Several major approaches have dominated classroom reading practice which represent
general instructional plans for achieving goals and objectives in a literacy curriculum.
According to Jo Anne L.Vacca; Richard T.Vacca (2006, p.45) and Murcia (1991, p.178), these
43
approaches include the basal reading approach, the language experience approach, and
Here teachers use the traditional way in teaching reading through the use of stories with a
small group of learners during a specified time. Most Basal programs contain both narrative
and expository texts. The directed reading activities (DRA) is the common activity in basal
series because they are based on the assumption that learners learn to read by reading, writing
and talking about meaningful topics. The basal reading approach is easily observed in
This approach is usually used in first grade classrooms. LEA is associated with story
dictation, recording the language of children on chart paper. LEA includes activities such as
individual and group dictated stories, the building of known words, creative writing activities,
oral reading of prose and keeping records of learners progress. Thus it is based on the idea that
language should be used to communicate ideas, thoughts, and meaning. Focusing on how to
use dictated stories, strategies and ways to extend childrens writing and reading as a related
instruction.
This approach sheds light on individual learners differences and preferences in reading
abilities and at the same time focuses on meaning, interest, and enjoyment. In this literature
based instruction, teachers encourage their learners to select their own trade books as a part of
personalizing reading through the individualized approach. On the light of this approach, for
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instance, learners can read different books with similar themes and then share and compare
The approaches which were underlined by literature identification are two, namely, the
skill based model and the strategy based model (Goodman, Smith, Meredith,1987,
Holdaway, 1985 in Murcia,1991, p.185). The difference between the two approaches is a
crucial one.
As far as most approaches to reading and reading instruction focus and emphasize the
development of the reading skills (Smith, 1983 in Murcia, ibid.), teachers should teach reading
through stages by giving different types of reading activities. Though almost these skills are
comprehension ones, but a great deal of attention is paid to pronunciation skills and word
identification. Specifically, the skill based model focuses on pieces of language building from
the smallest units of language (i.e., sounds, words and phrases), or just the, vice-versa,
breaking down the larger units and segments into individual units (Smith, 1983 in Murcia,
ibid, p.185). On the other hand, in a skills based approach, great emphasis is placed on the
mastery of sound-symbol relationship (Ekwall & Shanker,1983, in Murcia, ibid.). This leads
learners to think that once they have mastered basic phonetics and letter-word recognition,
they can use these skills to retrieve and gain meaning from the text (Jones,1981 in Murcia,
ibid). Thus four different areas of language are identified in this model which are: vocabulary,
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7.2. Strategy-Based Reading Approach:
(Cognitive and metacognitive strategies) for getting meaning from connected text (Newman,
1988 in Murcia, ibid.). Here the primary focus is on comprehension. Reading in this approach
is defined as a language thinking process involving many aspects, among which, syntax, and
graphophonics which are interrelated (Holdaway, 1985 in Murcia, ibid). A strategy based
processing strategies (Rigg and Kazenek, 1985 in Murcia 1991, p.186). Thus this approach
placed comprehension and meaning on the first place rather than decoding letters and words.
According to (Murcia 1991, p.186), reading programs under this approach are based on the
2.Errors are viewed as information that tells where the learner is, developementally, in the
reading process.
4.Language, both oral and written,is the primary means of creating new knowledge.
5.The four language processes ( listening, speaking, reading and writing) are interrelated and
interdependent.
6.Authentic reading materials, i.e; newspapers, menus, signs, provide the best models of
language.
8.Learners must be involved in real language activities through reading meaningful materials.
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8. Reading Strategies (Cognitive & Metacognitive):
individual sounds that we hear to derive the meaning of words and utterances, but rather it is a
matter of constructing and interpreting aural messages through the use of discoursal and real
skills and it is more complex than merely decoding specific words. L.Lise argues that:
Teaching learners how to derive meaning as well as analyse and synthesize what they have
read is an essential part of the reading process (L.Lise,2005, p.71). In this sense, learners
perform reading tasks and verbalize their thoughts and ideas through reflecting upon the
We can say that both cognitive and metacognitive strategies help 2nd language readers to
approach a text and to build up an awareness of the use of problem-solving strategies when
dealing with different kinds of reading problems, which can contribute to effective EFL
reading and comprehension (Alderson and Urquhart, 1984; Block, 1986, 1992; Carrell, 1989;
Leu and Kinzer, 1995; Alderson, 2000; Grabe and Stoller, 2002).). Good readers should
employ methods to determine the reading purpose, to understand the entire text, and even
they can evaluate whether the strategies used are effective (Baker and Brown, 1984; Stoller,
1994). Similarly, Cohen (cited in Oxford, 1985a) lists some cognitive strategies used by
successful language learners among which: (a) responding silently to tasks, (b) the use of a
variety of background knowledge, including knowledge of the world and of the topic, (c)
paraphrasing and asking for help, (d) vocabulary learning techniques, such as making
associations, (e) distinguishing important points and purpose of the text, (f) writing multiple
drafts.
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8.1. Integrating Strategy Training in Teaching Reading:
contribute to effective EFL reading and comprehension. Mc Donough (1999) and Cohen
(1998) (in Brown, 2000) used the term strategies-based instructions to refer to strategy
own reading strategies, in other words, teaching learners how to learn (Brown, ibid, p.130).
employed by successful readers when they interact with the text during reading because good
readers tend to employ a cluster of effective strategies ( Hosenfeld, 1984 cited in Richards,
1990; Anderson, 1991; Ediger, 2006); therefore, Grabe and Stoller (2002) suggest that L2
readers should be taught to use a wide variety of reading strategies. Thus, employing strategies
appropriately and effectively help learners to improve their reading and writing performances.
instruction. The shift in the process of teaching and learning a second language from teacher
centered to learner centered instruction has led to an increasing focus on learners needs.
Research findings on learner strategies in reading and writing classes (e.g., Heuring, 1984 in
Richards, 1990) suggest that teachers need to evaluate their teaching strategies to determine if
they are promoting effective strategies in learners. Studies of learners strategies attempt to
identify techniques and strategies learners use to facilitate their own learning (Oxford, 1985b
in ibid). Therefore, the focus is on the cognitive operations, processes and procedures that
learners apply in learning a second language. However, learners will not benefit from
Strategy-based instruction SBI, unless they take into consideration the following points: (a)
understand the strategy itself, (b) perceive it to be effective, and (c) its implementation
shouldnt be considered as a d ifficult task (MacIntyre &Noels, 1996 cited in Brown, 2000).
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These points indicate that successful L2 learners employ many available tools when they
read, including activating both schema and decoding theories when they read.
Good readers employ cognitive strategis, such as predicting, relating new information with
prior knowledge, guessing meaning of unknown words from context, making inferences,
scanning and skimming. In L2 reading strategy instruction, claims have been made that both
metacognitive and cognitive strategies are best learnt through explicit teaching. According to
Haynes Judie and Zacarian Debbie (2010), good readers are those who use some strategies
which help them to read and to understand what they are reading. These strategies are
explained below.
Making connections between the reading material and the learners background knowledge
help them to a large extent in acquiring a good comprehention of the text given for reading.
Keene & Zimmerman, (1997), Miller (2002), and Harvey & Goudvis (2007) have hilighted
(in Haynes and Debbie, ibid. ), the importance of connecting reading materials with learners
background knowledge. In other words, this connection helps learners to use their prior
experience, or schema, to decode the learning material. These connections can fall under three
This means that readers should link between the reading material and something that has
happened to them in their own lives. This kind of connection can help learners to comprehend
the text and to share the ideas with their classmates with a critical eye as Lynda Hennen
In this case students have to make links between the reading material given by their teacher
and an other book that they have already read. This lead learners to gain better comprehension
of the text.
These last are links that students make between the text that they are reading and something
Good readers are those ask themselves some questions before, during, and after reading.
Teachers can help their learners to get started by asking their learners to predict what the
reading material will be about. This prediction takes place on the basis of the title of the
reading material or on the pictures given on the cover of the book or within the reading
The habit of reading different books at different levels about the same topic provide learners
with enough background information. This last gave learners the schema that they needed to
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8.2.4. Learning how to Make Inferences about what is Read:
Good readers draw inferences while they read, that is to say, read between the lines, to
guess what authors convey as meaning rather than read what is directly stated (ibid, p.81).
English language learners need to learn strategies to infer meaning by making connection to
prior knowledge, visualising, and predicting. Inference is very difficult for ELLs, as they are
already struggling with grammar, sentence structure, and vocabulary. Teachers must therefore
explicitly teach their learners to infer meaning and rely such helpful framing phrases as I
predict My guess is.. I think that.. My conclusion is.. I infer that. And
so on.
Good readers can distinguish between important and unimportant information in texts. This
ability is key to understanding the content that students must read. English language learners
should receive plenty of support before they even begin to read the text. Those relevant
Good readers know to summarize important information and incorporate it into their
schema. As they read, they carry on an internal conversation, asking themselves what they
understand or dont understand, whether they agree or disagree, and what they wonder.
However, synthesis cannot occur if the reader doesnt understand the key vocabulary in the
text.
These six reading comprehension strategies should be taught to ELLs in all grade levels.
In this way, we teach learners to interact with the text, activate background knowledge by
making connections, how to draw inferences from the text, determine the importance of
51
information in the text, and synthesize the information by using these strategies, teachers can
help ELLs to become better readers. To sum up, to investigate the characteristics of good
readers or the reading strategies deployed by successful readers in L2 reading, with the aim of
enhancing the effectiveness of reading instruction (Hosenfeld, 1977, 1984; Block, 1986;
Carrell, 1989; Anderson, 1991; Wallace, 1992; Devine, 1998; Grabe and Stoller, 2002; Ediger,
2006). As mentioned previously, reading strategies are defined as mental activity and are thus
(1) identify the grammatical category of words; (2) examine illustrations; (3) read the title
and make inferences from it; (3) use their knowledge of the world; (4) evaluate their
guesses.
Similarly, Baker and Brown (1984, p.354) point out that learners can employ many
cognitive and metacognitive activities among which, (a) Recognize the purposes of reading;
(b) Identifying the important aspects of the given text; (c) Focusing attention on the major idea
of the content; (d) Engaging in self-questioning to determine whether goals are beingn
achieved; and (e) Taking corrective action when failures to comprehend the given text.
9. Reading Activities:
Through reading activities, learners would be able to uderstand the text, to employ their
cognitive strategies and to improve their writing skill. There are many different reading
reading and pre-reading activities that can help learners develop reading skill in English.
According to Grellet (1992), William (1991) and Richard (2001), reading activities can be
52
categorized into three types: Prereading Activities, During Reading Activities and Post
Reading Activities.
9.1. Prereading Activities: According to the above writers, the following activities can be
x Discussion Questions and Prewriting Activities: which help learners to relate the
reading passage to with their prior experiences, to build vocabulary and identify cultural
influences that may affect reading comprehension. Brainstorming and free writing might
be used.
x Prediction Activities: that draw attention to the organization of the text and to
x Skimming Activities: that provide learners with a general idea of the text themes and the
x Questions: that can serve to focus a learners attention during reading as well as engage a
x Filling out Graphic while Reading: Completing a diagram for comparisons, a flow chart
(for processes), a table (for classifications or definitions), or other organizers that reflect
the logical relations between ideas in the text and highlight for the learner what is
important enough to be noted and remembered (Crandal, 1993 in Richard j.c, 2001 ).
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x Guided or Controlled Writing Assignments or Discussion Questions: that encourage
learners to react to and reflect upon what they are reading at key stages in the process.
x Undrlining, Highlighting, or Note Taking Activities: that help learners develop more
x Vocabulary Building Activities: that help learners find clues for meaning wlthin the text.
diagnose how an idea and a text is developed or structured, to tie new ideas to prior topics.
x Timed Activities: that encourage rapid reading, perhaps combined with questions that
9.3. Post Reading Activities: At this stage, teachers usually use activities such as:
and roots drawn from the key vocabulary in the reading, using charts and tables to
x Journal Writing to encourage learners to reflect on, synthesize, or evaluate what they
have read .
x Application Activities, which encourage learners to aplly what they have read to task or
activity.
T.Lise, 2005, p.151). It is particularly difficult with ESL or EFL learnrs. Teachers assess
54
reading to see whether learners can decode and pronounce the words. Providing that
reading comprehension refers to reading for meaning, teachers tend to assess learners
ability to comprehend the written text. Comprehension questions can be used to determine
if learners grasp the meaning of specific reading passages (ibid).Other techniques can be
used such as story map (summary of the story) focusing either on the sequence of events or
To begin, writing is usually described as a process. However, there are two different
perspectives on how to view writing. Writing can be explained in terms of the writing stages
writing as a skill or in terms of writing as a process cognitive processe. The purpose under
analyzing writing as a skill is to teach writing, i.e., to explain writing difficulties, strategies,
and goals in each stage. However the purpose under analyzing writing as a cognitive process is
to understand what happens in the learners mind when he writes, i.e., what cognitive faculties
are involved in the writing process. These two perspectives on writing (as a skill and as a
process) are both important to be taken into consideration when speaking about teaching
writing .
Writing is a combination of process and product (Sokolik, 2003 in Carline T . Linse, 2005,
80). However, the focus has been on the different kinds of strategies and cognitive activities
that the writers engage in when writing rather than on the final writing product (Richards,
1990). The process refers to the act of gathering ideas and working with them until they are
presented in a manner that is comprehensible to readers. The concept that writing is a process
is very useful to young writers (Olson, 2003 in ibid). i.e., young learners should know that
55
writing should be done in steps. In addition, when teaching writing to young children, we
must organize the complexity of the process. (Dorn and Soffos, 2001, in T. Linse, 2005,
p.80) .
Flower and Hayes criticized product-oriented writing because of its linear structure (1980,
1981). In this respect, the emphasis was switched from the product-oriented to the process-
oriented in the last two decade. Teachers focus on the writing process rather than on the
importance of a correct final product in their teaching. In this section, we will focus on the
principles of this process as the process approach proved its efficiency in teaching writing .
As long as writing is a demanding and complex process particularly in the initial stages of
the writing process, the teacher has to analyze the given topic, collect the reading materials,
and plan the writing process. However, there is a risk that the teacher accumulates too much
materials and creates too high expectations for his learners, then he fails in meeting the
objectives expected from them because of the lack of interest. So, the question is to what
extent teachers own reading materials affect the learners proficiency in writing.
Writing processes are described differentely by different writers. On the one hand,
Flower and Hayes (1981) describe three writing processes (planning, translating, and
reviewing).
x Planning; according to Flower and Hayes, is the process of presenting learners internal
knowledge which will be used in writing. This representation can be created from key
words, concepts, or relevant information to the topic. The process of planning involves
x Translating; is the process of expressing ideas in written language. Basically, the writer
has to translate the meaning of his or her thoughts and ideas from a complex internal
56
network of words (i.e., spelling, grammar, text coherence, style conventions etc) to a
x Reviewing is the process of evaluating and revising the produced text, notes, thoughts, and
writing plans springboard to future translating (Flower and Hayes, 1981, p. 374)
On the other hand, Murray (1980, in Richards, 1990, p.108) distinguishes three stages in
writing: rehearsing, drafting and revising. Rehearsing, or prewriting engages the writer in
finding the topic and the ideas about it, thinking about the audience and the purpose of the
writing task. Drafting involves putting down all the ideas and key words related to the topic
onto a rough paper. Finally, the revising phase, which involves the evaluation of the final
writing product. In this sense, Linda Flower and John R. Hayes (1981) developed the
cognitive theory. The purpose of this theory is to describe and understand the thinking
Figure 1.1 The Hayes Flower (1980) writing model.(in Sara Cushing Weigle, 2002.p.24)
57
The cognitive process (figure 1.1) consists of three elements. The first element, task
environment, includes the rhetorical problem and the given text. The second element, the
writers long-term memory is the writers knowledge of the topic, audience, and writing
plans. The third element, writing processes, describes the cognitive processes which are
To conclude, the process of writing is a difficult and a lengthy process. In fact, writing leads
to a pproduct that can be read, examined and revised but this product has been guided by the
process of understanding and organizing ideas into logical structures. In other words, writing
is primarily a process of construction of a new meaning which ends with a final product.
To begin, writing is usually described as skill or in terms of the writing stages writing as a
skill. According to (Najat Al- Mutawa and Taiseer Kailan, 1989), writing is considered a
significant language skill that should be developed at an early stage of learning the foreign
(a) A knowledge of the English alphabet so that pupils can learn how to spell and how to
(b) An understanding of the orthographic system, i.e. the relationship between sounds a.nd
written symbols. That is, pupils must learn control of the graphic symbols that represent
indentation, leaving spaces between words, syllable division, and other writing
conventions;
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(d) Aknowledge of possible sentence structures in English;
(f) Familiarity with liixical connectors, e.g. repetition of key words or the same word in a
(i) An adequate control of syntax and vocabulary in order to put ideas into writing;
The ability to write well grows out of these integrated skills. However, learning to write
is a gradual process which begins with simple copying and ends with free expressions. Pupils
should be trained systematically, under the guidance of the teacher, through several stages of
writing experience namely: handwriting, copying dictation, controlled, guided and free
writing. Such gradation is necessary for developing, logically the writing skill.
11.2.1. Stage One: The first stage includes handwriting, copying(or transcription). The main
function here is to teach pupils the mechanics of writing accuracy and readiness for
further writing activities. Handwriting: This skill is the first writing activity. It is a
form of initiative writing in which pupils learn how to write the alphabet and familiar
words.
11.2.2. Stage Two: Copying:(Transcription): This phase of writing skill is usually assigned
or practiced as soon the pupils can write with ease the letters and the combinations of
letters for the words or phrases they have already masterd. That is to say, the material
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used for copying should be familiar to the pupils because the purposes of this activity
are:
(b) To develop young learners consciousness of spelling and to fix the correct written
After there has been sufficient practice in imitative writing(handwriting and copying), the
next step is dictation. This type of writing skill is an essential activity for the development of
however, more difficult than copying because the pupil here uses the minds eye which he
visualizes the spelling of a word and English spelling doesnt always correspond with the
sound. It serves as an instrument by which pupils can practice other aspects of language
learning such as aural comprehension, distinguishing sounds and words, comprehending the
This stage of teaching writing involves two graded steps of composition writing, namely
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11.2.4.a.Controlled Composition:
In controlled writing, pupils are usually provided with the needed keywords and expressions
or a model of some type with directions for manipulation in rewriting the model. The aim of
The second type of guided writing is semi-controlled composition which is an important step
in moving from controlled to free composition. Here the control is relaxed and pupils can add
This stage involves free composition, Pupils having practised controlled and guided
composition, are now able to manipulate language with some freedom of thought. This
activity requires adequate preparation. Thus, the teacher must instruct pupils in the mechanics
of free composition such as the unity of thought in all sentences within a paragraph;
12.Writing Approaches:
In teaching writing, teachers adopt one approach according to their beliefs concerning the
writing process. In my study I will speak about the most common approaches briefly, which
are: The product approach, the process approach, the genre approach, the creative writing
approach, the cooperative approach. However, a special focus is put on the product and
process approach because in Algerian secondary school teachers teach writing through a
given processes but they evaluate the learners final produced composition.
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12.1.The Product Approach: Generally speaking, if teachers adopt the product approach,
they will focus on the final production of well-produced composition, i.e., the teacher focuses
The product oriented approach, as the title indicates focuses on the end result of the
learning process, what is that the learner is expected to be able to do as a fluent and
component user of the language(Nunan,1991, p.86).
The emphasis here is on the different stages the writer goes through rather than on the fiinal
product. According to Zamel (1982, pp.196-9) Writing involves much more than studying a
particular grammar, analyzing or imitating rhetorical models, or outlining what is one plans to
say. However, White and Arndts (1991), for instance, include five steps: generating ideas,
The teachers here attempts to get learners aware of the different elements of writing, such
as,the topic, conventions, style of the genre ad the context of writing. In genre approach to
writing, learners study texts in the genre they are going to be writing before they embark on
Writing poetry, stories and plays which provide a strongmotvation to learners are examples
of creative writing. Learners here start to write because they want to create and imagine
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12.5. The Cooperative Approach:
Writing under this approach is not the product of only one learner, but rather, it is the
product of group of learners piece of writing who benefit from a cooperative activity.
(Boughey,1997).
13.Writing Strategies:
Research on writing strategies is important for teaching writing and for successful writing
as well. Unskilled writer is not only the one who cannot produce a good writing product, but
rather the one who doesnt use inappropriate writing strategies or behaviours when writing.
Good writers produce better-quality writing because they use appropriate strategies. In this
sense (Zamel, 1987, in Richards, 1990) pointed that successful second and foreign language
writing programs reveal that in process focused classrooms, there is a shift from language
focused activities to learner-centered tasks in which learners engage in their own writing
Writing strategies usually describe how to make the writing process more effective and
productive. There are many writing strategies which can be used by learners to be successful
(1) Problem-solving strategies, which are based on the idea that we write because we want to
achieve goals to solve a problem, to answer a question. (2) writing a personal diary, or
making notes. (3) Asking questions to generate ideas and thought about the given topic. (4)
Freewriting (a similar strategy to brainstorming) helps to get started with your writing. (5)
List making which helps learners to remember and organize ideas. (6) Outlining which is a
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14.Writing Instructional Activities:
In a process focused approach to the teaching of writing, activities differ according to the
stages in the writing process. Among those proposed by recent writing methodologists we can
refer to the activities mentioned in the works of Koch & Brazil (1978), Lindemann (1982), and
14.1. Activities related to the rehearsing phase: which designed to help learners develop
ideas and develop plans for writing via the use of journals (through which learners record
their thoughts and ideas), brainstorming (learners exchange information about the topic),
free association (writing what-ever words come to mind related to the topic) and
experiments.
14.2. Activities related to the Drafting Phase: In this phase, learners would select ideas for
writing. Here the activities may include: (1) timed- focused writing ( writing quickly on their
selected topic), (2) reduction exercise (breaking down a complex paragraph into simpler
sentences), (3) writing thesis statements and topic sentences ( learners develop a given
thesis statements or topic sentences), (4) group drafting (learners work together on drafting).
14.3. Activities related to the Revising Phase: This phase concerned both editing and
revising stages. This phase includes activities such as: (1) peer feedback (learners work in
groups to read and criticize their own writing), (2) group correction activities (learners tend
to supply the missing elements to a given essays which contain certain delitions), (3)
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14.4 Writing Assessement & Teachers Feedback:
Writing is assessed through eliciting and examining learners produced sentence, paragraph
or essay. Teachers can use either analytic or holistic assessment. The former means that the
score is broken down into categories (i.e; ideas, organization, word choice, sentence fluency,
conventions the correctness of the piece of writing and presentation) (Linse, 2005, p.155).
However, the latter which is the holistic assessment is an overall score. In addition to the use
of these two types of scoring, teachers in elementary and secondary schools use portfolio
assessment which is a collection of the learners individual works to see their development
Teachers response to what learners have written has to be effective and appropriate
because such responses evaluate learners progress and development in the writing skill.
improvement; i.e., Assessment which is the process that defines the extent to which
educational objectives are achieved by the learner help teachers to provide feedback which is
defined by Ur (1991) as: information that is given to the learner about his or her performance
of a learning task, usually with the objective of improving this performance(Ur ;1991, p.242)
Thus, teachers usually use the feedback to inform learners how good or bad their
performance is and to inhance their proficiency in writing. Correcting learners behavior and
providing feedback is an important part of the teachers job. Harmer, points out that
correction is an indication that a performance is wrong (2004, p.108). Generally, the type of
of feedback teachers give learners should be related to what they are doing (what they are
learning). However, correcting learners errors is a two edged sword, because helping
learners to find and to correct their own errors presents a real dilemma for teachers. On the one
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hand, teachers do not want to hinder their learners enthusiasm for writing. On the other hand,
learners need to know how to write using convention standards of spelling, grammar, and
15.Teaching Vocabulary:
shown that learners benefit from appropriate vocabulary instruction. According to Beck (2003,
in Lise, 2005), vocabulary instruction can not be effective unless it gives opportunities for the
learners to use words and engages their cognitive skills in the process. Teachers should
discover the meaning of new words. Thus, teaching vocabulary is not a simple process of
teaching words but rather a systematic process which is lengthy and complex.
This process requires adequate mastery of form, meaning, and usage. Mutawa and
Kilani (1989.49) argue that through this process, the learners should be able to; (I) spell and
pronounce the words correctly when they use them either in writing or in speaking; (II)
understand without difficulty the meaning of the words upon hearing and reading them; (III)
know the correct use vocabulary in appropriate grammatical sentences or utterances, knowing
under what circumstances it occurs.etc. To achieve the above purposes, learners should
learn vocabulary through meaning within context and not the other way around, i.e, (through
reading text).
great importance. Researchers such as Thustone (1946), Spearitt (1972) (in Jonnel.Vacca,
15.1. Aptitude Hypothesis: Both vocabulary and comprehension reflect the learners general
intellectual ability. Learners large vocabulary stock reflect their mental abilities. i.e., the more
the learner will know the meanings of words, the more learners woud comprehend the text
while reading.
rather than intellectual ability.i.e., having large vocabulary stock and more knowledge related
In sum, we can say that vocabulary and reading comprehension are interrelated. On one
hand, through reading texts, learners can acquire new vocabulary stock which enable them to
write and express their ideas clearly. On the other hand , having large vocabulary stock and
knowledge about a given topic among learners will influence positively the reading
comprehension.
Conclusion:
Learning to write and learning to read are similar, both follow a sequential process. The
writing process begins in the early grades by exposing learners to reading through a variety of
quality. It is believed that by reading a variety of relevant types of text, learners can gain
important insights about their own writing. Through reading, learners see the different ways
that authors use language and take them as models when they write. In other words, Learners
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use the reading materials such as books, magazines, articles they read as models for their own
writing. Educators often teach writing to the whole class at one time. Most teachers in
Algerian secondary schools use the writing process to teach writing. This process involves
several steps to guide learners from beginning of writing to creating a finished piece. Teachers
use these steps to provide structure and continuity in all forms of writing using reading text as
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CHAPTER TWO
MATERIALS DESIGN
Introduction:
6. Syllabus Vs curriculum
Conclusion
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CHAPTER TWO: Materials Design
Introduction:
This chapter focuses on the role of instructional materials. Specifically, it sheds light on the
design of instructional materials, more precisely on the principles that should be taken dy
discusses how the analysis of learners needs influences the selection of the reading materials
including the reading texts and the learning tasks. The chapter also discusses the use of
authentic materials and their role in second language learning and teaching, and explains the
Teaching materials are central to both reading and writing instruction. In this respect, the
reading instructions are usually used to stimulate, and support writing. Instructional materials
dont include only paper based materials but rather audio, visual aids and real objects. These
materials provide the input and exposure to written language that learners will receive in the
classroom. Thus, the teacher should ensure that their classroom materials are closely related to
the learners needs, to program goals, and to their own beliefs as teachers (Ken Hyland, 2007).
Because educators have been aware of the gap between the educational needs of learners
and the curricular requirements of public secondary schools, they have reevaluated and revised
existing textbooks of study, then designed new instructional materials to meet specific needs,
difficulties, interests, values and cultural appropriacy for both learners and teachers in a
specific learning and teaching context (Sheldon, 1988; Block, 1991; Bell and Gower, 1998;
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Jolly and Bolitho, 1998; Maley, 1998; McDonough and Shaw, 2003; and Tomlinson 2003).
Accordingly, McDonough & Shaw (2003) point out that the inappropriateness of teaching
methods, including materials and activities, when they were adapted from other cultures, will
affect the learners negatively and make them confused. As Sampson wrote: If the values
inherent in the new method conflict with those in the educational philosophy of the country,
then it is only to be expected that the proposed method will be unsuitable for adoption.
should participate in the process of designing materials (McGrath, 2002; McDonough &
involve both teachers and learners (e.g. Cunningsworth, 1984, 1995; Breen, 1987, 1989; Breen
& Candlin, 1987; Dudley-Evans and Bates, 1987; Grant, 1987; Hutchinson, 1987; Sheldon,
1987, 1988; Donovan, 1998; Ellis, 1998; Littlejohn, 1998; Masuhara, 1998; Tomlinson, 1998,
2003a; McGrath, 2002). Thus, the process of evaluation and revision will enhance both the
quality and appropriacy of the materials; As Jolly and Bolitho (1998, p.112).) wrote, Trialling
Methodology refers to the activities, tasks, and experiences selected by the teacher in order
to achieve learning and how these elements are used within the teaching-learning process. The
activities and the tasks should be arranged to achieve the objectives set by the teacher.
Methodology defines the philosophy of the program, including the role of teachers, learners,
and instructional materials in the program (Richards, 1990). Thus, it is worth taking into
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consideration the role that materials have played in different language teaching methods
(Nunan, 1991).
For instance, Rossner (1988, in Nunan, ibid) focuses on the role of materials in
communicative language teaching. He argues that there has been a significant change in the
teaching materials concerning the attitudes and beliefs of materials designers toward the issue
of selection and grading. In Rossners view, materials provide new information on how
situations which can be encountered outside the classroom (authentic language), and for
increasing motivation and interest among learners as well. However, the problem of material
grading, sequencing and integration. These problems make lessons as confusing for learners.
Different solutions are proposed by different researchers in the field of education have been
sought to the issue of integration among which: topic solution, text solution and storyline
solution.
x Topic Solution in which units are organized for instance, around topics. Topics can reflect
x Text Solution in which the units organized around text-types narratives, descriptions,
x The Storyline Solution, in which a narrative serial is presented using one episode at a
time. It calls for action sequence approach, where the storyline exercise make up the
whole course.
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In this respect, under the philosophy of materials planners within competency-based
approach is evident through the use of the specified competencies, which provide clear
guidelines for teaching. In this sense, both teachers produced materials and textbooks writers
will use topic, text, and task as important elements and tools in creating materials, starting
with a topic, then collecting written texts which are appropriate and relevant to the given topic,
and finally creating activities which reflect the communicative needs of the learners in relation
to the topic (Nunan, 1991). However, the adapted or adopted materials should present an
Teachers should look for real-world language materials or texts which are simplified and
modified according to teaching purposes. Clarke (1989, in Ken Hyland, 2007 p.73) noticed
that authentic materials represent a moral imperative for language teachers. When selecting
authentic text, careful needs analysis should be taken. The term authentic material has been
defined in different ways by different authors although all the definitions given to authentic
materials share the idea of the exposure to real language as it is used by native speakers.
of a basic ambiguity (p.30). Nunan (1989, as cited in Adams, 1995) refers to authentic
materials as any material which has not been specifically produced for the purposes of
language teaching (p.54). Little et al. (1988, as cited in Guariento & Morley, 2001) define
authentic material as an authentic textcreated to fulfil some social purpose in the language
community in which it was produced (p.347). Breen (1985) suggests that authenticity
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includes both language selected to be taught (authentic texts) and the classroom tasks on
authenticity to the target language needs to be seen as only one of a number of demands for
authenticity which confront the teacher. the learners own contributions, the activity of
language learning, and the actual classroom situation are also constituent elements (Breen,
1985, p.61).
In sum, authentic materials can be said to be the kind of language which is produced by
Teaching materials are of great importance; a key element in most language programs.
Instructional materials generally serve as the basis for much of the language input received by
learners and the language practice that occurs in the classroom. It can also serve as a form of
teacher training for inexperienced teachers via providing a framework on how to plan and
teach lessons.
However almost all pre-planned lessons make use of commercial materials. These
materials can be presented under the form of (a) printed materials such as books, workbooks,
worksheets; (b) nonprint materials such as cassets, or computer based materials; (c) materials
that comprise both print and nonprint sources such as materials on the internet, in addition to
magazines, newspapers, and TV materials which are not designed for instructional use
(Richard.j.c, 2001, p.251). For some scholars, such as Clements & Crawford (1994, in Jack
C.Richards & Willy.A, Renandya, 2007, p.80) when some teachers and educators create their
own materials, they tend to pick and choose from a range of authentic materials and published
ones without taking into consideration whether those materials are coherent enough with the
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learners language programs. In this respect designing materials can be of a two edged sword
when they prevent teachers to think professionally and respond to their learners.
development for teachers, and increase autonomous learning strategies in learners. Thus
according to Richards & Renandya (2007, p.80), there are eight key assumptions which
should be taken into consideration by any teacher who wants to engage in designing and
the context in which it occurs, whether it is the teachers input or learners output.
The focus of both, the input and the output should be on the whole text rather than form
and grammar.
x The language used should be realistic and authentic: Because language is social
practice, the call for authentic materials instead of artificial materials found in traditional
Audiovisual materials can create a learning environement that is rich in linguistic and
x Learners need to develop the ability to deal with written and spoken Genres: Reading
materials have to cover a range of genres through exposing learners to different aural and
written texts.
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x Effective teaching materials target learner autonomy: The activities and the materials
proposed must be flexible to enable learners to deal independently with the language they
x Materials need to cater to Individual and contextual differences: Although teachers try
to adapt the materials to the context in which learning is taken place but learners who
organize the input into meaningful wholes to confront their hypotheses about how the
x Learning need to engage learners both effectively and cognitively: Language should be
used in communicative and purposeful situation to express the learners own meaning. In
this respect, the materials which provides linguistic and cultural preparation have to
consider the learner-generated language as the primary goal of the learning process.
Teahing materials play an important role in the teaching process. Thus, in selecting
materials, teachers should be sure that they contribute positively to the learning environment.
Both teachers and learners need some information about how they use such materials to
facilitate learning. Wright (1987) suggests that we teach with materials not through them.
Effective teaching materials can take place only by providing cultural and linguistic input and
selecting integrated activities. Such materials can be considered as a professional tool because
they cater to individual needs and by expanding the learners teaching repertoire.
In many parts of the world, language education programs are designed following a syllabus-
driven approach; that is, the syllabus determines what kind of materials will be adopted and in
what ways they will be used for the classroom teaching. In certain educational contexts, the
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syllabus even determines how materials should be designed. Therefore, the materials are not
seen as an alternative to the syllabus, but an instrument among others used to fulfil the goals of
element within the curriculum, and are often the most visible aspect of the curriculum.
Nunan(1991) argues that: While the syllabus defines the goals and objectives, the linguistic
and experiential content, instructional materials can put flesh on the bones of these
5.1.Types of Syllabuses
Nunan (1994) argues that language teaching syllabus can be designed in many different
ways, depending on the designers view of language and view of language learning and
teaching. According to Richards (1990, p.09), the syllabus is the starting point in planning a
language program. The following kinds of syllabuses and combinations of them are
commonly found in current English as a second or a foreign language (1) structural (organized
organized around conceptual categories, such as duration, quantity, location), (4) Topical
(organized around themes or topics), (5) situational( organized around speech settings, such as
shopping, at the supermarket, at the bank), (6) skills( organized around skills), (task or activity
During the 1970s, there was a shift of interest from focusing merely on grammatical items
for developing a syllabus to functional skills,in order to communicate effectively. This has
lead to the the development of ESP courses. Notions, topics, themes, activities, and tasks
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should also be taken into account. Learners purposes along with needs analysis, constraints
and resources of implementation should be carried out foe designing a successful syllabus.
However syllabuses can focus either on the end result of instruction (product oriented
syllabuses), or on the processes through which the knowledge and skills might be acquired.
Nunan( ibid)
outcomes of instruction i.e.the knowledge and skills that learners will gain as a result of
instruction.
x Process Oriented Syllabuses: Here the focus is on the processes through which the
knowledge and skills might be acquired. They are presented as being procedural or task
based syllabuses. The program was arranged around tasks such as information and opinion
gap activities, it was hoped that the learner would perceive the language subconsciousely
and then deduce conciousely the meaning behind the task. (Nunan,1994)
6.Syllabus Vs Curriculum:
essentially a job specification, and as such it should set out clearly and precisely what is to be
done, or the standards or criteria to be met by those who do it (p.10). In this sense, a syllabus
is a specification of what takes place in the classroom, which usually contains the aims and
curriculum is an interrelated set of plans and experiences that students undertakes under the
guidance of the school (Marsh & Willis, 1995, p.10). A curriculum provides detailed
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specification of aims, objectives and targets learning purpose for the implementation of a
6.1.Syllabus Design :
According to (Yalden, 1984, p.13 in Jack C. Richards & Willy A. Renandeya, 2007)
negotiation among all the parties involved. (Nunan, 1994) provides three points of departure
in syllabus design :
2-Information about the learner ( What does the learner want to do with this language).
3-Beliefs about the learning process (What activities will stimulate or promote language
acquisition).
Wilkins (1976), for instance, believes that the language teaching syllabus is the combination
According to Nunan (1984), the word curriculum refers to the principles and procedures for
Curriculum planners progress systematically from needs assessment, then goals and
objectives, in order to specify the instructional content of the program. Tabas model of
curriculum process (1962, p.12, cited in Richards 1990, p.8) consists of:
In language teaching step (3) and step (4) are usually known as syllabus design.
When teachers design their own materials, they try to meet individual learners needs
through implementing learner centered language programs. ONeill (1982) and Nunan (1988)
(mentioned in Richard & Renandya, 2007) mention that each group of learners is unique and
that its needs cannot be met by materials designed for another group. Teaching materials are
not neutral and have a crucial role in deciding what is learnt (Apple,1992 in ibid). For this
reason, teachers and materials writers as well, should be familiar with the learning and
teaching styles, ways and contexts of those materials; i.e., teachers experiences contribute, to
reflect the real world situations the learners can encounter outside classroom. Such access to
the adequate materials creates authenticity which enables teachers to provide culturally rich
input.
Because many teachers still have neither the time nor access to adequate technology to
create such materials, they prefer to stick to the textbook. However, when teachers fail to
responding to the learners needs, they are obliged to prepare their own materials as Allwright
(1981, in Richard, 2007, p.81)) points out: materials may contribute to both goals and content
but they cannot determine either. Furthermore, differences in perceptions of proposed tasks
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lead to the idea that teachers do not necessarily teach what materials writers write and
learners do not necessarily learn what the teachers teach (Luxon, 1994 & Block, 1994 in ibid,
p.83).
As far as almost educational textbooks do not satisfy all the learners needs and interests,
teachers look for a change. In this respect, Stodolsky (1989 in ibid) suggests that mistrust of
Teachers are very autonomous in their textbook use and .. it is likely that only a minority
of teachers really follow the text in the page-by page manner suggested in the literature.
(Stodolsky, 1989, p.176 in Richard & Renandya , 2007, p.83)
Although, we need more research on the textbook use, appropriate textbooks still help
Teachers guides may provide a helpful scaffold for learning to think pedagogically about
particular content,considering the relationship between what the teachers and students are
doing and what students are supposed to be learning. This kind of thinking about ends and
means is not the same as following the teachers guide like a script. (Loewenberg.Ball &
Feiman-Nemser,1998, in Richard, ibid, p. 82).
Donoghue (1992, in ibib) extends the pedagogical role for textbooks from inexperienced to
survive..and prosper primarily because they are the most convenient means of providing
the structure that the teaching-learning system- particularly the system in change requires.
(Hutchnson & Torres, 1994, quoted in Richards & Renandya, 2007, p.83).
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This means that the textbook serves as a guide or a map to follow the objectives of the
curriculum to allow the learners to benefit from the lesson and enable them to see where the
lesson feets into the context of the programme. (Hutchinson & Torres, 1994, in ibid, p.83)
c- Orientation: Teacher and learner have to know what is happening elsewhere, how much
However, the use of appropriate teaching materials can help both teacher and learner to
overcome the difficulties brought by textbooks and to cover the textbook shortcomings as
well. In this respect, the issue is not whether teachers should or should not use such materials
but rather, how these materials can contribute positively to teaching and learning
(Cunningsworth,1984 in ibid) .
Needs Analyss is seen as the starting point for the development of the language program
which should respond to the learner and learning needs (Richard, 2007). Similarly, Brindley
suggests in (Richard, ibid.) that there are two orientations of needs analyses are recognized:
(a) Product-Oriented view which focuses on learners particular future responses, and (b)
Process-Oriented view which takes into consideration factors such as learner motivation and
learning styles as we are concerned with learner-centered curriculum. He suggests that both
types of needs analysis are necessary; the former aimed at setting broad goals related to
language content, the latter aimed at gathering information about learners to guide the learning
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process. Furthermore, the results of the needs analysis are applied in the development of
active role in course evaluation and it takes place at the pre-course planning through its
x providing a mechanism for obtaining a wider range of input into the content, design and
x Identifying general or specific language needs that can be addressed in developing goals,
x Providing data that can serve as the basis for reviewing and evaluating an existing
program.
Needs assessement refers to an array of procedures for identifying and validating needs, and
establishing priorities among them (Pratt, 1980 cited in Richards, 1990, p.01)
Thus, needs analysis procedures tend to generate information about the context, the
program, the learners, the teachers, and the administrative factors that affect the program.
8.2.Materials Development:
summarized as follows:
teachers book. Rather they consist of a whole set of materials, including the students
book, workbook, the teachers book, cassettes, CD-ROMs, evaluation (test) book, the
readers, etc.
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x Technical advancement has brought sophistication of ESL/EFL coursebooks but it has
also created a gap between materials producers and materials users. The amount of time,
be neglecting teachers as potential materials writers, because they often have a heavy
x Commercial materials are designed in such a way so as to remove much of the teachers
x Materials are not just tools, they represent the aims, values, and methods in teaching a
foreign language.
x Coursebook publishers expend a great deal of time, money and effort in promoting the
x Current materials tend to overburden the user with an embarrassment of riches (abundance
of data).
The best instructional materials not only serve their pedagogic goals but also hopefully
provide enjoyable classroom experiences for both teachers and learners. Because teachers
wish to provide teaching materials that fit the specific subject area of particular learners ,they
produce materials suitable to their learners needs. According to Hutchinson & Waters (1991,
p.106), when teachers design their own materials they should look at some techniques for
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x Defining Objectives: When teachers start designing their own materials, they wonder
What these materials are supposed to do. Thus, the good materials will, therefore, contain:
(1) Interesting texts; (2) enjoyable activities which engage the learners thinking capacities; (3)
opportunities for learners to use their existing knowledge and skills; (4) content which both
x Materials help to organize the teaching learning process: Good materials should guide
teacher and learner through various activities to maximise the opportunities of learning and
to help the teacher in planning lessons and encourage the learners progress and
achievement.
x Materials reflect the nature of language and learning: Materials should reflect what
what the teachers think and feel about the learning process.
x Materials reflect the nature of the learning task: As far as, language learning is a
x Materials provide models of correct and appropriate language use: materials become
9.1.1. Materials Design Model: The aim of this model is to provide a framework for the
integration of the various aspects of learning. According to Hutchinson & Waters (ibid.), the
model consists of four elements: Input, content focus, language focus, and task.
9.1.1.a. Input: This may be a text, dialogue, video-recording, or any piece of communication
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1- Stimulus material for activities;
classroom.
9.1.1.c. Language Focus: The aim is to make learners able to use language. In language
focus learners take the language to pieces rather than exposing them to communicative tasks
and activites for which they do not have enough language knowledge.
9.1.1.d.Task: Materials should be designed to lead to communicative task. This means that the
first stage in designing the material is to find the appropriate text which should be suited to
learners needs and interest, then think of a task that the learners could do at the end of the
unit. The next stage is to generate the activities that will benefit the learners and that cover the
language structures, vocabulary, functions, content the input (text) contains (ibid) .
According to Tomlinson (1998, p.XI), materials adaptation refers to the act of Making
changes to materials in order to improve them or to make them more suitable for a particular
type of learner. Adaptation can include reducing, adding, omitting, modifying and
supplementing in order to maximize the value of the book (Tomlinson, 1998, Hyland, 2007).
According to (Mc Donough & Shaw, 2003, p.78): (1) Adding, including: expanding and
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extending; (2) Deleting including: subtracting and abridging; (3) Modifying, including
Teachers make some modifications and changes in their own materials to make their
materials to some extent communicative and authentic, in addition to other reasons. In this
respect, (Mc Donough & Shaw.2003, p.77) proposed a list of reasons among which:
5- comprehension questions are too easy,because the answers can be lilifted directly from the
8- subject matter inappropriate for learner of this age and intellectual level;
10- amount of material too much or too little to cover in the time allocated to lessons;
11- no guidance for teachers on handling group work and role play activities with a large play;
From the above mentioned reasons , one can say that the most important aim of
teachersadapted materials is to cover all the aspects of the language classroom such as (a)
aspects of language use, (b) skills, (c) classroom organization, and (d) supplementary material.
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10.The Design of Reading Materials:
To design the new reading instructional materials, teachers should consider materials as
pedagogical tools for teaching and take into account some pedagogical aspects, such as, (1)
learners needs and interests; (2) principles of text selection; (3) principles of sequencing;
types of learning and teaching tasks; (6) learner contribution; (7) learner roles; (8) teacher
roles; and (9) role of instructional materials ( Richards and Rodgers ,2001). Thus, these
aspects should be taken into consideration in the process of materials design to maximise
learning opportunities and to increase motivation among learners. Hence, the types of learning
texts and teaching activities, should respond to learners needs, interests in order to arouse
their motivation (Davies,1995; Dornyei, 2001; Richards and Rodgers, 2001; McDonough and
different perceptions students bring to the learning task according to their language
background, general background knowledge and interests, and about their expectations and
strategies for reading and learning (Davies,1995, p.123).
Thus, EAP reading programmes and textbooks should give a crucial importance to the
selection of appropriate reading texts, and pedagogical tasks. Finally, teacher need to adapt
and design materials to suit their specific teaching and learning contexts and the learners
needs and interest as well, through the selection of texts, strategies and tasks (Hutchinson &
Torres, 1994; Bell & Gower, 1998; Maley, 1998; McGrath, 2002; Tomlinson, 2003).
Successful learning depends upon learners successful learning strategies. Teachers reading
materials should provide learners with L2 cognitive reading strategies to enhance reading
performance (Hosenfeld, 1977, 1984; Block, 1986; Carrell, 1989; Anderson, 1991; Grabe and
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Stoller, 2002; Grabe, 2004). These strategies are as follows: (1) predicting what the text will
be about from the title; (2) connecting learners background knowledge to the text content; (3)
skimming for general information; (4) scanning for specific information; (5) understanding
markers (7) Guessing meaning of unknown words from context; (8) identifying and
Almost all teachers and instructors find that it is beneficial to develop materials for each
class based on learners particular needs and interests. Bright (etal, 1982 noted in Murcia, 1991,
p.189) says that some teachers choose the text and supplement it with their own developed
materials, while others focus on their own special materials and supplement it with some ideas
from textbooks. On one hand, textbooks should be examined carefully before selection for
classroom use. Textbooks can contain difficult materials, that is why many instructors prefer
not to use a classroom text. On the other hand, learners can be confused by teacher-made
materials. That is why the choice of appropriate reading texts to the learners should rely on
some ccriteria, such as the learnersworld experiences or background knowledge; their age,
and their level (Grant, 1987; McDonough & Shaw, 2003; Tomlinson, 2003b). Similiraly,
McGrath (2002) advises materials writers to conduct a survey with the learners by asking
As far as likely appeal is concerned, the most reliable way of ensuring that this priority is
taken seriously is to ask learners (either those for whom the material is needed or a
comparable group) for their views on the various sets of materials from which the choice is to
be made. (McGrath, 2002, p.36)
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In addition to selecting texts that the learners should find interesting and accessible, the text
should not be linguistically difficult but rather should be comprehensible, since it should be
The final aspect of the reading materials design is the development of learning and teaching
tasks. Activities are designed to improve learners proficiency level and to develop learning
processes ( Breen ,1987 ; Candlin and Murphy 1987). The reading activities are divided into
three categories ( see Chapter one) which are: (1) The pre-reading tasks; which are designed
to activate the learners schemata, (2) The while-reading tasks; which are designed to
enhance learners use of strategies in contextualised reading, (3) The post-reading tasks
which are intended to focus on what the learnershave already read, focusing on details in the
text (Grabe, 2004). According to Dwyer (1984), teachers need to create their own teaching
and testing materials. Though the process of designing materials including tasks and activities
is frustrating and time-consuming, but almost all teachers engage in materials development
through trial and error. Dwyer (ibid: pp 8-10) suggests the following ten points as guidelines
for materials development. These points are about the tasks involed in developing effective
materials:
x Does the exercise clearly lead to ultimate program goal? Since the program final
objectives reflect learners needs, they should be kept in mind in planning of any activity
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x Is the purpose of the exercise clear and consistently realized? The clarity and unity of
purpose within each exercise is important. When writing teaching exercises, we should
x Is realistc language use reflected? All materials should use authentic English to develop
x Are instructions clear and complete? Teachers must show some criteria of evaluation.
Dwyer strongly recommends starting with some paraphrased from the statement of
purpose when teachers designed the exercise. Learners perform better when they clearly
x Are tems consistent? This means that every question teachers put in one exercise must
be in relation with the other exercises. Well-designed materials are consistent in design
x Is the length appropriate? It is important that exercises be long enough to meet the
for learners. When there is a gap of nformation, learners wouldnt be able to understand.
x Are the items unambiguous? Materials must be clear. In testing items, we must ask
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x Across exercises, is a variety of techniques employed? A skilled materials writer should
develop a broad repertoire of strategies to meet the different learners needs. Overemphasis
on one type of exercise can favour some learners while failing to appeal in the least to
others.
x Has adequate use been made of printed and human resources? Even if there are
thousands of textbooks exist for our evaluation and adaptation, we shouldnt hesitate to
examine other peoples materials and adapt their techniques and approaches to our
situations. Thus, a good practice is to show our drafts to our colleagues before we prepare
In the process of designing materials, teachers role is a central component. The teacher can be
addition, teachers have their own decisions on the coursebook activities, techniques, and
Coursebooks are tools which only have life and meaning when there is a teacher present.
They are never intended to be a straitjacket for a teaching programme in which the teacher
makes no decisions to supplement, to animate or to delete. ( Bell and Gowers, 1998, p.118
Materials writers consider learners attitudes as the key element in the teaching-learning
process. They seek to know their preferred learning styles, strategies, to enhance their
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proficiency level and their learning as well. Thus, Needs analysis is important in collecting
data about our learners to enable them to meet their needs (Richard, ibid)
According to (Hutchinson & Waters, 1991, p.96 ), there are three possible ways of turning
c- Modify existing materials: which is called materials adaptation (i.e., How do we evaluate
materials? )
Materials evaluation helps us to write our own materials, the evaluation of existing
materials can provide a good source of ideas (of what to avoid, as well as, what to do) and
For instance, Hutchinson & Waters (1991, p.96 ) divide the evaluation process into four steps:
questioning and developing our own ideas as to what is required (Hutchinson, 1987 in
Hutchinson & Alan 1991). The question here is: On what bases will we judge materials
and which criteria will be more important. The criteria can be in terms of content and
that teachers set out their own criteria and their own preffered realsatiion of the criteria in
x Subjective Analysis: The question here is: what realizations of the criteria do teachers
want in their course? (i.e., analysis of their course, in terms of materials requirements.)
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x Objective Analysis: The question here is: how does the material being evaluated and
realized suit the criteria? (i.e., analysis of the materials being evaluated.)
x Matching: Teachers here try to much needs to available solutions. The question here
is: how far does the material match our needs (teachers and learners needs)?
The evaluation of the materials is done to know if the material fulfill the learners language
learning needs. To recognize the weaknesses and shortcomings of the material we can use
some techniques such as, questionnaires and test results for both macro-level evaluation of
classroom processes which refers to learning activities and tasks and micro-level evaluation
which refers to the cognitive processes, content, and knowledge schemata of particular
subject knowledge offered in the materials, views of knowledge the materials present,
views of language learning underlying the materials, teacher and learners role within the
classroom, opportunities for the development of general cognitive abilities and values and
attitudes presented in the materials.( Littlejohn & Windeatt, 1989, p.156).
14.Materials Revision
The materials revision process should not include only the teacher or materials designers,
but also learners, to allow a complete systematic approach to materials development (Breen,
1989; Jolly and Bolitho, 1998; McGrath, 2002). For instance, McGrath (2002) points out that,
in response to the shortcomings of the designed material, the revision processes should
involve simple decisions such as deleting or moving but also the more complex operations of
adding and modifyingin other words, creating and drafting (McGrath, 2002, p.197). In this
sense, McGrath advises the institutions to record the versions of materials implemented with
the details concerning the person who produced the materials, the learners with whom the
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materials were used, in addition to the learners and teachers attitudes toward the
materials evaluation. Materials designers tend to shape the revising processes in a more
systematic way (Lynch, 1996; McGrath, 2002) to increase flexibility in how materials are
Conclusion
To sum up, both the design and the use of instructional materials are of great importance in
any successful educational program. The evaluation processes lead to their successful
development and implementation. The good selection of reading texts, and learning and
teaching tasks, will help maximise the secondary school English learning and reading
development through the use of the materials as the primary pedagogical tool. Furthermore,the
success of teachers designed materials should be evaluated to see their effect on learners
proficiency level.
95
CHAPTER THREE
Introduction:
2. Teachers questionnaire
3. Classroom Observations
Conclusion
96
CHAPTER THREE
Introduction:
As we know, secondary school learners have problems with the target language, particularly
with vocabulary, grammar, form, punctuation and so on. This may become an obstacle both
for the teachers and the learners. In this respect teachers try all the time to replace the
textbook reading materials by an other one which is considered more appropriate in terms of
language aspects (vocabulary, ideas, structures). This will help learners to maximise language
learning in order to develop their writing skill in terms of language level. Because of the
nature of the present subject, both teachers and learners are considered as variables of the
study. Their views and opinions are important to build a clear guidelines for the effect of
reading materials design on learners proficiency in writing. For this purpose, two
The learners questionnaire aims at showing the degree of awareness that the secondary
school learners have about the effect of reading skill on the writing one, i.e., whether they are
aware that these two skills are interrelated or not, as well as, it aims at finding out learners
opinions about learning writing, and the importance they give to vocabulary, grammar, form,
ideas, punctuation and how they acquire these linguistic aspects. i.e., whether they consider
reading as an important skill to build their schema (background knowledge to develop learning
to write). Getting learners opinions about the reading skill is crucial because it will determine
their views about what writing is, the type of reading they prefer (intensive vs extensive
reading), the importance of reading materials, whether reading skill has any influence on their
writing skill, and the types of writing genres they find the most difficult.
97
The teachers questionnaire is intended to gather information about the teachers views
about teaching writing, and the importance they give to reading skill in teaching the writing
skill. The questionnaire aims mainly at knowing if teachers rely on the textbook reading
materials in the writing classroom, or design their own reading materials according to their
1.1.The Sample:
Learners who responded to the questionnaire were chosen randomly from first year
secondary school learners population (140 learners) at five secondary schools in Constantine.
The choice of first year secondary school was based on the consideration that learners at that
level started learning the writing process and thus, realize the importance of the reading phase
in each unit in gaining the needed vocabulary and ideas, as well as, the writing techniques
which enable them to go through the writing stages and communicate their ideas effectively. It
is assumed that they have learned some basic skills of writing like producing some types of
sentences, grammar, and punctuation according to the program of the middle school and their
first year at the secondary school. 100 questionnaires were returned from 140 initially planned
The questionnaire consists of 36 questions divided into four sections (see Appendix I). The
questions include close-ended questions, and open-ended questions where learners have to
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1.2.1. Section I: General Information (Q1-Q6):
This section aims at gathering dataabout the sample population (i.e., their gender, age,
stream, and how many times they study English per week). These information enable us to set
This section aims at getting the learners opinion about learning English as a subject(Q5), the
skill they would like to master (Q6), and their level in writing (Q7). Besides, this section
involves their views about the importance of the reading skill in improving their writing
capacities through showing the importance of linguistic aspects such as grammar, vocabulary,
and organisation of ideas (Q9). It also aims at knowing if learners write outside classroom and
what type of writing (Q10-Q11), and if they prefer to write individually or in pairs (Q12),
then which genre of writing learners find the most difficult and how the teacher help them and
The objective of this section is to get data about the reading and writing activities the
learners usually have (Q17), and if they have enough writing practice in class (Q18). This
section is also about learners attitudes about the type of the activities they usually have in
class which enable them to write the application letter (the 1st unit project work), and if they
can write a paragraph after they have already read a similar model (Q23). This section is also
about learners attitudes to writing and the kind of difficulty they have in it, as well as, the
99
1.2.4.Section IV: The coursebook reading and writing texts and activities:(Q26-Q35):
This section investigates whether the textbook helps learners to develop both reading and
writing skills (Q26), and if they really enjoy the textbook activities. It aims at knowing what
kind of activities the learners like more in the textbook (Q29) and at knowing learners
attitudes about the objectives behind learning to write as well. Furthermore, we wanted to
know from this questionnaire whether the textbook reading and writing activities meet the
learners aims and objectives (Q30-Q31). Q32 concerns the teachers help to make learners
meet their aims and objectives. This section also involves the learners attitudes about the
projects given at the end of each unit and if they offer real opportunities for writing practice
(Q33).
This section is a space devoted to learners to give additional comments about the previous
sections, or to make suggestions about teaching methodology, learning writing and reading
Q1: Gender:
Male
Female
100
Among the one hundred respondents, thirty seven are male and sixty three are female. This
Q2-Age
Table (2) reveals that the learners are aged 15 to 16, and have already four years tuition in
English at the Middle School level. The teaching program they are going to be introduced to
Q3-Stream
Scientific Literary
Table (3) shows that the number of learners registered in scientific stream is higher than those
of litrary stream.
a-Three times
b-Four times
101
english per week Nb. cit. Frq.
Three times
69 6 9 .0 %
four times 31 3 1 .0 %
Total 100 1 0 0 .0 %
The questionnaire reveals that learners in scientific stream study English three times per-week,
Yes No
Ye s 77 7 7 .0 %
No 23 2 3 .0 %
Total 100 1 0 0 .0 %
The table reveals that the majority of 1st year secondary school like learning English (77
learners); they are aware of the importance of E.F.L, so they are motivated to learn it.
a-Listening
b-Speaking
c-Reading
d-Writing
102
if yes skill Nb. cit. Frq.
Listening 36 1 5 .5 %
Speaking 88 3 7 .8 %
Reaging 36 1 5 .5 %
Writing 73 3 1 .3 %
Total 233 1 0 0 .0 %
Table.6. shows that the majority of learners gave a high importance to the mastery of the
speaking skill (88 learners), followed by the mastery of the writing skill (73 learners), reading
and listening are given the same importance as receptive skills, so learners are aware that
language is communication (The crucial importance is given to the speaking skill). They gave
more importance to the productive skills at the expense of the receptive skills because
secondary school learners are aware that productive skills should be scored and evaluated.
Thus, it allowed them either to succeed or to fail, which is not the case with the receptive
skills.
a-Good
b-Average
c-Low
103
Table (7) shows that 64 learners consider that their level in writing is average, 26 learners
consider their level as low, and only 10 are considered as good writers.
level in
Bigginner 26 2 6 .0 %
Intermediate 74 7 4 .0 %
Total 100 1 0 0 .0 %
Here, (74 learners) consider that they have an intermediate level in writing. Only (26
Q9-Classify the following items according to the importance you give them in your writings
a-Grammar .
b-Vocabulary.
c-Organisation of ideas
of the ranks)
104
Table(9) shows learners sum of the ranks. The three below tables show that organization of
ideas is given a high importance (68 learners), followed by vocabulary (21 learners), then
1 21 2 1 ,0 0 %
2 37 3 7 ,0 0 %
3 42 4 2 ,0 0 %
Non rponse 1 1 ,0 0 %
1 68 6 8 ,0 0 %
2 13 1 3 ,0 0 %
3 18 1 8 ,0 0 %
1 11 1 1 ,0 0 %
2 49 4 9 ,0 0 %
3 40 40,00%
105
Q10-Do you write in English outside your secondary school?
Yes No
Ye s 63 6 4 .3 %
No 35 3 5 .7 %
Total 98 1 0 0 .0 %
Table(10) shows that the majority of secondary school learners write outside classroom.i.e., it
shows that the majority of learners(63 learners) write outside classroom(e-mails and letters)
a-Home work
b-Letter
c-E-mail
home work 33 2 5 .4 %
Letter 21 1 6 .2 %
Email 53 4 0 .8 %
Other 23 1 7 .7 %
Total 130 1 0 0 .0 %
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Table(11) shows that the majority of surveyed learners (53 learners) write emails, (33 learners)
write because they are obliged to do the homework, (21 learners ) they write letters.
- Learners who opted for others specified that they write songs, poems, short stories.
a-Individually
b-In pairs
in pairs 15 1 4 .9 %
in small groups 56 5 5 .4 %
Total 101 1 0 0 .0 %
Table 12. shows that the majority of learners prefer to write in groups (56 learners), and in
From here, we gather that the majority of surveyed learners prefer activities that allow them to
think, generate their ideas and participate actively. They prefer the activities such as pair
work, group work, because they can learn better through working with friends, exchanging or
a-Reading
b-Writing
c-Speaking
d-listening
107
Difficulty Nb. cit. Frq.
Reading 16 8 .6 %
Writing 89 4 7 .6 %
Speaking 64 3 4 .2 %
Listening 18 9 .6 %
Total 187 1 0 0 .0 %
Table 13 shows that (89 learners) of the surveyed learners consider writing as the most
a-Grammar
b-Vocabulary
c-Form
Grammar 75 3 8 .1 %
Vocabulary 93 4 7 .2 %
Form 29 1 4 .7 %
Total 197 1 0 0 .0 %
Table 14 shows that learners consider vocabulary as the most important problem with writing
(47,2%). The lack of vocabulary stock prevent them to express their ideas.
108
Q15-Does the teacher make any effort to motivate you to learn English?
Yes No
Ye s 64 6 4 .0 %
No 36 3 6 .0 %
Total 100 1 0 0 .0 %
Table (15) shows that learners noticed that their teachers do their best to transmit language
knowledge.
Table (16) shows that the majority of teachers gave new texts as authentic ones to their
learners to help them using reading as a tool to improve their proficiency in writing rather than
having songs time or playing vocabulary games because of time limitation (3 to 4 hours per
week) and classroom size (more than 40 learners per class). However, they also wished there
should have been more teaching materials like videos or songs, appealing to them much more
109
Q17-What types of reading and writing activities do you usually have in class?
a-Comprehension questions
b-Defining words
c-Matching items
comprehension questions 99 3 3 .1 %
defining words 47 1 5 .7 %
matching items 70 2 3 .4 %
follow up activities 83 2 7 .8 %
Total 299 1 0 0 .0 %
Table(17) shows that comprehension questions is the most common reading activity learners
usually have. Follow up activities and matching items are usually done by teachers, however,
defining words is not very common one in the new program because learners usually guess the
meaning of the new words from the context (Competency based approach).
Yes No
Ye s 30 3 0 .0 %
No 70 7 0 .0 %
Total 100 1 0 0 .0 %
110
Table(18) shows that the time allocated to writing practice is insufficient to cover most of the
a-Sentence
b-Paragraph
c-Letters
d-E-mails
e-Reports
Paragraph 98 3 1 .6 %
Letters 62 2 0 .0 %
Email 66 2 1 .3 %
Reports 84 2 7 .1 %
Total 310 1 0 0 .0 %
Table (19) Shows that writing paragraphs is the most common type of writing that 1st year
secondary school learners usually have (31,6%), then reports (27,1%), emails (21,3%) and
a-Exposition
b-Description
c-Narration
d-Letters
111
genrs of writing Nb. cit. Frq.
Exposition 67 4 9 .3 %
Description 8 5 .9 %
Narration 54 3 9 .7 %
Letters 7 5 .1 %
Total 136 1 0 0 .0 %
Table(20) shows that the majority of the surveyed learners consider exposition and narration
Q21-Did you have enough reading activities before writing an application letter?
Yes No
application
Ye s 57 5 7 .0 %
No 43 4 3 .0 %
Total 100 1 0 0 .0 %
Table.21.Learners attitudes about the activities they have before writing the application letter.
The table shows that some learners say that they have enough reading activities before being
asked to write the application letter (57 learers), however, (43%) say that they do not.
Q22-What type of activities do you usually have which enable you to write the letter?
c-Reordering
112
type activities letter Nb. cit. Frq.
words 66 2 0 .7 %
Reordering 64 2 0 .1 %
letter form 92 2 8 .8 %
Total 319 1 0 0 .0 %
Table 22.Types of activities learners have before writing the application letter.
Tables (21) and (22) show that learners receive enough activities before being asked to write
the application letter. The activities are classified by learners as follows: reading the
application letter as a model is the first activity they usually have before writing the
application letter (30,4%), after that they started doing other activities such as letter form,
reordering, fill in the blanks (20,7%). Thus, learners usually read the given application letter
and learn from it directely the form, the acquisition of the key-words. Then they can be
Q23-Can you write a paragraph if you have already read a similar model?
Yes No
Ye s 58 5 8 .0 %
No 42 4 2 .0 %
Total 100 1 0 0 .0 %
113
Table.23 shows that (58.0%) of learners are able to write a paragraph if they read a similar
a-I have the ideas but can not translate them into words.
e-All of them
Table (24) shows that (34.4%) of the surveyed learners have the ideas but they can t translate
them into words. (15.1%) of them dont grasp grammar structure, (14.4%) can not express
their ideas in writing because of the lack the vocabulary stock, (8.9%) says that they cant
write due to the lack the ideas, and (26.7%) have all the above difficulties in their writing.
a-Conferencing
b-Peer correction
c-Individually
114
teachers'feedback Nb. cit. Frq.
Conferencing 16 1 5 .1 %
peer correction 36 3 4 .0 %
Individually 54 5 0 .9 %
Total 106 1 0 0 .0 %
Table.25 shows that teachers prefer to apply individual feedback rather than conferencing and
Q26-Do the coursebook help you to develop both reading and writing skills?
Yes No
Ye s 30 30%
No 70 70%
Total 100 1 0 0 .0 %
Table 26.Learners attitudes about the coursebook reading and writing skills.
Table (26) shows that the coursebouk reading materials do not help learners to develop their
writing skill to a large extent. In this respect, teaching learners the language they use in real
life situations can be achieved through the use of authentic materials such as: to expose them
to the language of the real world, and help them acquire an effective learning in the target
language.
115
Q27- Do you enjoy the coursebook reading and writing activities in class?
Yes No
Ye s 40 5 3 ,0 0 %
No 60 4 7 ,0 0 %
Table 27.Learners attitudes about the coursebook reading and writing activities.
Table(27) shows that (40%) of the surveyed learners say that they enjoy the coursebook
activities. Whereas, (60%) say that though they do not enjoy the coursebook reading and
writing activities, they help them to prepare their examination. In this respect, the coursebook
allows them to be aware of the language functions required to fulfil activities of the unit .
Q28- If no? Does your teachers designed reading activities help you in your writings more
Yes No
Non rponse 1 1 ,0 0 %
Ye s 40 6 6 ,6 6 %
No 19 3 1 ,6 6 %
Table 28.Learners attitudes about teachers own designed reading and writing activities
Table (28) shows that the majority of the surveyed learners say that their teachers design their
own reading materials to meet their learners needs and to develop their proficiency in writing.
Teachers prefer to use authentic materials in the classroom rather than using the coursebook
116
artificial materials because they are beneficial to the learning process and to the learner as
well. Through the use of authentic materials, learners would feel that they are learning the
real language as it is used by the native speakers of the language. Thus, it is advisable for
the teachers to adapt some given texts and activities to meet the learners requirements and
needs if the coursebook texts and activities were not quite understandable or include unusual
b-Dialogue
Pair 82 6 0 .7 %
Dialogue 42 3 1 .1 %
Total 135 1 0 0 .0 %
Learners explained that they preferred to work in groups consisting of many people because
they had the opportunity to share ideas and new knowledge with other learners or partner,
- The learners believed that each person knows or acquires different skills and knowledge,
so talking with others helped them learn what they had never known before.
117
- The learners had the opportunity to share ideas and new knowledge with others or their
partners.
- Without group work ,the classroom atmosphere was silent and boring. The learners was
Total 252 1 0 0 .0 %
Table (30) shows that learners have different objectives in learning to write. The majority of
learners (32.5%) want to improve their language level, (27.8%) want to improve their writing.
(23.4%) write to bcome good writers, and only (16.3%) declare that their objective behind
118
Q31-Does the coursebook reading and writing activities meet your aims and objectives in Unit
01?
Yes No
Ye s 35 3 5 .0 %
No 65 6 5 .0 %
Total 100 1 0 0 .0 %
Table 31.Learners attitudes about their objective and the coursebook objectives.
The table shows that 65% of the surveyed learners are not satisfied with the coursebook
objectives because there is a gap between the unit content and its final outcomes (the project
workshop).Whereas 35% of the questioned learners are satisfied with the coursebook
objectives as the tasks improved their thinking skills, since they needed to keep asking
themselves questions while reading and discussing the answers with friends helped them to
understand the text. For them Some tasks were enjoyable and made them become more
motivated, as they had to try to find words to fill in the blanks. It also raised their awareness of
Q32-If no, how your teacher help you meeting your aims and objectives? Tick the appropriate
answer.
a-Provide you with new reading materials which suit your needs and aims
b-sticks to the coursebook reading materials but gives you extra explanation and new
119
If no,how Nb. cit. Frq.
provide you 10 1 5 .3 8 %
Total 65 1 0 0 .0 %
Table 32. Learners attitudes about teachers effort to meet their objectives.
Table (32) shows that there are some teachers who stick to the textbook when teaching and try
to explain more to meet their learnersaims; however, the majority of teachers try to design
Yes No
Ye s 37 6 3 .0 %
No 63 3 7 .0 %
Total 100 1 0 0 .0 %
Table (33) shows that the majority of learners commented that the project was so difficult that
they were not able to think of the answers. Their problems also involved their inability to
express their ideas in sentences. They emphasised that writing the answers in sentences and
Q34- If you found the language and the tasks are too difficult in the coursebook reading
materials, explain the reason(s) why you found the language too difficult.
120
Learners argue that their problem with language tasks can be summarized in the below points:
The vocabulary was too difficult. There were some words the learners had never seen
before, such as pets, countryside belong, preventing learners from understanding the text.
The learners knew the answers in Arabic, but did not know how to express them in English.
The majority of the surveyed learners explained that the textbook texts contained too many
unknown words. Some of them also felt that the texts content was unfamiliar. They think that
when the vocabulary was too difficult, making the subject matter less interesting. Sometimes
learners found the text too long. Othertimes the text content was difficult to understand or the
text was boring. In addition to the limited time devoted to reading and writing.
Generally the reading tasks in unit I guided the learners to understand the text better, in
order to accomplish the task outcomes. However, learners were not able to reach the task
The learners had the opportunity to practise guessing the meaning of unknown words and
The learners had the opportunity to practise using different strategies in the textbook tasks,
such as skimming for the main idea, guessing the meaning of unknown words from context
and predicting; but they havent enough knowledge about learning strategies. They need to
The tasks enabled the learners to understand the text better; However, when the text was too
long; and the vocabulary was difficult or the text content was not interesting, so the learners
121
Q35-When your teacher correct your writing ,does she/he give more importance to:
a-Grammar
b-Vocabulary
c-Content
d-Organisation of ideas
Grammar 81 3 0 .5 %
Vocabulary 76 2 8 .6 %
Content 50 1 8 .8 %
organisation of ideas 59 2 2 .2 %
Total 266 1 0 0 .0 %
Learners thought that grammar and vocabulary have the lions part in the teachers feedback,
which is not really what teachers think (see table 3 -teachers questionnaire)
The learners answers show that they are aware and can improve their writing proficiency
through reading. However, they need more help from their teachers through exposing them to
simplified texts, and intresting topics. More specifically, they want extra-hours for the writing
process.
122
2. Teachers Questionnaire:
2.1.The Sample: Teachers who responded to the questionnaire were chosen randomly from
first year secondary school teachers population (17) of five secondary schools in Constantine.
The aim of this questionnaire is to shed light on teachers attitudes and beliefs toward the
design of new materials including authentic texts to meet their learners needs.
AppendixII).
The aim of this section is to get information about the selected secondary school teachers
This section aims at knowing if teachers focused on the four skills in their teaching or only
some of them are given priority (Q1-Q2). Besides we wanted to know if secondary school
teachers rely on the coursebook to teach reading, or they design their own reading materials
and why (Q6-Q7), and on which basis they prepare their reading materials (Q8-Q13).
This section aims in general at knowing to what extent the reading materials help learners
to develop their writing skill. first, we wanted to know if learners apply what they learn as
vocabulary in reading in their writing (Q14), and if really projects offer real opportunities for
writing (Q15). As far as learners interact with and through the material, (Q16) aims at
knowing which writing techniques are used by learners. (Q18-Q22) concerned the way
secondary school teachers present their reading tasks to prepare learners for writing. (Q23 )
Through this section,we wanted to know the importance of vocabulary in teaching writing
through reading.
The aim of this section is to know if teachers respond to the writing that the learners
produce and which aspects they focus on when evaluating learners writing (Q31). In addition,
we wanted to know which roles are given to the teachers and which roles are given to the
In this section the teachers are invited to give additional comments about the sections dealt
with so far, or to make suggestions concerning reading and writing materials and the
I General Information :
Q1 :Status :
Titulaire
stagiaire
Supplant
Titulaire. 17 100%
stagiaire 0 0%
Suppleant 0 0%
Total 17 100%
Table .35.Teachers status
124
Table(35) shows that all the teachers questioned are full time, premanant teachers at secondary
school.
Q2 :Gender
Male
Female
Male 3 1 7 .6 4 %
Female 14 8 2 .3 5 %
Total 17 1 0 0 .0 %
Table (36) shows that fourteen respondents of the questionnaire were female and six were
male. We find that in Algeria, generally speaking, the number of the female teachers is higher
more than 15 15 8 8 .2 %
Total 17 1 0 0 .0 %
125
As far as the teaching experience is concerned, table (37) shows that the majority of the
questioned teachers have more than 15 years teaching experience (88.2%). This shows that
they were familiar with the First year learners program. Therefore, they were able to talk
about the strengths and the weaknesses of the coursebook At The Crossroads (Unit I) entitled
Getting Through
Yes No
The table shows that some teachers (35.3%) believe that they have to focus on the four skills
equally in their teaching. However, others think that they focus on some skills at the expense
of the others to satisfy the syllabus aims and the learners needs.
a-Listening
b-Speaking
c-Reading
d-Writing
126
if no priority Nb. cit. Frq.
Listening 2 6 .9 %
Speaking 3 1 0 .3 %
Reading 12 4 1 .4 %
Writing 12 4 1 .4 %
Total 29 1 0 0 .0 %
Table (39) shows that some teachers think that the four skills should be taught equally. The
majority of teachers find that special attention has been paid to the reading and writing skills.
At the same time they believe that successful coursebook should adopt an integrated approach
Q6: Do you rely only on the textbook to teach reading, or you design your own reading
materials?
Yes No
Ye s 14 8 2 .3 5 %
No 3 1 7 .6 4 %
Total 17 1 0 0 .0 %
The table shows that the majority of teachers(82.35%) do not rely only on the textbook
reading materials but rather they design their own reading materials to meet their learners
needs. However, (17.64%) of the surveyed teachers say that they prefer to use the textbook
127
Q09: On which basis do you prepare your reading and writing materials?
a-Pupils needs
b-Prescribed objectives.
Table (41) shows that the majority of the surveyed teachers focus on the prescribed objectives
when designing their own materialds (43.2%). Some teachers try to satisfy the learners needs
and as an ultimate objective (35.1%). Only (21.6%) of the questioned teachers take into
consideration learners styles as a factor in designing their reading and writing materials.
However, teachers believe that they should follow a methodology, underlying its content and
presentation which corresponds to the aims of the curriculum as well as to the teaching
implements and employs a variety of devices to ensure that the objectives are met successfully
128
own reading materials Nb. cit. Frq.
to help leaners gain more 12 2 4 .0 %
to provide leaners 13 2 6 .0 %
to help leaners to feel at ease 3 6 .0 %
to expose leaners 15 3 0 .0 %
to meet leaners 7 1 4 .0 %
Total 50 1 0 0 .0 %
The table shows that teachers design their own reading materials to expose learners to
authentic materials as an ultimate objective (30%). However , 26% say that their objective is
to provide learners with enough vocabulary stock for writing. Surprisingly, there are only
14%, i.e.,(7) teachers who care about the learners needs when writing and designing their own
materials. 6% of the surveyed teachers tend to help learners to feel at ease while reading and
f-The textbook readings do not teach about English peoples culture and ways of life.
g-Textbook reading activities are not significant enough to help learners to write.
129
reasons reading materials Nb. cit. Frq.
the topics 7 1 3 .5 %
there is not enough grammar 4 7 .7 %
textbook reading 6 1 1 .5 %
copmrehension questions 5 9 .6 %
the textbook topics are not attractive 12 2 3 .1 %
the textebook readings do not teach about english peoples 5 9 .6 %
textbook reading activities are not significant 13 2 5 .0 %
Total 52 1 0 0 .0 %
Table 43.The teachers reasons for designing their own reading materials.
The table shows that teachers design their own reading tasks and materials because the
textbook reading activities are not significant (25%). Furthermore, the topics and the reading
texts are not attractive (23.1%) and they are up to date (13.5%). Others they say the
comprehension questions are too easy or too difficult in addition to the lack of enough
Yes No
Ye s 12 7 0 .5 8 %
No 5 2 9 .4 1 %
Total 17 1 0 0 .0 %
The majority of the questioned teachers (70.58 % ) seek to meet their learners needs when
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Q13: What you take into consideration when you design your own reading materials?
a-The correlation and appropriatness between the designed material and the particular
curriculum.
b-The correlation and the appropriateness between the designed material and the particular
methodology.
The table shows that the majority of th questioned teachers (55.2%) i.e.16 teachers take to
account the correlation between their own designed materials and the particular curriculum,
(34.5%), i.e.only few teachers look for authenticity when designiing their materials. However,
(10.3%) of the surveyed teachers stress the appropriateness between the material and the
particular methodology.
Yes No
Ye s 4 2 6 .8 %
No 13 7 3 .2 %
Total 17 1 0 0 .0 %
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The table shows that teachers do not believe that learners develop their writing skills through
the use of the projects. In this respect, learners have not enough linguistic repertoire which
enable them to write, as well as, they have not a good command over the language. Thus, they
are incapable of making a job application booklet except the good elements. All what the
majority of learners have to do is to go to a cyber, pay for their projects and get them ready-
made.
Q16:Which writing techniques do you use to make learners interact with and through the
material ?
a-Having learners read and discuss texts which they would then go on to write about.
d-Others
The table shows that( 35%) of the questioned teachers make use of controlled guided writing
to enble learners to write. (32.2%) having learners read and discuss texts which they would
then go on to write about.(22.5%) of the questioned teachers give their learners similar model
to rely on in their writings. Teachers who opted for others specified that they teach and test
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Q17:When you teach writing, do you focus on:
a-Vocabulary
b-Grammar
c-Organisation of ideas
d-Form
The table shows that the majoriy of the teachers questioned focus on form and organisation of
ideas in their teaching because vocabulary and grammar should be taught implicitly through
Q18:Do you provide learners with opportunities to write when you design your reading
activities?
Yes No
Ye s 17 100%
No 0 0 ,0 0 %
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The table shows that all the teachers questioned(100%) agree that they should provide learners
b-Ideas
c-Form
d-Grammar
e-Vocabulary
The table shows that teachers help their learners to write through providing them with ideas
(28.81%), key-words (20.33%), and vocabulary (16.94%). Grammar and form are given less
importance because they are already introduced through reading sessions implicitly.
Q21:What techniques do you opt for to use reading as a tool for writing?
Teachers rely on the pre-reading ,while-reading and after-reading activities to prepare their
learners to write. They introduce the key words, the ideas, when they teach reading.
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Q22: Do you believe a teacher should use :
The table shows that teachers use different reading activities but they encourage the use of
task based activities to meet real world situations and to allow learners to communicate their
ideas in writing as well ae in reading (37.5% ). In addition to role play activities using pair
work and collboratiive work which are motivated activities. Problem solving activitie are used
which call for learners cognitive abilities. However, the use of songs is not common activity
in Algerian secondary schools because of the lack of materials and media which help and
facilitate the teachers work on ssongs (audio-visual materials and media) and because they
a-Individually
b-In pairs
c-In groups
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pupils work Nb. cit. Frq.
Individually 9 5 2 ,9 4 %
in pairs 5 2 9 .4 1 %
in groups 3 1 7 .6 4 %
TOTAL OBS. 17 100%
Table (52) shows that the majority of the surveyed teachers (52.94%) confirmed that they
make learners work individually because of the over-crowded classes which are often found at
the secondary level are a constraint on group work and management problems. So, teachers
find difficulties in coping with the noise, persuading the class to use English, managing the
introduction of activities and monitoring the work of individuals. To avoid the problems
mentioned above, teachers prefer to make their learners work indiividually. Inspite of the size
of the class, some teachers make their pupils work in pairs or in groups to allow them to
the majority of learners enjoyed working in groups, as they had the opportunity to consult and
Q24:Do the learners apply what they learn as vocabulary through reading in their writing?
Yes No
Ye s 17 100%
No 0 0 ,0 0 %
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The table shows that all the surveyed teachers argue that their learners use the vocabulary
introduced in the reading phase in their writing but they dont succeed in putting them in
Teachers argue that vocabulary plays a crucial role in writing because learners express their
ideas and communicate their thoughts and opinions through the use of vocabulary acquired in
readings.
The table shows that all the teachers questioned teach vocabulary through context and not the
Yes No
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respond writing leaners produce Nb. cit. Frq.
Ye s 17 100%
No 0 0 ,0 0 %
The table shows that all teachers respond to their learners writing.
Yes No
Ye s 14 7 8 ,8 0 %
No 3 2 1 ,2 0 %
The table shows that all the teachers questioned design special evaluation for their own
designed materials according to the underlined objectives, teachers tend to achieve through the
Teachers design their own materials to meet their learners needs and the writing objectives.
Thus teachers evaluate their learners writing according to the purposes of the writing tasks.
For instance, if the teachers intention is to make learners aware of the piece of writing form
or type, they focus on the form in the evaluation. However, if they want learners to use some
given vocabulary as key words, teachers should focus on vocabulary in their evaluation and so
on. Thus, the selection of materials should be based on learners needs via outlining the roles
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that materials play in the writing class. Matching materials to the proficiency and target needs
Q30:When you evaluate the learners writing production ,do you focus on:
a-Vocabulary
b-Grammar
c-Organisation of ideas
d-Form
Vocabulary 13 2 3 .2 1 %
Grammar 12 2 1 .4 2 %
Form 14 25%
The table shows that teachers focus respectively on organisation of ideas (30.35%), then form
(25%), vocabulary (23.21%) and finally grammr (21.42%) when they evaluate the learners
writing product.
a-Transmitter of knowledge.
b-A model
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roles are given to the teacher Nb. cit. Frq.
Tansmitter 13 7 7 ,8 0 %
a model 3 1 6 ,7 0 %
an evaluator 12 6 6 ,7 0 %
TOTAL OBS. 17
The table shows that the teacher is a transmitter of knowledge and an evaluator of learners
responses as the most important roles (77.80%). Furthermore, the teacher can be considered as
a-Passive receivers
passive receivers 0 0 ,0 0 %
The table shows that all teachers(100%) believe that learners are no longer passive receivers
but rather an active element in the process of teaching and learning under the competency
based approach.
Teachers confirmed that learners need help from the teacher (teacher scaffolding) to enable
them to write easily through exposing them to authentic materials via providing models of
target texts. Thus, it is necessary to supplement and modify textbooks to enhance learners
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understanding of language, content and skills because the choice of the input (texts) is
V. Further Suggestions:
Q34:Do you have any ideas to add as to the relation between writing and reading on the one
Teachers claim that the reading and writing are interconnected; reading and writing
reciprocally shape and support one another. Teachers should use collaborative strategies, for
instance, working in pairs and groups allow learners to exchange ideas and learn from one an
other.
Teachers should prepare their learners for writing through the use of meaningful contexts and
development tasks. The use of controlled writing in which learners manipulate fixed
patterns given by the teacher, Guided writing i.e., learners imitate model writing and finally
Free Writing or use the patterns they have developed to write a letter of application for
example.
3.Classroom Observation:
Classroom observation was conducted with two classes of learners in Ben Badis
secondary school for the period of two weeks. The role of the researcher in the classrooms
was that of a participant observer. The specific purpose of the classroom observations was to
see whether teachers really make use of their own materials to cater for their learners needs
as they have mentioned in the questionnaires or they just stick to the textbook materials
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Hand-written notes were the only means used to record the data during classroom
teaching the first unit Getting Through of first year secondary school among which: the
time spent on each task, task difficulty, learnersparticipation, learners motivation, learners
task outcomes, learners and teachers task and text adaptation and learners and teachers use
of tasks as well. During observation, the researcher regularly sat among the learners at the
back row and moved around to sit next to different collaborative groups, to observe what each
group was doing. The learners occasionally interacted with the reseache by asking questions
about the text and tasks, as they felt embarrassed to ask their teacher.
The findings of the the classroom observations highlighted the use of of the textbook
learning tasks and texts in improving the learners overall reading and writing proficiency. In
both observed classes, teachers stick to the textbook materials in teaching reading and writing
and do not design or adapt new materials which can be more relevant to their learners needs
and interests. Consequently, there is no introduction to any authentic reading material. The
two teachers involved in this observation phase argue that they stick to the textbook reading
materials because they have to finish the implementation of the whole program on time at the
teachers seek to finish the program by the end of May, there is no real introduction to
authentic materials into the curriculum. Concerning tasks, learners enjoy doing the tasks as
group work, so as to have opportunities to discuss their views and share knowledge with
142
other classmates. They regarded interactions with classmates as a channel to task
achievement and text comprehension. Through collaborative work, the learners seemed to
become favorably motivated to work on the tasks. Finally, this classroom observation shows
that there is not enough help from the part of the teacher although the adopted approach of
Learner-Centred Approach. This approach stresses the view that teacher is no longer
considered as an active element in the process of teaching and learning, but rather as a guide in
this process.
Sheet (a):
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Practice -Teacher asks the pupils to make mini- - to check if the
15mn presentations about the usefulness of the students understands
Interneton the work sheet. the task
-Pupils think then do it. -to make them learn
-T checks. strategies of writing.
-Pps correct.
15mn Produce -the students read their paragraphs and -Error correction
identify errors and correct them -feedback .3.
The teacher chooses the best paragraph and +
asks the students to copy it on their
copybooks as an example of paragraph.
Sheet(b):
10mns Task - Make sure the learners understand what - The learners will
1-2 P is expected of them in this task. They do check the predictions
21 not need to read the whole message. they have made in
Indeed, they can check their predictions
task three of the
by reading only two or three sentences of
the e-mail message. Keys Anticipate rubric.
to:Amel -collect information
from:Kirsi
Subject:introducing
15 min Task -the teacher asks the learners to read the
3 questions and makes sure they understand
(P 21) what they have to - This task reverts to
- As he checks the learners answers, he traditional reading
interacts with them to elicit further comprehension. The
information about Finland. For example, he learners are required
can ask questions about the languages to answer a set of
spoken in Finland, Finlands neighbouring comprehension
countries, its currency, etc... questions.
10mn Task - the teacher draws his students attention to - Identifying reference
3 the words written in bold words
(21) he takes the first word as an example
I have found your address
Then he asks them to tell him which address
we are talking about
Sheet c:
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Timing Steps Input /Output Aims
10 mn Warming up -Books closed Ask learners to tell you why - interact with your
they were absent/What they did learners by simulating class
yesterday/What class they will have next? situations where you will
Who is their teacher of Mathematics? Etc.) use all the requests in task
1.
Presentation - Each time they answer your prompts, -To interact with the
15mn simulate misunderstanding or mishearing and learners about the
ask them to repeat what they have said using sentences.
the requests in task 1. -To make them interpret
the contexts in which the
-When you speak, you communicate different sentences can
information both verbally i.e., by using occur.
words and non-verbally, i.e., by using
gestures, facial expressions, etc... So hold
your hand close to your ear to indicate
mishearing). -To derive rules.
tell them to open their books and do the task
as indicated.
10mn Oral drill -The teacher asks the pupils to give1 or 2 -To check the pupils
examples. comprehension.
-Students give examples.
-the teacher checks and corrects.
Refer the learners to samples of requests in - make requests out of
10mn Practice task one. If necessary, illustrate what the information provided in the
Activity two learners are required to do by transforming form of statements
one of the statements into a request containing comparatives of
Read aloud the request and mark the superiority.
intonation pattern.
Sheet d:
145
stressed syllables. You can use the following table for highlighting this
information.
Once the learners know what is required of them, let them do the task alone
on a rough copybook.
- The teacher copies the table on board and to have the learners correct their
10mn Task four answers on their own.
P6/18 -then he must Give some time for the learners to analyse the stress pattern in
the two columns to draw the rule for accentuation/word stress in two syllable
words.
Sheet e
Conclusion:
The present investigation reveals that both teachers and learners consider reading as an
important aspect in teaching writing. Teachers do not neglect the role of authentic reading
materials in enhancing learners proficiency in writing. Thus, some teachers tend to adapt
authentic materials and communicative tasks in the process of designing reading materials to
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Chapter Four
Introduction
1. Methodology
3. Population: participants
6. Treatment period
8. Data analysis
9. t-test analysis
Conclusion
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Chapter Four:The Experimental Study
Introduction
The present study is designed to investigate if teachers own reading materials design
improve learners proficiency in writing. This research examine several questions among
which: Did the use of the text simplification (TS) and task modification (TM ) materials
study has been carcied. A sample population has been selected from 1st year secondary school
learners. sixteen participants are randomly selected and randomly assigned either to
experimental group who receives the treatment, or to control group who does not. The first
step in this experiment is the pre-test. All the participants of both groups are pre-tested
through asking them to write an application letter relying only on a given model without
receiving any kind of instructions according to the text- focused approach. After the pre-test,
the treatment period begins. During six weeks, the experimental group follows the teacher
reading materials design which are authentic materials. The control group, however, follow
the coursebook reading materials. At the end of the treatment period, the participants have
been post tested through the same tool of measurement as in the pre-test writing an
application letter. To test the research hypothesis previously mentioned, we have analyzed
the differences between the scores of the experimental group and the scores of the control
group from the pre-test to post-test. The analysis has been divided into two parts; there is first
a comparison veteen the means, and then ananalysis of a t test. The t test would, then, confirm
if the difference between the means is statistically significant, so one could confirm the
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1. Methodology:
In this study, two types of materials implementation were administered. The controlled
group is exposed to the first type of the materials which are adopted (used as they are) from
the coursebook (UNIT I ) entitled Getting Through. The experimental group is exposed to
the adapted authentic materials about the same unit, revised and designed by thre researcher.
The revised versions of the materials were implemented to investigate whether they improved
learners reading performance and writing proficiency. The results will show if really the use
of teachers reading materials design, which should be simplified and modified according to
learners needs and real language use (authentic materials), would improve learners writing
proficiency. The present study makes use of both qualitative and quantitative methods. The
qualitative procedures aim to explore the learners perceptions of the coursebook tasks and
quantitative procedures, with the use of pre- and post-tests, measure the learners writing
performance before and after the implementation of the reading materials (coursebook
materials with the control group and teachers own designed materials with the experimental
group).
(teachers and learners) including, yes or no questions and open-ended questions for their extra
comments. This qualitative data was converted to a form of percentages, as shown in the
above tables (see chapter 3, tables 15 to 19). The purpose of administering the questionnaires
was to investigate to what extent the coursebook tasks and reading materials designed for
149
first year secondary school worked in terms of learning objectives, reading materials, task
content, task procedures, learners contributions to the tasks and task situation. In addition, the
teachers who participated in the study were asked through the questionnaires to show the
perceptions of their learners difficulties and their additional comments on how to improve the
suitability of the coursebook materials and tasks (see Chapter 2 and Appendixes 1 and 2 ).
The questionnaire analysis showed that learners did not write inside classrooms because
they are obliged to write their paragraphs (writing expression) mostly as homework due to
time constraints. The purpose of these questionnaires was to evaluate the contextual use of the
reading materials of the coursebook, as well as, teachers own reading materials taking into
account the selection of reading strategies, the selection of reading texts and the design of
learning and teaching tasks, including learners interest, time, strengths and weaknesses of the
In addition to the use of different types of questionnaires, the study made use of keeping
the materials users attitudes towards the materials as well as the teachers and learners use of
1.2.2.Classrooms Observations:
A classroom observation was conducted to gain insight into what the teacher and learners
did and how they felt about the reading materials and the reading tasks which are included in
Unit one of first year secondary school coursebook (Getting Through) , to supplement the
150
1.3.Quantitative Methods:
The quantitative instruments in this study were pre and post-tests administered before and
after materials implementation. The control group used the coursebook reading materials,
however, the experimental group used the teachers own reading materials. The pre-test
measured the learners general writing proficiency through writing an application letter using
just a model without receiving any kind of instruction. However, the post-test allowed to
explore whether the learners in two different conditions. i.e., the C group using the coursebook
version of reading materials(adoption) and the E group using the modified version of reading
materials (the adapted version), had made different amounts of progress in writing.
In short, the study consisted of two major aspects, one qualitative in nature and the other,
quantitative. The qualitative procedures used in the study aim to seek answers concerning the
use of reading materials either from the coursebook or the modified texts. In this respect,
based on the previous researches (see chapter I-II ), the present study investigates if teachers
reading materials design have a positive effect on learners writing proficiency. Thus, through
this study I will try to show to what extent teachers use of authentic reading materials will
help learners to improve their writing ability. Our purpose, then, is to know if it is true that the
application of the "designing of new and authentic reading materials" as it has been noticed
by (Nunan;1988) would have a significant effect in increasing both writing proficiency and
vocabulary stock and accuracy of learners. For such interest, the following questions are to be
answered:
151
1- To what extent did learners perceive the use of the coursebook, as a means of instruction
and discussion in the EAP reading classroom context, to be useful to text understanding?
2- To what extent had the first unit Getting Through as a whole been successful in
responding to the learners needs and interests in terms of selections of reading strategies, of
3. To what extent the modified reading materials , the simplified texts or the authentic
versions brought by the teacher, contributed to learners better perceptions of the tasks and the
unit as a whole?
4. Did the adapted versions, create greater positive learners perceptions of the materials than
5. Did the use of the teachers designed materials promote learners better performance?
To provide an answer for these questions, we have used test scoring as a tool for measuring
the learners writing performance. To score the application letter, teachers should give
importance to the form, the organization of ideas, the vocabulary used and grammar.
3. Population: Participants
In the current study, an experimental design is carried out at Kateb Yacine secondary
schoool on a sample of population selected from 1st year learners. At the secondary school, 16
learners have been invited to participate in this study. These learners are randomly selected,
and assigned either to the experimental condition or to the control condition. Eight (08)
learners have been transferred the experimental group, and eight (08) learners have been
152
The majority of the participants are girls. From the sixteen learners who have participated in
the experiment, only four of them are boys. In this study, gender is not taken into account as a
factor that may have an influence on the collected data because the majority of the participants
are of the same sex. Their age is between fifteen (15) and sixteen (16). All the participants
have studied English as a Foreign Language for five (05) years: four (04) years at the
Elementary school, one (01) year at the Secondary school. The participants in this experiment
are learners in the secondary school who generally dont have good level in writing. The
sample of the population has been restricted to 16 participants . So, eight participants in each
group seemed to be an appropriate balance. This sample corresponds to the learners who have
taken the pre-test, have been under observation during the treatment period, and finally have
ANTICIPATE:
1- Match as many words and phrases(A-I) as you can with the parts of the computer(18) below
153
2-Find other words related to computers and the internet and write them in your copybook.
3-Listen and say aloud the e-mail address below.Then take turns to tell your e-mail address to
your classmates.
Sihem2008@yahoo.
ANTICIPATE:
154
2-Look at the screenshot above and guess what kind(s) of internauts are most likely to visit the
advertised web-site.
1-Read the e-mail below and check your answer to question 2 on the previous page.
Dear Amel,
Ive found your adderess on the internet.Im writing because I want to know more about you
and your country.But I have to introduce myself first.
My names Kirsi.Kirsi is a name which is quite common in Finland.Im sixteen years
old.Nearly everyone my age goes to school in Finland.Children can finish school when they
are 16,but no one really wants to do so,because without any serious training ,they cant get a
good job.I want to become a journalist later.So I will have to study for six more years.
On weekdays,I generally very early in order to prepare myself for school ,which is a little bit
far from my home .I always go there by bus so as not to arrive late.I have classes from 8:30 to
12 in the morning and from 2 to 4 in the afternoon.I have lunch either at the school canteen or
at a fast-food restaurant.I revise my lessons until about 10 in the evening.I rarely go out at the
weekend because I prefer to relax at home listening to music or watching TV.
My family is a typical finish family :Mum and Dad and two children(my brother Jary and
me).Jarys fourteen years old.My mother is a housewife and my father is an electrician.Our
house is rather small.We all love animals.We have a dog and a parrot,but neither of them
really belongs to me .Both of them are Jerys pets.Im always happy to hear the parrot
repeating my name every time I come back home from school.The dog is sometimes furious at
the talkative parrot.
We live in Central Finland in a tiny village called Tikkakoski.Tikkakoski has only about 4,000
inhabitants,and we all know one an other.Jyvaskyla is our nearest town ,its very nice .It isnt
very big .It has only 63,000 people,but you know ,we have about 7 million people in the whole
country.
155
Finland is in the north of Europ,near the Arcaic Circle.Its very famous for its saunas and
lakes.Winter is terrible.Its always freezing .But summer is fairly cool.In summer,I like going
to public gardens in order to listen to elderly people telling funny stories about the time they
were young.
Well,I guess thats all for now!keep in touch!
P.S Find my photo in attachment.Please,send me some information about Algeria.
2-Use information from the email above to fill in the blanks in the screenshot on the previous
page.
4-What the words in bold type in the e-mail above refer to?
1-Arrange the frequency adverbs in the box below on the line that follows according to the
Hardly ever-never-sometimes-often-usually-always-rarely.
2-Go back to the email on page 21 and pick out the sentences with frequency adverbs from
3-Study the sentences you have picked out in execise 1 above.Circle the item (a-b) that best
completes rules A and B below .Then write 5 sentences of your own using frequency adverbs.
156
A.Frequency adverbs go-the verb ( auxiliary)be. a.before b.after
4-Pair work:Take turns to interview each other using the questionnaire from below.Tick(+) the
B:Yes,of course.
Questionnaire:
Always-often-sometimes-rarely-never-any other.
157
5-Now,report your findings about your partners regular activities to the class.
7-Contrast the adjectives A-D with those you have picked out.What is the main difference
8-Pick out from the e-mail 4 ordinary adjectives with degree adverbs.Order the adverbs from
9-Mach ordinary adjectives 1-8 with extreme adjectives A-H.Then use 4 ordinary adjectives
WRITE IT RIGHT
1-Read Kirsis e-mail and write a short reply following the plan below.
D-Use cues from the table below to introduce your country briefly using degree adverbs with
adjectives.
158
Questions Answers
1-Which continent /region is your country in? Its in/situated in/located in
2-Which country borders it to the east,to the To the east,its bordered by.
west,to the south-east.?
3-Whats its population? There are/It has a population of
4-What4s its area? It has an area of
5-How long is it from north to south and from Its..Kilometres longfrom.to..
east to west?
6-Whats the average temperature in The average temperature in summer/in
summer/winter? winter is less/more than
7-What is it famous for? Its famous/well known for
2-Correct your mistakes .Then exchange drafts with your partner for further error checking
DEVELOPING SKILLS
1-Match texts 1,2,3 and 4 on the next page with messages A-D in the box below.
2-Read text 1 on the next page again and answer these questions:
C-R.S.V.P is a French abbreviation .What is the full expression in French?Why do you think
159
3-Read texts 5,6 and 7 on the next page and match them with messages A-C in the box below.
5-Imagine you made a mistake.Write a letter of apology to whom it may concern.Use letters 5
and 6 as models.
May 14th,2008
Dear Peter,
Well celibrate Anns success at her exams on Thursday 21st ,from 6 to 9 p.m. Come and
share with us the celebration if youre free.
Regards
Sam. (2)
160
Dec.16th ,2007
DearNora,
Thank you very much for your invitation.Im afraid I cant come to the party because
my father has the flu and I have ta attend to him.
I hope youll have a good time anyway.
With my best wishes,
Maya (4)
Aug.13th ,2008
Dear Kenneth,
Im sorry I havent written earlier.Ive heard about your accident from Henry.I hope
that its not serious and that you are following the doctors advice and staying in bed.Im
coming to see you next week.
I hope the book will cheer you up.Get well quick!
Love,
Jenny.
161
Refer again the students to texts 1, 2, 3, and 4 and ask them to choose one of them as a model
Senders address
85 Oxford Street,
Kenton, Sussex
14 March, 2005 (2)
Dear George, (3)
I am pleased/happy/glad to learn that you have moved to a new flat.
.
With best wishes (4)
(signature) (5)
Karim Boudri
1. The writers, i.e., the senders address, does not usually include the name, which is shown
by the signature (see number 5 in the letter layout above). It is usually written on the top right-
hand corner.
2. The date should figure just below the address. There is also an American way of writing the
date (e.g., March 14, 2005). Here are some of the ways of reading/saying the date.
In Br. English, you say March the fourteenth or the fourteenth of March. In American English,
3. Letters need salutations (Dear George , Hello) Here are some other salutations that you
Salutation
Formal or routine Dear Sir /Dear Sirs/ Dear Madam/ Dear Sir or Madam
(Business letters)
162
4. Letters also need complimentary closes (e. g, Love, Best wishes). Here are some other
complementary closes.
UK US
Keep in mind that in informal letters, love is a complimentary close used both by men and
women when writing to close friends or relatives. Best wishes, Yours, All the best, Kind
regards, Best regards are used when addressing people whom they are not close to. With all
my love is used by both men and women when writing to someone they are very close to (e.g.,
In business letters (formal or less formal), the complimentary close depends on the form of
salutation. For instance, if you start your letter with salutation Dear Mr/Miss/Mrs/Ms Kane
you will close your letter with Yours sincerely. But if you start with Dear Madam/Sir/Sir or
The aim of this task is to interpret and categorise messages according to style.
163
Procedure
Make sure the learners have understood what to do. Interact with them and have them
interpret the context of each of the goodwill letters. (e.g.,Who is the sender of the letter? Who
is the recipient of the letter? What is the context?) Check whether the learners have vocabulary
problems in reading the letters. Get them guess the difficult words from context. Once this is
done, give them enough time to read the goodwill letters and identify each of them according
to style. As you check the answers with your learners, encourage them to justify their answers
Task six
Procedure
Intearact with your learners about the register or style using the tips supplied in task one
of this book. You can attract your learners attention to the way the senders address their
conrespondents in the salutations, the length of the sentences, the vocabulary items, etc. You
can also ask them to make the sixth letter more informal/less formal than the fifth one by
Task seven
DEVELOPING SKILLS
1-Item 1-9 below are not in order .Reorder them according to the plan in the box on the left in
164
A.Your address
B.Date
D.Re:
E.Salutation
G.Introduce yourself.
I.Closing+ name
(6) Please send me information about course dates and fees as soon as possible.
(7) Im sixteen and Im a stude nt at Emir Khaled Secondary School.I would like to take a course in July
2- Imagine you are a secretary at Stratford School of English.You have been asked to reply to
Meriem Djoual.In which order would you write the following?Write numbers1-4 in the
boxes.
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4- Follow the re-ordered plan in exercise 3 above to write a reply to Meriem Djouals letter of
-Please find enclosed here our latest information prospectus,which we hope will be of interest
to you.
-We are permanent,we are professional.We offer you a warm welcome here at our school.
WRITE IT OUT
Read the Help Wantedadvert below.Then write 4 sentences with must and have
Miami,Florida 60306.
2-Now,read the letterof application below and decide whether the applicant has a chance or
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46 Regent Street
Madison 15026
Wisconsin
May 20,2005
Mr Michael Armstrong,
Miami,Florida 60306.
Re:Camp leader
Dear Mr Armstrong,
I have seen your advertisement for camp leaders in USA TODAY and would like to apply for the job.
I am a junior at Thomas Jefferson High School with good marks in arts and philosophy.Im a member of
photography and music clubs,and I enjoy meeting people.I often volunteer to work in infant hospital
I was in Columbus and I am sixteen years old.I will turn seventeen next January.I have lived at the address
above for the past ten years.So I think that I have quite a good experience in dealing with children.
Im ready to start work at the end of June,when the school summer vacation begins.
I have asked two of my teachers,Mr Jhon Clarck and Miss Emma Smithson,to send you two letters of
Yours sincerely,
Joy j.Parfit
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CONSOLIDATION AND EXTENSION
3.Fill in this rsum (curriculum vitae) with information from joys letter of application above.
RESUME
Name:
First middle last
Adress:
Place of Birth:
Age:
Education:
Language:.
Previous work experience:
Interest:.
References:.
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4-Match introducing sentences A-C below with the letters 1-3 that follow.Write the
B.I am writing to inform you that I am able to offer you the position as camp leader.
You will get a salary of 50 I should like you to come for an I will be on vacation from June
dollars a week. Would you please interview on Friday June 12. 30 to September 12.
confirm that this is acceptable to Could you please call number So I can start work on July 2.
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5-Make your own rsum/curriculum vitae.Then write a letter of application in response to the
PROJECT WORKSHOP
- Rsum or C.V s,
- Letter of reference,
- Letters of application,
- Letters of acceptance.
This section presents the designed material and its activities which were used with the
experimental group. These materials are adapted from (Mitchell H.Q & j.Scott, 2003, pp.72-
170
Lesson one: Presentation
1-Read the title of the unit, look at the picture and discuss the following :
1-what do you think the man and the woman are talking about ?
What Geoff has in his cv What else Geoff actually did What Jenny suuggests
Personal interests
171
Jenny: doesnt matter. Well write sales assistant for local newsagent.
Geoff: that sounds good. But I dont want to lie.
Jenny: its not a lie. It just makes you look good.
Geoff: if you say so. What else?
Jenny: you havent got much under personal interests, either, just football.
Geoff: I didnt know what else to put.
Jenny: Mmm have you ever taken part in a play?
Geoff: well, yes, but it was just the local drama club. Isnt that a silly thing to mention?
Jenny: not at all! Lets put active member of local theatrical society.
Geoff: dont you think its too much to write that?
Jenny: why? What was a play?
Geoff: I wasnt actually, that is to say, I didnt play Robin Hood.
Jenny: no? what was your role?
Geoff: I was Third tree on the left, but I was a great tree!
Jenny: thats the spirit , Geoff.
*Do you think Geoff should add what Jenny suggested to his CV? Why / why not?
* if you had to write your own CV. What would you put in?
Intonation:
The expression below are used for asking for clarification or clarifying what has been said.
I mean
, that is to say
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Lesson two: Reading and Writing:
I-Read the following job advertisements then complete the application letter below.
173
1-Complete the job application:
Dear
I am writing to apply..
I am.
I have enclosed..
Your sincerely.
Activity 02: A rsum is a summary of your personal information and experience. Look at the
Notes;
174
1- For work experience, put your most recent job first, then list other jobs going back in
time. If a past job was relevant to this one, mention the duties you were responsible
for. Work experience programs and voluntary work can also be mentioned.
2- For referees, write the name and address of two people who you know well. At least
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Activity 03: The list below contains some words commonly used in job applications. They are
176
Activity 04: The job application letter below is a canvassing letter, to enquire about the
words from the list above in Activity 03 to complete the letter. When you have chosen the
Iam writing to enquire about the possibility of..Iam in any type of hotel or
kitchen work.
I have had three years ..in the kitchen of a large hotel in Perth. I was employed thre
I completed a special English course called one day per week, when I worked at
I would welcome an to work for the Hilton and I feel I would make
an.employee.
My. And two are attached . Should you have a ..at present or
Your sincerely,
3- read the article below and circle the jobs which the writer considered when he was in
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4- Career choices
Im often asked the question how did you become a journalist? you see, everybody expected
me to follow in my fathers footsteps and become a doctor. Well, during my last year of
school I was given the opportunity to visit a career guidance counselor and I drove her crazy
with my choices.
My first choice was a chocolate tester. Although my counselor wasnt very impressed, she got
me the information. I discovered that chocolate testers earn a lot of money, so I was sure I had
found my dream job. However, when I found out that chocolate testers dont just sit around
eating chocolate all day, I lost my enthusiasm. It seems that they are also Brand Managers,
which means they are involved in the marketing and promotion of the product . I finally
Next, I thought of becoming a football referee. I had loved football from a young age, but
being a professional footballer was out of the question, as I couldnt play very well. Anyway,
it seems that referees must be able to run two and half miles in less than twelve minutes and
they are required to take exams throughout their training. On top of that, only after many years
of experience-and if they are lucky - do they get the chance to referee big professional
matches. So, my dream of showing David Beckham a red card was shattered .
Finally, I had this brilliant idea of becoming a dog stylist. That was after I realized how much
money our dog stylist, Shirley, was being paid every time we visited her with our Lhasa Apso,
Philipo. However, once, while she was styling Philipo, I noticed that he tried to bite her. it
happens all the time she told me. as you can imagine, that really put me off.
To cut a long story short, all this research made me realize I had a gift for investigation, so by
178
1- Read the text again and answer the following questions. Write C for chocolate tester, F
Activiity 06: Complete the sentences with the correct form of the words in the boxes.
179
Grammar:
1- read the tables. Then, find similar examples of the passive voice in the text in the
reading text:
Active voice.
Or
Passive voice.
e.g: when I got to the garage. My car was still being repaired
x Conversational English:
Activity 07:Find five examples of conversational English in the dialogue and match them with
a- its no use ..
b-its related to ..
e- Im sure .
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x Collocations:
Look at the following collocations with get and use them to complete the sentences a-g. you
Get dark - Get ready - Get a job - Get the sack - Get rid of - Get down to business -
Grammar:
1-underline all the examples of full infinitives ( e.g to do), bare infinitives (e.g do) and-ing
Use after
Use
* certain verbs (want, would like, hope, decide, manage, agree, refuse, seem, promise etc.)
Use
*certain verbs (avoid, enjoy, love, hate, finish, imagine, mind, risk, suggest, consider etc.)
* certain expressions ( how about, its no use, its no good, theres no point in, be used to etc.)
Activity 07: complete the text below with the full infinitive, the bare infinitive or the ing
case that time was when I was sixteen and I wanted (2)..(buy) e pair of cool
wouldnt even consider (4)..(give) me money for that would be the third pair of
trainers that year. so, I got an evening job at a local Italian restaurant, but I quit after two
the tables and the floor and (7)..( wash) dirty dishes till two oclock in
the morning. Then, there were all those people who couldnt ( 8)
(make) up their minds what(9) .(order) and others who were very impolite. One
2- rewrite the following sentences in the passive voice. Begin with the words given and make
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a- the company offered me a well-paid job.
The criminal..
Was
A bank
Your letter..
listening
2- you will hear four students talking about different part-time jobs they had while they were
at college. Listen and match the four speakers with the jobs a-e above. There is one extra job
Word building:
Nouns that refer to people are commonly formed by adding the suffixes -er ,-or ,-ist and -ian
1- complet the table with nouns that refer to people. Use the words in the box and a
suitable suffix.
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Music type- employ-act- manage build-direct- invent- visit- politics style- science-
Er Or Ist ian
.. . .
2- complete the sentences with the correct form of some of the nouns in the table above.
speaking
work in pairs. Imagine that you are in charge of hiring new staff at the bay view hotel. Read
the advertisement below and the profiles of three people who have applied for the jobs
advertised. Discuss and decide which person would be the most suitable for each job and why
Bay view hotel Name: Nick Davis Name: Lauren west Name:Valerie Smith
Is looking for
Receptionist
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- have good communications skills -masters in roman -Hight school -Business
- be prepared to work long hours ( one day history graduate Administration student
Expressions
Writing
2- read the advertisement and the letter of application. Then, answer the questions below
185
a.Is the letter formal or informal? and why?
Must be over 18
Sales experience necessary
Basic computer knowledge
Friendly personality.
Apply in writing to:
14 Station Road,Liverpool L18 8YZ
In addition ,I have some sales experience.I spent the last two summers working as an assistant in a gift
shop in Betchley.My employer was very satisfied with my work and regular customers commented on
what a nice person I was.Futhermore,I have a basic knowledge of computers.I believe
These qualities make me suitable for the job.
I have also enclosed my CV and a reference letter from my previous employer.I hope that my application
will be taken into consideration.
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3-Improve Your Style
-Follow the layout of formal letters.Use block paragraphs and write your address of the
-Start your letter with Dear Sir or Dear Madam and end it with your faithfully, followed by
-Use formal language.Dont use short forms(e.g. Im,dont) or abbreviations (e.g. ad,inf).
Below is part of a letter of application.Rewrite it in a more appropriate style and take out any
Dear mr Richard,
I was looking through the Boston Herald the other day.I think it was on 3 april when I saw your ad for an
office assistant.Im 22 years old and Im a law student in my final year at uni.Im fluent in French,but my
Spanish is quite poor.I also have some work experience .You see,I was an assistant at a law firm over the
4-Writing task: Find a job advertisement in the newspaper that is suitable for you, or use
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Write a letter to apply for one of the jobs advertised above.Your letter should be between 120
x Underline important parts you should mention in your letter (key words).
-Mention the position you are applying for and when and where you saw the job
advertised.Invent a name for a newspaper and a date if they are not given.
-Read the advertisement carefully,especially the qualities required for the job.Expand on
them,describing your qualifications and experience and explain why you believe you are
-Include only information that is relevant to the job you are applying for.
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-Dont mention your bad qualities.
-Dont write that you want the job for the money.
Mention that you are enclosing a CV and a reference letter,and end your letter with an
Our choice of using the first unit is based on the students' performance.
A text-foused approach is adopted to writing in the pre-test. In other words, we have used
the technique of writing parallel or model paragraphs. We provide learners of the two groups
(CG & EG) with the advert and the application letter given in their textbook as a model. We
recommend that learners refer to the given application letter of the textbook, and have them
take it as a parallel or model of building and organizing the paragraphs of their own produced
application letters. The learners can check whether they have organized their paragraphs
correctly only by reffering to the given letter (the model) without any focus on particular
training in writing. The reason behind adopting text- focused approach in the experiment is
that secondary school learners are taught how to build and organized paragraphs, so they are
familiar to some extent with the approach. In this text-focused approach to writing, we usually
use the following techniques: writing parallel or model paragraphs, forming paragraphs from
without cues. Learners have taken as a model the advert and the application letter below
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5.2.The Pre-Test Material and Tool:
Read the Help Wantedadvert below. Then write your own application letter. Use Jhons
46 Regent Street
Madison 15026
Wisconsin
May 20,2005
Mr Michael Armstrong,
Haryton Bay Summer
Camp,2187 Mountain Street
Miami,Florida 60306.
Re:Camp leader
Dear Mr Armstrong,
I have seen your advertisement for camp leaders in USA TODAY and would like to apply for the job.
I am a junior at Thomas Jefferson High School with good marks in arts and philosophy.Im a member of
photography and music clubs,and I enjoy meeting people.I often volunteer to work in infant hospital
wards.So I think I am suitable for the job.
I was in Columbus and I am sixteen years old.I will turn seventeen next January.I have lived at the address
above for the past ten years.So I think that I have quite a good experience in dealing with children.
Im ready to start work at the end of June,when the school summer vacation begins.
I have asked two of my teachers,Mr Jhon Clarck and Miss Emma Smithson,to send you two letters of
reference for me.
Yours sincerely,
Joy j.Parfit
190
The sixteen (16) participants are pre-tested through asking them to write an application
letter using only their background knowledge without receiving any instruction. They are only
exposed to a model (application letter). Learners read the given application letter silentely then
they start writing their own (the letters length is of 100 words). So, each participant is asked
to write his own letter. Then the letters are collected and scored by the teacher. The last step is
to pick up the median score of all the participants from the results of the pre-test. The
Control group L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8
Organization of ideas 03.00 02.00 02.00 03.00 01.00 02.00 03.50 03.00
Vocabulary 02.00 02.00 03.00 03.00 01.00 02.50 03.50 03.00
Grammar 03.00 03.00 02.00 03.00 02.00 01.50 03.00 02.00
Form 02.00 02.00 02.0 02.00 02.00 02.00 02.00 02.00
Total 10.00 08.00 09.00 11.00 06.00 08.00 12.00 10.00
Control group L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8
Organization of ideas 02.00 02.50 02.00 03.00 03.50 03.00 03.00 02.00
Vocabulary 03.00 03.50 03.00 04.00 02.50 03.00 02.00 02.00
Grammar 01.00 03.00 02.00 03.00 03.00 02.00 02.00 02.00
Form 02.00 02.00 02.00 02.00 02.00 02.00 02.00 02.00
Total 08.00 11.00 09.00 12.00 11.00 10.00 09.00 08.00
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5.5. Pre-test Analysis of (CG) and (EG):
Pre-test L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8
Control group 1 0 .0 0 0 8 .0 0 0 9 .0 0 1 1 .0 0 0 6 .0 0 0 8 .0 0 1 2 .0 0 1 0 .0 0
Experimental gruop 0 8 .0 0 1 1 .0 0 0 9 .0 0 1 2 .0 0 1 1 .0 0 1 0 .0 0 0 9 .0 0 0 8 .0 0
From the pre-test scores, the control group and the experimental group have approximately
the same level. These results indicate that the participants of both groups started the
experiment from the same starting point. The collected data of which is represented by the
median score of both are compared, which helps us to set a goal to be reached after the
treatment period.
Among the advantages of using new modified and simplified reading materials to meet
learners needs, as mentioned by Nunan (1979), is to decide what will be the suitable
materials according to the learners grade level. As the present research has been carried in a
Foreign Language (FL) context, the task is not easy. First the majority of learners have low
level in English. Second we can not be sure that our learners are interested and motivated
because they consider English as a complementary subject and not as an essential one . To set
the learners proficieny in writing, we have relied on the pre-test results. The collected data of
the pre-test has been studied to know what the present writing proficiency level of the
participants is. These results are used both as the starting point for the treatment group, and
192
6.2. Description of the Treatment Phase:
The treatment phase of this study lasted six weeks, beginning in October 2010 and ending in
December 2010. The learners in the experimental group have followed the teachers own
reading materials which are authentic and modified according to their age, needs and
interests, knowing that all sessions of the treatment period are considered as make up sessions.
Normally, the sessions are within the regularly scheduled sessions of the English subject.
Since the number of learners in classes is overcrowded, and this would negatively influence
the implementation of the Unit (adaptation) with the experimental group and (adoption) with
the control group, we found that it would be better to apply the treatment in extra hours with
The treatment period has been restricted to only six weeks because we spent the whole
trimester (3 months) in the implementation of the first unit Getting Through. The duration
of the treatment period is appropriate if we consider that the beginning of the trimester should
include the revision period, the tests and exams within the same period as well. To avoid the
participants' burden of the extra hours and regular absences, we promissed them that the marks
they would get in the post tests of both groups (experimental and control group) are their
official tests scores to keep them motivated during the treatment period.
After six weeks (the duration of the treatment period), the participants (of both EG and CG)
are asked to write their own application letters according to a given advert in order to
determine the improvement in their writing proficiency. Hence, the participants are post tested
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using the same tool as the one used for the pre-test. The learners writing performance in the
Control group L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8
Organization of ideas 03.00 03.00 03.00 02.50 03.00 03.00 02.00 03.00
Control group L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8
Organization of ideas 03.00 04.00 03.00 03.00 03.00 04.00 03.00 03.00
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7.3. Post- test Rasultes of (CG) and(EG):
Post test S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8
Control group 1 1 .0 0 1 0 .0 0 1 1 .0 0 1 2 .0 0 1 1 .0 0 1 0 .0 0 0 9 .0 0 0 8 .0 0
All the learners have been pre and post tested through writing an application letter. The
analysis of the pre-test and the post-test is done according to learners scores in both groups
(EG and CG) taking into account many aspects in scoring among which, the letter form, the
organization of ideas, the vocabulary used, grammar, and accuracy. After collecting the data
of the pre and post-test, the next step in this study is the analysis of this data which is divided
into two parts: first we calculate the means of both groups (experimental group and control
group) in the pre/post test, and then we compare the results. Second, a quantitative analysis is
followed where we have used a t test analysis to determine the validity of these results. This
analysis would confirm, or disconfirm our hypothesis. At the end of the experiment, both
groups (experimental and control group) have been tested again. When all the data is looked
at, there is a significant difference between the experimental group and the control group in
their writing performance. These differences in implementing the reading materials and tasks
(i.e., The experimental group has been exposed to a completely different reading material and
tasks from those which have been introduced to the control group) favour the learners who
follow the designed reading materials as it is shown in AppedixII. To give more validity for
these differences, we have first compared the means of both control and experimental groups
prior the beginning of the study ( in the pre-test) and at the end of the study (in the post-test).
195
8.1.Calculating the Means of (CG) and (EG):
To calculate the mean of both groups, the sum of the scores have to be divided on the
number of the participants. The following tables sum up the median score of the two groups in
Control group 11.00 10.00 11.00 12.00 11.00 10.00 09.00 8.00 10.25
Experimental 13.00 14.00 13.00 12.00 13.00 14.00 12.00 13.00 13.00
Group
Table 63: The means of the(EG) and the (CG) in the post-test.
The following table, which presents a summary of the pre-test means of both groups, helps us
comparing the writing performance as represented by learners before the beginning of the
experiment.
The mean 0 9 .7 5 0 9 .2 5
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Comparing the means of the two groups, there seem to be no significant difference between
the writing performances of the two groups in the pre-test. This means that both groups started
The mean 1 3 .8 7 1 0 .3 7
By comparing the means, one can easily deduce that the experimental group outperforms the
control group. Even though, the difference between the means of the two groups has been
somehow negligible (only 0.25 difference) in the pre-test; this difference, however, increases
to reach (+3.50 points difference in scores) at the end of the experiment. This means that the
experimental group has shown a progress in writing performance which is not the case of the
control group. The comparison of the means is not so worthy to build on it solid interpretation
which concerns the truthfulness of the hypothesis. Hence, to reinforce the conclusions drawn
from this comparison, and thus give them more validity, we have used a t test analysis which
9. t test Analysis:
Many factors underlie our choice of the t test: first it is the much more commonly used
statistical test in language studies; second, the t test does not require large samples as does the
Z statistics (Brown, 1988, p165). Both factors are in favour for this study, as we are testing the
197
hypothesis with a small sample of secondary school learners. The t-test for independent
samples is more appropriate for a comparison between the control group and the experimental
group in terms of differences in scores in the post-test. The t test is a robust test which
determines the validity of an experiment base on two entities- comparison. This test assesses
whether the means of the two groups involved in the present study are statistically different
from each other. Once the t value is calculated, we have to look it up in a table of significance
to test whether the ratio is large enough to say that the difference between the groups is not
likely to have been a chance finding. On the basis of this comparison, one can accept or reject
the established hypothesis. The t test, then, helps in confirming or disconfirming the truth of
( 2)
+2 ( )
The Sample Variance is a sort of average of the differences of all scores from the mean.
198
X 2 = Mean of the second group
Because the study is based on one tailed test (directional hypothesis), to confirm the truth of
the hypothesis, the obtained t value (at 0, 05 level of significance) must equal or exceed the
half of the tabulated value of the t (the critical value of t). This would confirm the positive
effect of the use of teachers own reading materials design on learners writing proficiency, and
hence accept the hypothesis. To strengthen the conclusion drawn from the comparison of the
means and then confirm the truth of the hypothesis, we have relied on a t-test analysis. The
9.1. t test for the Difference between the CG and the EG in the Post test:
S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 Means
11 10 11 12 11 10 9 8 1 0 .2 5
13 14 13 12 13 14 12 13 1 3 .0 0
Control Group:
82
199
852
82
8
= 10.25
Experimental Group
104
1356
104
= 13
Control Group:
852
105.06
8
1.44
Experimental Group
1356
169
8
200
0.5
( 2)
+2 ( )
5.22
We do not regard the sign () of the t value, since it will be positive if the first mean is larger
than the second mean and negative if the first mean is smaller. For such reason, the t test value
is normally reported as the absolute value of the statistics rather than as the signed value of the
statistics. That is, the sign of the t test is normally dropped when it is reported. The t value (the
t observed) is 5.22. The critical value of t, with 14 degrees of freedom, is 2,145, at 0, 05 level
of significance. Since it is one tailed hypothesis (directional hypothesis), this value should be
divided by 2(i.e., 2,1452=1,07). Because the value of our calculated t exceeds the value of
the tabulated t 5,22> 1,07, this means that the results are statistically significant. Thus,
confirming that the difference between means of the post-test for the control group and the
This conclusion means that the likelihood of the experimental result to be a mere chance
finding is less than 5%; thus we can have about 95% confidence that the observed results are
201
statistically significant, and reflect the positive effect of the new condition to which the
In the present study, it is hypothesized that the teachers own reading materials design has a
positive effect on learners proficiency in writing i.e., learners writing proficiency and
performance would increase if they follow authentic reading materials by their teachers. This
hypothesis has been tested by comparing the means of both groups (control and experimental)
in the post-test. The mean of the control group in the post-test (M= 10.37, SD=1.44) is less
than the mean of the experimental group in the post-test (M= 13, 87, SD= 0, 54), 14 t = 5, 22,
p= 2,145.
Since the results are in the direction of our hypothesis, one can say that the use of authentic
This section will focus on the investigation about the effects of the teachers own reading
materials of the learners performance in writing. To establish whether the adaptation of these
authentic reading materials versions contributed to better improvement in the learners writing
performance, independent t-test was conducted to compare the two groups mean scores in
pre-and post-tests. The t-tests was also conducted to evaluate whether or not there was
their perception of the reading materials used and also their writing performance. The t-test
showed high significant difference in scores for the CG learners (M = 10.37, SD = 1.44) and
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the EG learners (M = 13.87, SD = 0.54; t (14) =5.22, p = 2.145, one-tailed test, d = 1.07), as
Therefore, we can say that the types of the designed reading materials outperformed in
terms of the learners reading scores at the completion of the first unit. So, the t-test indicated
significant improvement in the learners writing scores. To conclude, the differences in scores
between the two groups might be caused not only by the different types of materials but also
by the differences in specific teaching and learning situations, including the teachers distinct
Conclusion
This research study has been carried out to answer the statement of the problem which is:
whether the use of teachers authentic reading materials design as a teaching instructional
method helps learners to improve their writing proficiency. Within this scope, the collected
data of the pretest and the post test, as well as, the treatment period data reveals that the
learners who follow the designed materials have shown progress in their writing performance.
Their post test scores show that they have benefited from the use of authentic reading
materials. The t test has confirmed that these results are statistically significant and not a mere
chance findings.
As a result, teacherscareful design of the material and the clarity of task purposes and
procedures were shown to be important variables affecting the classroom atmosphere and the
learners level of task achievement, and thus, need to be taken into consideration when
planning guidance for teachers involved in teaching reading courses to enhance learners
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writing proficiency. A major conclusion of the study was that EFL language programs should
consider introducing authentic reading materials into the curriculum as a tool to improve the
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CHAPTER FIVE
PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS
Introduction
3. Limitations
4. Pedagogical Implications
Conclusion
205
CHAPTER FIVE: PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS
Introduction
This concluding chapter will briefly summarise the findings obtained from the use of
authentic reading materials designed or adapted by secondary school teachers to improve their
learners proficiency level in writing. It will focus on the interpretation of research findings
acoording to the research questions and hypothesis. In addition to some research limitations, It
will also provide a discussion of some issues related to pedagogical implications and
Although the learners of the experimental group had significantly more positive opinions of
task objectives, language difficulty through the tasks implemented, it would be difficult to
conclude that the designed reading materials promoted better learners perceptions in writing
than the original materials did, because the materials were implemented with different groups
of learners and at a different time, in different teaching and learning situations. In addition to
interactions and background, values and beliefs of learners and teachers ( Tomlinson, 2003a),
including teachers experience, learners motivation, classroom atmosphere and learning and
teaching styles. The analysis of the questionnaires show that learners were aware of the
importance of the reading materials and tasks in improving their writing. The t-test was also
conducted to evaluate whether or not there was significant improvement in learners writing
performance after introducing them to reading materials and tasks adopted from the
coursebook with the (CG) and adapted from authentic materials with (EG).
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1.2.Summary of Quantitative Effects on Writing Performance
In brief, the results of the learners pre-and post-tests show that both groups of learners had
made progress in writing, over approximately six weeks of materials implementation and
instruction. It is clear that learners using both types of materials, the coursebook materials and
the teachers own designed materials, made significant improvements in writing performance.
However, the post tests achievements of both CG and EG show that there is a high statistically
significant improvements between them. This suggests that the design and the adaptation of
progress. The findings of learners achievements in the tasks of the first unit as a whole and
on their writing performance, discussed in (Chapter four), will lead to final conclusions,
The present study has established the strengths and weaknesses of first year secondary
school coursebook reading materials, as well as, the teachers own reading materials in unit
one ( the modifications implemented by the teacher), in terms of the selection of reading texts
and collaborative and pedagogical tasks. The textbook reading and writing tasks focus on
purpose as well as on text. They focus, on the one hand, on the text in the sense that it stresses
the importance of the paragraph as the basic unit of written expression. On the other hand,
they focuse on purpose. In other words, learners wont write just for writing but with a
purpose. In this respect the tasks should simulate authentic situations which is not the case in
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Apart from the focus on text and purpose, it is helpful to keep in mind that writing requires
from learners to follow some strategies like making a first draft and having the draft revised by
the leaners themselves or by their peers before writing the final version. These strategies are
part and parcel of two other approaches to writing: the fluency and accuracy approaches.
Learners write as much as possible during the preparation of the first draft without caring too
much about mistakes. The aim at this stage is fluency. The feedback that learners get from
their peers will allow them to focus on accuracy when writing the revised version of their
papers.
The experimental group (those who worked on the teachers own designed materials)
tended to have more positive views about the tasks . The experimental group learners reported
more task enjoyment and less language difficulty than did the control group. In relation to the
task enjoyment, the experimental group showed satisfaction with materials used, resulting in a
good classroom atmosphere; however, some learners who either belong to the experimental
group or control group have expressed their difficulties in communicating their ideas in
In the analysis of the questionnaires, the findings reveal that some learners prefer to use
their teachers designed or adapted materials and tasks because they satisfy their needs, in the
sense that authentic texts through which they encounter the real world language can be more
enjoyable and less linguistically difficult than the textbook texts and tasks. Additionally, the
experimental group learners believed that they had significantly greater text understanding.
This suggests that the designed materials promoted greater motivation in terms of text
enjoyment, text difficulty and text understanding through the use of authentic materials.
208
A comparison of the learnersreading performance in both groups(CG ad EG) led to the
conclusion that both the adapted and the designed materials, after the six-week
implementation and instruction, promoted writing performance. In addition, the t-test showed
significant improvement in the post-test scores. Thus, the t test is statistically significant and
leads to confirm the stated hypothesis. So, we can say that if teachers use their own reading
materials which are authentic and appropriate to their learners needs, this will have a positive
The review of the study issues will follow the order of the research questions as mentioned
in the general introduction and attempt to answer them according to the findings of the study.
2.1. Research questions: This research study includes five research questions;
x To what extent did learners perceive the use of the coursebook, as ameans of instruction
and discussion in the EAP reading classroom context, to be useful to text understanding?
x To what extent had the first unit Getting Throughas a whole been successful in
responding to the learners needs and interests in terms of selections of reading strategies,
x To what extent the modified reading materials , the simplified texts or the authentic
versions brought by the teacher, contributed to learners better perceptions of the tasks and
x Did the adapted versions, create greater positive learners perceptions of the materials than
209
x Did the use of the teachers designed materials promote learners better
performance?
x Research Question 1: To what extent did learners perceive the use of the coursebook, as
a means of instruction and discussion in the EAP reading classroom context, to be useful
to text understanding?
Overall, the learners from the control group who worked on the coursebook reading
materials expressed to some extent their satisfaction with the reading materials task objectives
throughout the first unit. The learners believed that the tasks had promoted their reading and
writing performance, and provided them with opportunities to practise, to apply strategies in
the specific context of reading, to learn more new vocabulary and to develop greater
x Rsearch Question 2:To what extent had the first unit Getting Through as a whole been
metacognitive strategies, including asking oneself questions, evaluating ones action, and
cognitive strategies, particularly extracting the main idea, predicting the text by making
use of markers, guessing meaning of unknown words from context, skimming and
inferring the writers ideas. In relation to the tasks. Learners agreed that each particular
task was closely related to their background knowledge and to their personal interests,
particularly the topic related to internet, writing messages, e-mails, and at the end the
210
project workshop which is the writing of the application letter (first unit). The learners
complained that the open-ended tasks, which required them to write the answers in
complete sentences are considered difficult. They preferred group-work tasks through
which they were able to learn something new through collaborative work.
x Research Question 3: To what extent the modified reading materials, the simplified texts
or the authentic versions brought by the teacher, contributed to learners better perceptions
The use of teachers own reading materials design which are generally considered as
authentic ones had a positive impact on the learners motivation, as well as on their writing
and reading performance. Even though the variety of tasks was seen as one of the strengths of
the materials, the learners and teachers worked on the tasks under time pressure. Teachers are
aware of the role of the instructional tasks in building up the learners reading and writing
proficiency. Although the authentic reading materials had been successful in increasing the
learners awareness of the impotance of the reading phase in their writing, but teachers must
meet the objectives of the academic syllable in the selection of the reading materials .
x Research Question 4: Did the adapted versions, create greater positive learners
perceptions of the materials than did the original version in the coursebook?
Through the use of teachers own designed reading materials and modified tasks, learners
had significantly greater positive perceptions of the text and task objectives. This led me to
conclude that the designed materials promote better motivation than did the original versions.
Despite the fact that the designed materials create more positive perceptions toward the tasks,
211
and positive writing, but teachers should be aware of the authentic materials cultural biases. In
this sense, the (EG) learners who used the designed materials expressed significantly greater
satisfaction with the authentic reading materials. Thus, Through the use of authentic reading
materials by the teacher, learners reading progress increased because they are motivated.
x Research Question 5: Did the use of the teachers designed materials promote learners
better performance?
The impact of the designed reading materials and the adopted ones from the textbook on
learners progress was also investigated with the use of pre- and post-tests to explore whether
the designed ones could promote progress. These findings were used to supplement the
responses emerged from the qualitative type of evaluating materials including: strategies,
collaborative work, task usefulness, and the variety of tasks and the text topics. According to
secondadary school learners are aware of the degree of relationship between reading and
writing skills. In the treatment period, what distinguished the original from the designed
materials is that the experimental group worked on the authentic texts and tasks which had
Through the use of such materials and collaborative tasks, learners expressed great
satisfaction. However, the control group who used the textbook have criticised its reading
materials for being too artificial and too linguistically difficult for the low level learners. This
suggests that learners lack of interest in the reading text topic can negatively affect their
attitudes towards writing about the given topic within the unit.
212
3. Limitations of the Study
Before discussing possible implications and practical applications of the study, some
limitations in terms of access to classroom observation and presence in the classrooms must be
mentioned. First, classroom observations show that the majority of secondary school learners
do not have a good enough proficiency in English, it was noticed that many members of both
control and experimental groups do not distinguish between authentic reading texts which seek
to satisfy learners needs and artificial reading texts which seek to satisfy some pedagogical
objectives. However learners try to understand the words and write a successful application
letter in order to have good marks rather than to be able to use their reading and writing
abilities in real world situations successfully. In addition, learners of the experimental group
did not care about the designed materials objectives and purposes, but they just tried in vain to
satisfy their teachers through having good scores in the experiment. Second, though the
number of participants (N=16) was relatively small, it was adequate because we were engaged
in reading and writing processes which can not be done and implemented with over-crowded
classes.
In sum, even though the findings and conclusions reached in this study provide insights into
the implementation of teachers designed reading materials, they are limited in their
application (only few teachers are really engaged in the process of materials design). In other
words, there are only few experienced and creative teachers who tend to adapt and design new
materials including authentic ones to meet their learners needs and interests.
213
4.Pedagogical Implications:
The results of this study have implications for six specific areas: (1) the selection of reading
strategies,(2 ) the selection of reading texts, (3) the selection of learning and teaching tasks, (4)
the teaching method, (5) the teachers role in the process, (6) the learners role in the process.
Reading skills do not exist apart from other communication skills. Throughout these skills,
learners will share ideas to write about issues in the areas of communication. To achieve this
aim, learners should use many different reading strategies. The following reading skills and
- determining the meaning of words through the context in which they are used;
- interpreting texts;
The learners must be guided through numerous reading strategies. They should begin with
predicting the subject of articles (texts) from headlines and illustrations, brainstorming the
topic and brushing up vocabulary to hypothesis testing and reading comprehension tasks,
Thus, increasing learners awareness of strategy use, while reading such as guessing
meaning of unknown words from context, making use of markers or other contextual clues
to predict the text content, relating background knowledge to the text topic, making
214
inferences of the writers ideas and extracting the main and major supporting pointswould
help them to understand the text. Finally, the research findings imply a major pedagogical
implication that materials combining strategy training and collaborative tasks should lead to
Overall, the selected reading texts should be adapted to be enjoyable and motivating, since
they need to be interesting and related to learners background knowledge and personal
experiences. The present study also suggests that texts selection, combining different means
of text simplification including linguistic and content simplification, can enhance L2 learners
motivation in terms of their perceptions of text difficulty, text comprehension and text
enjoyment, as well as their writing performance. The research also supports the idea that
learners comments on text difficulty can guide the materials designer to create suitable texts
to the target learners level, background knowledge, interest and cognitive ability.
The learning tasks in the adapted materials were generally chosen to fit learners needs;
almost learners viewed the tasks in the unit as interesting. The learners believed that the tasks
were enjoyable and useful, and considerably valued the collaborative tasks, or small groups.
However, there were occasional complaints about insufficient time to complete their reading
The learners explained that the tasks (pre-, while- and post-reading tasks) in the unit were
sequenced from the easiest to the most difficult, gradually, however, they dislike working on
open-ended tasks, as they had great difficulties in expressing their ideas in English. These
215
shortcomings and discrepencies in pedagogical task design should be taken into account when
(2) It is a problem-solving approach in that it places learners in situations that test and check
in the sense that it seeks to make the attainment of visible objectives, i.e., concrete, through
the realisation of projects in selected domains of instruction. Finally, and most importantly, the
above mentioned charcaterisitic of CBA should be taken into account in materials design and
adaptation
knowledge of teaching methods and techniques. His/her role must have a positive effect on
216
the designed reading materials, the learners knowledge of strategy use, text understanding,
When designing materials or lessons, the teacher should take into account the learners age,
attitudes, ability, previous language experience and native language and attitude to the target
language. These factors are important in the designing process. Thus, eliciting the learners
attitudes towards the coursebook tasks and the included reading materials together with
learning needs are of crucial importance to the whole process. In addition, learners should be
encouraged to report what they particularly like and dislike about the units of the textbook;
they should also be encoutraged to express their preferences for techniques and methods they
would use to improve their reading and writing proficiency. Their views can be reported
through the use of journals which could potentially reveal not only the suitability of the
materials in terms of learning needs, level and interest, but also their perception about the
Some pedagogical recommendations for the design of reading materials for learners in the
teaching and learning contexts are necessary to enhance learners writing performance:
- Teachers Should make use of visual materials because they are of primary importance for
teaching reading. It is necessary for teachers to select and create materials relevant to the
interests, capabilities, and needs of learners. matching real objects to pictures, and then to
217
- Teachers shoud specify the purpose for reading, employ reading strategies to maximize the
learners level of task enjoyment as well as chances of accomplishing the learning outcomes.
- Teachers should take into consideration several aspects when designing their own materials
among which: learners needs and interest, theories of teaching and learning, principles of
sequencing , learning and teaching tasks, learner and teacher roles and roles of instructional
materials;
- Teachers should evaluate their produced-materials through the use of some tools, such as
- To increase the learners motivation to contribute to collaborative work, the materials should
that the design of reading materials take into account the following aspects:
1. The text topic should be relevant to the learners interests to increase their motivation .
2. The selected texts should also be appropriate to learners proficiency level, in order to
Conclusion:
The process of designing materials is not an easy task, but rather it is a complex process
embaracing the implementation, the evaluation, and the revision processes. Successful reading
materials are those which make use of authentic materials. Furthermore, the study revealed
learners positive perceptions toward the use of authentic materials in their readings. The study
tends to show teachers views on the suitability of their reading materials design to their
learnersneeds. This led to the implications and recommendations for the design and
218
evaluation of materials, as well as to ways of promoting the quality and appropriacy of
219
General Conclusion
This research study has been carried out to investigate the situation of using authentic
reading texts as a teaching instructional tool in order to help learners improve their writing
proficiency through exposing them to the language that they encounter in real situations.
Within this scope, the collected data of the questionnaires, as well as, the treatment period data
(the post test results) reveal that the learners who use the designed reading materials which
include authentic texts and modified tasks have shown progress in their writing performance
writing an application letter. Accordingly, the t-test has confirmed that the results are
statistically significant.
Furthermore, the present study attempts to shed light on learners and teachers views on the
appropriateness or adequacy of the first year secondary school textbook reading and writing
materials (reading texts and learning tasks). Thus, teachers should find ways to overcome the
textbook shortcomings if it fails to meet their learners needs. Besides, teachers tend to
promote the quality and the appropriateness of the teaching materials through the process of
designing and evaluating materials. Successful reading teaching materials are those which
enhance learners writing proficiency. When the teachers design their own materials, they
have to take into consideration the principles underlying the material design process; that is,
the three major elements of the reading materials design which are:(1) the selection of reading
strategies, (2) the selection of reading texts and (3) the selection of learning tasks and activities
220
Evaluation criteria are helpful in the selection and use of instructional materials to ensure
that materials are consistent with the needs and interests of the learners. The selected materials
should suit the teachers beliefs and opinions about the nature of language and learning, as
well as the learners attitudes and preferences (the role of needs analysis). In this sense, there
are two types of evaluation, first, the evaluation which is carried out at the end of the
implementation of the material to measure how effective the selected material was in attaining
its goals (summative evaluation). Second, the evaluation which is carried out during the
development and the implementation of the material in order to modify and revise aspects and
elements of the material to ensure its efficiency ( formative evaluation or materials in use
evaluation). Thus, the evaluation and the selection of the teaching materials is a complex
process. Accordingly, no one can speak about the design and use of instructional materials
without speaking about materials evaluation because teaching materials should be evaluated to
The experiment findings have, also, supported the previous researchers findings and have
proved that appropriate teaching reading materials are, therefore, required to help learners to
communicate their ideas in writing, to interact and to practise the language by means of
communicative activities and tasks. Such materials should be natural, realistic and based on
process. In this sense, it is important to have authentic materials that help learners to get real
satisfaction by making use of real-life language. Furthermore, the teaching materials should
offer learners an opportunity to practise and to develop both the receptive and the productive
skills through language use. In addition to that, the use of authentic materials creates
motivation among learners, because there is a significant link between achievement and
221
success in learning the language and the learners willingness to learn. In other words, learners
should be able to take full part in interaction in the classroom, discuss texts, and participate in
222
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APPENDICES
Appendix I : Learners questionnaire
Appendix II : Teachers questionnaire
Appendix III : Control group post-test materials(the original version)
Appendix IV: Experimental group post-test materials(the designed version)
234
Appendix I.1: Learnersquestionnaire :
Questionnaire for learners
Dear learners,
i-General Information:
Q1: Gender:
Male
Female
Q2-Age
a-Less than 15
b-15
c-More than 15
Q3-Stream :
Scientific
Litrary
a-Three times
b-Four times
c-More than four times
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ii-The reading and writing skills
a-Listening
b-Speaking
c-Reading
d-Writing
Q9-Classify the following items according to the importance you give them in your writings
a-Grammar .
b-Vocabulary.
c-Organisation of ideas.
236
Q11-If yes, what type of writing?
a-Home work
b-Letter
c-E-mail
d-Other? Please justify?
a-Individually
b-In pairs
c-In small groups.
Q15-Does the teacher make any effort to motivate you to learn English?
Yes No
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b-Do you have songs time
c-Do you play vocabulary game in class.
Q17-What types of reading and writing activities do you usually have in class?
a-Comprehension questions
b-Defining words
c-Matching items
d- Follow up activities(read then write)(summary or paraphrasing)
Q21-Did you have enough writing activities before writing an application letter?
Yes No
238
Q22-What type of activities do you usually have which enable you to write the letter?
Q23-Can you write a paragraph if you have already read a similar model?
Yes No
a-I have the ideas but can not translate them into words.
b-I lack the ideas.
c-I dont grasp grammar structures.
d-I lack the vocabulary
e-All of them
Q25-How was the teachers feedback?
a-Conferencing
b-Peer correction
c-Individually
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Q27- Do you enjoy the coursebook reading and writing activities in class?
Yes No
Q28- If no? Does your teachers designed reading activities help you in your writings more
than the textbook?
Yes No
Q31-Does the coursebook reading and writing activities meet your aims and objectives?
Yes No
Q32-If no ,how your teacher help you meeting your aims and objectives? Tick the appropriate
answer
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a-Provide you with new reading materials which suit your needs and aims
b-sticks to the coursebook reading materials but gives you extra explanation and new
techniques to meet your needs
Q33- Do projects offer real opportunities for writing practice?
Yes No
Q35-When your teacher correct your writing ,does she/he give more importance to:
a-Grammar
b-Vocabulary
c-Content
d-Organisation of ideas
Q36-Further suggestions:
How can your teacher improve your writing?
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Appendix I.2: Teachersquestionnaire
Questionnaire for Teachers
Dear colleagues,
This questionnaire is a part of a Magistere research work in Course Book Evaluation
in Applied Linguistics).It aims at determining the type of correlations which exist
between reading materials design and writing.
Please, tick the appropriate box or give a full statement when required.
I General Information :
Q1 :Status :
Titulaire
stagiaire
Supplant
Q2 :Gender :
Male
Female
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Q5:I f no ,which ones are given priority?
a-Listening
b-Speaking
c-Reading
d-Writing
Q6: Do you rely only on the textbook to teach reading, or you design your own reading
materials?
Yes No
Q7: If no,do you make any initiative to provide learners with new materials out of the text
book?
Yes No
Q8: Does the reading material dsigned allow for integration of skills?
Yes No
Q09:On which basis do you prepare your reading and writing materials?
a-Pupils needs
b-Prescribed objectives.
c-Learners styles and preferences.
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a-The topics and the readings in the textbook are up to date.
b-There is not enough grammar coverage within the textbook readings .
c-Textbook reading passages contain too much unknown vocabulary.
d-Comprehension questions are too easy or too difficult.
e-The textbook topics are not attractive.
f-The textbook readings do not teach about English peoples culture and ways of life.
g-Textbook reading activities are not significant enough to help learners to write.
Q13: What you take into consideration when you design your own reading materials?
a-The correlation and appropriatness between the designed material and the particular
curriculum.
b-The correlation and the appropriateness between the designed material and the particular
methodology.
c-The designed material authenticity.
Reading and Writing Activities
Q14:Do the learners apply what they learn as vocabulary in reading in their writing?
Yes No
Q16:Which writing techniques do you use to make learners interact with and through the
material ?
a-Having learners read and discuss texts which they would then go on to write about.
b-Using controlled guided writing tasks.
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c-Writing relying on a similar model.
d-Others
a-Vocabulary
b-Grammar
c-Organisation of ideas
d-Form
Q18:Do you provide learners with opportunities to write when you design your reading
activities?
Yes No
Q20: In your opinion how the reading designed tasks can facilitate learners mastery
of writing skill.?
..
.
Q21:What techniques do you opt for to use reading as a tool for writing?
.
245
Q22: Do you believe a teacher should use :
Teaching Vocabulary
Q24:Do the learners apply what they learn as vocabulary in reading in their writing?
Yes No
246
Teacher Evaluation
Q30:When you evaluate the learners writing material ,do you focus on:
a-Vocabulary
b-Grammar
c-Organisation of ideas
d-Form
a-Transmitter of knowledge.
b-A model
c-An evaluator who shares criteria for success or failure.
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a-Passive receivers
b-Active elements in the process.
Further Suggestions:
Q34:Do you have any ideas to add as to the relation between writing and reading on the one
hand and reading and vocabulary on the other hand?
248
Appendix III: Control group posttest materials (The textbook materials
The original material)
The Original Version (The Textbook):
2-Find other words related to computers and the internet and write them in your copybook.
3-Listen and say aloud the e-mail address below.Then take turns to tell your e-mail address to
your classmates.
Sihem2008@yahoo.
READING AND WRITING
ANTICIPATE:
1 Match icons 1-6 in the screenshot with their functions(A-F).
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A-to return to your web-browsers home page.
B-To mark web site for future use.
C-To move down the page.
D-To connect to a website giving information about keypals .
E-To type in a web site address or URL.
F-To go back to the previous page.
2-Look at the screenshot above and guess what kind(s) of internauts are most likely to visit the
advertised web-site.
3-What is the screenshot below used for?
READ AND CHECK:
1-Read the e-mail below and check your answer to question 2 on the previous page.
Dear Amel,
Ive found your adderess on the internet.Im writing because I want to know more about you
and your country.But I have to introduce myself first.
My names Kirsi.Kirsi is a name which is quite common in Finland.Im sixteen years
old.Nearly everyone my age goes to school in Finland.Children can finish school when they
are 16,but no one really wants to do so,because without any serious training ,they cant get a
good job.I want to become a journalist later.So I will have to study for six more years.
On weekdays,I generally very early in order to prepare myself for school ,which is a little bit
far from my home .I always go there by bus so as not to arrive late.I have classes from 8:30 to
12 in the morning and from 2 to 4 in the afternoon.I have lunch either at the school canteen or
at a fast-food restaurant.I revise my lessons until about 10 in the evening.I rarely go out at the
weekend because I prefer to relax at home listening to music or watching TV.
My family is a typical finish family :Mum and Dad and two children(my brother Jary and
me).Jarys fourteen years old.My mother is a housewife and my father is an electrician.Our
house is rather small.We all love animals.We have a dog and a parrot,but neither of them
really belongs to me .Both of them are Jerys pets.Im always happy to hear the parrot
repeating my name every time I come back home from school.The dog is sometimes furious at
the talkative parrot.
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We live in Central Finland in a tiny village called Tikkakoski.Tikkakoski has only about 4,000
inhabitants,and we all know one an other.Jyvaskyla is our nearest town ,its very nice .It isnt
very big .It has only 63,000 people,but you know ,we have about 7 million people in the whole
country.
Finland is in the north of Europ,near the Arcaic Circle.Its very famous for its saunas and
lakes.Winter is terrible.Its always freezing .But summer is fairly cool.In summer,I like going
to public gardens in order to listen to elderly people telling funny stories about the time they
were young.
2-Use information from the email above to fill in the blanks in the screenshot on the previous
page.
3-Read the email above again and answer these questions:
A.What nationality is Kirsi?
B.Why does she want to correspond witrh Amel?
C.What is a sauna?What is the equivalent in your language?
D.Does she live in town or in countryside?justify your answer.
E.How often does she go out at the weekend?
4-What the words in bold type in the e-mail above refer to?
DISCOVER THE LANGUAGE
1-Arrange the frequency adverbs in the box below on the line that follows according to the
degree of frequency they express.
Hardly ever-never-sometimes-often-usually-always-rarely.
2-Go back to the email on page 21 and pick out the sentences with frequency adverbs from
the text .Write the sentences in your copybook.
3-Study the sentences you have picked out in execise 1 above.Circle the item (a-b) that best
completes rules A and B below .Then write 5 sentences of your own using frequency adverbs.
A.Frequency adverbs go-the verb ( auxiliary)be. a.before b.after
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B.Frequency adverbs go-other verbs a.before b.after
4-Pair work:Take turns to interview each other using the questionnaire from below.Tick(+) the
questions given by your partner.
Example:A:Hello,Im doing a survey about students regular activities.Can you help me ?
B:Yes,of course.
A:Well,my first question is
Questionnaire:
1-What time do you get up?
Early in the morning-late in the morning-around 7 in the morning-any other
2-How do you go to school?
On foot-by bus-by bicycle-by train-either by bus or a taxi.
3-How often do you eat in the school canteen?
Always-often-sometimes-rarely-never-any other.
4-How often do you revise your lessons?
Everyday-more than twice a week-less than once a week-any other
5-How long do you do you revise your lessons?
From 8-12-from 8:30to 11-fromp 9 to 11-any other.
6-How long are you staying in secondary school?
Until:next year-the baccalaureate exam-the summer holidays-any other.
5-Now,report your findings about your partners regular activities to the class.
Start like this:Hamid (frequency adverb) gets up.He..
252
9-Mach ordinary adjectives 1-8 with extreme adjectives A-H.Then use 4 ordinary adjectives
with degree adverbs in sentences of your own.
1-good A-huge 5-large E-brilliant
2-hot B-huge 6-sad F-hilarious
3-tired C-tragic 7-funny G-fascinating
4-interesting D-exhausted 8-clever H-boiling
WRITE IT RIGHT
1-Read Kirsis e-mail and write a short reply following the plan below.
Plan:A-Say thank you.Then introduce yourself briefly.
B-Describe your regular activities using frequency adverbs.
C-Introduce your family.
D-Use cues from the table below to introduce your country briefly using degree adverbs with
adjectives.
Questions Answers
1-Which continent /region is your country Its in/situated in/located in
in?
2-Which country borders it to the east,to To the east,its bordered by.
the west,to the south-east.?
3-Whats its population? There are/It has a population of
4-What4s its area? It has an area of
5-How long is it from north to south and Its..Kilometres longfrom.to..
from east to west?
6-Whats the average temperature in The average temperature in summer/in
summer/winter? winter is less/more than
7-What is it famous for? Its famous/well known for
253
2-Correct your mistakes .Then exchange drafts with your partner for further error checking
before writing a final version of your reply.
DEVELOPING SKILLS
1-Match texts 1,2,3 and 4 on the next page with messages A-D in the box below.
A-an informal invitation.
B-an informal acceptance of invitation.
c-a formal invitation.
D-an informal refusal of invitation.
2-Read text 1 on the next page again and answer these questions:
A-What is the meaning of house warming?
B-What day is the house warming?
C-R.S.V.P is a French abbreviation .What is the full expression in French?Why do you think
the English use this abbreviation?
3-Read texts 5,6 and 7 on the next page and match them with messages A-C in the box below.
A.a formal letter of apology.
B.a formal note to ask for leave or absence.
C.an informal note of apology.
4-Pair work:Take turns to write invitations.Exchange your invitations.Then write thank-you
notes.Use texts 1,2,3,and 4 as modals.
5-Imagine you made a mistake.Write a letter of apology to whom it may concern.Use letters 5
and 6 as models.
254
May 14th,2008
Dear Peter,
Well celibrate Anns success at her exams on Thursday 21st ,from 6 to 9 p.m. Come and
share with us the celebration if youre free.
Regards
Sam.
(2)
Dec.16th ,2007
DearNora,
Thank you very much for your invitation.Im afraid I cant come to the party because
my father has the flu and I have ta attend to him.
I hope youll have a good time anyway.
With my best wishes,
Maya (4)
255
June 10th ,2008
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to apologise for the absence of my daughter Melinda from school
yesterday. She had to take care of her little sister because of her mothers
Unexpected absence.
Yours faithfully,
Lynn Roberts. (6)
Aug.13th ,2008
Dear Kenneth,
Im sorry I havent written earlier.Ive heard about your accident from Henry.I hope
that its not serious and that you are following the doctors advice and staying in bed.Im
coming to see you next week.
I hope the book will cheer you up.Get well quick!
Love,
Jenny.
Refer again the students to texts 1, 2, 3, and 4 and ask them to choose one of them as a model
for writing a parallel text. Make Tips
Here is a format that personal letters usually take in English.
Senders address
85 Oxford Street,
Kenton, Sussex
14 March, 2005 (2)
Dear George, (3)
I am pleased/happy/glad to learn that you have moved to a new flat.
.
With best wishes (4)
(signature) (5) Karim Boudri
256
1. The writers, i.e., the senders address, does not usually include the name, which is shown
by the signature (see number 5 in the letter layout above). It is usually written on the top right-
hand corner.
2. The date should figure just below the address. There is also an American way of writing the
date (e.g., March 14, 2005). Here are some of the ways of reading/saying the date.
In Br. English, you say March the fourteenth or the fourteenth of March. In American English,
you say March fourteenth.
3. Letters need salutations (Dear George , Hello) Here are some other salutations that you
can use in both personal and business letters.
Salutation
4. Letters also need complimentary closes (e. g, Love, Best wishes). Here are some other
complementary closes.
UK US
Keep in mind that in informal letters, love is a complimentary close used both by men and
women when writing to close friends or relatives. Best wishes, Yours, All the best, Kind
regards, Best regards are used when addressing people whom they are not close to. With all
257
my love is used by both men and women when writing to someone they are very close to (e.g.,
husband to wife or vice versa).
In business letters (formal or less formal), the complimentary close depends on the form of
salutation. For instance, if you start your letter with salutation Dear Mr/Miss/Mrs/Ms Kane
you will close your letter with Yours sincerely. But if you start with Dear Madam/Sir/Sir or
Madam/Sirs/Mesdames, you will close it with Yours faithfully.
Task five p.14
The aim of this task is to interpret and categorise messages according to style.
Procedure
Make sure the learners have understood what to do. Interact with them and have them
interpret the context of each of the goodwill letters. (e.g.,Who is the sender of the letter? Who
is the recipient of the letter? What is the context?) Check whether the learners have vocabulary
problems in reading the letters. Get them guess the difficult words from context. Once this is
done, give them enough time to read the goodwill letters and identify each of them according
to style. As you check the answers with your learners, encourage them to justify their answers
by giving evidence from the messages.
Task six
The aim is to get learners distinguish between degrees or levels of formality.
Procedure
Intearact with your learners about the register or style using the tips supplied in task one
of this book. You can attract your learners attention to the way the senders address their
conrespondents in the salutations, the length of the sentences, the vocabulary items, etc. You
can also ask them to make the sixth letter more informal/less formal than the fifth one by
asking them to use sorry instead of apologize .
Task seven
The learners will produce letters of apology following a model.
DEVELOPING SKILLS
1-Item 1-9 below are not in order .Reorder them according to the plan in the box on the left in
order to get a coherent letter of enquiry.
258
A.Your address
B.Date
C.Name and address
D.Re:
E.Salutation
F.Say why you are writing
G.Introduce yourself.
H.Ask for information
I.Closing+ name
2- Imagine you are a secretary at Stratford School of English.You have been asked to reply to
Meriem Djoual.In which order would you write the following?Write numbers1-4 in the
boxes.
A-Saying you are enclosing an information prospectus.
B-Thanking Meriem Djoual for her enquiry.
C-Persuading her to follow summer courses at the Stratford School of English.
D-Inviting further contact/enquiries.
4- Follow the re-ordered plan in exercise 3 above to write a reply to Meriem Djouals letter of
enquiry.Use the information below.
-Please find enclosed here our latest information prospectus,which we hope will be of interest
to you.
-Thank you for your enquiry about our summer courses.
-We are permanent,we are professional.We offer you a warm welcome here at our school.
-We look forward to hearing from you soon.
259
WRITE IT OUT
Read the Help Wantedadvert below.Then write 4 sentences with must and have
to to say what characteristic potential candidates are required to have.
Help Wanted Activities include:Swimming,singing,
dancing,cooking,drama,telling
Camp leaders for 7-10years old during school stories,sports.
vacation. Apply to:
The job requires tolerance,patience,open- Mr Mechael Armstrong,
mindedness,cheerfulness,and understanding. Director,Haryton Bay Summer
Duties:dealing with children,organizing and Camp,2187 Mountain Street
participating in daily activities. Miami,Florida 60306.
2-Now,read the letterof application below and decide whether the applicant has a chance or
not to be hired as a camp leader.Explain.
46 Regent Street
Madison 15026
Wisconsin
May 20,2005
Mr Michael Armstrong,
Haryton Bay Summer
Camp,2187 Mountain Street
Miami,Florida 60306.
Re:Camp leader
Dear Mr Armstrong,
I have seen your advertisement for camp leaders in USA TODAY and would like to apply for the job.
I am a junior at Thomas Jefferson High School with good marks in arts and philosophy.Im a member of
photography and music clubs,and I enjoy meeting people.I often volunteer to work in infant hospital
wards.So I think I am suitable for the job.
I was in Columbus and I am sixteen years old.I will turn seventeen next January.I have lived at the address
above for the past ten years.So I think that I have quite a good experience in dealing with children.
Im ready to start work at the end of June,when the school summer vacation begins.
I have asked two of my teachers,Mr Jhon Clarck and Miss Emma Smithson,to send you two letters of
reference for me.
Yours sincerely,
Joy j.Parfit
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CONSOLIDATION AND EXTENSION
3.Fill in this rsum(curriculum vitae) with information from joys letter of application above.
RESUME
Name:
First middle last
Adress:
Place of Birth:
Age:
Education:
Language:.
Previous work experience:
Interest:.
References:.
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4-Match introducing sentences A-C below with the letters 1-3 that follow.Write the
introductory sentences in the blank speces of the letters that follow.
A.Thank you for offering me the post of camp leader.
B.I am writing to inform you that I am able to offer you the position as camp leader.
C.Thank you for your letter of June 6.
You will get a salary of 50 I should like you to come for an I will be on vacation from June
dollars a week. Would you please interview on Friday June 12. 30 to September 12.
confirm that this is acceptable to Could you please call number So I can start work on July 2.
you? 8880547 to confirm this? I am looking forward to joining
Can you also let us know the one of your camps.
exact date when you are free to
start work? (3 )
(1) (2)
5-Make your own rsum/curriculum vitae.Then write a letter of application in response to the
advert above.Use Joy Parfits letter of application.
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PROJECT WORKSHOP
1-Making a job application booklet
Overall purpose:Designing a booklet intended for teenage job seekers
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Appendix IV:Experimental group post-test materials (The Designed
Version)
Sample second-version materials(The adapted material)
Unit One: JOB HUNTER
(Text simlify and task modified version )
Lesson one
Presentation :
1-Read the title of the unit, look at the picture and discuss the following :
1-what do you think the man and the woman are talking about ?
2-what s the piece of paper that the woman is holding ?
3- read the dialogue and complete the table below .
What Geoff has in his cv What else Geoff actually What Jenny suuggests
did
Work Experience His previous job
Personal interests
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Jenny: maybe it has to do with your CV.
Geoff: you think so? Do you mind having a look at it ?
Jenny: why not ? Ill give you a hand. Let me see now.
Geoff: What do you mean?
Jenny: I mean, under Work Experience youve just put your previous job and nothing else.
Geoff: well, thats the truth.
Jenny: what Im trying to say is that youre not selling yourself, Geoff.
Geoff: I still dont get you.
Jenny: listen, you worked in a corner shop once, right?
Geoff: yes, when I was younger, but I got the sack after just a couple of weeks.
Jenny: doesnt matter. Well write sales assistant for local newsagent.
Geoff: that sounds good. But I dont want to lie.
Jenny: its not a lie. It just makes you look good.
Geoff: if you say so. What else?
Jenny: you havent got much under personal interests, either, just football.
Geoff: I didnt know what else to put.
Jenny: Mmm have you ever taken part in a play?
Geoff: well, yes, but it was just the local drama club. Isnt that a silly thing to mention?
Jenny: not at all! Lets put active member of local theatrical society.
Geoff: dont you think its too much to write that?
Jenny: why? What was a play?
Geoff: I wasnt actually, that is to say, I didnt play Robin Hood.
Jenny: no? what was your role?
Geoff: I was Third tree on the left, but I was a great tree!
Jenny: thats the spirit , Geoff.
4- Discuss the following:
*Do you think Geoff should add what Jenny suggested to his CV? Why / why not?
* if you had to write your own CV. What would you put in?
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Intonation:
The expression below are used for asking for clarification or clarifying what has been said.
Listen and repeat.
What do you mean?
What are you trying to say?
I mean
What Im trying to say is that
, that is to say
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1-Complete the job application:
Dear
I am writing to apply..
I have worked as.
I am.
And I consider muself a most suitable applicant for the job
I have enclosed..
.
Please contact me..
Your sincerely.
Activity 02: A rsum is a summary of your personal information and experience. Look at the
example below, then write your own rsum:
Notes;
5- For work experience, put your most recent job first, then list other jobs going back in
time. If a past job was relevant to this one, mention the duties you were responsible
for. Work experience programs and voluntary work can also be mentioned.
6- For referees, write the name and address of two people who you know well. At least
one should be a work reference.
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Write your own rsum:
-Use the example and the notes above as a guide.
-Write as many drafts as you need to get correct.
-Ask your teacher to check it for you.
Activity 03: The list below contains some words commonly used in job applications. They are
arranged in groups to help you remember spellings.
Preference Qualifications Company Apply
information
Reference Opportunity Reply
Position
Experience Vacancy Convenient
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Qualified Enthusiastic Ability Excellent
friendly
Activity 04: The job application letter below is a canvassing letter, to enquire about the
possibility of employment. It was not written in response to an advertisement. Find suitable
words from the list above in Activity 03 to complete the letter. When you have chosen the
words try to write them from your memory.
Iam writing to enquire about the possibility of..Iam in any type of hotel or
kitchen work.
I have had three years ..in the kitchen of a large hotel in Perth. I was employed thre
as a kitchenhand but often worked as an assistant chef.
I completed a special English course called one day per week, when I worked at
the Mayfair Hotel.
I would welcome an to work for the Hilton and I feel I would make
an.employee.
Iam.. to start work and Iam willing to move if
My. And two are attached . Should you have a ..at present or
foresee any in the near future, I would be . To hear from you.
Your sincerely,
Activity 05: discuss the following:
What would your ideal job be? Why?
7- read the article below and circle the jobs which the writer considered when he was in
his last year of school
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Dog stylist Football Chocolate journalist doctor
referee tester
Career choices
Im often asked the question how did you become a journalist? you see, everybody expected
me to follow in my fathers footsteps and become a doctor. Well, during my last year of
school I was given the opportunity to visit a career guidance counselor and I drove her crazy
with my choices.
My first choice was a chocolate tester. Although my counselor wasnt very impressed, she got
me the information. I discovered that chocolate testers earn a lot of money, so I was sure I had
found my dream job. However, when I found out that chocolate testers dont just sit around
eating chocolate all day, I lost my enthusiasm. It seems that they are also Brand Managers,
which means they are involved in the marketing and promotion of the product . I finally
decided against it when I realized a university degree would be needed.
Next, I thought of becoming a football referee. I had loved football from a young age, but
being a professional footballer was out of the question, as I couldnt play very well. Anyway,
it seems that referees must be able to run two and half miles in less than twelve minutes and
they are required to take exams throughout their training. On top of that, only after many years
of experience-and if they are lucky - do they get the chance to referee big professional
matches. So, my dream of showing David Beckham a red card was shattered .
Finally, I had this brilliant idea of becoming a dog stylist. That was after I realized how much
money our dog stylist, Shirley, was being paid every time we visited her with our Lhasa Apso,
Philipo. However, once, while she was styling Philipo, I noticed that he tried to bite her. it
happens all the time she told me. as you can imagine, that really put me off.
To cut a long story short, all this research made me realize I had a gift for investigation, so by
the end of the school year I had decided to become a journalist.
2- Read the text again and answer the following questions. Write C for chocolate tester, F
for football referee or D for dog stylist in the boxes.
In which job do you:
a-get paid well?
b-have to be physically fit?
c-take a long time to reach the top?
d- get injured quite often?
e- have to study for many years?
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f-get involved in advertising?
Word and phrases
Words easily confused
Activiity 06: Complete the sentences with the correct form of the words in the boxes.
Job career work
a- we dont have a lot of..at this time of year.
b- I want to find a part-time.for the summer .
c- he thought a ..in business sounded boring.
W in gain earn
d- Ive a lot of experience working in this company.
e-Jerry gets very upset when his team doesnt .
f- how much money do you.a year?
Notice watch l ook
g-did youthat awful dress she she was wearing?
h- I think thats my coat. Let me .at it.
i- are you ..this, or can I switch to another channel?
Grammer:
2- read the tables. Then, find similar examples of the passive voice in the text in the
reading text:
Active voice.
They gave Marta a bag as birthday present.
Or
Passive voice.
A bag had given to Marta as birthday present.
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x Conversational English:
Activity 07:Find five examples of conversational English in the dialogue and match them with
the meanings given.
a- its no use ..
b-its related to ..
c- Ill help you
d- I dont understand you .
e- Im sure .
x Collocations:
Look at the following collocations with get and use them to complete the sentences a-g. you
may need to change the form of the verb.
Get dark - Get ready - Get a job - Get the sack - Get rid of - Get down to business -
Get on somebodys nerves.
a- I think we should that old sofa and buy a new one.
b- stop that noise! Its..my..
c- my older sister takes an hour toin the morning.
d- in the winter itmuch earlier than in the summer.
e- John..because he fell asleep at his desk.
f- everybody is here, so lets..
g- you can..at the supermarket at weekends to make
some extra money.
Grammar:
1-underline all the examples of full infinitives ( e.g to do), bare infinitives (e.g do) and-ing
form (e.g doing) in the dialogue. Then, complete the rules.
Use after
* modal verbs (can, could, must, should, may etc.)
* let and make in the active voice
* would rather and rad better
Use
* certain verbs (want, would like, hope, decide, manage, agree, refuse, seem, promise etc.)
* it+ be+ adjective ( its nice, it was stupid etc.)
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* too and enough
* Question words ( how, what, when, where etc.)
Use
*certain verbs (avoid, enjoy, love, hate, finish, imagine, mind, risk, suggest, consider etc.)
* certain expressions ( how about, its no use, its no good, theres no point in, be used to etc.)
* prepositions (for, about, without etc.)
Activity 07: complete the text below with the full infinitive, the bare infinitive or the ing
form of the verbs in brackets.
Sooner or later, there comes a time when everyone needs(1)..(get) a job. In my
case that time was when I was sixteen and I wanted (2)..(buy) e pair of cool
trainers. Unfortunately, I couldnt (3) (afford) them, and my parents
wouldnt even consider (4)..(give) me money for that would be the third pair of
trainers that year. so, I got an evening job at a local Italian restaurant, but I quit after two
days. Let me (5) ..( explain) why. First of all(6).(clean)
the tables and the floor and (7)..( wash) dirty dishes till two oclock in
the morning. Then, there were all those people who couldnt ( 8)
(make) up their minds what(9) .(order) and others who were very impolite. One
night, a customer was so rude to me that I decided(10)..( make) him
(11).(wear) his pasta!
2- rewrite the following sentences in the passive voice. Begin with the words given and make
all the necessary changes.
a- the company offered me a well-paid job.
i
b- the police were taking the criminal to court when he escaped.
The criminal..
c-did the waiter bring you the menu?
Was
d- they are building a bank next to my house.
A bank
e- I havent sent your letter of application to the company.
Your letter..
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listening
1- which of the jobs a-e appeals to you the most? Why?
2- you will hear four students talking about different part-time jobs they had while they were
at college. Listen and match the four speakers with the jobs a-e above. There is one extra job
which you do not need to use.
Words and phrases
Word building:
Nouns that refer to people are commonly formed by adding the suffixes -er ,-or ,-ist and -ian
to verbs or other nouns.
2- complet the table with nouns that refer to people. Use the words in the box and a
suitable suffix.
Music type- employ-act- manage build-direct- invent- visit- politics style- science-
mathematics- produce- entertain- reception- magic- collect- art.
Er Or Ist ian
-employer -actor -typist -musician
.. . .
2- complete the sentences with the correct form of some of the nouns in the table above.
a- my grandmother always votes for thewho wears the nicest suit.
b- whats the name of that.who starred in Star Wars?
c- Jack used to be ain the Suffolk Philharmonic Orchestra.
d- my previous..used to give us the day off when it was his birthday.
e- theres an exhibition of paintings by Spanishat the gallery on lee street.
f- the food at the restaurant was disgusting, so we asked to speak to the
speaking
work in pairs. Imagine that you are in charge of hiring new staff at the bay view hotel. Read
the advertisement below and the profiles of three people who have applied for the jobs
advertised. Discuss and decide which person would be the most suitable for each job and why
the others are unsuitable. Use the expressions given.
274
Bay view hotel Name: Nick Davis Name: Lauren west Name:Valerie Smith
Is looking for
Two energetic young people Age:42 Age:18 Age:22
Receptionist
Applicants must: Qualifications: Qualifications: Qualifications:
- have good communications skills -masters in roman -Hight school -Business
- be prepared to work long hours ( one day history graduate Administration student
off per week) -fluent in French - Basic knowledge of
- have a friendly personality and German computers Experience:
Knowledge of foreign languages and -speaks spanish -Assistant on cruise ship
computer skills preferred -receptionist for local
Tour guide Experience: Experience: tourist agency
Applicants must: Guide in museum Part-time secretary Available: from July to
-enjoy working outdoors Interests: Interests: September
-have good communication skills Reading, travelling Sports, Drama
-speak foreign languages Available: Available: Any time
-be available during summer season weekdays only
knowledge of local history preferred
Expressions
I thinkwould be the most suitable for the job of .because
I believe..would be more suitable thanbecause.
I dont think..would be ( at all) suitable for the job ofas
I agree, but I also think..
Well, Im not so sure about.because..
writing
1-Discuss the following:
- how do people find jobs?
1- have you ever had a job? What did you do?
2- read the advertisement and the letter of application. Then, answer the questions below
a.Is the letter formal or informal? and why?
b.What do you notice about the layout of the letter?
c.What sort of information has been included in each paragraph?
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Part-Time Shop Assistant
Reqired At Harlequin Music Store
Must be over 18
Sales experience necessary
Basic computer knowledge
Friendly personality.
Apply in writing to:
14 Station Road,Liverpool L18 8YZ
In addition ,I have some sales experience.I spent the last two summers working as an assistant in a gift
shop in Betchley.My employer was very satisfied with my work and regular customers commented on
what a nice person I was.Futhermore,I have a basic knowledge of computers.I believe
These qualities make me suitable for the job.
I have also enclosed my CV and a reference letter from my previous employer.I hope that my application
will be taken into consideration.
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3-Improve Your Style
Tip: A letter of applicatrion is a formal letter.
-Follow the layout of formal letters.Use block paragraphs and write your address of the
person/company you are writing to.
-Start your letter with Dear Sir or Dear Madam and end it with your faithfully, followed by
your signature and full name.
-Use formal language.Dont use short forms(e.g. Im,dont) or abbreviations (e.g. ad,inf).
Below is part of a letter of application.Rewrite it in a more appropriate style and take out any
unnecessary information which you think should not be included.
Dear mr Richard,
I was looking through the Boston Herald the other day.I think it was on 3 april when I saw your ad for an
office assistant.Im 22 years old and Im a law student in my final year at uni.Im fluent in French,but my
Spanish is quite poor.I also have some work experience .You see,I was an assistant at a law firm over the
summer.Im good computers and I love surfing the net!
4-Writing task: Find a job advertisement in the newspaper that is suitable for you, or use
one of the examples below for practice.
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Write a letter to apply for one of the jobs advertised above.Your letter should be between 120
and 140 words.
x Read your chosen advertisement several times.
x Underline important parts you should mention in your letter (key words).
x Make some rough notes of the things you should mention.
x Write as many drafts as you need.
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RSUME
Cette tude tente a extraire la conviction et lintention des lves et des enseignants dAnglais
envers leffet de la conception du matriel de lecture utilis par les enseignants sur les
comptences dexpressions crites des lves au niveau des Lyces secondaires de
Constantine a travers lusage des textes simplifi (TS) et la modifications des activits. Ce
travail de recherche vise examiner les effets des matriels didactiques (des textes
authentiques) sur le dveloppement de la matrise de lcrit. Limportance de cette tude se
base sur lengagement des enseignants dvelopper leurs propres matriels didactiques pour
satisfaire les besoins des apprenants. Cette tude a pour objectif de dmontrer que
lenseignement de lexpression crite peut tre plus efficace si elle est relie lenseignement
de la lecture. L tude actuelle est base sur deux questionnaires adresss des chantillons
reprsentatifs : des lves de la premire anne secondaire, et un groupe denseignants d
Anglais pour connatre leurs opinions concernant le rle et limportance quils attribuent la
lecture et a lcrit. L analyse des questionnaires a rvl que les levs et les enseignants
considrent que la lecture est un aspect important dans lapprentissage de lcrit. Pour
atteindre lobjectif ci-dessus, lobservation de deux classes de premire anne secondaires a
t choisi comme outil dinvestigation. Afin de raliser notre objectif, on a mis en excution
une tude exprimentale au lyce Keteb Yacine de Constantine avec seize (16) lves de la
premire anne secondaire durant lanne (2010-2011). Les participants slectionns ont t
rpartis au hasard en deux groupes. Avant dappliquer cette exprience aux lves, on a test
le niveaux de lcrit des deux groupes. Durant six semaines (dure du traitement), le group
exprimental suit les textes et les activits du livre At the Crossroad , quand au group de
contrle suivent les matriels pdagogiques ramens par leurs enseignants. Les rsultats
montrent que les lves du group exprimental ont montr un progrs dans la matrise de
lcrit ce qui ntait pas le cas du groupe de contrle. Dans cette perspective, nous avons
suggr quelques recommandations pour aider les lves amliorer leurs aptitudes en
expression crite. La conclusion principale de l'tude tait la suivante : Les programmes
denseignement dAnglais comme tant une langue trangre devrait envisager l'introduction
des textes authentiques de la lecture dans le programme comme tant un outil pour amliorer
ltat actuel d'apprentissage.
279
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