EFFECTS OF READING STRATEGIES AND THE WRITING PROCESS WITH WRITTEN RECASTS ON SECOND LANGUAGE ACHIEVEMENT

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of teaching methods used with a second language reading and writing unit. This investigation addressed discrepancies between assessment scores in the four communicative language skill areas of students in beginning-level Spanish classes at a suburban middle school. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to explore how literacy-based practices that included teaching strategies used with reading, teaching use of the writing process with a writing assignment, and teacher employment of written recasts affect second language achievement. The theoretical base of the study consisted of second language theories and hypotheses that explained how second language learning occurs. The academic achievement of the students exposed to the literacy-based teaching methods was compared with the achievement of students not exposed to literacy-based teaching methods. A purposive convenience sample consisted of 116 students between the ages of 12 and 14 years enrolled in beginning-level Spanish classes. An independent-measures and repeatedmeasures t tests were used to assess among- and between-group differences from pretest, posttest, and delayedposttest data collections. The between-groups analysis revealed a statistically-significant result in favor of the experimental group between the pretest and the posttest (t(114), p = .04, d = .36), and between the pretest and the delayed posttest (t(114), p = .03, d = .51). The findings led to a recommendation for further use and study of the methods, with additional assessment tools. The results inform instructional practices that increase students’ opportunities to be exposed to comprehensible language, thus affecting positive social change.