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Abstract
Engaging students in reading permits students to experience reading in a more meaningful manner as well as develop their identity as effective readers. Currently, the teaching of reading does not allow students to experience reading in an engaging and meaningful manner because the process of retrieving the required information at the end of the reading text has hindered them from experiencing reading in this manner. This exploratory study presents an approach to facilitate students’ reading engagement through the employment of epistolary writing. The purpose was to explore the employment of epistolary writing in facilitating ESL students’ reading engagement. The students wrote their understanding and interpretation of printed texts in the form of a letter to their instructor. Three third year students participated voluntarily in this case study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and documents such as students’ letters, instructor's reflective notes, and pre-teaching and post-teaching questionnaires. Findings showed that the students appreciated that their voices were being considered throughout the teaching and learning process. They also described how relating their ideas through epistolary writing contributed to personal changes of viewing reading as an active process. The research highlights the value of including students’ voices in the teaching and learning process. Allowing students to voice and share their learning experiences with their peers and the instructor, enabled the instructor to construct a better instructional approach to assist the students in their progress as engaged readers. In addition, this study extends knowledge that writing plays a key role in L2 tertiary level academic literacy development. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/GEMA-2015-1501-04
Highlights
Engagement in reading has been viewed as one of the most significant components to facilitate reading. Guthrie (2004) defines reading engagement as a process where readers read a text in a meaningful manner
Reading engagement may increase in a class where the instructor includes opportunities for students to experience concrete interactions with reading materials as well as when students‟ voices are considered throughout the learning process (Guthrie, Wigfield, & Perencevich, 2004; Van Manen, 2007)
The aim of this study is to examine the potential usefulness of epistolary writing in contributing to ESL students‟ reading engagement
Summary
Engagement in reading has been viewed as one of the most significant components to facilitate reading. Guthrie (2004) defines reading engagement as a process where readers read a text in a meaningful manner. Engaged readers approach reading text by employing reading strategies, having motivation to read, wanting to extend existing knowledge, and viewing the process of reading as a social interactive process (Guthrie & Wigfield, 2000). Reading engagement may increase in a class where the instructor includes opportunities for students to experience concrete interactions with reading materials as well as when students‟ voices are considered throughout the learning process (Guthrie, Wigfield, & Perencevich, 2004; Van Manen, 2007). This can be accomplished when reading and writing are integrated in a reading classroom. As stipulated by Guthrie (2004) and J. Van Manen (2007), when reading and writing are integrated in a reading classroom, the students‟
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