Abstract
The connection between reading and writing has been acknowledged since long and explored through comprehension-based learning activities but not investigated substantially through empirical research into task-based reading activities. This study was carried out to explore the link between task-based reading activities and improvement in ESL writing. The study was prompted by the need to inculcate the maximum level of writing proficiency in a limited time available for instruction in a 4 month semester. We experimented with introducing task-based critical reading to explore its impact on the ESL writing proficiency of Pakistani ESL learners at the undergraduate level with Computer Science as their major. Analyzing students’ pre-test and post-test scores using Wilcoxon signed-rank test and t-test revealed a significant improvement in the overall writing proficiency, content, organization, sentence structure (SS), grammar, punctuation, and spelling (GPS) of students. The findings have important pedagogical implications for improving the learners’ writing proficiency by integrating task-based reading activities in ESL teaching. The article also suggests some of the tasks that teachers can associate with reading in classrooms. It recommends making authentic reading material part of the ESL syllabus everywhere in the world in order to equip learners with better writing skills essential for success in all subjects, higher studies, and research. Keywords: Task-based language learning; proficiency; motivation; schemata; fluency; process-oriented approach; second language writing development
Highlights
Pakistan is a multilingual country where around 73 regional languages (Rehman, 2019) are spoken and Urdu is the national language of the people of Pakistan.Urdu is taught throughout the country as a compulsory language during the first twelve years of education
The findings of the study suggest that excessive exposure to reading material in the target language through task-based activities has a positive effect on the writing performance of ESL learners
For maximizing input, flipped learning can be sometimes utilized (Aziz, et al.2021) such that the reading material is given for home and the activities and tasks are introduced in class
Summary
Pakistan is a multilingual country where around 73 regional languages (Rehman, 2019) are spoken and Urdu is the national language of the people of Pakistan.Urdu is taught throughout the country as a compulsory language during the first twelve years of education. English is taught as a compulsory subject to students from primary to undergraduate level in Pakistani institutions and the content gradually increases in relevance to students’ majors. It is a medium of instruction and the core language for research in all major areas including Engineering, Environmental Science, Media and Communication, Psychology, Sociology, and Business Studies, to name a few (excluding majors in other languages like Urdu, Punjabi, etc.) in higher education. The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan has made it compulsory for universities to teach 3 to 4 courses in English during every undergraduate program that prepare students for academic and professional writing related to their areas along with improving their proficiency in all the four skills of English. Most of the students come from institutions that employ either grammar translation method or lecture method for teaching till intermediate level
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: University of Chitral Journal of Linguistics and Literature
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
