Investigating Connections among Reading, Writing, and Language Development: A Multiliteracies Perspective

Reading in a Foreign Language. National Foreign Language Resource Center, 1859 East-West Road #106, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822. e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/rfl/

Y

24

Multiple Literacies; Literacy; Teaching Methods; Reading Writing Relationship; Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; Literature; Creative Writing; Grammar; College Students; French; Advanced Courses; Vocabulary Development; Language Styles; Questionnaires; Writing Assignments; Student Attitudes; Statistical Analysis; Journal Writing; Likert Scales

1539-0578

This study explores relationships among reading literature, creative writing, and language development in a university-level advanced French grammar course through the theoretical lens of the multiliteracies framework. The goal is to investigate reading-writing connections and whether these literacy practices facilitate students' understanding and use of resources such as grammar, vocabulary, genre, and style. Qualitative and quantitative findings show that students recognize reading-writing connections and their contribution to language development; they perceive reading and writing as contributing to their understanding of language and text-based features; and they can apply to varying degrees textual resources learned through reading to creative writing tasks. The implications of these findings lend support to a growing body of research that explores the feasibility and outcomes of literacy-based approaches to teaching and learning in university-level foreign language contexts that have as their goal development of students' advanced FL competencies.

As Provided

40

2016

EJ1117240