Effect Of Purposeful Reading On English Writing In Senior Middle Schools:an Empirical Study Of Reading-to-Writing Approach

English writing plays a more and more vital role in all kinds of fields. However, it is hard for senior high school students to master and apply in a short period. They can’t write coherently in spite of mastering a lot of words and grammar and some even can’t produce a correct sentence. Therefore, as an English teacher, we should be fully aware of the responsibilities we are bearing. We are faced with the problem of what is the efficient and effective way of teaching writing in senior middle schools. In recent years, reading-to-writing approach has attracted much attention with a large number of papers and discussion. However, most researches just focus on the theories and principles. Not many people have done much on the teaching practice and have the reading be more purposeful on different stages to improve students’writing.This thesis attempted to bridge across reading and writing, to maximize transition from input to output by timely practice of reading and writing, to prove practical value of the purposeful reading-to write approach, thereby to find a solution to the "low efficiency" writing problem. In order to complete the research, the experiment nearly lasted for one term. Firstly, the participants for the study were chosen from Taishun Senior Middle School in Wenzhou County. Two classes were selected by their similar English levels. One is the Experimental Class which has54students; the other is the Controlled Class which has55students. Secondly, the students in the Experimental Class were taught by Purposeful Reading-To-Writing method. However, the Controlled Classes were taught by traditional approaches. Thirdly, to know the effect of purposeful reading-to-writing method on students’ writing ability, the research applied some tests in both classes to know their levels. It included pre-test, stage-test and post-test. Fourthly, questionnaires and interviews helped the teacher know the students’learning attitude and expectation. Fifthly, the experiment applied some questionnaires and classroom observation to understand their learning on reading and writing. Finally, the comparison of tests and the data analysis were discussed. The results of research showed that Purposeful Reading-To-Writing method could effectively improve students writing ability in Senior Middle School by providing them some opportunities through a series of meaningful tasks. The findings indicate that Purposeful Reading-To-Writing method can help the students write better in Senior Middle School classroom teaching in China.The thesis consists of five chapters:In chapter one, the thesis first introduces the present situation of English reading and writing in senior middle school in China and analyses the typical errors in students’ compositions. Then it makes a clear suggestion of the approach, meanwhile it emphasizes the aims and significance of the research in senior middle school.Chapter two is literature review. It mainly reviews general studies concerning the integration of reading and writing both abroad and in China.Chapter three introduces the basic theories related to English reading and writing. Firstly, it introduces the nature of reading, writing and explores the relation between reading and writing; Secondly, the essential theories:Krashen’s Input Hypothesis, Swain’s Output hypothesis, the Schema theory are illustrated. All of these theories elaborate that it is feasible to integrate reading with writing. The definition of the purposeful reading and the role of purpose in reading are also provided.Chapter four is a vital part mainly about the experiment. To gain persuasive evidence, an experiment of providing purposeful reading-to-writing approach, which lasted for half a year, was carried out on109students in Grade Three of Taishun Senior Middle School. The students in the experimental class were exposed to a lot of related reading materials before they wrote in the experiment, while the approach provided in the controlled class was just the traditional one.In chapter five, the data based on both quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis proves that the performances of the students in the experimental class in writing were much better than those in the controlled class.In chapter six, major findings from the experiment are presented and the conclusion and the implication are drawn. Finally the limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are put forward.