Unit 8. Written Foreign Language.

Approximation, consolidation and improvement of

the reading-writing process. Reading comprehension: global and specific
comprehension strategies. The writing process: from the interpretation to the
production of texts
1. Introduction
2. Written Foreign Language. Approximation, consolidation and improvement of the reading-writing process
3. Reading comprehension: global and specific comprehension strategies
4. The writing process: from the interpretation to the production of texts
5. Mediation and interaction skills
6. Conclusion
7. Bibliography
7.1. Legislation
7.2. Authors
7.3. Further reading

1. Introduction
People can more easily come into contact with other cultures and languages through travel,
communication or new technologies. This refers to globalization of the world which tends to use
English as a world language. This is why it is important to introduce English language learning at a
young age. Furthermore, in the last decades, the field of Teaching English as a Foreign Language
(TEFL) has experienced drastic changes triggered by the implementation of the Communicative
Approach whose final goal is the development of Communicative Competence (Hymes, 1972).

Our modern European society shows an increasing concern for population to have access to an
effective acquisition of foreign languages enabling people to satisfy their communicative needs.
In this sense, the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (Council of Europe,
2020) provides a valuable framework with methodological guidelines and a common basis for the
description of objectives and content.

We must also consider that our State legislation, Organic Law 3/2020, 29th December, which
modifies Organic Law 2/2006, 3rd May, on Education and the Royal Decree 157/2022, 1st March,
which establishes the basic curriculum for Primary Education nationwide, together with the Decree
209/2022, 17th November, which establishes the curriculum for our region, include transversal
elements, active methodologies, Universal Design for Learning and communicative approaches as
the axis on the new programming.

On the other hand, LOE with LOMLOE (LOMLOE from now on) along with Agenda 2030 and
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) point out gender equality, sustainability, diversity awareness,
children's rights and digital knowledge as the pillars on which education must be based.

Considering the topic of this unit it is important to mention that developing communicative
competence enables learners to communicate effectively. This requires knowledge not only of the
linguistic forms of a language but also of when, how and with whom it is appropriate to use these
forms. This is achieved by learning receptive (listening and reading) and productive (speaking and
writing) language skills, as well as mediation and interaction skills. Now we are going to analyse
writing and reading.
2. Written Foreign Language. Approximation, consolidation and improvement of the
reading-writing process

2.1. Learning to read

Since literacy has always been considered the main evidence of our pupils’ educational
progress, reading techniques have received more attention than other curriculum areas. In the
early 19th century, reading teaching was based on the phonic and whole-word approaches.
Phonic methods focus on sound-letter relationships for word decoding, while whole-word
approaches emphasize recognizing individual words as wholes.

Contemporary research, including the Science of Reading, provides the information we need
to gain a deeper understanding of how we learn to read, what skills are involved, how they work
together, and which parts of the brain are responsible for it. The Science of Reading emphasizes
the effectiveness of phonics in reading teaching as whole-word memorization is limited. The best
way to teach reading has been argued through much of the 20th and 21st centuries.

2.2. Learning to write

Learning to write involves motor, functional and linguistic skills.

Motor skills refer to letter sequencing, shapes, sizes, and layout.

Functional skills include expressive, transactional and poetic styles of writing, emphasizing
varied purposes and audiences:
- Expressive style which focuses on the expression of the writer’s personal feelings.
- Transactional style which focuses on reasoned, logical statements.
- Poetic style which expresses imaginative experiences.

Linguistic skills, which are necessary for learners to be able to use language structures
appropriately, advance through four stages:
- A preparatory stage is when basic motor skills and the principles of the spelling system are
acquired.
- A consolidation stage is when children use the writing system to express what they can
already say orally.
- A differentiation stage, in which writing begins to diverge from speech and develops its
pattern and organization.
- Finally, the integration phase is when writers have a good mastery of the language.

3. Reading comprehension: global and specific comprehension strategies

Reading involves deriving meaning from printed words. In the early stages, reading starts by
recognizing individual words through games and familiarization with letter combinations. Then,
they will read words by matching sounds with letters and later, it moves to decoding meaning in
connected texts. Teachers gradually introduce longer texts based on orally known words, initially
simple with graphic support and as students move along, they will introduce more complex texts.
 Pupils often struggle with written texts due to unfamiliar vocabulary and structures. The
teacher's role is to teach them strategies. According to Harmer (2022), the main ones are:
- Predicting. We should encourage our students to predict what they think might come next
which is useful to better understand the text.
- Extracting specific information (scanning) and getting the general picture (skimming). In
some situations, understanding the gist of the message will be enough for communication, in
others, they will have to focus on specific details.
- Inferring opinion and attitude. The linguistic style and its use will help our students work out
the writer’s opinions and attitudes.
- Deducing meaning from context. We should encourage our students to use their knowledge
and the surrounding context to deduce the meaning of unfamiliar words.
- Recognizing discourse patterns and markers. Words such as “and, but, then“ give us clues
about what is coming next.

Reading can be carried out through authentic and non-authentic texts. Authentic texts are
designed for native speakers (newspapers, books, comics) and non-authentic texts are created for
language students (adaptations from books).

Traditionally, students completed gap-filling activities or comprehension questions after

reading a text. However, many other activities can enhance reading:
- Hunting: seek specific information for organising.
- Sequencing: arrange letters, words or sentences.
- Matching: pair pictures with words or sentence parts for meaning.
- Using prompt cards for oral expression.
- Checking and correcting written statements.

According to Graham (2017), a reading lesson comprises three stages:

- Pre-reading: the aim is to prepare the students for the task arousing their interest and
curiosity. This will create expectations and will give them a definite purpose for reading.
- While-reading: it is related to the identification of information while the learner is reading
to a given written text. This requires active reading, as they should show understanding
through specific actions.
- Post-reading: it refers to the activities we give our students once they have read to
transfer what has been covered to a different context. The type will depend on the purpose
of the reading.

Teachers, vital in fostering students' reading interest aligned with LOMLOE, integrate literature
into language teaching to foster personal engagement and enrichment. Literary texts allow
students to go beyond the grammar of the target language. To develop reading interest,
teachers must:
- Act as a model reader.
- Create diverse literacy environments.
 - Choose appropriate texts that offer a linguistic challenge and will be attractive to
learners.
- Foster discussion and social interaction for example through book clubs.
- Involve learners in effective practices like guided reading and comfy reading corners.
- Use reflective practices, observation, and varied assessments to differentiate reading
teaching.

4. The writing process: from the interpretation to the production of texts

Writing refers to the act of gathering ideas and working with them until they are
presented in a manner that is comprehensible to readers. Learning to write in English is a
parallel process to reading.

Early stages benefit from copying which enhances handwriting, understanding, and
confidence. However, children should only write what they can express orally in English. Writing
tasks must be related to real-life situations and students' levels and interests, avoiding
mechanical production.

There are some stages that the student follows in the writing process. They start with
controlled activities focused on vocabulary, spelling and pronunciation at the word and
sentence levels. Controlled activities at the word level involve tasks such as dictations and
crosswords, while those at the sentence level include tasks like completing sentences or
arranging words in the correct order.

Then, they move to guided and free tasks, which enhance discourse competence, focusing
on paragraph construction, cohesion, coherence and personal writing style. Guided activities
limit creativity as students imitate models or follow guidelines, such as completing stories or
writing speech bubbles and free activities allow students to express their meanings in a
creative way such as creating comics or writing personal diaries.

Different strategies will allow students to progress from controlled practice to freer
production. Some of them are:
- Graphical skills include writing graphemes, spelling, punctuation, capitalization and
format.
- Grammatical skills refer to our pupils’ ability to successfully use a variety of sentence
patterns and constructions.
- Rhetorical skills refer to the pupils’ ability to use cohesion devices to link parts of a text
into logically related sequences.
- Organisational skills involve the sequencing of ideas as well as the ability to reject
irrelevant information and summarize relevant points.
- Stylistic skills refer to our pupils’ ability to express precise meanings in a variety of styles
or registers.

Teachers explore ways to boost written communication. We can do this through the
following written activities:
 - Exchanging letters: students write letters or use digital tools like emails or blogs for
interactive communication.
- Writing games: refers to motivational activities such as writing the description of some
partner and the rest of the class has to guess it.
- Fluency writing: encouraging students to write extensively within a set time improves
both quantity and quality.
- Story construction: each student receives partial information and a narrative is
created collaboratively.

5. Mediation and interaction skills

The methodological guidelines in Decree 209/2022 emphasise the importance of linguistic
mediation and interaction in English teaching alongside the oral and written skills discussed
above. These aspects have gained attention in language learning due to significant updates in
the CEFRL which now categorises skills into four modes reflecting real-life communication: reception,
production, interaction and mediation.

Harmer (2022) explains that mediation is the skill that the student develops when trying to
explain a concept to someone else which often results in new meanings and ways of
communicating them. Interaction, on the other hand, refers to the exchange of information
between speakers in a social situation.

6. Conclusion
We know how important developing communicative competence is in our classroom and this is the
main objective in Foreign Language Teaching as Decree 209/2022 states. That is communicate
using the target language efficiently to exchange information and meanings with other people.
Being able to communicate implies proportional practice in the four skills according to the five
competences. To do so, teachers must create as many motivating situations as possible to develop
these skills and thus successfully teach the foreign language.

On the other hand, technology has been helping in the acquisition of language learning in the
classroom providing the students authentic materials and access to endless resources. A large
number of digital applications can be successfully used in the classroom creating a good and
motivating atmosphere.

Throughout this unit, we have discussed how students progress in the reading-writing process and
we have also focused on the different strategies that students must control for reading
comprehension and to use the written language with meaningful purposes.

To end up with the topic we would like to mention a famous quote by Nelson Mandela that says,
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world“.

7. Bibliography

7.1. Legislation
Organic Law 3/2020, of 29 December, which modifies Organic Law 2/2006, of 3 May, on
Education.

Royal Decree 157/2022, of 1 March, which establishes the basic Curriculum for Primary Education.

Decree 209/2022, 17th November, which establishes the curriculum for Primary Education in the
Autonomous community of the Region of Murcia.

7.2. Authors

Brewster, J., Ellis, G. and Girard, D. (2002). The Primary English Teacher's Guide. Penguin English.

Council of Europe. (2001). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: learning,
teaching, assessment. Cambridge University Press.

Hyland, K. (2003). Second Language Writing. Cambridge University Press.

Linse, C. T. (2005). Practical English Language Teaching: Young Learners. McGraw-Hill.

Nation, I. S. P. (2009). Teaching ESL/EFL. Reading and Writing. Routledge.

Scrivener, J. (2005). Learning Teaching. Macmillan.

Swales, J. M. and Feak, C. B. (2000). English in today’s research world: A writing guide. The
University of Michigan Press.

Zimmerman, S. and Hutchins, C. (2003). Seven Keys to Comprehension: How to help your kids read it
and get it! Three Rivers Press.

7.3. Further reading

www.cnice.mecd.es

www.educarm.es