The Reading and Writing Connection

For years I have ignored the reading and writing connection; particularly because as a learner I had never been brought to see the importance. Loosely, we as learners were warned that in order to be a good writer we would have to do a lot of reading and I later grew to understand how obvious this was if only on a basic level. But the "readers make good writers" line that teachers tried to bait seemed more like a threat than a genuince enticement to engage in reading practices that would facilitate good writing practices; behind this lurked a sinister idea that those of us who hated reading would court bad grades generally. Fortunately I enjoyed reading and writing though my English grades remained inconsistent.

Now as an aspiring teacher of English the reading and writing connection holds a new allure, it promises opportunities to develop both students' reading and writing skills.

The reading and writing connection denotes the importance of reading to the writing process It is said to be important to understand the relationship between reading and writing in order to become a better writer. Both reading and writing are cognitive processes that includes constructing meaning.

It seems that those students who are exposed to a print rich environment on a regular basis develop better skills are writing. This seems to be a logical deduction as students who read frequently are exposed to different rhetorical modes and writing styles. These students are exposed to a wider range of creative ideas that can themselves spark students' imaginations. When we read we become exposed to new, and richer vocabulary in context and being prolific readers helps mechanical skills like spelling.

Generally revising our work before submission is advised and helps us to edit our errors in writing. Sometimes in reading our work, we read what we intended to write and not what is on the page; for this reason it is advisable to have others read our works to us in order to identify those errors that we have made.

Both when reading and writing we need to keep in mind the ideas of purpose and audience. For writing it helps us choose rhetorical modes and what type of language and ideas to present whilst for reading it helps us to identify rhetorical modes used and can aid general comprehension of the text as a whole. I believe we do not explicitly teach the importance of purpose and audience in the English classroom although this is an important aspect of writing and reading.

Also we do not make that connection to reading and writing for our students. Usually the two are seen and taught as two separate acts instead of two components of English sharing a symbiotic relationship. Students therefore approach each differently and never come to the understanding that one can be used to enhance the other. I think there needs to be a more deliberate attempt on the part of English teachers to make the connection between reading and writing and develop lesson plans, activities, materials and objectives that reflect this relationship.

Reading and Writing Connection and Poetry

Poetry is all too often a mysterious facet of the English Programme. Nightmares of recitation of long incomprehensible pieces written by the "Great Composers" seem to haunt many English students; at least I know it still haunts me. However, it was through poetry I began to enjoy the use of language to create vivid imagery; I discovered the beauty of figurative language. It seemed endless the number of ways a man can use language to create ideas and images in a reader's mind; today still I enjoy a witty play on words as well as the use of sarcasm.

However we need to be careful what types of poetry we introduce to our students; we should take into consideration their age and developmental level. Is a grade three student truly prepared to learn, recite and grasp "A City's Death by Fire." I know I certainly was not; and it was only much later at the Division of Arts Sciences and General Studies that I developed a real interest in certain types of poetry, in spite of many years of elocution. In fact in mentioning those days of elocution to a friend at the St. Joseph's Convent, she immediately shouted: "bad memories." During those periods our exposure to poetry was forced- it should be explained to teachers that forcing students to remember and regurgitate lines of poetry does not foster any kind of love for it.

But the same kinds of language found in poetry can be used in other types of writing. And we should use age appropriate pieces of poetry to engage students in the reading and writing of poems.