When I ask my students to brainstorm ways to improve their writing I'm never surprised to get the answer "read more". In fact, reading is one of the things I always suggest when students want to know how to be a better writer.
But I've wondered how accurate this is. Does reading really make you a better writer? Just because everyone says it doesn't make it true. So I did some research.
Better readers = better writers
There are so many studies[1] showing that students who read more, write better. The trend persists across different age groups and languages. Both first and second language learners benefit from extensive reading.
What to read?
So students should read more. Great. Let's buy more textbooks and increase the reading homework!
Not so fast. The most surprising research I came across was the evidence of a connection between writing and reading for pleasure. Essentially, those who read whatever they wanted had better writing than those who read set readings like course book texts and example passages. This means students don't need more reading homework or textbooks (though these have their place); instead, they can enjoy reading popular fiction or graphic novels and write better academic essays as a happy side effect.
Easier said than done?
So why aren't students reading more? If I know and they know that reading is going to help their writing what's the problem?
One reason students don't read more may be a weak understanding of the power of reading. Just as I had only a vague idea that reading is supposed to improve writing, the students might also hold a similar reticence. In this case, the answer is to empower them with knowledge. Let them explore the research for themselves. Depending on their abilities, you might set them off to do some academic research or you might simply share some key findings. This may open their eyes; they might take up a hobby of reading because of it. When students fully realise the advantages of reading, they are more willing to spend their precious time on it.
A second reason students are not reading is the lack of connection to their lives. Students are motivated to watch and talk about TV series and chat on social media because they are connecting with things and people that hold meaning for them. Why not leverage these motivations towards reading? In another post I wrote about how to get students excited about reading through the power of social connection. Simply asking them to talk about what they're reading can encourage students to read. This could be done in class or on a social platform.
Let them talk about books
The other day I asked my ESL undergraduates what they are reading and was blown away by their answers. Books they are reading include: A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, and Educated by Tara Westover. They enjoyed the chance to introduce what the book was about and their thoughts so far. We all left with plenty of reading suggestions by the end! We humans love talking about ourselves; giving this platform to students encourages them to read so that they can share too.
There are more ways to encourage reading, but I'll leave them for another blog post.
It's well worth investing some effort and time into sharing the love and power of reading with students.
[1]
Krashen, S. D. (2004). The power of reading: insights from the research. Libraries Unlimited.
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