An-Najah National University Faculty of Graduate Studies THE IMPACT OF READING STORIES ON 4TH GRADERS’ WRITING COMPETENCE AT RAMALLAH PRIVATE SCHOOLS By Haneen Najeh Shaker Rustom Supervisor Dr. Nidal Jayousi This Thesis is Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Methods of Teaching English, Faculty of Graduate Studies, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine. 2023 ii THE IMPACT OF READING STORIES ON 4TH GRADERS’ WRITING COMPETENCE AT RAMALLAH PRIVATE SCHOOLS By Haneen Najeh Shaker Rustom This Thesis was Defended Successfully on 06/08/2023 and approved by Dr. Nidal Jayousi Supervisor Dr. Usama Abu-Baha’ External Examiner Dr. Khaled Dweikat Internal Examiner iii Dedication I dedicate my work to my family. A special feeling of gratitude goes to my father, mother, and husband who supported me and who stood by me at all times. A special thank-you also goesto my supervisor and examiners, who have been a genuine source of help to improve my research. iv Acknowledgment I would like to express my gratitude to Allah - The Almighty- for giving me the patience and perseverance to accomplish my study. I also would also like to extend my sincere appreciation to my supervisor Prof. Nidal R. Jayousi for his time, support, and recommendations. Many thanks are to the internal examiner Dr. Khalid Dweikat whose comments will enrich my thesis. Furthermore, a special thank you is also due to the external examiner Dr. Usama Abu- Baha for his valuable comments and suggestions. v Declaration I, the undersigned, declare that I submitted the thesis entitled: THE IMPACT OF READING STORIES ON 4TH GRADERS’ WRITING COMPETENCE AT RAMALLAH PRIVATE SCHOOLS I declare that the work provided in this thesis, unless otherwise referenced, is the researcher’s own work, and has not been submitted elsewhere for any other degree or qualification. vi Table of Contents Dedication ........................................................................................................................ iii Acknowledgment ............................................................................................................. iv Declaration ........................................................................................................................ v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................. viii List of Appendices ........................................................................................................... ix Abstract ............................................................................................................................. x Chapter One: Introduction and Theoretical Background .......................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Theoretical Background .............................................................................................. 4 1.3 Literature Review ..................................................................................................... 13 1.4 Statement of the Problem .......................................................................................... 24 1.5 Significance of the Study .......................................................................................... 25 1.6 Aim and Objectives .................................................................................................. 25 1.7 Questions of the Study .............................................................................................. 25 1.8 Hypotheses of the Study ........................................................................................... 26 1.9 Operational Definitions ............................................................................................. 27 Chapter Two: Methodology ......................................................................................... 28 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 28 2.2 Population of the Study ............................................................................................. 28 2.3 Sample of the Study .................................................................................................. 28 2.4 Research Tools .......................................................................................................... 29 2.5 Reliability of the tools ............................................................................................... 30 2.6 Validity of the tools .................................................................................................. 30 2.7 Study procedures ....................................................................................................... 30 2.8 Study Design ............................................................................................................. 31 2.9 Statistical Analysis .................................................................................................... 32 2.10 Chapter Summary ................................................................................................... 33 Chapter Three: Results of the Study ........................................................................... 34 vii 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 34 3.2 Results of the research questions .............................................................................. 34 3.3 Results of the research hypotheses ........................................................................... 38 Chapter Four: Discussion of the Results and Recommendations ............................. 43 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 43 4.2 Discussion of the Results Related to the First Question ........................................... 43 4.3 Discussion of the Results Related to the Second Question ...................................... 44 4.4 Discussion of the Results Related to the Hypotheses ............................................... 45 4.5 Recommendations ..................................................................................................... 51 References ...................................................................................................................... 53 Appendices ..................................................................................................................... 62 >?@ABب ................................................................................................................................ ا viii List of Tables Table (3.1): Means and standard deviation based on the group (experiment group vs. control group) in the pretest for the writing competencies .......................... 34 Table (3.2): Means and standard deviation based on the group (experiment group vs. control group) in the posttest for the writing competencies ........................ 35 Table (3.3): ANCOVA results ........................................................................................ 35 Table (3.4): Means and standard deviation based on the group (experiment group vs. control group) in the pretest reading competence ........................................ 36 Table (3.5): Means and standard deviation based on the group (experiment group vs. control group) in the post-test reading exam ............................................... 37 Table (3.6): ANCOVA results ........................................................................................ 37 Table (3.7): The results of hypothesis (1) ....................................................................... 38 Table (3.8): The results of hypothesis (2) ....................................................................... 39 Table (3.9): The results of hypothesis (3) ....................................................................... 39 Table (3.10): The results of hypothesis (4) ..................................................................... 40 Table (3.11): The results of hypothesis (5) ..................................................................... 86 Table (3.12): The results of hypothesis (6) ..................................................................... 86 Table (3.13): The results of hypothesis (7) ..................................................................... 86 Table (3.14): The results of hypothesis (8) ..................................................................... 86 ix List of Appendices Appendix (A): Teacher Interview Answers .................................................................... 62 Appendix (B): Pre- Test .................................................................................................. 84 Appendix (C): Post- Test ................................................................................................ 85 Appendix (D): Tables ...................................................................................................... 86 x THE IMPACT OF READING STORIES ON 4TH GRADERS’ WRITING COMPETENCE AT RAMALLAH PRIVATE SCHOOLS By Haneen Najeh Shaker Rustom Supervisor Dr. Nidal Jayousi Abstract This study aims to measure and identify the impact of reading stories on the fourth graders’ writing competence at Ramallah private schools. To achieve this, the researcher prepared two tools to gather information, namely: conducting a focused interview, which was administered to 15 teachers at private schools in the Ramallah District. Moreover, the researcher developed pre and post-tests, which were administered to the 4thgrader students at four private schools in Ramallah to diagnose the students’ reading and writing competence. The population of this study was the fourth graders at the private schools in the Ramallah district, while four schools were purposely chosen as the sample. Of this study. It is found that reading short stories plays a significant role in developing students' writing proficiency by enhancing their language skills, expanding their literary repertoire, and stimulating their imagination and creativity because reading enables students surf the ideas and the writing styles which develops their writing skills. Also, short stories expose students to different types of texts and literary styles. As a result, they learn how to analyze texts, comprehend their content, and understand their meaning. The researcher recommended encouraging students to read short stories using active and critical reading; moreover, encouraging them to practice writing about these short stories. Keywords: Reading stories, Writing competence, Dictogloss. 1 Chapter One Introduction and Theoretical Background 1.1 Introduction English is the language of the most updated research and science in technology. It is also the language people use to introduce their culture and trade around the world (Zoirovna, 2021). This century brought some remarkable innovations that helped humanity progress in many fields, such as science technology, medicine, pharmacy, and education. Innovation trends took place to enable people to communicate with others from different cultures and languages since English occupies a significant status for billions of people around the globe (Srinivas, 2019). Furthermore, students in the 21st century have different needs from those in previous centuries since technology plays a major role in their lives. Teachers should update their methods of teaching in general and teaching languages in particular. Innovative technologies are used to learn English quickly, easily, and effectively. Modern approaches help to improve students’ abilities as well as their language skills and their confidence in their abilities (Mardievna, Mukhamadjanovna, Nematovich & Azamovich, 2020). All languages share the main skills that are needed to master them. Language skills are interrelated and affected by each other, and using them conveniently helps to learn the others. On the other hand, language skills are divided into receptive and productive skills. Students need to receive a language and understand it to produce it eventually. receptive skills are listening and reading while speaking and writing are productive skills (Diab, 2020). Strengthening receptive skills will pave the way to strengthening productive skills which in turn develop language acquisition (Lakshani, 2015). Students need to practice reading to develop phonemic awareness, pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Mastering these skills gives learners the 2 opportunity to be exposed to an increasingly complex knowledge of other subject areas. At the elementary level, students are expected to develop their reading skills, while at the secondary level, they need to develop higher and more advanced skills (Cimmiyotti, 2013). Reading is an essential skill that students need to improve as long as they are learning. Furthermore, phonemic awareness varies from one language to another as it is not as important in languages such as Chinese and Japanese because these languages are represented by syllables. As a result, we can conclude that the first language influences the phonemic system while learning the second language since the learners imply the first language phonemic system. Nevertheless, phonemic awareness helps improve reading skills by decoding the sounds of the letters, which aids the reader in promoting the pronunciation of peculiar words (Yoshikawa & Yamashita, 2014). Repeated reading and elaboration of word processing provide students with better vocabulary acquisition of new words. as well as developing their imagination. Furthermore, research has shown that reading helps people learn about new cultures (Eckerth & Tavakoli, 2012). On the other hand, reading comprehension is one of the difficulties that cause reading difficulties which direct poor academic performance; this was stated in a study held byQrqez, &Ab Rashid (2017). Also, the study referred toother studies that pointed to a lack of reading skills as another difficulty that leads to poor academic performance. Previous studies gave a good indicator that the reason for Tawjihi's low English test scores is that students lack reading habits and; therefore, reading comprehension skills. According to Qalalwi (2021), the school's poor English language performance has caused serious problems at all academic levels. Additionally, reading skills help and encourage students, which improves their scores on the Tawjihi exam. If the 3 students realize the importance of reading, they can improve their scores in Tawjihi exam. Reading is the fastest and easiest way to improve students’ education. It stimulates the development of brain cells and enhances language ability. This is one ofthe ways for humans to absorb new experiences and replace old visions. Therefore, teachers must adopt new strategies to teach reading (Muftah, 2018). Personally, the researcher thinks that writing is very useful for students, not only in academic work but also in all aspects of life; for example, it helps to point out problems that students encounter and then solve them. In terms of academic writing, it can help students improve their thinking. Students can improve their writing skills by practicing drafting ideas and continually improving them. Reading plays an important role in cultivating writing skills, exchanging ideas, and improving ideas. Furthermore, Graham et al (2013) stated that writing is a necessary component of engaging in professional, social, and civic activities. The skill to "write well" is essential for effectively communicating with a variety of audiences. Because writing is such an important tool for learning, communication, and self-expression, individuals who lack adequate writing skills may be at a disadvantage and experience limited educational and employment opportunities. Students must begin writing early in order to effectively and efficiently convey their ideas. They confirmed that students who learn to write well at a young age will acquire useful tools for learning, communication, and self-expression. Writing is the most challenging language skill to acquire. Writing is the most distressing not only for learners but also for teachers to teach. Most teachers consider it a difficult skill to teach, especially without guidance. However, teaching writing is not impossible. It requires some factors to be achieved, such as a good student-teacher relationship, a good environment in the classroom, and positive feedback. Each factor has its own influence on the learning and writing process to a different degree (Dhanya &Almelu, 2019). 4 1.2 Theoretical Background Students learn in different ways, depending on their learning styles. Teachers should use different teaching methods to help them learn the language in the best way. Learning theories are the way scientists and sociologists try to explain how humans learn. Constructive learning theory, for example, is a learning theory that explains how learners might acquire knowledge. The theory focuses on the environment. It suggests that people construct knowledge and meaning from their experiences (Bada& Olusegun, 2015). Constructivism is a learning theory that was created by Piaget. The theory believes that human beings are social creatures who communicate with each other and learn from each other. This constructs a coherent and consistent cognitive model (Dennick, 2016). Several researchers emphasized the power of constructivism as a model of learning. Suhendi (2018) conducted a study focusing on John Dewey's constructivism. The use of constructivism theory in educational teaching and learning is not a new concept in Indonesia. According to Dewey's theory, constructivism can create individual and social knowledge, which is then the consequence of this research. The essence of constructivism theory is the definition of a learning process. According to Dewey, knowledge is ambiguous. Because knowledge is an interpretation of reality, it must be applied. Thus, this study aimed to shed light on constructivist schools, and elucidate the principles of constructivism in general, and language education in particular, as contributions to classroom activities. The results suggest that constructivism has a favorable impact on educational progress by improving students' abilities since it piques the learner's interest in something new. Students can also learn how to create and design something that is relevant to their requirements. Dictogloss was defined by Almarwani (2022) as an integrated skills technique in learning a language in which students work together to recreate a text that is read by 5 the teacher with a focus on the aspects of writing skills in their new versions. The strategy agreed with the constructive theory. All the students are asked to write the words that are important in the text they heard. The students have different experiences in life that they will use to contextualize the text. Also, students usually create and construct their reality subjectively or objectively with the text they hear as well as their choice of keywords (Salah et al, 2019). Likewise, the Dictogloss strategy focuses on the environment and the learners’ experiences. It requires the learners to listen to a text and then write in two phases. Students will use their previous experience, which they obtain from the text on one hand, and the experience they share with others when they form the last version on the other hand. Furthermore, learners will keep updating their mental models to reflect on the new knowledge they obtain which means they used the knowledge they had gained. A constructive approach is an interactive approach. It is a social approach in which the student learns a lot from the environment. The learner interacts with what happens in the classroom. It provides him/ her with extra knowledge and helps in learning more and better. Dictogloss agrees with this when students work in groups to form the paragraph in the last phase of writing and discuss what they wrote. Students learn from each other, which might lead them to improve their experience with the keywords and sentences (Alanzi, 2016). 1.2.1 The Strategy of Dictogloss a. The Definition of Dictogloss Dictogloss is a dictation-primarily based task, suggested by Ruth Wajnryb in 1990 as one of the handiest and most amusing approaches to recognize English grammar, mainly for better accuracy in language use. The value of Dictogloss lies in its interactive method of getting to know languages, as rebuilding the textual content promotes the negotiation of each meaning and shape. The Dictogloss approach is consequently a collaborative enterprise that forces learners to actively participate in the getting-to-know methods. By attracting the lively learner, college students 6 stumble upon their strengths and weaknesses in the use of the English language, find out what they no longer know, and then find out what they want to know (Choi & Purcell 2013). It includes four steps, which are preparation, dictation, reconstruction, and the last step, analysis and correction. Dictogloss is a very effective instrument for assisting learners and teachers during the learning and teaching process to foster learning. Also, examine language proficiency in case the teacher focused on applying all four skills while using the Dictogloss (Faghani, Derakshan, & Zangoei, 2015). The Dictogloss method is an important scientific activity. Students can exercise listening and speaking, after which writing relies on their knowledge of the semantic, syntactic, and discourse structures of the target language to complete the task (Uswatun,2016). At the dictation stage: the teacher examines the students two times with the same old spoken speed as they concentrate on listening for the first time and write nothing. In the second stage, students have to take notes while listening, and they are required to write down phrases to assist them in assembling the textual content in the next rebuilding stage. These are phrases of content material or information. The last level is "mistakes evaluation and correction." It facilitates counting on the trouble of mistakes. If the content is complete with grammatical mistakes, itis miles tougher inside the fourth level to pay attention to the primary activity. (Vasiljevic, 2010). Dictogloss is one of the dictation activities that might be actively followed to broaden the four skills of English has follows. The teacher provides what the students are going to learn and explains the vocabulary items. After the instructor performs the report and students pay attention, the instructor plays the recorder again. Then, students write their notes separately, the teacher divides students into 7 groups, and groups (students) evaluate their writing with the unique one (Maxom, 2014). Teaching writing is essential, and fortunately, there are many techniques that help students learn to write. b. Benefits of Using Dictogloss Dictogloss creates an actual cause for powerful conversation and cooperation among students, aiming to collect as much data as possible to finish the development of the text. It additionally allows shy students to feel comfortable because the interest calls for the cooperation of a group of students. Therefore, Dictogloss is a brilliant option to address agencies with combined abilities (Ardiansyah & Jaya 2020). Vasiljevic (2010) noted that this pastime affords college students a feeling of fulfillment and responsibility and encourages them to think about the language learning procedure and the ways to address it more effectively. Smith (2012) indicated that the cooperation and lively interplay resulting from the usage of Dictogloss are what make it distinct from spelling. Collaboration in rebuilding the textual content complements each negotiation of what that means and shapes and makes college students mirror their outputs. Also, Shin (2016) study additionally showed the effectiveness of Dictogloss in promoting significant interplay among novices and their attention to centered grammatical structures, awareness of the fundamental vocabulary for knowledge of unique texts, and the potential to rebuild them (Husseinali, 2013). 1.2.2 Writing Skill a. Definition of Writing Language is the primary characteristic of each person's life. It is the primary approach to conversation for expressing non-public feelings, thoughts, and aspirations. Language is a window that overlooks the arena and will increase human understanding and intellectual production. Writing is the provenance of a unique 8 verbal construct that is graphically recorded. Writing is also a tool that helps people communicate (Huy, 2015). It is also defined as a creative process to express a person’s thoughts and ideas. Writing is the method that people use to understand others as well. b. The Importance of Writing Skills Murad (2017) noted that teaching writing is required for language teaching because it promotes knowledge and encourages college students to become aware of the right use of language. Through their capacity to write in English, college students can exchange messages or thoughts with readers worldwide (Brown, 2007). According Kurtaj (2020) writing is a means of communication between individuals, communities, and even nations, regardless of time and place. It is a means of expressing emotions, feelings, and ideas, and a means of conveying them to others. It is an important tool for learning and culture, through which humans continue to progress in knowledge and understanding, and therefore, they need to write summaries, articles, and reports. The ability to write in English enables students to convey messages or ideas to readers around the world (Brown, 2007). Therefore, there is an urgent need to teach English writing skills to students to help them become more competitive in this modern age (Sabaruddin, 2019). c. Writing Weaknesses There are many motives for negative writing competencies among students. The trouble is that scholars have a sense that they have to be writers, additionally, they agree that they cannot write English, mainly at the earlier stage. Unfortunately, this ends in suspicion of their skills and not reaching their skill level in writing (Canagarajah, 2011). Megawati & Anugrahwati (2012) referred to different causes for the lack of skills in the English language among learners, including restricted information on vocabulary 9 and grammar; the teaching approach carried out with the aid of English language instructors, and the absence of educational multimedia. However, Barber et al. (2020) believed that the mission of writing is not always horrifying, but they wished to make remarks and assessments with the help of instructors or colleagues. Teachers' feedback plays a giant role in decreasing writing tension among English learners which Tananuraksakul (2015) supported. Al- Jarf (2021) stated some reasons for students struggling with writing, such as the process. Students need to go through a long process while writing, like paying attention to grammatical correctness, choosing appropriate words, and adopting an appropriate organizational structure. On the other hand, the researcher refers to some studies that suggest factors for writing efficient guidance. Teachers’ experience, students’ motivation, and daily practice are important to improve writing skills. The researcher shed some light on the importance of improving the methods students use to express their ideas at a time when most researchers focus on spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes. According to the researcher, this is the direction to improve the quality of students’ writing. d. Dictogloss and Writing Skills Teaching writing skills through the use of Dictogloss helps students learn more actively and effectively in the writing class. It includes personal and organizational work, which permits beginners to cooperate as a group by sharing their sources to carry out the assignment and by following a method and using prompt language in a collaborative writing assignment. As a sort of organizational factor, Dictogloss absorbs the factors of the communicative coaching method. Through a small organization of debate and interactively solving problems, Dictogloss makes a specialty of each of the means and the shape of the language via understandable input. Thus, Dictogloss is certainly utilized in coaching writing ability due to the fact that the purpose of teaching 10 writing ability is to make the students able to speak their thoughts and assemble meaning (Arif, Imam & Ropum, 2013). Writing encourages students to think critically and take risks in using their language, resulting in synchronous interaction, meaning learners practice the target language more often. Furthermore, it uses teachers as learning partners, encourages student autonomy, group autonomy, cooperation, collaboration, and discussion among students, and promotes integration into the curriculum (all four skills plus grammar, vocabulary, and meaning focus) all in one task. In this way, Dictogloss enables students to learn more actively and successfully in writing lessons (Smith, 2012). 1.2.3 Reading Comprehension a. Reading Comprehension Definition There are so many definitions of reading and linguists define reading in different ways. They state that reading is the process of understanding, and grasping the content of a text. Also, they add that reading is the process of understanding a written text, which means extracting the necessary information from it as efficiently as possible. (Smith, 2012) defines reading as a creative and constructive activity that has four distinctive and fundamental characteristics: it is purposeful, selective, anticipatory, and comprehension-based which the reader clearly must exercise control. According to Hedgcock& Ferris (2018), reading is a complex interplay of cognitive processes and strategies used by the reader in addition to various kinds of knowledge contained in the text. Moreover, Richards & Rodgers (2014) stated that understanding identifies the intended meaning of written or spoken communication. They added that contemporary theories of understanding emphasize that it is an active process that relies on both the information contained in the message (bottom-up processing) and on prior knowledge, information from the context. However, the purposes or 11 intentions of the message appear when listeners and speakers apply top-down processing. Furthermore, (Smith, 2012) argues that readers learn meaning by understanding words from their context and using their knowledge to understand and learn the unknown. b. Reading Strategies Reading strategies play a major role in reading comprehension. That would help the learner obtain a deeper understanding of the text. There are many difficulties with reading new texts, though understanding the text is the most common problem learners experience. Thus, experts mentioned the bottom-up and top-down processes to help students understand the text better. 1. Bottom-up processing: A variety of linguistic cues (letters, morphemes, syllables, words, phrases, grammatical cues, and discourse markers) must be recognized using linguistic data processing mechanisms to impose some sort of order on signals. Of course, these data-driven operations require knowledge of the language itself. Among all the data it perceives, the reader selects those signals that make some sense of what is called "meaning” (Suraprajit, 2019). 2. Top-down processing: Top-down reading is a process whereby readers use their intelligence and experience to understand a text. It is a psycholinguistic guessing game where the learner guesses the meaning of the reading material. The reader uses his/her knowledge and experience to understand the text (Suraprajit, 2019). c. Reading Comprehension Strategies A reading comprehension strategy is an approach to the meaning of texts that is used flexibly and selectively in the course of reading. Reading strategies are often broken down into three stages: before reading, during reading, and after reading (Minguela, Sole & Pieschl, 2015). However, the reading strategies have some features that are 12 common, such as being: observable, referring to a particular action, and engaged in learning (Erni, 2021). Reading strategies equip the learners with the skills they need to understand the text and be aware of the authors’ message. There are several reading strategies proposed by Banditvilai (2020). They are 1. Skimming: reading in order to get an overview of the text and to understand the main idea of the text. 2. Scanning: reading in order to search for specific information in the text. 3. Making predictions: reading in order to use a certain pattern to make predictions for the next events. 4. Questioning helps students stay engaged with the text; where the students need to read in order to answer questions related to the text. d. Reading Comprehension and Dictogloss Reading fluency affects students’ comprehension of the text, especially the new one. However, the students have some basic problems that lead to low scores in reading comprehension. Firstly, students’ vocabulary awareness is lacking. Such a problem leads to low motivation toward learning the language. Secondly, the students’ reading fluency is lacking. In this regard, the students understand the vocabulary, but they face difficulties comprehending the text quickly. Therefore, when the students try to solve questions related to the text, they choose some questions to answer and leave others unanswered. (Rahmawati et al, 2018). Researchers argued the importance of Dictogloss in raising critical reading skills since students improve most of the sub-skills of critical reading while practicing the Dictogloss strategy. Ba'lousha & Syam (2019) mentioned that the Dictogloss strategy intersects with critical reading in many skills and sub-skills. Moreover, critical reading skills can be learned; the more students read critically, the more they will automatically increase their thinking abilities. A critical reader is someone who can realize both the positive and negative sides of what they read. 13 1.3 Literature Review 1.3.1 Definition of the Dictogloss Ratnaningsih (2017) conducted research regarding the teaching process in addition to some strategies related to it. The researcher presented the relationship between teaching and learning. Furthermore, the researcher emphasized the importance of writing skills and highlighted several techniques to assist the writing and the rubrics to do so. Moreover, the researcher discussed Dictogloss as a teaching strategy, so he introduced many definitions of Dictogloss according to previous studies. The researcher mentioned the origin of the word "Dictogloss" which is made up of two words: dictation and glossary. The researcher defined dictation as an activity in which students read passages aloud and then write what they hear. While a glossary was defined as a list of words with their meaning. Al-Awadi (2019) defined Dictogloss as an approach to dictation in which the teacher reads a text to the students, who write some notes and then build up some sentences using the words, which are used to build a paragraph. To achieve that, the students work in groups. Dictogloss is a class dictation activity in which the learners listen to a text and then reconstruct the text in their own way (Muthmainnah, Asrifan, Al Yakin &Sahabuddin,2019). Dictogloss was also defined as a dictation activity in which learners are required to reconstruct a short-written work by listening and recording down keywords, which are then used as a base for reconstruction. ‘Dictogloss’ is considered as a strategy that includes several language skills. Learners’ training on writing, listening, and speaking occurs either by working separately or in groups and using vocabulary, grammar, and discourse systems in order to complete the task (Ghaltakhchyan, 2016). 14 1.3.2 Dictogloss Method Dictogloss is also excellent for vocabulary acquisition, with stronger advantages for establishing writing skills since it is the primary production. Also, the group's notes are pooled, and grammatical judgments are made (MacKenzie, 2011). However, before utilizing Dictogloss to teach a topic, several principles should be addressed, which will help teaching and completing tasks in the same way (Willis & Willis, 2013) Dictogloss occurs when the teacher reads a short, ready-made topic-based text several times before having the students create their own version that should be as close to the original as possible. The new version does not have to be a word-for- word replicating the original text but conveys the meaning and magnificence of the text. The ideal Dictogloss text is at a slightly higher language level than the learners' but with a familiar topic which will teach some new vocabulary or sentence patterns. Furthermore, the material should not be more than one paragraph at first, until the students become more conscious of the exercise and enhance their listening abilities. It is preferable to use a short text; as a result, the genre maintains its interest. At higher levels, it may be utilized with authentic materials (for example, newspapers), and it works effectively when accompanied by essential visuals, photographs, or graphs and charts. It works well as a review assignment at lower levels, using a text (or portion of a text) from an earlier lesson (Jacobs & Small, 2003). Thus, new or unknown vocabulary is explained by the teacher through the primary reading of the orthography on the board to assist students in comprehending the content in an exceedingly concise manner. It is useful for mixed-ability categories in any subject context. The cooperative nature of the activity implies that low achievers can be paired with high achievers and exposed to a decent model of English in a communicative context. Finally, Dictogloss is intended for whole-category teaching as well. It can be differentiated by golf-shot learners in numerous pairs or groups (Jacobs & Small, 2003). 15 Dictation is a standard and critical teaching method that allows the teacher to assess the student’s development by getting to know their skills. In dictation, the teacher reads the text slowly and repeatedly, and the students write the precise words. Therefore, dictation has an essential role in enhancing spelling and grammar rules, in addition to other important skills. However, dictation in its traditional manner has been criticized as a rote getting-to-know approach. College students simply duplicate the textual content that the instructor reads without thinking (Richard&Rodgers, 2014). Dictogloss may be taken into consideration as a strategy or a technique because it has steps and ambitions as well. It aims to offer novices the possibility of applying their efficient grammar to the challenge of textual content creation. It aims to inspire learners to discover what they recognize in English. This is found in the attempts to reconstruct the textual content and in the next evaluation of these attempts (Wong & Simard, 2015). 1.3.3 Language Skills Dictogloss Improves a. Listening Skill Muthmainnah, et al (2019) examined whether the use of the Dictogloss technique in teaching English improves the learners’ listening skills or not. The researchers built a quasi-experimental method to test the effect of the Dictogloss on listening skills. The researchers emphasized the importance of listening skills in communication. Moreover, the researchers mentioned the importance of listening skills in understanding the language, which helps the learners speak and answer questions. The researchers discussed the bad effects of using traditional methods for teaching listening, such as making the students lazy. Also, some students might cheat to get the answers if they did not hear them well. Therefore, the researchers suggested more fun methods to teach listening, such as Dictogloss. This method is a communicative one that is more engaging for learners. 16 Akib &Saputra (2019) investigated the effect of Dictogloss on teaching listening skills. The researchers prepared a quasi-experimental study to achieve their goal. The researchers emphasized that Dictogloss is an interesting method to teach listening since the students listen to a section and then record the keywords. The students then worked together to rebuild those keywords into sentences. The experiment presented some development in the student's listening skills in the post- test. It also showed that Dictogloss also improved the students' collaborative learning skills. Aminatun, Muliyah, & Haryanti (2021) conducted a quasi-experimental study in which they examined to discover the impact of Dictogloss on developing students’ listening skills. The results showed that it could be concluded that Dictogloss provided a positive influence on students’ listening achievement and that it could be an alternative technique to be used in teaching listening. However, it is obvious that despite listening being a receptive skill, it also has an important role as a prerequisite for valid speaking ability. b. Speaking skills Speaking is essential for our communication with others. Students have obstacles to learning to speak because they are afraid of making grammar mistakes. On the other hand, Dictogloss gives the students the confidence to speak since it focuses on the five aspects of speaking: vocabulary, pronunciation, fluency, grammar, and comprehension. The students write the keywords in the first step, which enriches their vocabulary. In the second step, they form sentences using the keywords; this helps them use the grammar rules appropriately. Further, the students need to comprehend what they listen to and compare what they write with what they hear. Students discuss the written paragraphs with each other and have simple conversations about them. Simplicity helps the students and increases their confidence in the conversation (Dianita, 2019). 17 Meteab (2022) examined the effect of Dictogloss on the development of communication skills in EFL preparatory school students. The study also aimed to highlight the effect of the Dictogloss method on improving communication skills among EFL preparatory learners. The results suggested that Dictogloss is a technique that has better influence and is more fruitful than using the traditional method for teaching communication skills. 1.3.4 Reading and Writing Skills a. Teaching Reading and Dictogloss Reading is one of the essential English skills that students must master. Reading skills are necessary for students to acquire knowledge and information. It is the most important skill in a pedagogical context, as it can be an assessment of the general language ability of the students. Reading comprehension is one aspect of language skills that must be mastered by the student. To be able to interpret and absorb information from the reading material, students must have good comprehension skills. Reading comprehension is necessary for every subject because every lesson is inextricably linked to reading. Good comprehension is therefore required for the students (Segueni, 2019). The Dictogloss process also promotes the autonomy of the students. Students are expected to help each other recreate the text rather than rely on the teacher to provide information. The analysis and correction phase allows students to see where they have done well and where they need to improve. The students get an insight into their language deficits and develop strategies to solve the problems that they have faced (Al-Awadi, 2019). b. Teaching Writing and Dictogloss Writing like speaking is a method of communication, especially in today's contemporary and technology age, when technologies are used to deliver messages and allow engagement when it is hard to express information vocally. It uses the letters of the alphabet to convey the grammatical and vocabulary intents of persons 18 who speak the same language system. The written language, unlike (the) spoken language, may be easily stored in notebooks or computer files. Furthermore, in most instances, testing and demonstrating student’s learning is simple (Kueffer & Larson, 2014). Ratnaningsih (2017) conducted a research study in which the researcher stated the importance of writing skills for English learners. The researcher suggested many ways to help the students learn this skill. There are many methods and techniques for teaching writing; one of those is Dictogloss. The researcher stated the steps of the strategy and its stages. There are some reasons behind that. Interaction is the first reason; Dictogloss improves interaction in two ways, the first of which is the interaction between students themselves, and the second is the interaction between the students and the text, which, on the other hand, engages the learner in the learning process. Moreover, the researcher stated the importance of the methods teachers use in teaching writing skills, which play a major role in the learning process. Pertiwi, Ngadiso, & Drajati (2018) conducted research on eleventh-grade students in order to study if using Dictogloss in teaching writing is more efficient than direct instruction. The researchers used a quasi-experimental study in which they used two tools to collect data. The first one was a writing test and a questionnaire. The researchers held eight meetings in order to obtain the research aims. After collecting the data, the researchers used ANOVA to analyze the collected data. The results showed that Dictogloss is more efficient than direct instruction in teaching writing. Furthermore, students’ high motivation aids in better writing skills. Therefore, it is suggested that English teachers consider applying Dictogloss to writing activities to promote effective teaching of writing skills. In conclusion, Dictogloss can be used to improve students’ writing skills in the eleventh grade. Writing strategies differ based on the setting of the lesson and the desired results. Teaching writing in context necessitates separate pieces of writing, such as 19 completing sentences, filling in the blanks, categorizing information, naming things, solving crossword puzzles, and so on. These activities are divided into two types: regulated and free approaches (Hyland, 2019). 1.3.5 Steps of The Dictogloss a. Preparation Before employing the Dictogloss, the instructor should consider a few factors. The instructor must first compose a passage on a known topic that includes the target grammatical tense. The passage should not be too long so that students can put it together and receive immediate feedback during the same class (Vasiljevic, 2010). Furthermore, the teacher instructs the pupils on the processes of the activity and what they should do. The teacher then encourages the pupils by bringing up the subject of the text in order to spark their interest and involve them in the debate. b. Dictation Students usually listen to the dictation twice. The teacher reads the paragraph aloud at regular speed the first time, and the pupils listen to comprehend the substance and meaning. Because the instructor is reading at a regular speed, they do not write down every word the second time they listen and take notes. Instead, they write down the theme or anything they can because the teacher is reading at a normal speed. c. Reconstruction Latifa (2017) conducted a study that aimed to learn and explain the process of teaching and learning writing using Dictogloss, to learn and describe the teacher's problems with teaching writing with Dictogloss, and to learn and describe the students' problems with learning writing with Dictogloss. The descriptive qualitative research approach was utilized by the author in this study. It was discovered that the teacher's difficulties in teaching writing using Dictogloss were the teacher's inability to calm and manage the students who appeared noisy during the reconstructing 20 activity, and he should guide the students when they reconstructed their writing. The difficulties that pupils encountered when learning to write with Dictogloss were that they were unable to develop their ideas since they did not understand the words that the teacher read. d. Error Analysis and Correction Students collaborate in groups to recreate the dictated text immediately after the dictation is finished, utilizing each other's notes and resources, speaking, and brainstorming. The teacher should also avoid repeating the original content word for word. In other words, to rebuild a logical and grammatically accurate sentence, this step relies on students' memory, writing abilities, and understanding of grammatical goals. The teacher's responsibility is to supervise the groups and verify that all students are working together, as well as to provide scaffolding and peripheral assistance, which does not contain the target language points studied in the next phase (Nunan, 2010). 1.3.6 Benefits of Dictogloss Smith (2012) conducted a research study to discuss Dictogloss as a teaching approach. The researcher stated the process of Dictogloss after he defended the strategy. Smith also explained the four stages of Dictogloss. According to the researcher, Dictogloss helps the learner to promote writing to learn meaning-making instead of writing skills; further, it encourages the learners to think about the context and gives them the chance to speak more. On the other hand, Dictogloss benefits the teachers as well in many ways, such as by observing the students in real time. Teachers can use the Dictogloss as an assessment tool to replace peer assessment. Moreover, it helps the teacher recognize the students’ problems in order to include them in the lesson plans. Stewart, Rodriguez & Torres(2014) also investigated the integration of language skills through Dictogloss approach. The authors offered a substitute for traditional teaching approaches. The researchers suggested dictogloss as an alternative method 21 for teaching structure from L1 to L2. The researchers’ domain result is that dictogloss provides a structure for instructors to unite language skills with social interaction. Moreover, dictogloss is a motivational strategy that aids kids and even adults in learning to write, according to Faghani, Derakhshhan, &Zangoei (2015). It is a flexible and practical technique that gives the required attention. Dictogloss does not aim to correct the learners’ mistakes while they are writing. On the contrary, it ignores the learners’ mistakes during the learning process which motivates the learners to write better. Further, dictogloss requires correcting mistakes by showing the learner that the mistaken part could have been written in a better form. Further, Putrawan, Wulandari & Hasan (2017) executed qualitative research that aimed to investigate whether the application of Dictogloss affects the students’ speaking skills or not. The researchers conducted pre-and post-tests to collect the data. The results showed that Dictogloss did help the students improve their speaking level. Firmansyah (2020) investigated the application of the Dictogloss approach to increase first-grade pupils' recall of texts. The study sought to determine if Dictogloss aids in the improvement of trainees' writing abilities. The therapies were carried out across four meetings by the researcher. The researcher initially taught the pupils grammatical principles and action verbs. The researcher educated the learners about the sentence connectors during the second meeting. The researcher then gave them a tale about their experience and taught them how to write properly with correct punctuation and spelling. The researcher requested the learners to join groups during the last meeting in order to work on writing about their experiences. The results of the research showed that teaching using Dictogloss can be enjoyable. Also, the Dictogloss process could change learners’ perceptions toward learning English. 22 Dictogloss focuses on both the meaning and structure of the language via intelligible information through small-group conversations and participatory problem-solving. As a result, Dictogloss is a suitable tool for teaching writing skills since the purpose of teaching writing skills is to help students convey their ideas and build meaning. Using Dictogloss to teach writing involves students as individuals as well as group members. Students collaborate as a team in these activities, pooling resources to finish the assignment and process and activate the language in a collaborative writing activity (Pertiwi et al., 2018). Al-Awadi (2019) conducted research aimed at studying Dictogloss as a teaching approach. The researcher mentioned the advantages of Dictogloss for the learners’ skills such as helping the learners to focus on clear objectives as well as improving their communicating competence. The researcher mentioned some types of dictation, such as picture dictation. Moreover, the researcher mentioned some targets of the Dictogloss such as encouraging the learner to co-operate linguistically and promoting negotiation of form and essence. Moreover, Kopinska & Azkarai (2020) investigated the effect of the Dictogloss strategy on EFL young learners’ motivation: individual versus pair work on Dictogloss tasks. The researchers used different tools to measure students’ motivation and anxiety levels. The findings supported the benefits of students’ collaborative work. The strategy was very helpful in engaging the learners in the foreign language. Alsamadani (2022) investigated the influence of Dictogloss on the writing skills of college-level Saudi EFL students. The findings reduced the impact of utilizing Dictogloss in writing instruction and advised that instructors be trained in using Dictogloss in writing instruction. The relevance of employing topic-based material in teaching to promote integrated collaborative skill acquisition was underlined by the researcher. 23 Ibrahim (2022) likewise investigated the influence of Dictogloss on enhancing EFL written language conventions among freshmen students at the Faculty of Education at Arish University. The researcher focused on some techniques in writing, such as the use of punctuation, spelling, and students’ handwriting. Therefore, he used different writing on different topics to examine the students’ development. The results of the post-test were better than the pre-test. Thus, the research approved the effectiveness of Dictogloss as a teaching approach that enhances all the learners’ skills. This section of the current study briefly discusses some of the benefits of Dictogloss. According to the mentioned research, Dictogloss promotes the learners’ learning skills. In addition, the integration of language skills is a very helpful way to enhance speaking and writing skills in addition to other language skills. Dictogloss was applied to college students as well as high school students. It also motivates learners to learn meaning-making. However, Dictogloss has some disadvantages that some researchers agree on. 1.3.7 Disadvantages of Dictogloss As with any teaching approach, Dictogloss has some disadvantages, as follows: Azmoon (2021) investigated the benefits of Dictogloss versus processing education approaches in teaching precise writing. The study selected 56 young Iranian individuals who spoke rudimentary English. The students were placed into two experimental groups, one of which was taught using Dictogloss and the other utilizing processing instruction. The T-test was employed by the researcher to compare the outcomes of the two groups. The findings of the study refuted the idea that Dictogloss may significantly inspire participants in terms of writing accuracy. The Dictogloss method takes time to implement in the learning process; additionally, low achievers may find it helpful because they struggle with spelling as well as comprehending the text they are listening to. The worst disadvantage is that not only are most students unfamiliar with this technique, which may make it 24 difficult to achieve the Dictogloss objectives, but most teachers are also unfamiliar with it, which leads to either misuse of the strategy or not using it at all in the classes (Purti, 2019). Dista (2017) agreed on the above-mentioned disadvantages. The researcher also added that students do not understand the difference between the spoken language and the written language. The researcher added to the disadvantages by stating that if the text is built to be read aloud, it will not help learners. It was found that there were disadvantages of using Dictogloss in schools. The researcher believes that students are unfamiliar with dictogloss as a teaching strategy that takes more time to implement in the classroom. Further, teachers themselves are not familiar with this strategy, so they may make some mistakes in applying it. That leads to not achieving the goals of teaching using Dictogloss. Over and above this, students in Palestinian schools need texts with certain characteristics that help improve their language since the level of students between schools has a big gap. In the current study, some disadvantages of Dictogloss are discussed, in addition to presenting some research that showed no differences in results between the pre-and post-tests after applying Dictogloss as a teaching method. 1.4 Statement of the Problem It is worth noticing that Palestinian students start studying English from the first to the 12th grade. In private schools, they might start three years earlier. During these 15 years of exposure to English, it is noticeable that their English-speaking competence is very clear in the Tawjihi exam. An important reason for the low score in the writing section, as Alshaer (2011) claimed, is that most of the teachers teach writing skills by giving the students tasks taken from previous Tawjehi writing tests instead of teaching writing as a skill. Nevertheless, based on the researcher’s experience in learning and teaching English and after listening to the researcher’s colleagues, students need to read more to enhance their comprehension competence. 25 The researcher conducted this research to detect the impact of reading stories on improving the students’ comprehension and, therefore, their writing competence. 1.5 Significance of the Study Reading and writing are significant skills a person should master to learn and use the target language properly. As a result of this research, teachers are expected to pay more attention to the importance of enhancing and encouraging students' reading and writing skills. Furthermore, teachers hope to create novel methods for teaching and assisting students in reading in order to improve their writing skills. In addition, the results of this study are hoped to encourage educators and curriculum developers to include more stories in the curriculum. Expand students’ potential by promoting reading from one hand. It is expected to motivate the teachers to use new methods that lavishly teach writing. In the end, this study is hoped to enrich the Palestinian educational library with research related to the Dictogloss strategy. Whether the results were in Dictogloss’s favor or not, it is hoped to help the researchers to improve the weak points in the study and do more studies related to Dictogloss in both private and public Palestinian schools, as well as studies related to modern teaching and learning strategies. 1.6 Aim and Objectives This study aims at measuring the impact of reading stories on fourth graders’ writing competence. More specifically, the study has the following objectives: 1. Diagnosing the fourth-grade students’ competence in both reading and writing. 2. Examining the effect of reading short stories on the students’ writing competence. 3. Examining whether the Dictogloss approach affects writing or not 1.7 Questions of the Study 1. What is the effect of reading short stories on the students’ writing competence? 2. What is the effect of reading short stories on the students’ reading competence? 26 1.8 Hypotheses of the Study The main hypotheses of this study are the following: 1. There are statistically significant differences at the statistical level (α≥0.05) in the achievement of students in writing between the experimental and control groups before treatment 2. There are statistically significant differences at the statistical level (α≥0.05) in the achievement of students in writing between the experiment group before and after treatment 3. There are statistically significant differences at the statistical level (α≥0.05) in the achievement of students in writing in the control group before and after treatment 4. There are statistically significant differences at the statistical level (α≥0.05) in the achievement of students in writing in the control group and experiment group after treatment 5. There are statistically significant differences at the statistical level (α≥0.05) in the achievement of students in reading in the experimental and control groups before treatment 6. There are statistically significant differences at the statistical level (α≥0.05) in the achievement of students in reading in the control group before and after treatment 7. There are statistically significant differences at the statistical level (α≥0.05) in the achievement of students in reading in the experiment group before and after treatment 8. There are statistically significant differences at the statistical level (α≥0.05) in the achievement of students in reading in the control group and the experiment group after treatment 27 1.9 Operational Definitions 1. The Impact: it is the influence of employing Dictogloss on fourth graders’ reading and writing skills by using Laurie Myers’ story:" Lewis and Clark and Me. 2. Reading: is a cognitive activity that involves a kind of involvement between a reader and a text to get meaning out of it (Muftah, 2018). In this study, this activity is carried out by reading Myers’ story "Lewis and Clark and Me" because it expands students’ imaginations and enables them to read. 3. Writing Competence: The skills students use when writing, such as how to organize their ideas, how to present them, and how to use the necessary grammar. By developing their reading skills by going through Myers’ story, students will learn more vocabulary to be used in writing. Also, they will learn the writing styles employed in the story. 4. Dictogloss is a dictation-primarily based task, supplied via Ruth Wajnryb in 1990 as one of the handiest and most amusing approaches to recognizing English grammar and improving accuracy in language use. In short, the researcher offered some theoretical background relating to the relevance of language skills and mastering them in this chapter. Furthermore, the researcher proposed Dictogloss as a teaching approach. The researcher outlined some of the benefits of the method after reading a number of papers in this respect. The literature review, on the other hand, finished with a definition of the technique and its impact on language abilities. The researcher highlighted both the pros and downsides, on which the researchers agreed. The researcher also discusses several drawbacks she observed when using the Dictogloss in classrooms. 28 Chapter Two Methodology 2.1 Introduction The descriptive analytical method was used by the researcher in both quantitative and qualitative dimensions. The researcher followed a quasi-experimental approach with a semi-experimental design due to its suitability for the nature of the study. It is an approach based on applying the experimental treatment to the students in order to find out the effect of an independent variable on a dependent variable. The researcher then reviewed further papers while discussing with several instructors and her supervisor the best teaching approaches. Dictogloss was chosen as the teaching approach to achieve the study's goal. The researcher next considered forming quasi-experimental research in which she used the instruments that would aid in getting dependable and valid results; hence, the researcher selected two tools. The first was pre and post-test in order to collect data and translate it into numbers, which were then objectively investigated in order to derive inferences from the results. The second tool was interviewing teachers from private schools in order to investigate the teachers’ perspective toward teaching reading methods and whether they tried the Dictogloss as a teaching strategy or not. 2.2 Population of the Study The population of this study was composed of all fourth graders in Ramallah private schools. 2.3 Sample of the Study The researcher used a purposeful sample of four private schools to include in this study. The researcher chose those schools because they were available and located near the researcher. The sample included seventy-four male and female students 29 who were studying in the fourth grade for the years 2021–2022. The students were divided into two groups: a control group and an experimental group. Both groups were taught the same story; however, the control group was taught in a traditional way. The teacher used the first language to explain some of the events. Also, the students needed to identify some parts of speech in addition to answering some comprehension questions. Whereas the experimental group was taught using the Dictogloss method. The students were shown some pictures to help them imagine the story. The learners wrote down some keywords they heard from the teacher, and after that, they worked in pairs to form sentences after listening to the story in the second reading. 2.4 Research Tools The researcher used two tools in order to achieve the study objectives. The first tool was pre and post-test (see appendix B and C), and the second tool was an interview (see appendix A) with English teachers at private schools. 2.4.1 Pretest-posttest The researcher designed an objective test to measure student achievement in both reading and writing. The first part included two objective questions to measure reading competence, while the second part included two subjective questions to measure writing competence. The researcher used the same types of questions in the post-test; however, the content of the questions was different. The researcher only chose those types and the number of questions due to the students’ ages and levels. Furthermore, the researcher's time in implementing the study in those schools was limited due to the schools' rules and curriculum, which needed to be completed. In addition, the choice of the same type of question guarantees the stability of the tool. 30 2.4.2 Interview The researcher designed an interview that contained two objective questions to identify the teachers’ gender and their length of experience. Further, the researcher used eight subjective questions. Four of the questions were designed to investigate the teachers’ perspective toward the Dictogloss as a teaching method and whether they use this method or other new methods. On the other hand, the rest of the questions examined the teachers’ perspectives on reading skills, teaching methods, and the impact of some writing skills. 2.5 Reliability of the tools To examine the reliability of the tools and the results of the tests, the researcher used SPSS to analyze the data collected from both the pre and post-tests using ANCOVA. Reliability was measured by using Cronbach Alpha. 2.6 Validity of the tools The researcher tested the validity of the instrument by presenting the pre-and post- tests to some of the arbitrators’ English teachers, who teach in private schools. The tests were justified according to the teachers’ comments to be presented in their final form, which is in the appendix number. It was also presented by two English supervisors at different private schools. As well as, it was presented by a college instructor and was justified according to the edits which were suggested by them. 2.7 Study procedures The title of the study was chosen after the researcher evaluated prior material on reading, writing, and Dictogloss as a teaching approach. The researcher received permission from the Deanship of An-Najah National University's faculty of Graduate Studies to apply the study to private schools in Ramallah District. The following steps were followed during conducting the study: 1. Choosing the story to which the study will be applied. 31 2. The tests (pre and post) and the interview questions were designed based on the objectives of the tests, which is to examine whether the Dictogloss has an impact on improving students’ reading and writing competencies. 3. Choosing the type of test: The test was divided into two parts: objective and subjective. The students had to read some words and sentences, and they had to write some sentences using the provided words. 4. Preparing the test answer key: one mark was given to correct for the correct answer and zero for the incorrect answer. In the objective questions, the sentence should have a subject and verb to be correct, and in the subjective questions, the students should pronounce the words in the correct way to be correct. 5. The pre-test was applied to the examined sample before starting the application of the experimental treatment to find out their level of achievement. 6. Beginning to apply the experimental treatment to the experimental group members. Teaching the control group using traditional teaching. 7. Conducting the posttest to examine the students’ responses to the experimental treatment. 8. Collecting data, analyzing it, interpreting it, and producing results. 9. Interviewing the teachers to whom the treatment was applied in their classes in addition to other private school teachers. 10. Explaining and interpreting the interview’s answers. 11. Explaining and discussing the results. 12. Develop appropriate recommendations in light of the results obtained. 2.8 Study Design The researcher used a quasi-experimental design by dividing the study sample into two groups: an experimental group and a control group. Two tools were adopted: the pretest and the posttest. After spending 10 years in teaching English, the researcher decided to use the following design for to test, the researcher also consulted two school teachers and a school English supervisor. 32 G1 __ O1 X O2 G2 ___ O1 ___O2 Which are presented as follows: G1: experimental group G2: control group O1: the pre-test O2: the post-test X: the treatment The researcher formed the questions to test the students' reading competence as well as their writing competence. The first question, for example, tested the student’s ability to read words; after that, the researcher tested the student’s ability to read sentences. Then the researcher tested the learners’ ability to use some words in sentences. The researcher used words and sentences from the given text while teaching using the Dictogloss strategy. 2.9 Statistical Analysis To achieve the study objectives and test its hypotheses, after data collection, coding, and statistically appropriate processing, the researcher used the SPSS program through the use of tests. The following statistical tests were used: 1. Calculate frequencies, arithmetic means, and standard deviations to describe the averages of students' performance in the pre- and post-tests. 2. T-test for two paired samples to analyze the results of the pre-and post-tests for both the control and experimental groups. 3. (ANCOVA) analyses are used to determine the significance of achievement differences between experimental and control groups. 33 2.10 Chapter Summary Chapter two included the following: the methodology used in this study, the study population, research tools, study design, study samples, instrument validity and reliability, data collection, and analysis procedures. 34 Chapter Three Results of the Study 3.1 Introduction This study aims at measuring the impact of reading stories on fourth graders’ writing competence. More specifically, the study has the following objectives: 1. To examine the effect of reading short stories on the students’ writing competence. 2. To examine the effect of reading short stories on the students’ reading competence. This chapter presents the research results. The researcher used ANCOVA to achieve the objectives of the study, answer its questions, and test the study hypotheses. 3.2 Results of the research questions 3.2.1 Results of the first question What is the effect of reading short stories on the students’ writing competence? To answer the first question, the means and standard deviation for the accomplishment of students on the writing skills for the control group and the experiment group in the pretest were calculated. Table (3.1) Means and standard deviation based on the group (experiment group vs. control group) in the pretest for the writing competencies # Mean Standard deviation Control group 4.84 1.79 Experiment group 5.02 2.02 Table (3.1) shows that the mean of the control group in the pre-test is (4.84), while the standard deviation is (1.79). The mean of the experiment group is (5.02), while 35 the standard deviation is (2.02). This shows that the mean and standard deviation of the control group was relative to the mean and standard deviation of the experimental group in the pretest which suggests that both the control and the experimental groups are homogeneous. Table (3.2) Means and standard deviation based on the group (experiment group vs. control group) in the posttest for the writing competencies # Mean Standard deviation Control group 5.92 1.95 Experiment group 6.29 1.92 Table (3.2) shows that the control group's mean is (5.92), and the standard deviation is (1.95). In contrast, the mean of the experiment group is 6.29, with a standard deviation of 1.92. This signifies that in the post-test, the mean of the control group is lower than the mean of the experiment group. Furthermore, the experiment group's standard deviation is lower than the control group's standard deviation. To ensure that the means were statistically significant, the researcher used the ANCOVA as presented in the following table. Table (3.3) ANCOVA results Source of difference Sum of squares Df Mean squares F Sig. Pre test 192.603 1 192.603 209.279 .000 Approach of study 1.507 1 1.507 1.637 .205 Error 65.343 71 .920 Total 3098.000 74 36 Table (3.3) shows that the F-value of the pre-test is (209.279), indicating that it is significant since the significant level in the study is (0.00) and it is less than the study's specified significant level of (0.05). This requires rejecting the null hypothesis, which states that there are no changes in students' writing ability that can be linked to short story reading. The teaching strategy has a F value of (1.637), which is statistically insignificant since the significant level is (0.205), which is higher than the established significant level of (0.05 leading to the acceptance of the null hypothesis (H0). As a conclusion, there are differences between the control group and the experiment group that can be attributed to the effect of reading short stories on the students’ writing competence. 3.2.2 Results of the second question What is the effect of reading short stories on the students’ reading competence? To find out the result of this question, the researcher used the means and standard deviation for the achievement of students in the pre-test on the reading and writing competencies for the control group and the experiment group. Table (3.4) Means and standard deviation based on the group (experiment group vs. control group) in the pretest reading competence # Mean Standard deviation Control group 5.49 2.08 Experiment group 5.93 2.04 Table (3.4) indicates that the control group's mean is (5.49), and the standard deviation is (2.08), whereas the experiment group's mean is (5.93), and the standard deviation is (2.04). This suggests that the co-mean of the control group and the mean of the experimental group were relative; furthermore, the standard deviation of the control group in the pretest was relative to the standard deviation of the post-test 37 which suggests that both the control and the experimental groups are homogeneous and both are equivalent groups. Table (3.5) Means and standard deviation based on the group (experiment group vs. control group) in the post-test reading exam # Mean Standard deviation Control group 6.38 1.91 Experiment group 7.02 1.83 Table (3.5) indicates that the control group's mean is (6.38), and the standard deviation is (1.91), whereas the experiment group's mean is (7.02), and the standard deviation is (1.83). This means that the control group's mean is lower than the experiment group's mean in the post-test reading exam. Furthermore, the control group's standard deviation is higher than the experiment group's standard deviation. To ensure that the means were statistically significant, the researcher used the ANCOVA as presented in the following table. Table (3.6) ANCOVA results Source of difference Sum of squares Df Mean squares F Sig. Pre-test 170.799 1 170.799 201.526 .000 Approach of study 2.968 1 2.968 3.502 .065 Error 60.174 71 .848 Total 3663.000 74 Table (3.6) shows that the F-value of the pre-test is 170.799, and it is significant because the significant level in the study is 0.000, and it is less than the study's 38 predetermined significant level, which is 0.05, and this means rejecting the null hypothesis that there is no statistically significant difference at the statistical level (0.05) in students' writing competence attributed to reading short stories. The teaching approach's F value is (3.502), which is statistically insignificant reaching (0.065) because it is more than the set significant level of (0.05 leading to accepting the null hypothesis (H0), and we can say that there is no difference between the control group and the experiment group in the effect of reading short stories on the students’ writing competence. 3.3 Results of the research hypotheses 3.3.1 Results of the First Hypothesis There are statistically significant differences at the statistical level (α≥0.05) in the achievement of students in writing between the experimental and control groups before treatment Table (3.7) The results of hypothesis (1) Group N Mean SD Std. Error Mean T Sig. Control 37 4.8378 1.78751 .29386 .973 .327 Experiment 37 5.1351 2.02981 .33370 The mean achievement in the writing exam before treatment was inconsequential, as indicated in the table above, with a sig of (0.327) and a t value of (0.973). Then, the hypothesis is accepted. In other words, there is no significant difference in the accomplishment mean scores of students in the experimental and control groups prior to treatment. 39 3.3.2 Results of the Second Hypothesis: There are statistically significant differences at the statistical level (α ≥ 0.05) in the achievement of students in writing between the experiment group before and after treatment. Table (3.8) The results of hypothesis (2) Group N Mean SD Std. Error Mean T Sig. Pretest 37 5.1351 2.02981 .33370 0.498 0.483 Post-test 37 6.4595 1.83477 .30163 As shown in the above table, the experimental group's mean achievement in writing examinations before and after treatment was insignificant, as the sig was (0.483) and the t value was (0.498). Then, the hypothesis is accepted. This suggests that the experimental group students' performance on the writing exam before and after treatment is insignificant. As a result, the null hypothesis was accepted, which indicates that there is no significant difference in accomplishment mean scores of children in control groups before and after treatment. 3.3.3 Results of the Third Hypothesis (3) There are statistically significant differences at the statistical level (α≥0.05) in the achievement of students in writing in the control group before and after treatment Table (3.9) The results of hypothesis (3) Group N Mean SD Std. Error Mean T Sig. Pretest 37 4.8378 1.78751 0.29386 0.205 0.652 Post-test 37 5.9189 1.94905 0.32042 40 As indicated in the above table, the mean achievement of the control group in the writing test before and after treatment reached (0.652) and a t value of (0.205). This suggests that the accomplishment of control group students in the writing tests before and after treatment is insignificantly different. It also suggests that the hypothesis is accepted. As a result, the null hypothesis was accepted, which asserts that there is no significant difference in the accomplishment mean scores of students in the experimental and control groups prior to treatment. 3.3.4 Results of the Fourth Hypothesis (4) There are statistically significant differences at the statistical level (α≥0.05) in the achievement of students in writing in the control group and experiment group after treatment Table (3.10) The results of hypothesis (4) Group N Mean SD Std. Error Mean T Sig. Control 37 5.9189 1.94905 .32042 .030 .863 Experiment 37 6.4595 1.83477 .30163 As shown in the above table, the mean achievement of the control group and experiment group in the writing exam after treatment was insignificant, as the sig was (0.863) and the t value was (0.03). This indicates that there is an insignificant difference in the control group and focus group students` achievement after treatment in the writing exam. Thus, the null hypothesis, which states that there is no significant difference in the achievement mean scores of students in the experimental and control groups after treatment, was accepted. 41 3.3.5 Results of the Fifth Hypothesis (5) There are statistically significant differences at the statistical level (α≥0.05) in the achievement of students in reading in the experimental and control groups before treatment As shown in the above table (3.11) in appendix (D), the mean achievement in the reading exam before treatment was insignificant, as the sig was (0.653) and the t value was (0.204). This indicates that there is an insignificant difference between the experimental and control groups in the pretest achievement mean score. As a result, the null hypothesis was accepted, which states that there is no significant difference in the achievement in reading mean scores of students in the experimental and control groups prior to treatment. 3.3.6 Results of the Sixth Hypothesis (6) There are statistically significant differences at the statistical level (α≥0.05) in the achievement of students in reading in the control group before and after treatment. See Table (3.12) in Appendix (D) The mean achievement of the control group in the reading exam before and after treatment reached (0.528) and t value (0.403). This suggests that the accomplishment of the control group students in the writing exam prior to and after treatment is unimportant. As a result, the null hypothesis was accepted, which indicates that there is no significant difference in the achievement mean scores of children in the control groups before and after treatment on the reading exam. 3.3.7 Results of the Seventh Hypothesis (7) There are statistically significant differences at the statistical level (α≥0.05) in the achievement of students in reading in the experiment group before and after treatment. As shown in the above table (3.13) in appendix (D), the experiment group's mean achievement in the reading exam before and after treatment was insignificant, with a 42 sig of (0.384) and a t value of (0.768). This suggests that the accomplishment of the experiment group in the reading examinations before and after treatment is not statistically different. As a result, the null hypothesis was accepted, which indicates that there is no significant difference in the achieved mean scores of children in the experiment groups before and after treatment in the reading exam. 3.3.8 Results of the Eighth Hypothesis (8) There are statistically significant differences at the statistical level (α≥0.05) in the achievement of students in reading in the control group and the experiment group after treatment. As shown in the above table (3.14) in appendix (D), after treatment, the mean achievement of the control and experiment groups in the reading exam reached (0.297) and the t value was (1.106). This suggests that the achievement of control and focus group students on the reading exam after treatment differs insignificantly. As a result, the null hypothesis was accepted, which asserts that there is no significant change in the mean achievement scores of students in the experimental and control groups following the treatment. 43 Chapter Four Discussion of the Results and Recommendations 4.1 Introduction This chapter is divided into two sections. The first section summarizes the results of the research questions and hypotheses pertinent to the study variable. The second section offers some useful recommendations based on the research findings. 4.2 Discussion of the Results Related to the First Question What is the effect of reading short stories on the students’ writing competence? After analyzing the data and calculating the means, standard deviations, and percentages of deviation for students' achievement of writing competencies in the control group and the experiment group, the results showed that the mean of the experiment group is higher than the mean of the control group in the pre-test, and the standard deviation for the control group is less than the standard deviation for the experiment group. Furthermore, the significant level indicated that there are differences in students' writing abilities that can be attributed to short story reading; the F value of the teaching approach is (1.637), which is not significant because the significant results is (0.205), which is higher than the determined significant level of (0.05). As a result, discrepancies between the control and experiment groups may be attributed to the influence of reading short stories on students' writing skill. The researcher attributes the positive impact on students' writing proficiency to reading short stories, as it enhances their language abilities by exposing them to various literary styles, vocabulary, and expressions used in creative writing. These skills gradually transfer to their own writing, and through reading short stories, students become familiar with different literary genres and writing styles, analyzing and comprehending them, enriching their literary repertoire, and diversifying their writing styles. Short stories often contain fictional and exciting elements that encourage students to develop their imagination and ability to create engaging 44 stories and events. This creative aspect can reflect on their personal writing and help enrich their content. Reading short stories also enhances students' ability to express their ideas and feelings effectively in writing, as they learn narrative techniques, character development, story building, and the use of different literary devices, which ultimately improves their overall writing skills. Therefore, it can be said that reading short stories plays a significant role in developing students' writing proficiency by enhancing their language skills, expanding their literary repertoire, stimulating their imagination and creativity, improving analytical and critical thinking skills, and enhancing their writing skills in general. This result agrees with most of the scholars including Muftah (2018) who stated that reading is the fastest and easiest way to improve students’ education. It stimulates the development of brain cells and enhances language ability. 4.3 Discussion of the Results Related to the Second Question What is the effect of reading short stories on the students’ reading competence? The researcher used the means and standard deviation for the achievement of students on the reading and writing competencies for the control group and the experiment group to answer the second question, and the results showed that the mean of the control group is less than the mean of the experiment group in the pretest reading exam. Furthermore, the control group's standard deviation is bigger than the experiment group's standard deviation. Furthermore, the teaching approach's F value is (3.502), which is statistically insignificant since the significant level is (0.065), which is more than the set significant level of (0.05); as a conclusion, there is no difference between the control group and the experiment group in the effect of reading short short stories expose students to different types of texts and literary styles on the students’ writing competence. The researcher attributes this result to the fact that short stories expose students to different types of texts and literary styles. As a result, they learn how to analyze texts, comprehend their content, and understand their meaning. This contributes to 45 improving their ability to understand texts in general, whether literary or non- literary, and exposes them to new words, expressions, and diverse vocabulary. They learn the meanings of new words through context and linguistic communication in the text, which contributes to increasing their vocabulary and diversifying their language. Additionally, reading short stories improves reading speed with continuous practice. They become faster and better able to process words and sentences quickly and understand them more effectively. Short stories are often engaging and interesting, which motivates students to read more and enjoy the reading process, thereby enhancing their analytical and critical thinking skills. They learn to identify events, and story development, analyze story characters, and interpret meaning, and the message conveyed by the text. These skills reflect their deep understanding of texts and their ability to analyze them more accurately. This agrees with Alshaer (2011) who found that there is a positive impact of reading stories on improving the students’ comprehension and, therefore, their writing competence. Also, Graham et al (2013) found that writing is a necessary component of engaging in professional, social, and civic activities. 4.4 Discussion of the Results Related to the Hypotheses The main question of this research triggers eight separate sub-hypotheses. For every question a hypothesis has been articulated: 4.4.1 Discussion of the results related to the first hypothesis There are statistically significant differences at the statistical level (α≥0.05) in the achievement of students in writing between the experimental and control groups before treatment It asserts that there is no significant difference in the accomplishment mean scores of students in the experimental and control groups prior to treatment To test the hypothesis, the researcher used associated analysis. Following data analysis, it is determined that the pretest achievement mean score differs insignificantly between 46 the experimental and control groups. As a result, the null hypothesis was accepted, which asserts that there is no significant difference in the mean scores of students results in the experimental and control groups prior to treatment. The researcher attributes this result to the equality between the two groups before conducting any treatment program intervention that creates a difference between them. This agrees with Al-Anzi (2016) who found a great difference in the results of his study based on the group and the method of teaching. It also agrees with Maxom (2014) who found that the teacher divides students into groups to figure out the differences between the groups. 4.4.2 Discussion of the results related to the second hypothesis There are statistically significant differences at the statistical level (α≥0.05) in the achievement of students in writing between the experiment group before and after treatment To test the hypothesis, the researcher used an associated analysis. The results of the data analysis showed that the treatment program of the experiment group students in the writing exam before and after treatment is unequal. As a result, the null hypothesis was accepted, which indicates that there is no significant difference in accomplishment mean scores of students in control groups before and after treatment. This result demonstrates that the intervention had no impact on instructing students on how to reformulate the meaning of the piece they read based on prior knowledge of the text. It also did not help them improve their ability to connect what they heard with what they wrote. The researcher attributes the reason for this to the students' lack of understanding of the nature of the strategy and its requirements, as well as their refusal to share and correct what they wrote with their colleagues. The results of the third hypothesis agreed with the study of Azmoon (2021) which found that dictogloss, through a mixture of collaborative factors in the teaching and 47 learning process, could significantly motivate the participants who outperformed the process using instruction group regarding their writing accuracy. However, it did not agree with the study of Pertiwi, Ngadiso, and Dragati (2018), Ibrahim (2022), Kopinska and Azkarai (2020), and Firmansyah (2020) which found the engagement in language-related episodes was not affected by the patterns of interaction, as the great majority of language-related episodes were handled with high engagement. 4.4.3 Discussion of the Results related to the third hypothesis There are statistically significant differences at the statistical level (α≥0.05) in the achievement of students in writing in the control group before and after treatment To test the hypothesis, the researcher used an associated analysis. Following data analysis, it was determined that the accomplishment of control group students in the before and after treatment writing tests differed insignificantly. As a result, the null hypothesis was accepted, which asserts that there is no significant difference in the accomplishment mean scores of students in the experimental and control groups prior to treatment. The researcher attributes this result to the fact that the students in this group were not exposed to any treatment method that had an effect on improving their level of writing. 4.4.4 Discussion of the Results related to the fourth hypothesis There are statistically significant differences at the statistical level (α≥0.05) in the achievement of students in writing in the control group and experiment group after treatment To test the hypothesis, the researcher used an associated analysis. Following data analysis, it was determined that there is no significant difference in the results of control and experimental group students in the writing exam following treatment. As a result, the null hypothesis was accepted, which asserts that there is no significant change in the mean achievement scores of students in the experimental and control 48 groups following treatment. This result demonstrates that the intervention had no impact on instructing students on how to reformulate the meaning of the piece they read based on prior knowledge of the text. It also did not help them improve their ability to connect what they heard with what they wrote. The researcher attributes the reason for this to the students’ lack of understanding of the nature of the strategy and its requirements, as well as their refusal to share and correct what they wrote with their colleagues. The results of the fourth hypothesis agreed with the study of Azmoon (2021) that found that although teaching writing through dictogloss seems promising theoretically, the challenge of applying it in practice is undeniable. The consequences of this research have some significant implications in writing accuracy teaching and syllabus designing for EFL learners. However, it disagreed with Pertiwi, Ngadiso, and