Enhanced extensive reading yields small-to-large effect sizes across writing subscales, with the largest effects in spelling/mechanics and fluency¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 2015 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Effect sizes for the treatment group's advantage ranged from small (organization and content) to medium (vocabulary and language use) to large (spelling/mechanics and fluency). → Mermelstein 2015

Evidence¶

Mermelstein 2015¶

Mermelstein, A. D. (2015). Improving EFL learners’ writing through enhanced extensive reading. Reading in a Foreign Language, 27(2), 182–198. http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/rfl

q2 · i? · causal · r1

Effect size comparison of TG and CG gains in the one-year university ER study, reported in the discussion alongside Table 9 values. The article reports "a large effect in spelling/mechanics and fluency"; the specific numeric values appear only in Table 9, not in this sentence, so no effect size magnitude is attached here.

"The current study established a small effect in organization and content, a medium effect in vocabulary and language use, and a large effect in spelling/mechanics and fluency."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Writing Skills — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• The treatment group's advantage did not extend to the organization subscale of writing — related
• EFL learners in an enhanced extensive reading treatment group significantly outperform a control group on five of six writing subscales — a broader claim this one bears on
• Extensive reading shows small-to-medium significant positive effects on every measured language domain, including vocabulary, reading comprehension, and general proficiency — a broader claim this one bears on