Reading and Writing Practices： Case Studies at the Sergio Arboleda University of Colombia

This research project analyzes the reading and writing practices used in five first and second year undergraduate courses of different disciplines at a Colombian university. During one semester, we conducted polls, class observations, and interviews with teachers. The data collected contain information about the strategies that teachers use to guide, clarify, and evaluate the readings they assigned. It also informs about the ways in which teachers classify texts and participate in the process of composing, editing, and evaluating the students＇ writing. Finally, the data inform about the role that teachers assign to the practices of reading and writing in their courses. The results of the study prove that there is a misconception based on the idea that there is a unique way of understanding and practicing reading and writing in the academia, and that there is a set of unique strategies that are transferable to any discipline or field of study. The cases analyzed in this study suggest that it would be much more effective to incorporate intensive reading and writing strategies in disciplinary courses, than to concentrate on first year writing courses.

The Effect of a Proposed Training Program Based on the Reflective Model on the Teachers＇ Reading Practices in Mafraq

This study aimed at investigating the effect of a proposed EFL （English as a Foreign Language） training program on the teachers＇ reading practices in Mafraq. This program was developed by the researcher according to the ninth-grade EFL teachers＇ needs. The participants of the study were 20 ninth-grade females EFL teachers who represented the experimental and control groups （10 teachers in each group）. They were randomly chosen from 10 schools in the Northwestern Badia Directorate of Education. To achieve the purposes of the study, the researcher designed a needs analysis questionnaire, a training program, a pre and post observation checklist, and a pre and post received knowledge test for teachers. Proper statistical analysis was used to analyze the results of the research questions. The results of the study showed that teachers were in need to be trained on 20 reading comprehension practices to be able to teach reading comprehension effectively. Besides, there were statistically significant differences at the level of （a = 0.05） between the means scores of the ninth-grade teachers＇ performance of the control and experimental groups on the post observation checklist and on the post received knowledge test in favor of the experimental group due to the training program.

NEW CURRICULUM STANDARDS AND EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACCUMULATIVE READING —A RESEARCH ON BEIJING MIDDLE SCHOOL PRACTICES

The New Curriculum Standards (NCS) for Middle Schools require students to complete certain amount of English reading as extra-curricular practice at Junior and Senior high levels respectively. Such standards encourage independent and collaborative learning but may pose a challenge to the test-oriented English teaching in China. Pressed by the graduation and enrollment rates, do teachers still care for organizing extra-curricular reading If yes, are the methods they use effective and scientific To answer these questions, our research team conducted a two-year research in Beijing middle schools. The results show that extra-curricular reading has been implemented differently at different levels to different degrees. Some teachers have worked out feasible, successful methods in accord with international practices, some schools are just starting their experiments, and some have not made plans yet. By analyzing the favored organizing and monitoring methods, and evaluating their benefits and limits, this paper hopes to offer some implications to the researchers with the same endeavor.