Developing Students’ EFL Writing Skills by Enhancing their Oral Interactions

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between composition exercises and oral interaction amongst Saudi university students while working in groups, with a particular focus on the methods that develop writing skills. The participants, 50 in all, were Saudi university EFL first year students belonging to three different groups according to their English proficiency. The data came from two research instruments: 1) written responses to open-ended questions regarding students’ experiences and attitudes towards writing, and 2) transcripts of audiotaped interactions between students. The findings suggested that integrating writing and oral interaction enabled students to realize the way writing works, and that there are, in the first place, many different strategies available to aid in the process of composition. Students were able to look at the process of writing more comprehensively rather than focusing on particular points of grammar, spelling, or punctuation. In addition to this, by building on the structure of group work, students acquired interpersonal skills vital for learning: listening, speaking, personal organization, and providing constructive feedback. Teachers should note some problems associated with oral discussions, including the quality of discussion, the time consumed in talking, and intermittent lapses into the mother tongue. This study concludes with some implications for pedagogy and further study.