This study investigates how the implementation of extensive reading and reading strategy training in a Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) program fostered undergraduate students' reading comprehension and strategy use. The research employed a quasi-experimental design, with 60 Japanese students being divided into control and experimental groups. They were tested with pre- and post-reading comprehension tasks and assigned to do pre- and post-standardized reading strategy questionnaires. The results reveal that the experimental group, who received reading strategy instruction and engaged in extensive reading, exhibited an increase in top-down reading strategy use. Although the intervention of reading strategy training and extensive reading in CLIL had a positive effect on reading comprehension, the impact was found to be non-significant when compared to traditional reading instruction. The findings have implications for CLIL teachers and curriculum designers, as they shed the light on steps to incorporate extensive reading and reading strategies in CLIL programs.

In extensive reading (ER), Graded Readers (GRs), books for English learners with vocabulary control, play a central role whereas Leveled Readers (LRs), books written primarily for English-speaking children, are not always recommended due to their complex texts and low frequency words. In Japan, however, learners usually use a mixture of GRs and LRs to fill the gap below the easiest level of GRs. This study created the GRs corpus and the LRs corpus from books in popular series that are used in the initial stages of ER to explore the differences in grammar and vocabulary levels. Each corpus was composed of approximately 130,000 words. The New Word Level Checker was used to obtain vocabulary levels, and the Flesh Reading Ease was used to examine words per sentence and the percentage of passive sentences. The differences suggested that LRs were generally more difficult in grammar and vocabulary than GRs even though the same readability levels (YL) were assigned.

Extant studies have demonstrated that college students generally perceive extensive reading positively, particularly those from English major. However, a little is known the perceptions and practices of non-English major college students after four months taking an extensive reading course. 86 colleges students with diverse disciplinary and cultural backgrounds participated in this study. They took extensive reading course as an elective subject in partial fulfilment for their bachelor's degree. They were asked to select a book based on their interest and recorded what they read, when, and amount of time spent for reading the book during four months. After implementing extensive reading for four months, the participants were asked to complete a questionnaire that looked at their choice of books, opinions and attitudes towards extensive reading, level of enjoyment, and their language learning growth based on their own judgement. We found that in terms of book selection, the participants selected books based on personal interests, cultural backgrounds, or academic requirements. The participants who viewed reading as a task or chore did not experience the same language acquisition benefits as those who viewed it as a pleasurable activity. The participants who found that reading was enjoyable, they were more likely to continue reading and spend more time engaged in the activity. This increased exposure to the language may lead to greater language acquisition. These findings are pivotal to further explain what works in conducting extensive reading for non-English major college students.

This presentation will report on a study that extends an earlier pilot study on extensive reading and TOEFL ITP progress. The pilot study found only a small correlation between score achievement on the test and the amount of extensive reading and listening on an eight-month intervention. For the current study, reading, listening, and TOEFL ITP data for two cohorts in the same program (280 subjects in total) were considered. During the intervention, students in these cohorts were more strongly encouraged to make use of the audio (reading while listening), and they were occasionally asked to read non-fiction graded readers in preparation for in-class activities. The results of the current study will be discussed, along with how the program has attempted to find a better configuration of program elements to help students see greater scores on the TOEFL ITP, the largest institutional measurement tool of student English proficiency improvement.

This poster session will introduce the global extensive reading survey. The presenters will first outline the aims of the survey and highlight its key features. The aims are to examine the current practices of extensive reading (ER) practitioners around the world who teach English as a foreign language to illustrate how extensive reading is conducted; the materials used; the amount of time spent on ER; the types of assessment used; the level of training received; and so forth. Attendees to the poster session will be invited to complete the survey and asked to assist in disseminating the survey.

In learning a foreign language, students’ language input can be obtained through extensive reading (ER) as they have more opportunities to engage with vocabulary and grammar of the language. Many studies have explored the benefits of ER for reading skills, but few discuss about its effect towards students’ grammar. This study focused on the perceptions of 20 Indonesian university students of the practice of ER in learning English grammar. The data was taken from students’ weekly learning log that reports their ER practice and an online questionnaire that probed into their perception about the effectiveness of ER in grammar learning. The study adopted a qualitative approach and content analysis was used to analyze the data. The results show that most students were benefited from ER practice in improving their grammar; however, some reported difficulties in implementing ER. The study recommend implementing ER in students’ English grammar learning.

This study compares the effects of Extensive Reading (ER) on university students’ and younger learners’ English proficiency. Although ER is recognized as one of the best methods to improve learners’ English proficiency, many Japanese universities limit its practice to one academic year. In this study, twelve students aged 9 to 11 started ER using easy English picture books and Graded Readers over 3 to 4 years. After reading approximately 250 – 300 books, the presenter implemented grammar lessons in addition to ER. Then, the Edinburgh Project on Extensive Reading Placement/Progress Test (EPER PPT) was administered. These tests show that younger learners who practiced ER for several years had better results. The presenter postulates that the implementation of ER earlier in the formal English education process and practice for a longer duration would greatly benefit learner’s progress in English.

Extensive reading can be the best way for the first year university students to develop their language competencies. However, most of them do not read in English extensively once they leave the classroom. This study explores the implementation of extensive reading through ReadTheory.org. Studies into the use of gamification, “the use of game design elements in non-game contexts” (Deterding et al, 2011, p.9) for language learning, has found positive results on language development and enhancing learner engagement toward the learning process. This research presents the results for a study into the use of a gamified reading website, Readtheory.org, that incorporates the use of gamification elements of badges, knowledge points (KPs), levels, and feedback to enhance reading comprehension. This study examines 40 undergraduate university students’ attitudes, motivation, autonomy, and perceptions toward enhancing their extensive reading skills through ReadTheory.org. The data were collected from students’ interviews and questionnaires. The findings showed that students' attitudes are high toward the gamified platform and that the utilization of ReadTheory motivates students to read independently using the website inside and outside the classroom. The main advantage of ReadTheory is it can be easily used anywhere-anytime, a better alternative to traditional reading methods and it can be adopted to enhance student’s reading comprehension.

In this presentation I will discuss how prior reading experience and assessment influence the level of agency learners feel when part of an extensive reading programme, using the lens of Activity Theory (Galperin, 1969). Activity Theory takes the position that human activities should be understood as systemic and socially situated. For example, the extensive reading approach argues for learners selecting their own reading material and reading at their own pace (Day and Bamford, 2002). However, little is known about the factors that influence learners' reader selection and how students engage with graded readers, as a socially situated and systemic activity. The data in this presentation is taken from interviews with seven participants in an extensive reading programme at a private university in central Taiwan at three stages of the second semester (beginning, middle and end). Data was transcribed and coded for themes. Findings reveal that prior experience reading in English, selecting appropriate reading material and assessment negatively affect the agency learners feel they have when engaged in an ongoing cycle of selecting reading material and poring over text.

The Lexile system by Metametrics is a popular rating system used widely in the United States and elsewhere which purports to rate both the reading level of books and the ability level of students on the same scale. Unfortunately, the reading level algorithm does not take into account the vocabulary or syntactic patterns used in the texts, but only mechanically measurable qualities of the text such as average sentence and word length. Parents, teachers and librarians use the system to classify books and determine which ones might be suitable for students. It simply does not work for L2 students. This paper will attempt to explain why the system does not work and the potential dangers of employing it for students for which it was not designed.

This study demonstrates learners’ learning paths in their extensive reading (ER) progress using two types of scaffolding for comprehension monitoring: quiz taking and discussion. Although the importance of socially constructed meaning is emphasized in critical literature (Gee, 2003), such a reading comprehension perspective has been investigated less in L2 ER literature. To promote outside-of-class ER using online materials in the Japanese high school context, the effects of two different types of self-selected scaffolding regarding spontaneous reading were examined, i.e., online comprehension quizzes and a cyber classroom where learners discuss books they had read. The results of the mixed methods —semi-structured survey and target students’ interviews —revealed that the quizzes could give learners with less confidence in L2 an explicit scale of their cognitive competence; however, the collaborative practice was more promising for establishing their reading habits and enhancing self-efficacy as they realized their identities as community members.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate vocabulary size gain by students using extensive reading (ER) through xReading, an online library coupled with a quiz program designed to motivate, verify, and track students’ ER achievements. The participants were 63 first year Japanese university students enrolled in a basic compulsory English course where the Start with Simple Stories (SSS) and Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) approaches were implemented. The participants had to take a 4-level Vocabulary test measuring the vocabulary size gain using a bilingual Vocabulary Level Test at the beginning and at the end of the first and second semesters. This test divides words into different levels based on their frequency and is most suitable for measuring vocabulary size and vocabulary knowledge of elementary and intermediate learners of English as a foreign language. It was first designed by Paul Nation (Nation 1993) and later adapted by McLean, S., & Kramer, B. By the end of the academic year, results show a significant vocabulary size gain especially in the more advanced terms.

The current study aimed to identify the effects of 8 months of ER on English proficiency. The participants were university students in Japan who took the same compulsory English class and were required to complete 150,000 words of ER per semester. To examine the effects of ER, the TOEIC Listening and Reading test was employed for measuring general English proficiency, and a self-paced reading task was carried out to measure participants’ reading speed and comprehension. Measurements were obtained at three time points: the beginning of the spring semester, the end of the spring semester, and the end of the fall semester. Our results found significant differences between time points both on the total scores of the TOEIC test and in reading speed (WPM). We concluded that 8 months of ER enhanced learners’ reading speed as well as overall proficiency.

University students wishing to study abroad need to meet minimum language proficiency levels on tests such as IELTS. Japanese students have struggled to meet these minimum levels despite wanting to study abroad. To address this issue, ten Japanese students who wished to study abroad participated in an extensive reading project for one academic year to improve their IELTS reading scores. Extensive reading was monitored through use of a daily reading log and journal. Participants had full autonomy to choose reading material, but were also provided with a subscription to the Xreading online graded reader library. Participants took the IELTS test twice during the year. Seven of the participants obtained IELTS reading scores of 5.5 or higher, and six obtained overall band scores of 5.5 or more by the end of the year. Extensive reading helped bring participants’ dream of studying abroad closer, but this was dependent on the amount read.