This mixed-method single case study aims to unveil the plausible effects of extensive reading (ER) on an EFL learner’s writing competence and to elucidate the viable factors stimulating his willingness to write (WTW) after reading. The writing competence indicated by complexity, accuracy, and fluency was measured by eight measures under the CAF triad (Skehan, 1989). Narrative inquiry was then employed to probe students’ perception of how ER propelled his writing growth and leveraged his WTW based on two semi-structured interviews, excerpts from frequent contact via Facebook Messenger, and 51 reading logs composed during the 9-week course. Results showed observable progress in his writing accuracy and fluency, which was reaffirmed by the interview data. Meanwhile, his WTW was found to be attributable to five palpable determinants, namely (1) habit of L1 reading, (2) intrinsic motivation, (3) perceived writing growth, (4) reading materials, and (5) subconscious writer identity.

Join the breakout room for a discussion on Extensive Listening.

Some books make you happy while others make you sad. This study investigated how different emotional traits of graded readers are related with different degrees of student engagement of extensive reading (ER), and what mediating role learner emotional intelligence quotient (EQ) could have. Sixteen different types of basic and epistemic emotions were selected for categorization: happy, sad, fearful, disgusted, angry, surprised, curious, confused, anxious, excited, frustrated, bored, enjoying, relaxing, moved, and nonemotional. First, students were familiarized with emotional tagging of ER materials, resulting in identifying books with their emotional profiles rated by students. Second, an online self-reported questionnaire was conducted. It was shown that different emotions in ER materials result in significantly diverse degrees of student engagement. Moreover, EQs turned out to correlate positively with engagement of ER materials with positive emotions while negatively with several negative emotions and nonemotionality. The rationale and pedagogical implications are discussed and exemplified.

This presentation describes how to assess students’ performances in Japanese extensive reading. The presenter has been conducting standalone Japanese ER courses in a U.S. university since 2014. Unlike traditional-style language classes, the main activities in ER are individual readings; therefore, assessment has been challenging for the instructor.

Takase (2010) listed various ways to assess students’ performances in English ER, such as reading quantity, comprehension tests, and presentations. The presenter uses self-evaluations, where students reflect on their own reading and set their next goals. Students have other assignments such as reading journals, book reviews, and semester-final projects. The instructor does not evaluate students’ language skills in this course, and assessment is conducted only based on their attendance/participation and their submission of assignments on time. Because of these assessment criteria, students work hard, regardless of their typical grades. The presenter will discuss how ER is effective for cultivating autonomous learning.

This research project was conducted with two cohorts of 2nd year students enrolled in an elective Business English program at a university in Japan, one in 2020 and another in 2022, who also had had experience with Extensive Reading in their first-year classes, typically with paper-based graded readers and the Mreader tracking system. The research aimed to explore the following questions: 1. What do these Business English students like and dislike about doing online extensive reading via Xreading? 2. How do these Business English students feel that online extensive reading via Xreading compares to other methods of extensive reading experienced in their first-year classes? 3. Are there any correlations between amounts of reading done, types of reading done, and learners' self-reported perceptions of online reading? Participants were surveyed using a combination of Likert-scale and open-ended items, and responses correlated with actual reading data from the Xreading LMS.

Extensive Listening (EL) is a teaching approach that emphasizes the provision of authentic, comprehensible, and fun aural input for an extended time period in order to improve language proficiency, especially the listening ability, of L2 learners. This presentation provides 5 compelling reasons why EL should be implemented in L2 classrooms: no conclusive evidence regarding the benefits of listening strategy teaching has been found; some studies have found no significant effects of listening strategy teaching on listening ability improvement; my own experience as an EFL learner; EL is regarded as a fun and theoretically sound way to learn L2; and in-class EL should help create more autonomous learners. The presentation will also show how in-class English audio-visual watching (e.g., movies or TV series) with subtitles and/or captions can be implemented and how it can help improve learners’ listening ability as well as increase learners’ confidence, motivation, and self-esteem in their own English language learning outside the classrooms.

Incorporating extensive reading into digital-forward education opens the doors to new forms of engagement for students. However, applying new technology can create a myriad of struggles for educators who may be less familiar with educational technology. Nevertheless, using reading series’ such as e-Future’s Classic Readers to engage students in a physical space while expanding extensive reading into digital spaces creates a well-rounded educational experience. Traditional educational tools and new technology can develop an attractive blend of digital and physical content that will afford educators the freedom to create a robust classroom experience while being ready for any possible problem that might arise.

The emphasis in EFL Reading classes is often put on the production of comprehension rather than the processing skills. It makes the reading activities unpleasant and most of the times have to deal with the low reading comprehension. The present study attempts to maximize the students’ participation by actively involved in extensive reading activities, to find out the strategies they use in the reading process, and to see the students’ perceptions on Extensive Reading in order to enhance their reading comprehension. The participants of the study are 20 students of the English Education Study Program, Faculty of Teachers Training and Educational Sciences, Pakuan University, who were chosen purposively. This study applied qualitative approach with case study method. The data of this study were taken from documentation in the form of the students’ book report and book talk writing and presentation, questionnaire which were distributed to 20 participants, and interview which were conducted to 20 participants. The findings show the factors that maximize the students’ active participation in Extensive Reading activities are reading habit, motivation, and environment. The students use cognitive and metacognitive strategies in the reading process, and they have positive perceptions on Extensive Reading.

Extensive reading (ER) helps readers develop robust language knowledge (Hu & Nation, 2000) and build key connections with disciplines such as the sciences, goals that numerous international students hope to achieve in intensive English programs (IEPs). However, despite these benefits and instructors’ good intentions, IEP instructors often disagree on the specific approaches to integrating ER into reading and writing (RW) courses (Bentahar & Cranker, 2021). While many language instructors consider ER an underused technique (Watkins, 2018), some quiz students on their reading; other instructors “impose” one book on their students, while still others assign weekly reports, approaches which seem to contradict the essence of ER. The integrated-skill approach (ISA), where language skills and sub-skills are interwoven during instruction (Oxford, 2001), can solve this quandary. The presenter will share three effective ISA-based ER activities and demonstrate their benefits for learning, using student feedback. Implications for RW instructors will be discussed.

Extensive reading plays a critical role in creating an environment where teachers can nurture students’ motivation to love reading and in creating a safe haven for those who love reading. A closer look of two universities in East Java, Universitas Negeri Surabaya (UNESA) and Universitas Negeri Malang (UM) shows that they resemble in several ways. Both universities used to be teacher training institutes, have ER course in the curriculum, targeted freshmen, and subscribed to Xreading to support ER. This talk discusses the implementation of ER as a co-curricular program in UNESA and a curricular one in UM as well as the benefits and drawbacks of the different policies. This talk also discusses the implications of the ER programs in the two universities. Finally, the talk will be summarised with the suggestions for future studies.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether a difference exists in TOEIC Bridge Institutional Program scores between Japanese EFL students at a technical college who engaged in ER for one year and those who did ER for two years. Furthermore, by dividing the students who experienced ER for two years into two subgroups according to their level of English achievement at the end of ER, their reading tendencies were statistically analyzed in terms of the number of words and books they had read. The results suggest that two-year-long ER may be more effective in improving TOEIC Bridge reading scores than a year-long ER program, and that students may be able to reach a high level of English proficiency without reading too many books as long as they are suited to the students’ levels. Additionally, students with high English proficiency made greater progress through ER.

Join the breakout room for a discussion on Writing Materials.

Flow is a mental state in which an individual becomes immersed in an activity as a result of an optimum balance of interest, control, and challenge. Such a flow state overlaps with descriptions of ideal extensive reading experiences eg. becoming engrossed in a story and losing track of time. At the same time, teachers often assign reading targets using a variety of methods including book counts, word counts, and reading time in order to encourage students to read more. These different measurements of reading quantity may influence students' choice of reading materials as well as their reading experiences. This presentation compares student book choice behavior and experiences of flow while reading under the differing conditions of reading assignments given in terms of weekly word count goals with those of weekly reading time goals. Student reading records from the online reading library Xreading are used to compare differences in book choice behavior, such as book length and difficulty level, while experiences of flow are compared using mean flow scores from weekly questionnaires and independent measures t-test between the word count and reading time groups.

This session will introduce e-future’s exciting new phonics readers series Smart Phonics Readers. This series is specially designed for young EFL learners who are taking their first steps into the wonderful journey of reading. With imaginative stories, colorful illustrations, and systematic phonics practice with fun activities, young learners will build confidence and enjoy reading! Join the session to explore Smart Phonics Readers, the 2022 LLL award finalists!