Lecturer Profile |
Jing Zhou received her PhD degree from the Department of Second Language Studies at University of Hawaii at Manoa under the guidance of Dr. Richard Day. Her areas of interest include second language acquisition, second language reading, extensive reading, teaching Chinese and English as foreign languages, and quantitative and qualitative research methodology. |
Lecture Abstract |
Extensive reading (ER) has been shown to be an effective approach in helping second language (L2) students learn to read the target language. Of particular interest is how L2 learners in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses that included ER would react to ER since ER involves L2 learners reading easy, interesting books that they select themselves. We examined the reactions of 57 EAP university students to ER. The study was conducted for two semesters in Fall 2017 and Spring 2018, where two groups of learners read online for ten and twelve weeks respectively. We used Xreading Library, an online subscription-based graded-reader library that allows students unlimited access to more than 800 books on their computers, tablets or mobile device. We gathered both quantitative and qualitative data to determine the extent to which online ER affected the learners’ attitudes toward reading in English, their academic reading, and English proficiency in general and their teachers’ reactions to Xreading. The study revealed that L2 learners’ reading attitude were significantly improved after reading graded readers online for one semester. This study also suggested that the learners felt that their reading rates, vocabulary, grammar, comprehension, writing and speaking were all improved through online ER. Though learners perceived the effects of online ER on their academic reading differently, the instructors held positive attitudes toward online ER and would like to recommend online ER to other instructors. |
