Implementing and Managing Online Exensive Reading

Abstract

Smartphones, tablets, and today's touch screen laptops are powerfultools capable of serving hundreds of specialized, complex operationsand applications to anyone, seemingly anywhere in the world. Forsecond language learners and those who teach them, these toolssuddenly have the potential to recast the reading experience for 21stcentury students and invigorate Extensive Reading (ER) research.Exploration into digital ER exclusively through the medium of mobiledevices is only an emerging area of study in the English as a LinguaFranca (ELF) classroom. This study reports on the implementation of a15 week (one semester) pilot test of Xreading® (www.xreading.com),an online Graded Reader (GR) library and learning managementsystem (LMS) devoted specifically to the implementation and operationof extensive reading at a private university in Tokyo, Japan.Participants in this study have access to a vast virtual library of gradedreaders and are being instructed to read outside of class using a mobiledevice. This paper reports on student engagement with this platformexclusively for 15 weeks in regards to changes in reading speeds,volume of reading, and correlations between these numbers andTOEIC® IP test scores. The authors will reflect on student attitudesand perceptions of reading digitally and lastly, present someconsiderations for teachers and administrators who recognize thebenefits of ER and who, for various reasons, envisage implementingextensive reading into their classroom syllabus or program curriculum.

The Correlation Between Xreading Time Spent and Reading Comprehension & Efl College Students’ Attitudes Towards Xreading

“…A study conducted by Cote & Milliner (2015) showed a different result than the previous one. The study was also conducted in Japan to determine the students' attitudes towards the program and how XReading influences their reading speed and TOEIC scores.…”

Integrating Extensive Reading in a College Preparatory Year Program: Perceptions, Challenges, and Possibilities

“…It provides them more privileges in borrowing graded readers and gives them access to teacher's feedbacks on their reading performance and individual progress. According to the study of Cote & Milliner (2015), they found that using XReading can change students' preferences in reading platform from paperback to online book. Further, XReading can give students more flexibility on time, place, and frequency of reading.…”

“…Due to teachers' demanding work, they can hardly find time to confirm whether students have really read the book or not. Third, ER is not a part of the language curriculum (Cote & Milliner, 2015). Having it isolated from curriculum and examination makes teachers and students not to take it seriously.…”

“…Having it isolated from curriculum and examination makes teachers and students not to take it seriously. Fourth, teachers are too International Journal of English Language Education ISSN 2325-0887 2018 busy that they do not have time to track students' progress and to give feedback or assistance (Cote & Milliner, 2015). Fifth, teachers view ER as a waste of time.…”

Extensive reading practices in the Arabian Gulf region

“…Moreover, creating a space for ER in a heavy-loaded curriculum and designing customized ER activities for varied learners also seem difficult for untrained teachers (Maley, 2009). Lastly, efficiently monitoring English reading progress, giving timely feedback to students (Cote & Milliner, 2015), and balancing the pressure of national exams with ER activities seem taxing for already overburdened and exhausted teachers.…”