Title: Audio-Assisted Extensive Reading: Student Perceptions of Its Effects on Reading Performance and Motivation
Stream: Foreign Languages Education & Applied Linguistics (including ESL/TESL/TEFL)
Presentation Type: Poster Presentation
Authors:
Dax Thomas, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
Abstract:
Extensive Reading is gradually becoming an integral part of many university EFL curriculums across Japan. With the introduction of large online graded reader libraries and robust learning management systems, it is becoming easier and easier for students to gain access to extensive reading materials with audio support features. This study explores the degree to which reading with audio support—Audio-assisted Extensive Reading (AER)—can affect student performance and motivation. At the beginning of the 2021 academic year, 109 students were given a one-year license granting them access to the online graded reader library Xreading.com. In the first half of this study, students were asked to read six graded readers over the course of the Spring semester, with the audio feature of Xreading turned on. They were then asked to complete a bilingual survey asking them to share their impressions on using this audio feature. In the Fall semester, students were asked to continue reading graded readers on Xreading.com, this time with the audio support feature turned off. This presentation focuses on the quantitative results of the study. Overall, the preliminary results seem to indicate that Audio-assisted Extensive Reading may have a generally positive effect on students’ performance in certain language-related areas (perceived performance in pronunciation and reading fluency), as well as in certain areas related to motivation (reading comfort levels and desire to read for longer periods of time).
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