This study aims to investigate the influence of an English as a foreign language college extensive reading program on different types of motivation to study English within the framework of Self-Determination Theory in order to identify and clarify students' motivational changes. Identical questionnaires were administered to a group of nonEnglish…

Although many studies state the benefits of extensive reading (ER) for language learning, this practice is not common in language classrooms. Because few studies have investigated the status of ER in second language classrooms, this study looks at past and current ER practice among Japanese students of English as a foreign language (EFL) and their…

This paper describes a pilot study conducted with English as a foreign language (EFL) students at a private university in Japan who used graded readers and the MReader website in class or independently to enhance their English reading skills. Each semester students who read 100,000 words with MReader quizzes passed enter into the "MReader…

Extensive graded reading (EGR) was carried out with a cohort of 600 engineering students in a university in northern Japan. Pre-and post-surveys were conducted to discover changes in the general reading habits of students, their attitudes toward the assessment method and how goals changed over the course of study. The first survey was carried out…

Extensive reading (ER) is an instructional option steadily gaining support and recognition in second language (L2) reading pedagogy. Even though many attempts have been made to unravel the impact of ER on L2 development, there is a paucity of investigation into the affective domains of reading. The current study helps fill this gap by examining…

Extensive reading (ER) has become a common feature of many English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL) programs. There is evidence that reading large amounts of easy, interesting material may improve foreign language skills, most notably in vocabulary, reading rates, and overall proficiency. However, teacher evaluation of extensive reading…

Although there is extensive research into what constitutes second language learning motivation and how it works, most of the existing work is carried out in ESL environments, and is mainly concerned with motivation to communicate using the target language. However, in EFL environments such as Japan, students have quite limited contact with target…

A linear structural model was studied to investigate the factors affecting reading literacy and mathematical literacy skills of 15-year-old students in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2000 data across different cultural settings. Brazil, Japan, and Norway were selected for the purpose of comparison on the basis of their…