Extensive Reading

The Role of Motivation

Sue Leather, Jez Uden

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9780367417086
• eBook ISBN: 9781000381603
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Classroom Management

Extensive Reading is an innovative resource bridging theory and practice for those seeking to learn about extensive reading (ER) for L2 students' language development, including ways to motivate students to read extensively and to assess learning. Grounded in contemporary theory and the latest research both on ER and motivation, experts Sue Leather and Jez Uden offer a rich array of original activities to help teachers in the classroom and beyond with this effective but difficult-to-implement pedagogical tool. Advanced students, researchers, teacher trainers, and pre- and in-service teachers – and ultimately their students themselves – will benefit from this book.

PART 1
From Research to Implications

Introduction

Extensive reading (ER) involves reading large quantities of longer comprehensible texts, either fiction or non-fiction, for extended periods of time. Through input at their level of proficiency reading becomes a source of learning as well as a source of enjoyment for learners (Nation, 2009).

ER is the deeper reading whereby people become immersed in literature, expanding their knowledge of other people’s lives and situations, and feeling real emotions in response to conflicts and relationships of story characters (Oatley, 1994). In fact, aside from linguistic development, there is growing evidence that reading narratives particularly can influence our attitudes towards certain issues (Green, 2004; Prentice et al., 1997), help develop empathy traits (Mar et al., 2009), and generally change the way that people think about others (Kidd & Castano, 2013). Engaging in literature is far from a meaningless leisure activity that ends when one closes the cover of a book (Green et al., 2002).

As far as non-fiction is concerned, ER can be used to support the broader curriculum objectives or a sustained content approach where the reading materials are related to an overall topic or theme. For example, on the theme of predators, learners could read and learn about wild animals in the African Savanna. In short, as well as the linguistic benefits of ER, learners are likely to gain an increased knowledge of the world and other cultures.

Over the past 30 plus years, the benefits of Extensive Reading (ER) have been well documented by a number of writers and researchers (Elley & Mangubhai, 1983; Grabe, 2009; Lightbown, 1988; Uden et al., 2014; Waring & Takahashi, 2000). Insights from the research are summarised in Day and Bamford (1998:32–39), The Special Issue of The Language Teacher (1997) including articles by Paul Nation and others, and Grabe (2009:313–326). In addition, Stephen Krashen’s The Power of Reading (2004) makes a cogent and passionate claim for the beneficial qualities of ER, and particularly of ‘free voluntary reading’.

There is, then, a substantial body of evidence supporting Extensive Reading as an effective way for learners to be exposed to comprehensible input, through which they can acquire not only vocabulary and fluent reading skills, but also grammar and oral fluency. ER is exponentially more effective as a way of acquiring language than intentional teaching from a coursebook (Waring, 2009). This accumulation of evidence amounts to what Rob Waring has called ‘the inescapable case for extensive reading’ (2009:93) and has led Grabe to wonder how much evidence is needed to make the case for extensive reading (2009). The fact is that, despite these convincing arguments, there are a huge number of language teachers globally who still do not make ER a part of their teaching programmes. According to Alan Maley’s (2017) survey of teachers worldwide, there are a variety of reasons for this. Three important ones are these: first, extensive reading is not linked to the syllabus and the examination; second, there is downward pressure on teachers to conform to syllabi and textbooks; and third, there is resistance from teachers themselves, who may find it difficult to give more control of learning to their students.

The research leads us to the need to increase motivation for ER. How can we as educators become motivated to use ER in the classroom, and how can we motivate our students to read extensively and thereby benefit from it? Our book aims to address this issue of the role of motivation in Extensive Reading. We introduce two key theoretical ideas (Wigfield et al., 2015) relevant to our discussion. The first idea centres around the notion that motivation is primarily influenced by individuals’ beliefs, values, and goals, found in expectancy-value theory. The second deals with how motivation is translated into action and how learners regulate their achievement behaviour. In relation to the first, learners might ask the following questions:

• “Can I do this task?”
• “Do I want to do this task?”
• “Why am I doing this task?”

With regard to the second idea, learners might ask:

• “What do I have to do to succeed in this task?”
• By reviewing these major theories on motivation, we will show how the research can lead to activities both inside and outside of the classroom that can motivate and inspire teachers and students alike.

A. Learner Beliefs: Can I Do this Task?

Reading in a second language requires a lot of effort and for many learners it can appear quite daunting. To help motivate learners to read more it is essential they believe they can read successfully, and that extensive reading can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience. The first part of this chapter will look at the impact that learner beliefs can have on motivation and discuss what we can do as teachers to help raise learners’ expectancies of success when it comes to second language reading.

A.1 Expecting Success

If we want to help develop motivation in second language reading, it is essential that learners believe that they are able to read successfully. Self-efficacy – essentially a belief in one’s own ability to succeed on a given task (Bandura, 1997) – is more closely related to achievement than any other motivation (Guthrie & Barber, 2019) and is among the strongest psychological predictors of performance (Wigfield et al., 2009). Consequently, if learners have low self-efficacy and lack the belief they can succeed at a given task, they are unlikely to have sufficient motivation to persevere with it. In general, people prefer to do the things they know they can do well and tend to avoid the things they are not so good at. Ultimately, when learners believe they can perform tasks successfully they try harder, persist longer, perform better, and are more motivated (Wigfield et al., 2015). Studies consistently highlight the significant impacts that positive learner beliefs have on motivation and performance (Bandura & Locke, 2003; Multon et al., 1991).

A recent study by Wigfield and his colleagues (2016) examined the impacts of learner beliefs on reading comprehension. They found that students who reported higher levels of self-efficacy and perceived competence scored higher on tests than students who reported lower levels of perceived competence, even when previous performance was controlled. Alderson et al. (2015) found similar correlations and suggested that learner beliefs and reading comprehension are also likely to be reciprocal. In other words, the better learners perform, the more they will perceive themselves to be good second language readers and vice versa.

Unfortunately, there are many learners who do not believe themselves to be good second language readers and have little interest in trying. Reasons often cited include too many unknown words and complex grammar and linguistic barriers that can slow down the reading process to such a degree that it becomes difficult to connect the ideas from page to page. This results in negative attitudes and increased anxiety towards reading with learners often retreating from books altogether (Guthrie & Barber, 2019).

It is hard for learners to know what to do to increase self-belief, but that’s where we come in as teachers. The most helpful thing we can do as teachers is to provide our learners with reading materials they can actually read. As self-efficacy typically increases through mastery experiences (Bandura, 1977), providing learners with comprehensible reading materials, and facilitating plenty of successful reading experiences, means they are more likely to become more confident, more efficacious, and more motivated second language readers.

A.2 Comprehending the Materials

One of the huge benefits of extensive reading is that everyone has an equal opportunity of success regardless of ability. As Day and Bamford point out (1998) when learners are provided with books at an appropriate level, they avoid having to experience the frustration of struggling to read materials that are beyond their capabilities. All learners should be able to enjoy reading in a second language successfully while developing and maintaining confidence and belief in themselves as second language readers.

One reason that learners may lack belief in themselves as second language readers is due to reading books that are far beyond their capabilities. One unknown word after another can soon become a frustrating experience. When the vocabulary load is too high, the reading process can slow down to the extent that ideas cannot be connected from page to page and overall comprehension breaks down. It is not surprising that these types of experiences do not develop motivated second language readers.

For learners to experience successful reading opportunities and enhance their sense of efficacy, they need to be familiar with most of the words in a text. In fact, research shows that most learners need to be familiar with at least 98% of the running words in a text in order to achieve adequate reading comprehension (Hu & Nation, 2000). That’s the equivalent of just one unknown word in every 50. Around one unknown word in every 20 (95% coverage) is viewed as a minimal threshold that enables some learners to read successfully (Laufer & Ravenhorst-Kalovski, 2010). These figures often come as a shock to many teachers and are frequently met with disbelief during seminars and workshops. Nevertheless, the research has produced consistently high correlations between word knowledge and reading comprehension (Koda, 2007). In other words, the more words known, the greater the comprehension.

These findings have significant implications when it comes to selecting the right materials for learners to enjoy successful extensive reading. For example, Nation’s 2006 corpus analysis shows that for a learner to read an authentic (unsimplified) novel with 98% coverage they would need to have a vocabulary size of around 8,000–9,000-word families. The same is true of literature written for children (Webb & Macalister, 2013). Therefore, unless learners are at a very advanced level of English, these types of materials may not be suitable for extensive reading. This point becomes clearer when we compare the vocabulary sizes of native speakers of English and typical second language learners. While adult native speakers of English typically have vocabulary sizes ranging between 15,000 and 20,000 word families (Webb & Macalister, 2019), most second language learners fall well below these figures. In fact, estimates highlighted by Laufer (see Table 1.1) show that despite hundreds of hours spent in English classes, many learners only have knowledge of between 1,000 and 2,000 word families. Webb and Macalister similarly reported that following nine years of formal study only 16% of EFL learners in Taiwan and 48% in Denmark were shown to be familiar with the most frequent 2,000 words of English. This is some way short of the 8,000–9,000 word families required for comfortable reading of authentic literature.

TABLE 1.1 Receptive vocabulary sizes of instructed learners in EFL settings (Laufer, 2000)

EPL Context	Total Vocabulary Size	Hours of Instruction
Japan university Indonesia university Oman university France high school Greece high school Germany high school China English majors	2,000 1,220 2,000 1,000 1,680 1,200 4,000	800–1,200 900 1,350 400 660 400 1,800–2,400

Fortunately, there are hundreds of well-written books designed specifically for second and foreign language readers that ensure that learners at all stages of their reading development can enjoy second language reading. In addition to the numerous linguistic benefits they provide, these materials, commonly known as graded readers or language learner literature, can play a crucial role in enhancing learners’ self-efficacy and help them develop the belief that they can succeed as second language readers. Headword figures can usually be found on the back page of graded readers to indicate the level of the books. They typically start at around the 250-headword level, meaning that even beginners with very small vocabulary sizes are able to engage with and enjoy reading language...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Part 1 From Research to Implications
• Part 2 From Implications to Application
• Part 3 From Application to Implementation
• Part 4 From Implementation to Research
• Conclusion
• References
• Index