Cover not available
Article published In:
Language Teaching for Young Learners
Vol. 6:1 (2024) ► pp.104–121
Practitioner Research Article

Children and extensive reading motivation

An action research project on extensive reading motivation in a private language school

| BIG BOW English Lab

Extensive reading (ER), which refers to reading a lot of often self-selected material for information, overall meaning, pleasure, and enjoyment, has been growing in popularity in Asia as an effective way for English as a foreign language (EFL) students to improve reading skills and has provided opportunities for comprehensible input (Nation & Waring, 2013). The focus of this action research (AR) project is on young EFL learners in a private language school setting without a grading system. Therefore, it is important that students be intrinsically motivated to read for the school’s ER program to be successful, specifically, the motivation to check out and read books from a school library. Furthermore, this AR project sought to find whether certain methods can increase students’ intrinsic motivation to read. The research methods include questionnaires, student voice recordings, and empirical data on book-borrowing behaviors. The findings show that indirect, rather than direct, teacher recommendation of books seems to be the most effective method to increase intrinsic motivation to do ER.

Keywords: extensive reading, children extensive reading, intrinsic motivation, school library, young learner reading motivation, action research
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Intrinsic motivation and ER
    • 2.1Book whispering
    • 2.2Teacher Reading Aloud (TRA)
    • 2.3Peer-to-peer Recommendation (PTPR)
  • 3.Research setting and participants
  • 4.Research methods
  • 5.Action research
    • 5.1AR Cycle 1
    • 5.2Action research Cycle 1: Findings
    • 5.3Collection of additional data and analysis
    • 5.4AR Cycle 2
    • 5.5TRA Group
    • 5.6PTPR Group
  • 6.Results: Final questionnaires and book borrowing data
    • 6.1TRA results
    • 6.2PTPR results
    • 6.3TRA and PTPR questionnaire results: Comparison
  • 7.Book borrowing behaviors
  • 8.Writing and presenting
  • 9.Conclusions
  • References
Published online: 5 February 2024
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ltyl.00046.ito
References
Altricher, H., Feldman, A., Posch, P., & Somekh, B.
(2008) Teachers investigate their work: An introduction to action research across the professions. Routledge.Google Scholar
Baker, L., & Wigfield, A.
(1999) Dimensions of children’s motivation for reading and their relations to reading activity and reading achievement. Reading Research Quarterly, 34 (4), 452–477. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Biddle, J.
(2021, April 16). Pupil recommendations shelf. Reading for Pleasure. Retrieved from [URL]
Boon, A.
(2017) The action research cycle: Exploring pedagogic puzzles. SAGE Research Methods Cases. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Brassell, D.
(2003) Sixteen books went home tonight: Fifteen were introduced by the teacher. The California Reader, 36 (3), 33–39.Google Scholar
Briggs, J. G., & Walter, C.
(2016) Read on! Extensive reading and young second language learners’ motivation and attitudes. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Day, R. R., & Bamford, J.
(1998) Extensive reading in the second language classroom. Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Day, R., & Bamford, J.
(2002) Top ten principles for teaching extensive reading. Reading in a Foreign Language, 14 (2), 136. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Day, R.
(2015) Extensive Reading – the background. Extensive reading (2nd ed., pp. 10–21). Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Edwards, E., & Burns, A.
(2016) Language teacher action research: Achieving sustainability. Elt Journal, 70 (1), 6–15. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
ELLiE team
(2007–2010) Guidelines for Using ELLiE Smiley Questionnaire. Extract from ELLiE Research Instruments Collection (unpublished). Retrieved from: [URL]
Gambrell, L. B.
(1996) Creating classroom cultures that foster reading motivation. The Reading Teacher, 50 (1), 14.Google Scholar
Ingham, J.
(1981) Books and Reading Development: The Bradford Book Flood Experience. Heinemann Educational on behalf of the British National Bibliography.Google Scholar
Jacobs, G.
(2016) Dialogic reading aloud to promote extensive reading. Extensive Reading in Japan, 9 (1), 10–13. Retrieved from [URL]
Krashen, S.
(2004a) The power of reading: Insights from the research. Libraries Unlimited.Google Scholar
(2004b) The case for narrow reading. Language Magazine, 3 (5), 17–19.Google Scholar
LIXON Library
n.d.). Retrieved from [URL]
Miller, D.
(2007, September 5). Creating readers: Part 1. Retrieved from [URL]
(2010) The book whisperer: Awakening the inner reader in every child. John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Mrs. Carter’s Calling
(2010, April 9). Happy spring break to you all! [Web log message]. Retrieved from [URL]
Nation, P., & Waring, R.
(2013) Extensive reading and graded readers. Compass Publishing.Google Scholar
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L.
(2000) Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55 (1), 68. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Takase, A.
(2007) Japanese high school students’ motivation for extensive L2 reading. Reading in a Foreign Language, 19 (1), 1. Retrieved from [URL]
Wigfield, A., & Guthrie, J. T.
(1997) Relations of children’s motivation for reading to the amount and breadth of their reading. Journal of Education Psychology, 89 1, 420–432. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Williams, L. M., & McDaniel, L.
(2017) Peer-Recommended Books: Conduits to Increase Reading Volume. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 53 (2), 76–79. DOI logoGoogle Scholar