Affect & Motivation What ER brings out in us: a comparative study of two Thai universities more

Sun, Aug 15, 10:00-10:20 Asia/Tokyo

The study aims to investigate whether extensive reading (ER) can promote university students’ English reading motivation and foster positive attitude towards reading in English. It further explores the teachers’ perceptions of and the challenges faced in the implementation of ER activities. An ER program was held for eight weeks at two public universities in Thailand. Teacher’s observation and student’s log were applied to collect some insightful data. After the ER program ended, focus group interview were conducted with some students randomly and six lecturers from the participating schools who were involved in the ER program. The majority of the students from both institutions expressed positive attitudes towards the ER program. However, students with different knowledge levels of English expressed diverse opinions regarding ER practice and expectation towards English test achievement. While most of the lecturers realized the usefulness of ER, some of them were still worried about the time consuming and extra workload. Although the reflection on ER was varied in some aspects, there was a consensus about the benefits of ER in promoting English language learning among learners and teachers. Therefore, the study suggested to some degree the plausibility of implementing ER in the country like Thailand where ER is not well known.