Case Study of a Long Term Extensive Reading Program

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K02913
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Foreign language education
• Research Institution: National Institute of Technology, Toyota College
• Principal Investigator: Nishizawa Hitoshi 豊田工業高等専門学校, 電気・電子システム工学科, 教授 (40249800)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 市川 裕理 豊田工業高等専門学校, 一般学科, 講師 (50782596)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 多読 / 効果 / 長期継続 / 読書量 / TOEIC

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The subjects were Japanese Engineering students aged 15 when they had joined the program after receiving three years of formal English education. They took at least a 45-minute weekly ER lesson for 30 weeks in each academic year along with several concurrent traditional English lessons, and stayed in the program for five years (Group A) or seven years (Group B). Their median TOEIC score was 384 or 441 when they had read a million words, and median score increase rate was 124 or 166 points per one million words. With these values, their English proficiency was estimated to reach 600 in TOEIC when they would have read 2.7 or 2.0 million total words of easy-to-read English texts. The score increase rate was three times as high as our former study with pioneer students. Seven years were confirmed to be a feasible duration for an ER program if it hoped to ensure that lower elementary EFL learners in the program improved their English proficiency to intermediate levels.

Free Research Field

教育工学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

近年、社会人、大学生の英語学習に効果があると広がりつつある多読であるが、高専生や理工系大学生のような初級者では効果が出るまでに時間がかかり、短期では顕著な効果がでていない。そこで、この研究では高専生を対象に4年ないし7年継続の長期多読授業を実践し、各学生の読書履歴、TOEIC等評価指標の変化を追加調査した。
5年継続で顕著な効果、7年継続の有利性等、長期継続の効果を確認できた。