Developing autonomous English learners through extensive reading program

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K17462
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Education on school subjects and activities
• Research Institution: Okinawa International University (2018); Ariake National College of Technology (2016-2017)
• Principal Investigator: Aka Natsuki 沖縄国際大学, 総合文化学部, 講師 (10736656)
• Research Collaborator: KAMIMOTO Tadamitsu 熊本学園大学, 教授
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 多読 / 読みの流暢性 / 高校生 / 長期研究 / extensive reading / reading fluency / high school learners / longitudinal studies

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The present study investigated the effects of extensive reading on developing the language knowledge and reading abilities of high school learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) over the course of one school year. Participants were divided into control (n = 205) and experimental groups (n = 200), with the former receiving regular grammar instruction and the latter receiving extensive reading instruction. The results showed that the scores of the middle- and lower-proficiency groups increased dramatically compared to the higher-proficiency group. These findings suggest that the participants activated the knowledge they had learned in junior high school through the one-year extensive reading course, resulting in the improvement of their language knowledge and reading abilities.

Free Research Field

英語教育学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は高専1年生が年間を通して平均10万語（検定教科書20冊分）程度の易しい英文（i minus 1）を能動的に読むことで、英語力向上することを外部試験で明らかにした。多読を通して、学習者はこれまで曖昧だった文法事項や語彙知識を改善することができたと考えられる。ただし、具体的に多読を通してどのような技能が改善されて英語力に結びついたのか証明されていないので、今後も研究を継続していく予定である。