Research on the effects of extensive reading on the reading fluency and the vocabulary size development and suggestions on the detailed instruction guidelines

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K13518
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Foreign language education
• Research Institution: Nagaoka University of Technology (2018-2019); Numazu National College of Technology (2017)
• Principal Investigator: Fujii Kazuma 長岡技術科学大学, 工学研究科, 准教授 (50413779)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 多読 / 英文読解速度 / 語彙サイズ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The main results obtained in this research are : (1) Experiencing extensive reading (ER) and reading approximately 50,000 words in 15 weeks significantly increased the reading fluency of the second-year students at a technical college; (2) Learners at A2 level on the CEFR improved their reading speed at an earlier stage (less than 50,000 words of reading) than those at A1 level; (3) Reading approximately 50,000 words in 30 weeks incrementally increased the vocabulary size of the-third year students at a technical college but the effect size was relatively small; and, (4) Learners who greatly expanded their vocabulary size tended to pay closer attention to unknown words while reading.
From the above, it was suggested that in order to improve the technical college students’ reading fluency through ER, more than 50,000 words should be read in half a year, and explicit instruction should be incorporated to enhance the effects of ER on vocabulary size growth.

Free Research Field

外国語教育

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

多読は英語運用能力向上に効果的だと指摘されているが、「どのような学習者に対して、どの程度、どのような英語を、どのように読めば何に効果的なのか」という点は学術的に十分に探究されていない。そこで本研究では、A1～A2レベルの学習者に対して、半期で約5万語、年間で約5万語のやさしい英語を読ませる指導を行うことで、英文読解速度と語彙サイズに対してどのような影響を与えるのかに関して調査を進めた。
本研究結果により示唆された、英文読解速度向上のために半期で5万語以上読ませる、語彙サイズ向上のために明示的指導も組み合わせるという指導指針は、市民にもセミナーや講座を通して還元、共有できる成果である。