Encouraging Enhanced Engagement with Extensive Reading in an Academic English Program.

Abstract

This article reports on the development of an extensive reading (ER) component of an academic reading and writing (ARW) curriculum. In its first iteration, the curriculum had demonstrated success with improving students' reading fluency, but it suffered from a lack of student engagement and enthusiasm. This led to concerns with student participation in ER in the truest sense, which is to build long-lasting and positive reading habits. Thus, an adjustment was made in its second iteration to add a habit component to the ER assignments to ascertain if it would increase sustained engagement and lessen the apathy felt by the students toward ER. The results of these changes showed more consistent engagement on the part of the students, leading to more positive perceptions of ER and enhanced reading skills. The habit component of ER is an area often ignored by other research studies thus the results of this study may help ER practitioners who have similar concerns.