RESULTS
In this chapter, the results of the research are reported. In the following sections, the results of the questionnaire, pretest and posttest, Scholastic Learning Zone reports, results of monthly exams, reading logs, and teacher’s reflective journals are presented.
There are three sections: two themes, which represent the answers to the research questions, and the summary.
Theme One: EFL Junior High School Students’ Perceptions of Using the Online
Reading Program, Scholastic Learning Zone
In order to answer the first research question, “What are EFL junior high school students’ perceptions and experiences of using the online reading program, Scholastic Learning Zone?” the questionnaire, reading logs, and the teacher’s reflective journals were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively.
The Results of the Questionnaire
The results of the questionnaire were divided into three parts and presented in Table 4, Table 5, and Table 6. The questionnaire contains 11 questions. The six questions listed in Table 4 are about the participants’ opinions of using Scholastic Learning Zone:
Table 4
The Participants’ Opinions of Using Scholastic Learning Zone
Question Number of
People
Percentage (%)
Q-1 While reading on Scholastic Learning Zone, how did you choose books?
Titles
Recommendations from classmates Reading lists provided by the program Pictures
Keep finishing reading the book Find another book
Q-3 During the reading process, did you have any books unfinished? unfinished, what might be the reasons?
Insufficient time The story is too hard The story is too easy The story is not attractive Too much new vocabulary
Q-5 How long did you spend on Scholastic Learning Zone in your free time?
0 min
Q-10 While using Scholastic Learning Zone, did you encounter any technical problems?
Yes 2 7.14%
In Q-1, when the participants chose books to read, the top four priorities were the covers (25%), themes (23.61%), animations (13.89%), and recommendations from the classmates (13.89%).
When the participants read books which were too difficult, 46.43% of them would quit reading the books and chose another one. Only 32.14% of them would keep reading and finish the books. Six participants mentioned that they would not directly quit the books. They would try to guess the meanings of hard words first. If the books were still beyond their understanding, they would quit and find another book.
The results of Q-3 and Q-4 revealed that 75% of the participants left some books unfinished. The common reasons were the unattractive content (37.14%), insufficient time to read (25.71%), difficult content (20%), and too many new words (17.14%).
Q-5 showed how much time the participants spent on Scholastic Learning Zone in their free time. Almost every participant (92.86%) read only in class. Most of them went to cram schools after school, and they were not allowed to use computers on weekdays.
As for technical problems, 26 participants (92.86%) thought it was smooth while using the Scholastic Learning Zone. Only two participants said sometimes they had problems logging into the system because of the unstable Internet connection.
Table 5
The Comparison Between Literacy Pro Library and BookFlix
Question Number of
People
Percentage (%)
Q-6 While using Literacy Pro Library, what kinds of features did you like?
Books with various topics
Q-7 While using BookFlix, what kinds of features did you like?
Q-8 Which do you prefer, Literacy Pro Library or BookFlix? Why?
Table 5 showed the comparison between Literacy Pro Library traditional e-books and BookFlix animated books. On Literacy Pro Library, the books with various topics (31.15%), the abundance of books (26.23%), and clickable vocabulary (21.31%) were the features the participants liked the most. As for BookFlix, the participants liked the animations (42.86%) and the read aloud (35.71%) features the most.
Q-8 showed that 60.71% of the participants favored BookFlix over Literacy Pro Library. From their comments, 17 participants (60.71%) approved the audio and video features BookFlix provided. They thought the animations were attractive and supported their understanding of the contents and unfamiliar vocabulary. When they encountered unfamiliar vocabulary, it was easy for them to guess the meanings from
the animations. The other 11 participants (39.29%) favored Literacy Pro Library.
Some of them said Literacy Pro Library provided more variety of books than BookFlix. Some mentioned they could find books easily because of its clear
classifications. In addition, being able to adjust the speed of the stories was another reason why they preferred Literacy Pro Library. One participant indicated that while reading without the distractions of the animations, she would pay more attention to reading.
Table 6
The Participants’ Perceptions of Scholastic Learning Zone
Question Number of
People
Percentage (%)
Q-9 Do you think Scholastic Learning Zone help your English learning? Why?
Yes
Q-11 Will you use Scholastic Learning Zone in the future? Why?
In Q-9, when asked whether Scholastic Learning Zone helped English learning, 26 participants (92.86%) approved the benefits of it. In the open-ended question, 17 participants (60.71%) thought with the help of the animations and pictures on BookFlix and the function of clickable vocabulary on Literacy Pro Library, they not only learned new vocabulary but also reviewed the vocabulary they learned before.
Seven participants (25%) said Scholastic Learning Zone improved their reading ability. One (3.57%) said that it helped her get the main ideas of the reading passages in monthly exams. One participant (3.57%) noted that reading on Scholastic Learning
Zone accelerated her reading speed and increased her vocabulary size. However, one (3.57%) participant thought the program was not helpful because his Lexile measures dropped after 21 weeks.
As the result of Q-11 revealed, most of the participants (92.86%) were willing to use Scholastic Learning Zone in the future. In the open-ended question, 11
participants (39.29%) thought Scholastic Learning Zone provided them with abundance of books, helped them form a habit of reading in English, and improved their English. Also, they could acquire knowledge beyond their textbooks. Five participants (17.86%) showed their willingness to use Scholastic Learning Zone because it helped increase the size of their English vocabulary. Four (14.29%) liked the interesting books and animations of the program. Three (10.71%) mentioned that it was convenient to read various books online. Two (7.14%) thought that reading on the program made them feel relaxed. One (3.57%) said that he would like to challenge himself with higher level books in his free time. However, two participants (7.14%) said they would not use the program because of insufficient time, not getting used to reading in English, and already having English books at home.
The Results of the Reading Logs
The qualitative data from the reading logs also supported students’ positive perceptions of Scholastic Learning Zone. The participants filled in the reading logs when they finished a book and wrote down the reasons why they liked or disliked the books. After 21 weeks, 637 reading log entries and 724 book titles (355 titles from BookFlix and 369 titles from Literacy Pro Library) were collected for further analysis.
The reasons why the participants liked the books in Scholastic Learning Zone were listed in Table 7.
Table 7
The Reasons Why the Participants Liked the Books in Scholastic Learning Zone
Categories Numbers Percentage (%)
Interesting stories in the books New knowledge in the books Attractive pictures in the books Being able to make connections Other (multimedia on the program &
being able to gain inspiration)
253
Most participants liked the books because the stories were interesting, exciting, funny, and intriguing. Besides the contents, the unexpected endings and the strong plots were also the reasons why they liked the books. Below are some excerpts from the participants.
Everything happened in the story is unexpected and amazing. The ending is out of my imagination. (Student #3, Reading Log of week 7)
In the story, the grandfather was blown away to another country and he sent mails back to his hometown from time to time. It is quite interesting and I am curious how he sent mails back to his hometown. (Student #2, Reading Log of week 13)
In addition to the contents, new knowledge included in the books was another common reason. When the participants could acquire new knowledge from books, the reading became meaningful to them. Some participants learned new vocabulary. Some gained knowledge of different things, such as the universe, the planets, animals, and different cultures. Some participants’ comments were presented below as examples.
This book introduces special houses. One of them is the Upside Down House, which I have learned from the English textbook. After reading the book, I realize that houses can be built in so many different ways. (Student
#13, Reading Log of week 18)
This book is very useful. It teaches me how to read a map and introduces the functions of icons on the map. (Student #27, Reading Log of week 5)
The story introduces some facts about rabbits. It is great because it doesn’t say rabbits like eating carrots. People usually misunderstand rabbits. They don’t like carrots at all. (Student #34, Reading Log of week 10)
The participants also liked the attractive pictures of the books. The participants thought they could understand the stories and got the main ideas easily with the support of pictures. For instance:
The book provides clear and interesting pictures which help me understand the story more easily. (Student #9, Reading Log of week 6)
Though the story is quite boring, the pictures are colorful and beautiful.
Also, the characters in the pictures are funny. The book is still worth reading.
(Student #10, Reading Log of week 9)
The participants made connections while reading. When the participants read, the stories reminded them of similar experiences in their life. Some comments are
presented below as examples.
A lot of families are like the one in the story. Everyone in the family is busy and has little time to communicate with each other. It is similar to my family.
After reading the story, I feel a little sad. (Student #13, Reading Log of week 17)
This is a warm story. The boy in the story lost his parents when he was a baby. His relatives treated him badly, so he roamed on the streets all day.
After reading the story, I think I am lucky to live happily in comparison with the boy in the story. (Student #24, Reading Log of week 8)
The little boy in the story uses glasses to collect rain to make different
different. Some are high and some are low. It is really interesting. (Student
#21, Reading Log of week 20)
In addition, some participants made text-to-text connections. They chose books which they had read the Chinese versions, such as The Ugly Duckling, Little Red Riding Hood, and the Goosebumps book series. They thought it was interesting to refresh their memories while reading English versions. Some participants thought the books they read were useful and helped them review other subjects. Below is one example.
This book is about mutation, which I had learned in biology class. It is helpful that I can review the concepts and learn more about mutation in the book. (Student #23, Reading Log of week 11)
Some participants not only related the stories to their own experiences, but also got some inspiration from the stories. For example, some participants learned the importance of sharing, teamwork, and persistence. Besides, some knew that they had to cherish food, water, and time. Here are some excerpts.
The story is about a worm that works hard in order to make his dream come true. Although the process is tiring and he is often laughed by others, he does not give up at all. I think the worm’s spirit is worth learning. (Student
#12, Reading Log of week 10)
After reading the book about the killer whales, I learned that we should not throw trash into the ocean. This also happens in Taiwan. People throw the trash into the ocean or at the beach. This way, the trash will pollute the ocean and endanger the animals. It is important for us to take action to protect the ocean. (Student #3, Reading Log of week 20)
In the story, Rosa concentrated intently on her studies no matter how noisy her classmates are. As a student, I think I need to learn how to concentrate
on the studies just like her. (Student #22, Reading Log of week 15) In terms of the reasons why the students disliked the books in Scholastic Learning Zone, most students indicated that it is because of the contents. When the contents were boring, unrealistic, illogical, and outdated, the participants would consider the books unattractive. Here are some excerpts from the participants.
The story is just like The Three Little Pigs. There is no difference from the Chinese version I read before. Thus, I can know what will happen next. It is quite boring. (Student #22, Reading Log of week 9)
The flowers and grasses are higher than the girl and the wolf in the animation. How can plants grow higher than people or animals? It is impossible and illogical. (Student #21, Reading Log of week 9)
In the story, the girl flies just because she holds a lot of balloons! It is unrealistic. (Student #34, Reading Log of week 8)
The book is good. However, it is a pity that the book is not updated. Pluto has already been excluded from the nine planets. (Student #10, Reading Log of week 3)
The Teacher’s Reflective Journals
From the journals, it is found that students enjoyed discussing books with their peers. At first, because the participants were still not familiar with the ways to discuss, the discussion seemed to end fast. Thus, the researcher guided them to discuss, taught them to share interesting plots or characters, and told them to ask for details. These could help them know more about a book. From the fifth week, the researcher found that some groups discussed enthusiastically. While they discussed, the researcher could hear them laughing and saw the group members sharing with excitement.
Sometimes some groups even discussed when the class dismissed.
Theme Two: ER’s Effects on Students’ English Reading Proficiency
The second research question is “Does Scholastic Learning Zone have positive effects on students’ English reading proficiency?” The data collected from the pretest and posttest and three monthly exams were analyzed and presented in the following sections.
The Results of the Pretest and Posttest
The present study lasted 21 weeks, from October 2018 to March 2019. In the first week, in order to know the participants’ reading levels, they were required to take the pretest and got Lexile measures. Then, in the second week, the researcher
introduced ER and Scholastic Learning Zone to the participants. From the third to 20th weeks, the participants took up one 45-minute class period per week to read on the program (week 13 to week 15 was winter vacation). They read for only 30 minutes in one period and then they had to discuss in a group about what they read in the last 15 minutes. In the 21st week, they took the posttest to see whether they improved their English reading.
Since the participants only read for 30 minutes in class per period, the time of reading in class of each participant was about 7.5 hours in total. In addition, between the 13th and the 15th weeks, there was a 3-week winter vacation. The participants were encouraged to read and wrote down the reading time they spent on the program at home. According to the results of the reading logs, the average reading time of each participant on winter vacation was about 45 minutes. Thus, every participant spent about 8.25 hours reading on the program in the present study.
According to Scholastic Learning Zone reports, the researcher could see the results of the pretest and posttest. As shown in Table 8, the mean score of the pretest was 232.57, and the mean score of posttest dropped to 202.50. Although the mean
score of the posttest slightly decreased after 21 weeks, no significant difference was found between the pretest and posttest (t = -1.54, p > 0.05) as indicated in Table 9.
Table 8
The Results of the Pretest and Posttest
Mean Median Number of
The Results of Paired t-test of the Pretest and Posttest
*p < .05
Besides, by comparing the Lexile measures of the pretest and posttest, the results were quite unexpected. Among 28 participants, there were 12 participants whose Lexile measures increased. Four of them even made significant progress and gained more than 100 Lexile measures. From the teacher’s reflective journals, it was found that most of the 12 participants joined the discussion more enthusiastically than the other 16 participants. Thus, ten of them were often the leaders in the groups who led the discussion.
In terms of the 16 participants who got lower Lexile measures, in comparison with the aforementioned 12 participants, these 16 participants tended to be passive during the discussion. In addition, from their reading logs, most of them chose books far beyond their Lexile measures. Take one participant, Alex, for example. Alex was leveled 62L at first and the Lexile measure dropped to BR110L after the posttest.
Mean Std.
From the Scholastic Literacy Pro reports, he spent about 4.5 hours reading on Literacy Pro Library and finished 17 books in total. Besides, in his reading logs, he wrote down main ideas or made comments on the books he read. However, after the posttest, he was quite disappointed because he thought his effort did not pay off.
Based on the Scholastic Learning Zone reports and teacher’s reflective journals, there might be some reasons to explain why his Lexile measure decreased. First, the books he chose were mostly beyond his Lexile measure. From his reading logs, there were 18 book titles. The levels of three books were higher than 700L. Five books were leveled from 400L to 599L, seven books were leveled from 300L to 399L, and one book was ranged from 200L to 299L. Only two books were within his Lexile level ranges, from BR38L to 112L. Though the teacher taught him how to choose suitable books, he still chose books according to the covers or based on other classmates’ recommendations.
Second, it was due to his reading habits. No matter what the levels of the books were, when he read, he tended to go through the books in haste. He focused only on the title, the subtitles, the key words, and the pictures. Thus, he did not pay much attention to the contents. Third, he was too confident about his English ability. He went to an English cram school when he was in elementary schools and even joined the class which was designed for passing The General English Proficiency Test. Thus, he had a tendency of choosing books with higher Lexile measures to read.
The Results of the Monthly Exams
In the researcher’s school, there were 18 classes in the 7th grade. During the study, the participants took three monthly exams. Comparing the ranking with other classes, the participants showed improvement in their monthly exams gradually. The rankings of the class in the three monthly exams were shown in Table 10.
Table 10
The Class Rankings of the Three Monthly Exams
Monthly Exams Class Ranking
The second exam in November 2018 The third exam in January 2018 The first exam in March 2019
14 13 12 Summary
In sum, from the aforementioned qualitative and quantitative data, the participants showed positive perceptions of Scholastic Learning Zone. Most participants liked the stories and acquired new knowledge from the stories. They thought it was good that they could read numerous books with various topics. They also liked the audio and video features on BookFlix and the functions of read aloud and clickable vocabulary on Literacy Pro Library. Besides, they acclaimed the benefits of the program. While reading books on Scholastic Learning Zone, they
In sum, from the aforementioned qualitative and quantitative data, the participants showed positive perceptions of Scholastic Learning Zone. Most participants liked the stories and acquired new knowledge from the stories. They thought it was good that they could read numerous books with various topics. They also liked the audio and video features on BookFlix and the functions of read aloud and clickable vocabulary on Literacy Pro Library. Besides, they acclaimed the benefits of the program. While reading books on Scholastic Learning Zone, they