RESULTS
In this chapter I will present the results of the study. The results are analyzed and synthesized from the various data sources, i.e., pre- and post-reading comprehension tests, teacher‟s notes taken during individual conferences, students‟ reading worksheets, and an open-ended perception questionnaire. The findings are divided into three themes, each of which represents the answer to a research question.
Theme One: Reading extensively online can improve junior high school EFL learners’ reading comprehension.
To answer the first research question, “Does the online extensive reading workshop benefits junior high school EFL learners‟ reading comprehension?” Two reading comprehension portions of the General English Proficiency Test (GEPT) were used to investigate the effects of the online extensive reading program on students‟
reading comprehension. Each portion of the reading comprehension test was composed of 35 multiple-choice items, with 15 questions focusing on vocabulary and grammar, 10 on cloze test, and 10 on reading comprehension.
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Table 2
Students’ Pre- and Post-test on Reading Comprehension
Source Mean Number of the students‟ reading comprehension is 67.93, indicating the mean score has increased slightly after the treatment. A paired t-test was further conducted and the result indicated that there was a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test, as shown in Table 3.
Table 3
Paired t-test Results for Pre-and Post-Reading Comprehension Tests
Mean Std.
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In order to see if there was a gender difference in terms of the boys‟ and girls‟
reading comprehension scores, paired t-tests were conducted for further analyses. As indicated in Table 4, a gain of 5.74 points (from 59.78 to 65.52) was found in the boys‟
reading comprehension scores between the pre-test and the post-test. In addition, a significant difference was found between the scores of the pre-test and the post-test (as shown in Table 5). That is, the boys‟ reading comprehension improved significantly after reading extensively online for eight weeks.
Table 4
Boys’ Pre-test and Post-test on Reading Comprehension
Source Mean Number of the
Boys
Standard Deviation
Pre-test 59.78 25 21.03
Post-test 65.52 25 19.21
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Table 5
Paired t-test Results for Boys’ Reading Comprehension
Mean Std.
Deviation
Std
Error Mean
95% Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
T df Sig.
Lower Upper
Pretest-Posttest -5.74 8.48 1.70 -9.25 -2.25 -3.39 24 .02
In terms of girls‟ reading comprehension, although there was a slight improvement of 1.86 points as indicated in Table 6, there was no significant difference between the scores of their pre-test and the post-test on reading comprehension as shown in Table 7. That is, although the girls‟ reading comprehension has slightly improved, there was no significant difference after the online extensive reading treatment. The reason why there was no significant difference in girls‟ reading comprehension might be that the female learners‟ mean score on the pre-test was already high.
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Table 6
Girls’ Pre-test and Post-test on Reading Comprehension
Source Mean Number of the
Girls
Standard Deviation
Pre-test 71.51 11 21.82
Post-test 73.37 11 21.32
Table 7
Paired t-test Results for Girls’ Reading Comprehension
Mean Std.
Deviation
Std
Error
Mean
95% Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
T df Sig.
Lower Upper
Pre-test-Post-test -1.87 13.01 3.92 -10.61 6.88 -4.76 10 .65
The quantitative data indicated that reading extensively online has improved the participants‟ reading comprehension. The qualitative data also supports the same finding. The data drawn from the individual conferences and perception
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questionnaires indicated that the students believed they had mded progress in English reading after the eight-week online extensive reading intervention. Most of the students mentioned that their reading comprehension seemed to have improved due to having learned eight useful reading strategies and having read regularly online. Two of the students even found that they had better grades on the monthly examinations, which had a profound impact on their English learning because both of them often got bad grades in English. Take Billy and Christina for instance. As for Billy, he said that he did not have confidence in himself especially in learning English. He said:
My English is really bad, so when the teacher mentioned that I could choose appropriate materials to read by myself, I felt unbelievable because I never had a chance to get exposed to outside reading in English. At first, I had doubts as to whether I could comprehend those books. But, with the help of the graphics and illustrations, surprisingly, I was able to understand the content. (Billy, from his individual conference on March 23rd, 2017)
After reading for eight weeks, he made some progress. He wrote:
I gained a sense of achievement every time I finished reading one book, even though I read slowly compared to my team members. It seemed that I did make progress through the eight-week online extensive reading workshop. (Billy, from the perception questionnaire)
Christina, who also struggled to learn English, wrote about her progress after the eight-week treatment. She wrote:
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I was not a hardworking student, and actually I had little confidence in language learning. However, I felt amazed that through independent reading, group discussion, and my group members‟
assistance, my English ability to recognize the vocabulary and understand the sentences improved. (Christina, from the perception questionnaire)
Other students also mentioned that before they participated in the online extensive reading program, they had difficulties with reading tests and deemed English textbooks boring and artificial, but now they had become more confident in reading longer texts and could read faster. One student, Ben, wrote:
Through online extensive reading, it seems that I have enhanced my language ability and I am more patient when encountering unknown vocabulary, lengthy sentences, sophisticated articles, and long stories.
With patience, I found that my academic performance in English has improved and that was a thrilling surprise for me. (Ben, from the perception questionnaire)
To sum up, both the quantitative and qualitative data in the study support the finding that reading extensively online can improve EFL learners‟ reading comprehension, especially for the male learners.
Theme Two: Reading extensively online can enhance junior high school EFL learners’ reading attitudes.
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The second research question asked, “Does the online extensive reading workshop enhance the junior high school EFL learners‟ reading attitudes?” The answer to the question was found by analyzing the data collected from the students‟
responses in the individual conferences with the teacher, the reading worksheets, and the open-ended perception questionnaires. I will present the results of the open-ended perception questionnaire first, and then describe the key factors that enhanced students‟ reading attitudes.
(1) Autonomy in Choosing What to Read
In the questionnaire and the individual conferences, when the struggling learners were asked about their perception of the online extensive reading program, approximately 80% of the students were positive about it because they were able to immerse themselves in a wide variety of reading materials, which was an experience they had never had in the past.
In contrast to the content of formal regular textbooks, the students indicated that the books in Reading A-Z were able to arouse their interests in English learning, expand the knowledge, and truly enhance their intrinsic learning motivation. After the eight-week treatment, most of the students expressed that they liked reading extensively online owing to the diverse choices for them when selecting the materials.
They liked the abundant sources that Reading A-Z provided. Compared to the textbooks they found rigid and boring, students could choose the content that interested them the most. Here are some comments from three of the students, Winnie, Kelly, and John.
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I haven‟t gotten exposed to outside reading in English before, and I haven‟t had so much interest in learning English. However, when the teacher introduced Reading A-Z to me, I was attracted by its various materials, and I hoped the books would broaden my horizons.
Without a doubt, it boosted my reading attitude and empowered me with the initiative to learn English. (Winnie, from the perception questionnaire)
I did enjoy reading extensively online and found extensive reading intriguing and valuable. I particularly loved its various materials. I was motivated by the various materials. (Kelly, from the individual conference on March 30th , 2017)
With so many genres provided by Reading A-Z, I could read the books that aroused my interest. What interests me are topics related to a person‟s life or experiences. To my delight, I found numerous famous people‟s biographies such as Obama, Lincoln, Franklin, and Jeremy Lin. Thus, I read the books that I was interested in. Through reading those people‟s life experiences, I not only learned their attitude toward adversities but also acquired power, especially when I was frustrated with the result of the math test (John was not good at math) and got scolded by my basketball coach (John was on the school basketball team). (John, from the perception questionnaire)
In addition to the choice based on students‟ interest, being able to choose what to read based on students‟ proficiency levels is the other essential aspect in terms of choice. There are more than 1,200 online books with 29 levels in Reading A-Z for the
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students to choose from. With a variety of reading materials, the struggling learners had changed their rigid stereotype toward English reading and became to read online in English. That is, having various materials offered an advantage to learners with different proficiencies to enhance their reading attitudes.
(2) English as a Tool for Communication
Before launching the online extensive reading program, some of the students mentioned that they learned English because it is a required subject. However, through extensively reading online, they had changed their attitude and found that English is not only a subject but also a tool helping them experience different cultures/history and communicate with native speakers. In other words, reading extensively online helped struggling learners realize the true meaning of learning English. Oe of the students, Chole, was interested in math and science but not in English. She wrote:
I have never enjoyed learning English since elementary school… I found learning English a tedious task because the teachers in the „cram school‟ always focus on vocabulary and sentence patterns. … However, after using Reading A to Z and being taught several minilessons by the teacher, I found that I could use the reading strategies to understand the story and the content even if I failed to recognize the words at first sight.
I finally realized that what the true meaning of English reading was and how joyful learning English could be when I immersed myself in reading. ... With Reading A-Z, I learned things that I didn‟t know before and I could share them with my family. To my surprise, I could use the language to connect to the world. Now the eight-week treatment is over,
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I really hope that my teacher can still spare some time for us to read online even though we are about to enter grade nine soon. (Chole, from the perception questionnaire)
Chole‟s feedback indicated that the online extensive reading program helped her reconsider how to learn English in an efficient way and how to apply those reading strategies when reading English texts. Moreover, she could use the strategies taught in the minilesson to understand the context even though there were some words that she failed to understand. This made her less afraid when encountering difficult words.
Besides Chole, some of the students also stated that after reading online, they found that English is powerful not because it is a required subject that they need to take but also a language that can help them connect to the world. In addition to acquiring knowledge, Reading A-Z provides them with a door to share knowledge with others. Kelly wrote:
Last week, I read a book related to Van Gogh. And this week, our foreign teacher showed a video clip about Van Gogh in class. What a coincidence! Kathy (the foreign teacher‟s name) asked us a few questions about Van Gogh, and I raised my hands to answer those questions. She praised me that I did a great job and asked me why I knew Van Gogh so well. I shared Reading A-Z to her and she was surprised that I did extra reading by myself. Besides, she also shared her viewpoints on Van Gogh and asked my opinions. At that moment, it occurred to me that English is not only a subject but also a tool to
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communicate with others. (Kelly, from the reading worksheet on March 30th, 2017)
(3) Peer Support
In addition to choice and rethinking English as a tool for communication, students also indicated that peer support is another indispensable element to enhance their reading attitude. During the eight-week treatment, the whole class was divided into nine groups, each of which was made up of four members. Each of the groups had a group leader who helped monitor the learning process of every member by reporting to the teacher if their group members encountered difficulties or challenges.
After the eight-week treatment, some of the students found they made some progress in English learning thanks to their group members‟ support, instruction, and encouragement. With their group leader‟s help, they were able to understand the meaning of the words, answer the online reading comprehension correctly, and try to express what they had read during the independent reading. For example, Andy wrote:
Through the dynamic learning atmosphere created by my group members, I seemed to have changed my English learning attitude from passive to active. In addition to my attitude, I also found that the words and sentences had become easier especially during our discussion. I learned a lot from each group‟s presentation, too. I was sure that peers‟ support had pushed me forward to learn English. (Andy, from his individual conference on April 6th, 2017)
Here are two more examples:
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In the past, my mom made me get extra help with learning on weekends.
But I didn‟t make much progress in English. However, as I read more and more books online and discussed what I read with my group members, I became interested in English reading and developed the ability to read English step by step. When my peers saw that I was distracted/disengaged, they would encourage me to fight for myself and try to read one or two more sentences. With their support, I seemed to have the courage to face my poor English ability. What‟s more, I favored this kind of learning experience because I could learn a variety of new information through exchanging opinions with my classmates. (John, from the perception questionnaire)
Sometimes I felt frustrated and lost when reading long paragraphs. But as soon as I felt that way, I would look around and try to obtain some inspiration from my classmates‟ enthusiastic learning attitude. It worked wonders after I looked at my group members. I seemed to have the power to insist on reading. I knew my English was not good like others‟; I could just choose books from level C to level E. However, the more books I read, the more easily I could figure out the plot of the stories. I even felt more at ease when taking the school monthly examination. (Andy, from the perception questionnaire)
The above statements showed that peer support and the collaborative learning atmosphere were the incentives that provided the learners with energy to move forward in second language learning. With peer support, they were able to persist and
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read independently for forty-five minutes even though they still encountered some difficulties, or could become annoyed or impatient.
(4) Teacher Encouragement
Besides peer support, the students also mentioned that they changed their reading attitude because of the teacher‟s encouragement. Sometimes, when the students encountered complicated sentence structures and difficult vocabulary, it was highly possible that they would give up reading. However, encouraged by their teacher, they were willing to try harder when they got stuck or felt perplexed instead of giving in.
One example is Leo, a student with low proficiency who regarded English as the least interesting subject because he always failed his test. However, due to the teacher‟s support, instruction, and encouragement, he regained confidence in learning English and learned to ask questions when facing problems rather than give up. He wrote:
I would rather study Chinese than English sometimes because I failed to read English articles smoothly or fluently. I always face lots of frustrations when reading English texts. But because of the teacher‟s encouragement, I cheered myself up and tried to learn English another way instead of focusing on grammar rules and vocabulary memorization. Since I had learned some reading strategies and was spurred on by my teacher, I tried to change my fixed learning attitude. (Leo, from the reading worksheet on March 2nd, 2017)
After the eight-week treatment, Leo thought that online extensive reading helped him change his attitude toward English learning. Leo is now willing to reading books online in his leisure time in order to enhance his English ability. He knew that there is
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no shortcut in learning English and what he had to do was spend time getting accustomed to English and getting large amounts of exposure to the language.
(5) Reward System
With the assistance of their peers and teacher, students, particularly the reluctant learners, were also motivated by the reward system. They mentioned that their classmates‟ learning attitudes and enthusiasm encouraged them. Moreover, they were envious of their classmates‟ bonuses after reading Reading A-Z (Reading A-Z provides some bonuses for the learners after they finish reading and complete the reading comprehension sections. With the bonuses, the learners are able to use them to buy something stylish, unique or cool to decorate their own planet). Howard, an English learner with low motivation, was not interested in English learning until he saw one of his classmates decorate his own planet beautifully online. He wrote:
When I saw my classmates obtain plenty of stars to decorate their own planets, I was envious that they could purchase some interesting and fancy furniture and appliances to make their home much more stylish and comfortable to live in. Because of jealousy, I compelled myself to consult my classmates, ask for help, and try to change my passive attitude. (Howard, from the perception questionnaire)
Moreover, some students also mentioned that if they collected more stars, they would have more motivation to read online. To them, this provided a sense of achievement. Evan observed:
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I have been impatient in reading for a long time. However, Reading A-Z provided me not only numerous books to read and choose but
also offered me extra bonuses to keep me learning and reading. My classmates always felt envious when they found that I gathered numerous stars and bought some stylish furniture to decorate my house. I am really proud of myself. (Evan, from the perception questionnaire)
In sum, students‟ reading attitudes can be enhanced by the following factors:
autonomy in choosing what to read; realizing English can be used as a tool for communication; peer support; teacher‟s encouragement; and a reward system. In other words, EFL learners were able to develop a genuine interest in learning English if a reading program was carefully designed by taking these five factors into account. In addition, the responses of students‟ perception questionnaires were organized in Appendix C, hoping to offer further information and evidence to support the findings.
autonomy in choosing what to read; realizing English can be used as a tool for communication; peer support; teacher‟s encouragement; and a reward system. In other words, EFL learners were able to develop a genuine interest in learning English if a reading program was carefully designed by taking these five factors into account. In addition, the responses of students‟ perception questionnaires were organized in Appendix C, hoping to offer further information and evidence to support the findings.