國中學生對英語線上廣泛閱讀看法之行動研究

全文

(1)國立臺灣師範大學英語學系碩士. 技. 術. 報. 告. Technical Report for the Degree of Master Department of English National Taiwan Normal University. 國中學生對英語線上廣泛閱讀看法之行動研究. Junior High School Students’ Perceptions of English Online Extensive Reading: An Action Research. 指導教授：羅美蘭博士 Advisor: Dr. Mei-Lan Lo 研究生：田軒菱 Syuan-Ling Tian. 中華民國一百零八年六月 June 2019.

(2) 摘要本研究旨在探究學生對線上廣泛閱讀的觀感以及使用線上閱讀系統 ─Scholastic Learning Zone 的閱讀經驗。同時，藉由此研究探討線上廣泛閱讀對於國中生英文閱讀能力的影響。研究參與者為新竹縣 28 位七年級國中生，在為期 21 週的研究中，每週於班上進行一次 30 分鐘的線上閱讀及 15 分鐘的小組討論(其中 3 週寒假在家自行閱讀)。在研究中，學生可以在 Literacy Pro Library 和 BookFlix 兩個閱讀系統上選擇自己喜歡的書大量閱讀。本研究收集的資料包括問卷、前後測結果、閱讀系統報告、月考成績排名、閱讀回饋單以及教師反思記錄，並以質性和量化的方法分析。研究結果顯示大部分學生對於線上廣泛閱讀都持有正面的看法，也表示未來再次使用 Scholastic Learning Zone 閱讀的高度意願。另外，學生的班級段考成績與別班相較之下名次雖略有進步，前後測的閱讀檢定結果卻無顯著變化，其原因可能為研究時間短，在這 21 週的研究當中，學生真正閱讀時間約為 8.25 小時，再加上學生沒有閱讀符合自己程度的書，在閱讀時反而會以插圖、動畫為主，因此，學生閱讀能力的進步有限，導致前後測的結果沒有明顯的差異。本研究建議國中英語教師在課堂上長時間實施線上廣泛閱讀，以提升學生對英文閱讀的興趣，並培養閱讀的習慣。. 關鍵字：線上廣泛閱讀、閱讀理解、行動研究. i.

(3) ABSTRACT The present study aims at investigating junior high school students’ perceptions of English online extensive reading (ER) and their experiences of using the English online reading program, Scholastic Learning Zone. Also, the effects of English online extensive reading on their English reading proficiency are explored. In this 21-week study (including 3 weeks’ winter vacation, when students read by themselves at home), 28 seventh graders in Hsinchu County were recruited. They spent 30 minutes on reading and 15 minutes in discussion in class per week. They were encouraged to choose the books they liked and read as much as possible on two reading systems, Literacy Pro Library and BookFlix. The data were collected from the questionnaire, the pretest and posttest, the Scholastic Literacy Pro reports, the class rankings of monthly exams, the reading logs, and the teacher’s reflective journals. The results showed that the participants had positive perceptions of English online ER and demonstrated their willingness to read on Scholastic Learning Zone in the future. In addition, although the class rankings in the monthly exams increased slightly in comparison with other classes, the pretest and posttest of their Lexile scores did not show significant difference. One of the possible reasons might be the short time span of the study. During the 21-week study, the average amount of reading time of every participant was about 8.25 hours. In addition, the participants did not choose suitable books to read and relied too much on the pictures and animations. It is suggested that English online ER can be implemented in junior high schools in Taiwan for a longer timeframe to help them cultivate interest in reading and form a reading habit.. Keywords: online extensive reading, reading comprehension, action research. ii.

(4) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This technical report was completed because of the assistance, guidance, encouragement and company of many people. I would like to express my appreciation to all of them. My sincerest thanks and deepest gratitude are extended to my advisor, Dr. Mei-Lan Lo. During countless meetings and discussion, she always offered me many professional and constructive suggestions and helped me be on the right track of writing the technical report. Besides, I learned how to organize the technical report logically and write the report precisely. With her thorough revisions, I could make the technical report better. Whenever I felt frustrated, her encouragement always supported me. I would never complete the report without her assistance and guidance. I would also like to show my gratitude to the committee members, Dr. Chiou-Lan Chern and Dr. Hsiu-Chuan Chen, who provided me insightful comments, opinions, and encouragement to make the report completed. Next, I want to show my thanks to the participants. Thanks to their active participation, I could implement the tasks in the technical report. Also, the completion of the technical report should be contributed to my classmates and colleague who gave me a lot of suggestions and encouragement while writing the report. Last but not least, I would like to thank my family. With their love and support, I could accomplish the technical report successfully.. iii.

(5) TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................. 4 Definition of Extensive Reading (ER) ................................................................... 4 Theoretical Foundations of ER .............................................................................. 5 Effects of ER .......................................................................................................... 6 ER and Reading Rate ..................................................................................... 6 ER and Reading Comprehension ................................................................... 7 ER and Vocabulary......................................................................................... 7 ER and Writing .............................................................................................. 8 ER and Integrated Skills ................................................................................ 8 ER and Students’ Attitude .............................................................................. 9 Online ER............................................................................................................. 10 A Reading Strategy: Making Connections ........................................................... 13 Scholastic Learning Zone .................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY ..................................................................... 17 Scholastic Learning Zone .................................................................................... 17 Lexile Measures ........................................................................................... 18 Literacy Pro Library..................................................................................... 19 Scholastic Literacy Pro ................................................................................ 20 BookFlix ...................................................................................................... 21 The Pilot Study .................................................................................................... 23 The Formal Study ................................................................................................ 24 Participants ................................................................................................... 24 Research Design........................................................................................... 25 Data Collection ............................................................................................ 27 iv.

(6) Data Analysis ............................................................................................... 29 CHAPTER FOUR RESULTS ...................................................................................... 31 Theme One: EFL Junior High School Students’ Perceptions of Using the Online Reading Program, Scholastic Learning Zone ...................................................... 31 The Results of the Questionnaire ................................................................. 31 The Results of the Reading Logs ................................................................. 36 The Teacher’s Reflective Journals ............................................................... 40 Theme Two: ER’s Effects on Students’ English Reading Proficiency ................ 41 The Results of the Pretest and Posttest ........................................................ 41 The Results of the Monthly Exams .............................................................. 43 Summary .............................................................................................................. 44 CHAPTER FIVE DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ............................................. 45 Major Findings and Discussion ........................................................................... 45 Pedagogical Implications ..................................................................................... 47 Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research ............................................... 49 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 51 References .................................................................................................................... 52 Appendix A .................................................................................................................. 60 Appendix B .................................................................................................................. 62 Appendix C .................................................................................................................. 63. v.

(7) LIST OF TABLES Table 1 A Summary of the Studies Mentioned in Online ER .................................. 13 Table 2 The Timetable of the Pilot Study ................................................................ 23 Table 3 The Timetable of the Formal Study ............................................................ 27 Table 4 The Participants’ Opinions of Using Scholastic Learning Zone ................. 32 Table 5 The Comparison Between Literacy Pro Library and BookFlix .................. 34 Table 6 The Participants’ Perceptions of Scholastic Learning Zone........................ 35 Table 7 The Reasons Why the Participants Liked the Books in Scholastic Learning Zone .................................................................................................. 37 Table 8 The Results of the Pretest and Posttest ....................................................... 42 Table 9 The Results of Paired t-test of the Pretest and Posttest ............................... 42 Table 10 The Class Rankings of the Three Monthly Exams .................................... 44. vi.

(8) LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 The Screenshot of the Feature, Read Aloud, on Literacy Pro Library ...... 20 Figure 2 The Screenshot of the Feature, Clickable Vocabulary, on Literacy Pro Library ............................................................................................................. 20 Figure 3 The Pairs of Fictional Video Storybooks and Nonfiction E-Books........... 21 Figure 4 The Interface on BookFlix ......................................................................... 22. vii.

(9) CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Ellis (2005) said, “Language learning, whether it occurs in a naturalistic or an instructed context, is a slow and laborious process” (p. 217). Ellis stated that the ways children acquire first language (L1) and second language (L2) are similar. When they acquire L1, it takes them two to five years to achieve full grammatical competence with a great amount of input. It is also true for children to acquire L2. Ellis pointed out, “The more exposure learners receive, the more and the faster they will learn” (p. 217). Therefore, one way to create opportunities for learners to be exposed to rich input is to implement extensive reading (ER). ER requires students to read in quantity and get a general understanding of the texts (Richards & Schmidt, 2010). Over the past decades, many researchers have proven that ER has positive effects on language learning, such as improving reading comprehension (Nakanishi & Ueda, 2011; Yamashita, 2008), increasing vocabulary size (Haider & Akhter, 2012; Pigada & Schmitt, 2006), improving writing skills (Mason & Krashen, 1997; Robb & Susser, 1989), and accelerating reading rate (Beglar, Hunt, & Kite, 2012; Iwahori, 2008). Furthermore, in 2019, new curriculum guidelines are going to be launched officially and new policies will be implemented in school curriculum gradually. In the new curriculum guidelines, the most notable change is the adoption of “the key competencies to replace ability index.” The competencies include knowledge, abilities, and attitude that students need to acquire in order to face challenges in life (范信賢， 2016). Students cannot only study the contents of the textbooks; they need to apply what they learn in class to their life. In the ER program, students need to choose books by themselves according to 1.

(10) their own interests and preferences (Day & Bamford, 2002). During the process of choosing books, students need to be responsible for their own reading. They will not just read what teachers give them passively. In addition, they will choose which book to read, make a decision by reading the cover, the title, and the introduction of the book. Thus, ER not only improves students’ L2 development, but also makes students become independent readers. Besides, in Taiwan, much attention has been paid to English reading recently. Junior high school students need to take a national entrance examination to enter senior high schools. Before 2013, students took the Basic Competence Test (BCT), and after 2013, they take the Comprehensive Assessment Program (CAP). One of the differences between the BCT and the CAP is the length of reading. The reading passages in the CAPs become much longer than those in the BCTs. In addition, the texts become more challenging in language and content. As a result, teachers need to change their teaching instructions and focus more on reading rather than on linguistic details. Despite many researchers have supported ER and shown its effectiveness in studies with different participants, it has not yet gained much acceptance in junior high schools (Sheu, 2004) in Taiwan, where the test-oriented teaching is common in schools. In order to make sure students succeed in the entrance examinations, intensive reading is a common instruction implemented in class. Intensive reading is an instruction which requires students to take a close look at texts and focus on grammatical forms, discourse markers, and structure details to understand literal meaning and implications (Brown, 2007). Because of the rigid schedule and limited periods of English class, most teachers tend to follow the syllabus and regard finishing teaching textbooks as their priority tasks. This way, it is hard for teachers to spare time for outside reading or implementing ER. With insufficient reading practice, 2.

(11) students’ learning development has been hindered (Sheu, 2004). In Taiwan, research has been conducted to investigate the effects of certain English ER programs on students. The previous research has shown ER’s positive effects on students’ reading comprehension (Cheng, 2013; Hu, 2016; Lin, 2017; Yeh, 2016), writing skills (Chan, 2014; Ko, 2012), attitude (Wang, 2017), motivation (Lin, 2010), and integrated skills (Lou, 2012). However, not much is known about Taiwanese junior high school students’ perceptions and experiences of the English online ER program, Scholastic Learning Zone. To bridge the gap, this study will investigate Taiwanese junior high school students’ perceptions and their experiences of using Scholastic Learning Zone. Moreover, whether it has positive effects on students’ reading proficiency will be explored.. 3.

(12) CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW Definition of Extensive Reading (ER) ER is different from the traditional teaching instruction, intensive reading. Intensive reading puts more emphases on vocabulary and grammar. Students read short texts at a lower speed, analyze the texts, and develop reading skills with teachers’ guidance (Brown, 2007; Renandya & Jacobs, 2002; Richards & Schmidt, 2010). ER is the instruction which has gained a great deal of interest and support in the past decades. ER requires learners to read in quantity and gain a general understanding of texts (Richards & Schmidt, 2010). ER exposes learners to a significant amount of texts which are within learners’ reading competence. In addition, it provides different types of texts with various topics and genres for learners. Thus, learners can choose the texts they are interested in and read with comfort and pleasure (Carrell & Carson, 1997; Day & Bamford, 2002; Renandya & Jacobs, 2002). Although different researchers made different guidelines for ER (Day & Bamford, 2002; Maley, 2009; Renandya & Jacobs, 2002), they all share similar beliefs about ER. Day and Bamford (2002) provided 10 principles as guidelines for implementing ER and claimed that these 10 principles are the basic characteristics of ER. 1. The reading material is easy. 2. A variety of reading material on a wide range of topics must be available. 3. Learners choose what they want to read. 4. Learners read as much as possible. 5. The purpose of reading is usually related to pleasure, information and general. 4.

(13) understanding. 6. Reading is its own reward. 7. Reading speed is usually faster rather than slower. 8. Reading is individual and silent. 9. Teachers orient and guide their students. 10. The teacher is a role model of a reader (pp. 137-139). Theoretical Foundations of ER Theoretical support for ER comes from the Input Hypothesis (Krashen, 1982), which assumes that learners receive comprehensible input and acquired language subconsciously. Krashen (1989) stated, “…more comprehensible input, aural and written, results in more language acquisition” (p. 441). Moreover, if the comprehensible input is in the written form, the learners will gain more in vocabulary and spelling. Another theoretical support is the Natural Approach (Krashen &Terrell, 1983), which holds that when being exposed to a language in meaningful and low-anxiety settings, communicative competence, both oral and written, will occur slowly and naturally. Though the goal of the Natural Approach is to develop communication skills, it emphasizes that comprehension proceeds production because learners need to first learn to comprehend before they communicate. In addition, the effect of “book floods” (Elley, 1991, p. 375) showed that elementary school students acquired a target language more quickly and incidentally when they were exposed to an abundance of meaningful texts. The author analyzed nine studies and concluded that the students in these nine studies showed rapid growth in many aspects of their language development, such as reading and listening comprehension, grammatical structures, and expressive language competence. In addition, Elley (2000) reviewed some studies on the effects of Book Flood in primary. 5.

(14) schools in Niue, Fiji, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Soloman Islands, and several other countries. The result showed that the students in the aforementioned studies improved their writing, listening comprehension, and other language skills with approximately 100 high-interest books. Effects of ER There is a wealth of research concerning ER’s positive effects on L2 development and abilities. In various studies, positive effects have been seen in areas such as reading rate, reading comprehension, vocabulary, writing, and attitude. In addition, ER has positive impacts on learners of different ages, in different English levels, and in different educational contexts, be it EFL or ESL. Nakanishi (2015) conducted a meta-analysis, which included 34 studies concerning ER. In those 34 studies, 56% of the participants were university students and only 13% of the studies were conducted on junior high school students. Besides, the three main areas of interest were reading speed (40%), reading comprehension (74%), and vocabulary (35%). The findings showed that students had gains in reading proficiency, and he argued that ER should be included in language learning curricula. In the following sections, some studies will be reviewed to show the relationship between ER and L2 development. ER and Reading Rate As Day and Bamford (2002) stated, during the implementation of ER, the reading material should be within students’ reading competence. That is to say, ideally, students should understand 95% of the reading (Nation & Ming-tzu, 1999) so that it will accelerate students’ reading speed and fluency. Iwahori (2008) and Beglar et al. (2012) investigated the relationship between ER and reading rate. They conducted studies for seven weeks and one year. Both studies showed gains in reading rate. 6.

(15) Besides, Sheu (2004) conducted two experiments in two junior high schools in Kaohsiung and Taipei separately. In the first experiment, the participants showed improvement in reading speed and the vocabulary tests, and the second experiment proved that ER improved students’ vocabulary size, grammar, reading comprehension, and reading speed. ER and Reading Comprehension One of the important factors in improving reading skills is to read in a large amount of texts (Hayashi, 1999). Tanaka and Stapleton (2007) indicated that ER increased the participants’ reading rate and comprehension. The participants highly evaluated ER and approved that ER had positive effects on students’ reading speed and comprehension, reading ability, and vocabulary. Hu (2016) implemented ER on college students in Southern Taiwan. Most participants had positive attitude toward ER. They perceived benefits of ER in improving reading comprehension, accelerating reading fluency, and acquiring more vocabulary. ER and Vocabulary Renandya and Jacobs (2002) stated, “Without possessing a large stock of vocabulary, reading becomes a frustrating dictionary-thumbing exercise that disrupts smooth processing of textual information” (p. 299). Moreover, from their viewpoints, ER is crucial in accelerating the development of three components of fluent reading: sight vocabulary, general vocabulary, and the knowledge of the language. If the reading materials are chosen carefully, ER is believed to aid these three components of fluent reading with repeated exposure to a great amount of words in contexts. A large number of studies have confirmed ER’s effectiveness in vocabulary development. Haider and Akhter (2012) conducted a study which reported teachers’ 7.

(16) attitude and reflection about conducting ER in their class. The authors used questionnaires to collect data from 100 teachers at different junior secondary schools in Bangladesh. 89% of the teachers found their students’ vocabulary improved and some found improvement in writing skills. Leung (2002) conducted a self-study of Japanese. She was not only the participant but also the researcher. The result showed that ER enhanced her vocabulary acquisition and improved reading comprehension. Moreover, her attitude towards reading became more positive. ER and Writing Follow-up activities of reading instruction, if designed carefully, are good for students to reinforce and share what they have learned. Also, via follow-up activities, teachers can examine students’ progress and identify the problems encountered by students. Among various follow-up activities, writing summaries or book review is the most common one (Renandya & Jacobs, 2002). Studies of Robb and Susser (1989) and Hafiz and Tudor (1989) both showed marked improvement in writing. Mason and Krashen (1997) conducted three experiments to investigate the effects of ER. In the first experiment, the participants showed positive attitude towards reading in English. The second and third experiments both showed students’ gains in writing and they also got better scores on cloze tests. Thus, the authors stated that improvement in writing without conscious learning is possible. ER and Integrated Skills In the previous studies, the researchers focused mainly on one skill. Other studies have approved the impact of ER on integrated skills. For example, in Mason and Krashen’s (1997) study, the participants showed improvement in reading speed and reading comprehension. 8.

(17) Elley and Mangubhai (1983) conducted a 2-year study on the effects of ER. In the first year, the participants made gains in reading and listening comprehension. In the next year, the follow-up study showed that the participants’ improvement extended to other aspects of L2 abilities, such as structures and word recognition. Besides, Sheu (2004) conducted two experiments that were described in 2.3.1. In the second experiment, the author conducted an experiment which was similar to the first one except some modifications. Among those modifications, the times the experiment took per week and the inclusion of three collaborative activities were the most influential. The result showed that students in the experimental groups gained improvement in vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension, and reading speed. The improvement was significant especially in the vocabulary test. In Hayashi’s (1999) study, the participants showed obvious growth in background knowledge, vocabulary recognition, basic reading skills, and motivation towards reading and reading comprehension. ER and Students’ Attitude A substantial number of positive remarks are found in the research concerning learners’ attitude towards ER. Yamashita (2004) indicated that positive feelings in L1 or L2 motivated learners to read more and facilitated their performance in an ER program. Besides, Powell (2005) found an apparent change in attitude as well. In his study, the participants enjoyed and benefited from the reading and showed improvement in attitude. ER also developed the participants’ reading habit and positively interested them. In Taiwan, Huang (2015) conducted a study with 258 senior high school students. After a 12-week experiment, those students showed positive attitude towards ER and thought ER improved their English ability more or less. Furthermore, Yamashita (2013) conducted a 15-week study on Japanese. 9.

(18) undergraduates. The result showed that the participants reduced anxiety and increased the feeling of comfort. Besides, he found that the effect of ER on positive attitude was obvious in only 15 weeks. Moreover, ER can motivate reluctant students. Asraf and Ahmad (2003) investigated whether ER could benefit students in rural junior high schools. Though the participants were reluctant learners at first, most of them developed positive attitude towards reading in English in the end. In addition, as the program progressed, the participants were more willing to retell the stories in class. Mason and Krashen (1997) conducted three experiments which were mentioned in 2.3.4. In the first experiment, the participants who were reluctant students before the study showed positive attitude towards reading in English. Online ER Most of the previous studies on ER were conducted by providing participants with printed reading materials, like graded readers or teacher-made materials. However, providing large amount of books with various genres and topics is costly. Thus, the fund to purchase books becomes the major concern to most teachers and it also becomes one of the reasons that teachers do not incorporate ER in class. Nowadays, with the progress and spread of technology, many websites have been gradually set up to provide e-books and various online reading materials, for example, Raz-Kids, XREADING, ER-Central, and Scholastic Learning Zone. Different from traditional printed books, e-books have some features that make them more appealing to learners, such as graphic information as well as audio and video functions. Among those features, audio and video functions cannot be provided by printed books (Silva, 2009). Increasing interest in online extensive reading has been observed among. 10.

(19) researchers. Chu (1995) conducted a study with three participants, who demonstrated high interest in reading the books on computers. It could be obviously seen from their willingness to come to the lab. Besides, in the group discussion, all three participants showed their language development. Though they only knew a few words, they were still able to understand the stories, make interpretations, and summarize the stories. The result showed that the participants were not passive readers. Instead, they were actively involved in the online ER program. Another study conducted by Sun (2003) also showed students held positive attitude towards online ER program and considered it effective in enhancing their language skills. Besides, Huang and Liou (2007) launched an online ER program on college students in Taiwan. After 12 weeks of online ER program, the students showed improvement in vocabulary scores and overall positive attitude towards online reading. In Arnold’s (2009) study, learners experienced linguistic benefits, especially in vocabulary acquisition. The online ER program also increased students’ motivation to read, made them more confident in reading in English, and improved their reading ability. Some learners even challenged themselves to read more difficult texts. In addition, Lin (2010) investigated the influence of “e-book flood” in an ER program on learner’s attitude towards reading in English in Taiwan. Interaction and learner control in the e-books changed students’ attitude. Besides, the features of e-books, such as oral reading, highlighting, animations, and music, were considered important factors in changing students’ reading attitude. The results showed e-books reinforced students’ attitude towards reading in English effectively. In 2014, Lin conducted another study to investigate whether a mobile-assisted extensive reading showed positive effects on adolescents in Taiwan. There were two classes, one assigned to the mobile group who read on tablet PCs, and the other group, the PC group, read on desktop PCs. The results showed that in comparison with the PC group, 11.

(20) the more time the mobile group spent on the online ERP, the better reading skills they learned. Besides, the participants in mobile group showed positive perceptions toward the online ERP. Moreover, Guo (2012) used 10 online reading materials as the main reading sources in an ER program. The result showed strong relationship between ER and vocabulary development. Also, the participants made gains in overall English ability such as reading comprehension, communicative competence, and positive attitude. C. N. Chen, S. C. Chen, S. H. E. Chen, and Wey (2013) conducted a 10-week experiment on 89 technological university freshmen. The participants could choose reading materials they liked from three library e-book collections. The findings showed that the experimental group showed better reading attitude, reading comprehension, and vocabulary learning. Lu (2017) conducted an online ER program in eastern Taiwan. The participants in the study were classified as struggling learners. During the 10-week study, Lu adopted a workshop approach and implemented the online ER program on Reading A to Z, which provided more than 1200 leveled books. The result showed that the participants improved their reading comprehension and presented positive attitude and perception towards the online ER program. To make the above studies clear, Table 1 shows the ER studies with their focuses and results.. 12.

(21) Table 1 A Summary of the Studies Mentioned in Online ER Focus. Study. Results. Attitude. Sun (2003). Gains. Huang and Liou (2007) Lin (2010) Guo (2012) Lu (2017) Language skills. Sun (2003). Gains. Arnold (2009) Lin (2014) Vocabulary. Huang and Liou (2007). Gains. C. N. Chen, S. C. Chen, S. H. E. Chen, and Wey (2013) Reading comprehension. Guo (2012). Gains. C. N. Chen, S. C. Chen, S. H. E. Chen, and Wey (2013) Lu (2017) Motivation and confidence. Arnold (2009). Gains. Chu (1995). Gains. From the studies listed above, it is obvious to see that no matter online or not, ER programs can have positive effects on learners and develop their language ability. Also, the features of online ER programs, such as audio, video, highlighting, and graphic information even reinforce learners’ language ability and attitude towards English reading. A Reading Strategy: Making Connections Harvey and Goudvis (2007) mentioned that while reading, the background knowledge the readers have helps them understand the contents. When readers have background knowledge in a topic, it is more likely for them to make sense of the. 13.

(22) content. On the contrary, if readers have little background knowledge, it would be hard for them to construct meaning. In addition, readers naturally make connections with the texts to their own lives, to other texts, and to the world. Keene and Zimmerman (1997, as cited in Draper, 2010) concluded that students comprehend better when they make different kinds of connections: text-to-self connections, text-to-text connections, and text-to-world connections. Text-to-self connections help readers relate the contents to their own experiences or lives. Besides, when readers make text-to-text connections, they connect ideas and themes across texts and try to find similarities or differences between genres, plots, characters, etc. As for text-to-world connections, readers link the text to the real world, be it historical or current events. Making connections is one of the strategies that can effectively improve reading comprehension. Cassel (2012) conducted an eight-week study to investigate the effects of specific reading strategies which included monitoring comprehension, questioning, making connections, and inferring and determining importance, on the students. She found that the implementation of these four reading strategies helped the students improve their reading comprehension. Besides, Eilers and Pinkley (2006) investigated the effects of explicit instruction of strategies such as making connections, predicting, and sequencing. They stated that these strategies improved the participants’ reading comprehension and should begin at an early stage in the participants’ reading development. Scholastic Learning Zone Scholastic Learning Zone is an online reading program which provides access to Scholastic digital resources, such as Scholastic Literacy Pro, Literacy Pro Library, and BookFlix. Scholastic Literacy Pro is an online assessment that assesses students’. 14.

(23) reading ability and comprehension with thousands of quizzes. It is built on the foundation of Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) and Scholastic Reading Counts (SRC). SRI is an adaptive assessment which allows teachers and educators to accurately assess students’ reading ability and match students to suitable texts according to their Lexile measures (Aziz, 2012). Aziz conducted a study to use SRI to evaluate students’ reading proficiency in nine primary schools in Singapore from 2010 to 2011. The result showed that SRI could provide teachers or educators with accurate data of students’ reading levels and needs. Thus, teachers or educators could set goals according to students’ levels, track their progress, assigned appropriate materials, and provide instructions on the basis of their needs. Knutson (2006) investigated whether SRI could predict students’ varying levels of reading proficiency. The result showed that SRI statistically corresponded with end-of-year state test results. Teachers obtained data about students’ reading comprehension and levels. This way, teachers could set goals according to students’ levels, monitor their progress, and adjust instructions appropriately. Besides, SRC is a Lexile-based reading program. It generates reading lists for students based on their Lexile measures and reading interests. After reading a book, students’ understanding can be assessed using quizzes provided. It also provides teachers with reports about students’ progress. There are two other digital resources provided on Scholastic Learning Zone: Literacy Pro Library and BookFlix. These two resources give students access to more than 1000 e-books. In the present study, the literature reviewed shows that ER does have positive effects on learners’ L2 development whether it is conducted with printed reading materials or with online reading materials. In addition, the study focuses are mostly about reading comprehension, vocabulary, and attitude. However, few of them focus 15.

(24) on junior high school students’ perceptions and experiences of online ER. Hence, the present study will investigate the following research questions: 1. What are EFL junior high school students’ perceptions and experiences of using the English online reading program, Scholastic Learning Zone? 2. Does Scholastic Learning Zone have positive effects on students’ English reading proficiency?. 16.

(25) CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY The aim of the study is to investigate EFL junior high school students’ perceptions of English online extensive reading (ER) and their experiences of the English online ER program, Scholastic Learning Zone. In the following sections, the researcher will describe the methodology of the research: the English online ER program (Scholastic Learning Zone), the pilot study, and the formal study. Scholastic Learning Zone Nowadays, many websites provide various online reading materials, for example, Raz-Kids, XREADING, ER-Central, and Scholastic Learning Zone. In addition, most online reading websites also provide features that help learners learn English, such as oral reading, highlighting, animations, and comprehension quizzes. Different from other online reading websites, Scholastic Learning Zone provides learners with not only various online reading materials with audio and video features, but also personalized learning. Specifically, when learners first use Scholastic Learning Zone, they have to take an adaptive reading assessment and answer about 20 multiple choice questions. After the assessment, learners will receive their own Lexile measures and reading lists. Therefore, learners can find suitable reading materials within their Lexile ranges rather than spending time finding suitable reading materials among an abundance of books. Besides, Scholastic Learning Zone is very convenient for both students and teachers. To students, it provides access to Scholastic digital resources, such as Literacy Pro Library, BookFlix, TrueFlix, Grolier Online, Scholastic Online Assessment of Reading, Scholastic Literacy Pro. To teachers, it provides reports of students’ learning progress, such as the students’ comprehension scores, the number of 17.

(26) quizzes passed, the number of words read, and the time spent on reading. Due to the aforementioned features, Scholastic Learning Zone is chosen as a main instrument in this study. Scholastic Learning Zone provides six online resources: Literacy Pro Library, BookFlix, TrueFlix, Grolier Online, Scholastic Online Assessment of Reading, Scholastic Literacy Pro. The first four resources are online reading systems. Literacy Pro Library provides over 900 fiction and nonfiction e-books and BookFlix pairs classic fictional video storybooks with related nonfiction e-books. Besides, TrueFlix provides nonfiction books with videos, audio, images, and texts. Grolier Online is designed for students’ reports and projects and includes nonfiction contents, newspapers, maps, and videos. The other two resources are about the online assessment. Scholastic Online Assessment of Reading assesses student reading comprehension and provide data for teachers and parents to meet individual needs. Scholastic Literacy Pro is an online assessment that assesses students’ reading ability and comprehension and records students’ learning progress (Scholastic Digital Classroom Resources, n.d.). In the present study, Scholastic Literacy Pro, Literacy Pro Library, and BookFlix were employed to collect data for further analysis. In the following sections, Lexile measures and the three main resources on this program will be described. Lexile Measures When leaners first use Scholastic Learning Zone, they have to take an adaptive reading assessment to determine their reading levels by receiving a Lexile measure. Then, they can create a booklist based on their interests as well as their Lexile measures. The Lexile measure is used to measure students’ growth in English reading. It is. 18.

(27) based on more than 30 years of research conducted by psychometricians, data scientists, and researchers with considerable experience. Besides, it is widely used by publishers, online booksellers, and school programs around the world. The Lexile measure ranges from below 0L for early readers to above 2000L for advanced learners. The Lexile measure is shown as a number with an “L” after it. For example, 880L indicates an 880 Lexile measure. The higher the Lexile measures are, the longer and more challenging the reading texts will be. Besides, learners who score below 0L receive a BR for Beginning Reader. They receive a BR with a Lexile measure after it. For instance, BR100L indicates that the Lexile measure of the reader is 100 below 0L. The higher the number after BR is, the less skilled the readers are. The reading lists will range from 100L below to 50L above learners’ Lexile measures. For example, if a learner’s Lexile measure is 500L, his reading list will range from 400L to 550L (About Lexile Measures for Reading, n.d.; Find Books for Beginning Readers, n.d.). Literacy Pro Library Literacy Pro Library provides 996 fiction and nonfiction e-books ranging in Lexile measures from Beginning Reader to 1340L. The leveled books cover a wide range of genres and interests, and it also has some features that help develop students’ reading skills. For example, read aloud with the function of adjusting speed (Figure 1) supports independent reading and listening comprehension, clickable vocabulary (Figure 2) helps students learn and reinforce unfamiliar vocabulary, and the function of adjusting the speed of the stories tailors to students’ different needs. In addition, every time students finish a book on Literacy Pro Library, they can take a comprehension test to check their understanding.. 19.

(28) Figure 1 The Screenshot of the Feature, Read Aloud, on Literacy Pro Library. Figure 2 The Screenshot of the Feature, Clickable Vocabulary, on Literacy Pro Library Scholastic Literacy Pro Scholastic Literacy Pro is a platform for students and teachers to monitor students’ reading ability and comprehension with thousands of quizzes. In student software, it provides students with a recommended reading list, book comprehension quizzes and scores, the number of quizzes passed, and the number of words read. It also allows students to track their reading progress. As for the teacher software, it 20.

(29) supports teachers with reports of students’ performance, such as the scores of comprehension quizzes, the number of quizzes passed, the number of words read, and the amount of reading time. Thus, teachers can monitor students’ progress, view their quizzes, and see whether more support is needed. BookFlix On Scholastic Learning Zone, BookFlix is another online resource that pairs classic fictional video storybooks with related nonfiction e-books (Figure 3). It incorporates such multimedia tools as colorful animations, rich audios, and interactive games (Figure 4) to strengthen students’ reading skills, develop students’ knowledge of the world, and most important of all, cultivate the love for reading.. Figure 3 The Pairs of Fictional Video Storybooks and Nonfiction E-Books. 21.

(30) Figure 4 The Interface on BookFlix What follows are the feature of Literacy Pro Library and BookFlix. The features of Literacy Pro Library: . 996 fiction and nonfiction e-books. . Read aloud. . Clickable vocabulary. . Adjusting the speed of the stories. . Comprehension quizzes. The features of BookFlix: . Fictional video storybooks and nonfiction e-books. . Animations. . Audio. . Games. 22.

(31) The Pilot Study Before conducting the action research, the researcher did a pilot study to test the feasibility of Scholastic Learning Zone for EFL junior high school students. 21 participants in a junior high school were recruited. Those participants came from two English gifted classes, with 11 seventh graders and 10 eighth graders. Though they were English gifted students, their English reading ability was not as good as the researcher expected. The Lexile measures of those 21 participants ranged from 210L to 998L. From Lexile measures, it was obvious that their reading ability ranged widely and it was similar to common heterogeneous classes which included students with varying levels. The participants were required to do the pretest and introduced to Scholastic Learning Zone in the first period. Then, in the following month, the students read books in Scholastic Learning Zone in class once a week. In the last period, the participants were encouraged to fill in a questionnaire (see Appendix A) to give feedback. The timetable of the pilot study was presented in Table 2. Table 2 The Timetable of the Pilot Study Period. Content. 1st period. The pretest Introduction of Scholastic Learning Zone. The following month. Implementation of Scholastic Learning Zone. The last period. The questionnaire. From the feedback, some advanced students whose Lexile measures were higher than 900L said that they did not have enough time in class to finish a book. One of the reasons was the length of the story. The higher the Lexile measure was, the longer the reading passages were. The story was so long that the students could not finish it. 23.

(32) within only three to four periods. Another student whose Lexile measure was about 400L mentioned that she tried two to three books before she found the interesting book. When she started to read the book she liked, the class was going to end. According to Sheu (2004), with the implementation of collaborative activities, such as discussion, role play, and retelling, the participants showed positive attitude toward English reading. Besides, Renandya and Jacobs (2002) mentioned that if follow-up activities were designed carefully, it would be good for students to share and reinforce what they read and learned from the books. Therefore, the researcher decided to include a follow-up activity, discussion, in the formal study. During the discussion, the participants could share the story they read and the interesting part of the story. Thus, it would arouse the participants’ interest to read more books. This way, they would spend less time searching for books they wanted to read. Based on the feedback provided by the participants, the researcher modified the research design and conduct the formal study as below. The Formal Study Participants The participants for the formal study were from an intact class in a junior high school in Hsinchu County. The researcher was their homeroom teacher. There were 30 seventh graders, 15 males and 15 females. Most of them were from middle-class families. They had at least 4-year experience of learning English in elementary schools. Based on their performance on the school exams, two of them were low achievers and needed remedial teaching. Both of them even had difficulty spelling words. Besides, those two students showed little interest in English class and said they did not like English, so they were excluded from the formal study. Thus, there were only 28 participants, 14 males and 14 females, in the formal study. 24.

(33) Research Design This action research lasted for 21 weeks. The researcher devoted one 45-minute class period per week to conduct the study from October 2018 to March 2019. In the first week, the participants took the pretest, the reading assessment on Scholastic Literacy Pro. After the pretest, the participants got Lexile measures and recommended reading lists according to their Lexile measures and reading interests. In the second week, the researcher introduced ER to participants and told the participants what ER was and how it would be carried out. Moreover, the researcher also introduced how to use Scholastic Learning Zone and the three online resources, Scholastic Literacy Pro, Literacy Pro Library, and BookFlix so that the participants knew the features of each resource. After the introduction, the participants had time to use the program themselves. From the third to the 20th week, 18 weeks in total, the participants joined the program in a computer classroom. Between the 13th and the 15th weeks, there was a 3-week winter vacation. Thus, the participants were encouraged to read at home. A 45-minute class period was divided into two sections. In the first 30 minutes, the participants used Literacy Pro Library and BookFlix to read online. In order to be in line with the 10 principles of ER (Day & Bamford, 2002), the participants chose the books according to their own interests and read silently. They could change the books when they felt the books were boring or difficult. If they encountered any technical problems, they could ask the teacher (the researcher) for help immediately. After reading a book on Literacy Pro Library and BookFlix, the participants could choose whether to take a quiz of the book or not. Scholastic Literacy Pro randomly provided 10 questions in the quiz. Students had to answer more than seven questions correctly to pass the quiz. They had three times to check their. 25.

(34) comprehension of the books they read. Besides the quizzes, when the participants finished reading or changed a book, they needed to fill in a reading log designed by the researcher (Appendix B). In the reading log, the participants had to record the title of the books, the numbers of pages they read, the length of the video they watched, whether they liked the book or not, and the reasons why they liked or disliked the books. Even if the participants did not finish the book, they still had to fill in the reading log according to the content they read. Furthermore, in order to let the participants feel less stressful, they could choose to write the reading log in either English or Chinese. In the second section of the lesson, the last 15 minutes, there was a follow-up activity, a group discussion. The participants were divided into 10 groups. There were three people in a group and one of them was the leader. The leader led the group members to share what they read in class. Also, in order to reduce the participants’ pressure, they could choose to share in either English or Chinese. During the discussion, the participants could share the summary, the interesting plot, or one of the impressive characters from the book. The group discussion gave the participants chances to listen to different stories, and it might arouse their interest to find more books to read. In the 21st week, the last period of the program, the participants did a posttest on Scholastic Literacy Pro. The result of the posttest showed whether the participants improved their English reading comprehension. After the posttest, the participants filled in the Questionnaire on Scholastic Learning Zone (see Appendix C). It was used to investigate the participants’ feedback about the online ER program. The timetable of the formal study was shown in Table 3.. 26.

(35) Table 3 The Timetable of the Formal Study Week. Content. 1. The pretest on Scholastic Literacy Pro. 2. The introduction of ER and Scholastic Learning Zone. 3 to 20. The first 30 minutes Reading on Scholastic Learning Zone The reading log The last 15 minutes A group discussion. 21. The posttest on Scholastic Literacy Pro The questionnaire on Scholastic Learning Zone. Note. Week 13 to week 15 was winter vacation (students read at home). Data Collection In this study, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. The quantitative data were collected from the questionnaire (closed-ended questions), the pretest and posttest, and the results of three monthly exams to examine the participants' opinions of using Scholastic Learning Zone and their English reading proficiency. In addition, Scholastic Learning Zone reports provided information about the participants’ performance, including the Lexile scores, the scores of comprehension quizzes, the number of passed quizzes, the number of words read, and the amount of reading time. The instruments used to collect the qualitative data included the reading logs the participants wrote after reading, the questionnaire (the open-ended questions), and the teachers’ reflective journals. 1. Reading Logs The participants were asked to fill in the reading log (see Appendix B) every. 27.

(36) time they read. On the reading log, besides the title and the date, the participants recorded the pages they read, the length of the video, and whether they read it in class or outside of class. In addition, the participants had to write down whether they liked the books, the reasons why they liked or disliked the books, and any other comments about the books they read. Due to the participants’ limited English proficiency, they could choose to write the reading log in either English or Chinese. The Chinese comments were then translated into English by the researcher. 2. Scholastic Learning Zone Reports Scholastic Learning Zone provided reports of students’ learning progress, for example, the growth of Lexile measures, the scores of comprehension quizzes, the number of quizzes passed, the number of words read, and the amount of reading time. 3. Scholastic Literacy Pro (Pretest & Posttest) In the first week, the participants took the pretest to get their Lexile measures. Then, they took the posttest in the last week. The pretest and posttest were provided by Scholastic Literacy Pro. The participants read short and authentic reading passages and answered multiple choice questions. The difficulties of the questions increased or decreased according to the participants’ answers. From the result of the pretest and posttest, the researcher could know whether the participants showed improvement in English reading. 4. Three Monthly Exams The present study was conducted from October 2018 to March 2019. During the study, the participants took three monthly exams in November, January, and March. In the researcher’s school, there were 18 classes in the 7th grade. Comparing the class rankings with other classes in school, the researcher could know whether the participants showed improvement in their monthly exams or not. 28.

(37) 5. The Questionnaire Questionnaire on Scholastic Learning Zone (see Appendix C) was designed to see the participants’ perceptions of using Scholastic Learning Zone. It was implemented at the end of the study. It contained 11 questions. The first seven closed-ended questions were about the participants’ opinion of Scholastic Learning Zone, such as how they chose books, why they changed books, and how much time they spent on the program. The last four questions were open-ended questions. These four questions were designed to understand whether the participants liked the program, the participants’ willingness to use the program, mechanical problems, and any other problems they encountered in detail. 6. The Teacher’s Reflective Journals During and after the class, the researcher kept reflective journals to record what happened in class and how the participants read and discussed. In the journals, the researcher also documented the assistance she provided to the students. Moreover, the researcher also wrote down the participants’ expression of their feeling of the books and their explanation of why they liked or disliked the books on the reading logs. Data Analysis In this study, the collected data were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The quantitative data were collected from the pretest and posttest, the questionnaire (the first seven questions), the Scholastic Learning Zone reports, and the results of three monthly exams. Paired t-test were used to compare the scores of the pretest and posttest to see whether there is a significant difference. Besides, in the questionnaire, the first seven questions were computed and analyzed with Excel to see the percentage distribution. 29.

(38) As for the qualitative data collected from the reading logs, the questionnaire (the last four questions), and the teacher’s reflective journals, the researcher coded the participants’ responses and comments first and then generated categories inductively from the data. After that, the researcher presented the interpretations which account for the participants’ perceptions and experiences of using the English online ER program, Scholastic Learning Zone, and draw conclusions. In order to ensure appropriateness of the categories and interpretations, the researcher constantly checked the transcriptions and made modifications (Zhang & Wildemuth, 2009).. 30.

(39) CHAPTER FOUR 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:. 31.

(40) Table 4 The Participants’ Opinions of Using Scholastic Learning Zone Question Q-1. Q-2. Q-3. Q-4. Q-5. Q-10. Number of People. Percentage (%). While reading on Scholastic Learning Zone, how did you choose books? Titles Recommendations from classmates Reading lists provided by the program Pictures. 17 10 4 5. 23.61% 13.89% 5.56% 6.94%. Animations Covers My own Lexile measure Others. 10 18 6 2. 13.89% 25.0% 8.33% 2.78%. If the books were too hard, what did you do? Keep finishing reading the book Find another book Others. 9 13 6. 32.14% 46.43% 21.43%. Yes No. 21 7. 75.0% 25.0%. According to Q-3, if you had books 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. 9 7 0 13 6. 25.71% 20.0% 0% 37.14% 17.14%. 0 min 1 to 30 min. 26 2. 92.86% 7.14%. While using Scholastic Learning Zone, did you encounter any technical problems? Yes No. 2 26. 7.14% 92.86%. During the reading process, did you have any books unfinished?. How long did you spend on Scholastic Learning Zone in your free time?. 32.

(41) 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.. 33.

(42) Table 5 The Comparison Between Literacy Pro Library and BookFlix Question Q-6. Q-7. Number of People. Percentage (%). While using Literacy Pro Library, what kinds of features did you like? Books with various topics An abundance of books Pictures Read aloud. 19 16 3 10. 31.15% 26.23% 4.92% 16.39%. Clickable vocabulary. 13. 21.31%. 10 1 24 20 1. 17.86% 1.79% 42.86% 35.71% 1.79%. 11 17. 39.29% 60.71%. While using BookFlix, what kinds of features did you like? Books with various topics An abundance of books Animations Read aloud Others. Q-8. Which do you prefer, Literacy Pro Library or BookFlix? Why? Literacy Pro Library BookFlix. 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 34.

(43) 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. Percentage (%). People Q-9. Do you think Scholastic Learning Zone help your English learning? Why? Yes No Neutral. Q-11. 26 1 1. 92.86% 3.57% 3.57%. 26 2. 92.86% 7.14%. Will you use Scholastic Learning Zone in the future? Why? Yes No. N=30 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. 35.

(44) 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.. 36.

(45) 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). 253 101 65 48 42. 39.72% 15.86% 10.20% 7.54% 6.59%. 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) 37.

(46) . 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 sounds. I did this when I was a child. The sounds from the glasses are 38.

(47) 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 39.

(48) 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.. 40.

(49) 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 41.