The Impact Of Extensive Reading On EFL Learners' Motivation To Read

Claims have been made in many studies that extensive reading (ER) could lead to significant improvement in learners' motivation to read in a second/foreign language. However, the evidence of such gains is anecdotal. A survey among 524 Chinese senior high school learners and 130 English teachers reveals that most learners read relatively little in English for enjoyment and consider English reading rather difficult and the main reason for these they concluded was the lack of strong reading interest and motivation. Also, in the survey, most of the students and teachers are in support of an appropriate ER course as a way to increase learners' reading interests and motivation.Enlightened by researches of ER and motivational theories and with the consideration that the newly published English Curriculum Standards for Senior High School is more demanding on learner's reading amount and reading ability, the author of the thesis carried out a 10-month ER experiment among a group of senior high school learners (n=48) and with a control group (n=47) that had normal reading classes taken as a contrast. The aim of the study was using quantitative methods to verify whether an ER program can influence EFL learners' reading motivation so as to explore the necessity and feasibility of introducing such a course into the current school curriculum. A revised Motivation for Reading Questionnaire (MRQ) based on Mori's MRQ model for EFL learners was given to both groups to see their different responses. Interpretations of the data collected from the MRQs indicate that learners who had been exposed to ER program achieved significantly higher scores on measures of reading motivation, especially in the part of intrinsic motivation. Moreover, results of other data analysis also indicate that learners in ER group gain positively in their motivation to read in English. Thus, a tentative conclusion can be drawn that ER program positively influences learners' reading motivation. Hence, implications for the teaching and learning of English reading in senior high school are proposed: integrating ER course into the current English teaching curriculum. Suggestions on how to set up an ER program are put forward at the end of the thesis.