Battling With Books: The Gamification of an EFL Extensive Reading Class

2021 ◽  
pp. 104687812110618
Author(s):  
Mark R. Freiermuth ◽  
Michiyo Ito
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Book Reading ◽  
Extensive Reading ◽  
L2 Reading ◽  
Student Preparation ◽  
Japanese University ◽  
The Past ◽  
Reading For Pleasure ◽  
Language Classrooms ◽  
Reading Activities

Background Extensive reading (ER) classes have become a popular way to promote reading in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classrooms because ER supports the idea of reading for pleasure. However, reading in the classroom can still become stale if students have little chance to reflect on what they have read or if they become burdened by the reading requirements. Aim In an attempt to create a more energetic ER classroom, we converted the classroom into a game-based environment with the aim of promoting L2 reading enjoyment and motivating students to read in a more focused manner . Method As for specifics, 55 female Japanese university students—divided into two groups based upon English proficiency—participated in a social book reading game called Bibliobattle whereby students discussed their favorite books in small groups. Three iterations of the game were incorporated into the ER classroom as a way to enliven reading activities. Results The game proved largely successful. From the data obtained in the debriefing questionnaires, students mentioned that they were motivated by the activities through reflection on their book’s content and through the sharing of specific details about what they had read with their peers. Although both groups of students indicated their motivation to play the game, this was especially true for the lower level readers—a group that had demonstrated more apathy towards ER in the past. Based upon our experiences while running the game, we recommend that Bibliobattles be implemented as specialized events in the ER classroom as a means to help stimulate a love for reading in a second language; however, it should also be noted that student preparation for such battles is time-consuming, so the number of battles per semester should be limited to a maximum of two per semester.

scholarly journals Incidence and Nature of Negotiations for Meaning during Uncontrolled Speaking Practice in English as a Foreign Language Classrooms

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-41
Author(s):  
Edgar Emmanuell Garcia-Ponce ◽  
Irasema Mora-Pablo
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
The Past ◽  
Language Classrooms ◽  
Efl Classrooms ◽  
Negotiation For Meaning ◽  
Interactional Processes

The past three decades have seen an increasing interest in negotiation for meaning as interactional processes which advance language acquisition. Motivated by this claim, a number of studies have set out to determine the tasks that best promote negotiations for meaning (NfMs). However, this research has mostly tended to investigate NfM under experimental conditions, leaving considerably unexplored the negotiated interactions that might take place in real English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms. In response to this, the present study sets out to investigate the incidence and nature of NfM in three uncontrolled EFL classrooms. In examining several teacher- and learner-led speaking tasks at basic, intermediate and advanced levels, the findings indicate that the amount of NfM is lower than those reported in previous studies. Moreover, a qualitative analysis of the interactional data suggests that the NfM across proficiency levels was limited in nature, and thus did not provide learners with all the learning benefits inherent in negotiation for meaning. These findings raise intriguing questions as to teachers’ and learners’ opportunities to negotiate meaning during EFL classroom interactions, and ways through which they can promote negotiated interactions in their EFL classrooms.

Teaching reading: Research into practice

2014 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Macalister
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Reading Fluency ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Teaching Reading ◽  
Extensive Reading ◽  
Language Teacher Education ◽  
L2 Reading ◽  
Teaching Of Reading ◽  
Intensive Reading

In pre-service and in-service language teacher education, and in curriculum-related projects in second and foreign language settings, a recurrent issue is the failure to relate the teaching of reading to reading as a meaning-making activity. In this paper, I will consider what current research on second language (L2) reading has actually succeeded in bringing to the classroom. In doing this, I will examine the three obvious candidates for inclusion in a reading programme: extensive reading, reading fluency development, and intensive reading. For each of these I will give my perspective on what's getting through to teachers, and what isn’t, and my best guess as to why it isn’t. This leads to suggestions about areas for further research and other actions that need to be taken to improve classroom practice.

Interview: Learning the Core Concept of Extensive Reading from Richard Day

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Mitsue Tabta-Sandom
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Reading Instruction ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Core Concept ◽  
Extensive Reading ◽  
L2 Reading ◽  
Motivation To Read ◽  
The Core ◽  
The World ◽  
Graded Readers

Extensive Reading is probably one of the hottest topics in the context of second and foreign language (L2) reading instruction (Iwahori, 2008). Krashen’s Input Hypothesis (Rodrigo, Krashen, & Gribbons, 2004) theoretically supports ER in which L2 learners’ reading development and motivation to read are nurtured by exposure to a large quantity of comprehensible and interesting input. Graded Readers (GRs), lexically and syntactically graded readers, form a core of such facilitative input in ER. In this interview, Professor Richard Day, the Founding Chair Emeritus of the world-wide leading Extensive Reading Foundation, talks about the fundamental concept of L2 reading instruction. Furthermore, he gives encouraging support and input to readers of The Language Teacher who have embarked on and want to start the practice of ER. Professor Day has been tirelessly promoting ER through L2 teacher education for many years.

Extensive Reading Research in the EFL Classroom of China: A Qualitative Meta-Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-125
Author(s):  
Shuyan Wang ◽  
Heyoung Kim
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Reading Instruction ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Extensive Reading ◽  
Reading Research ◽  
Pleasure Reading ◽  
The Past ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Research Designs ◽  
Practical Instruction

Abstract Extensive reading has long been applied in the English as a foreign language classroom in China, but the fundamental theories and practical instruction are not satisfactory. The study aims to synthesize and examine extensive reading studies over the past fifty years (1962-2019) from a holistic perspective. By performing a qualitative meta-analysis, a total of 81 articles published in widely accepted journals were carefully coded and analyzed. Three latent problems emerged, including that 1) most extensive reading researchers misunderstand the inherent characteristic of extensive reading (i. e., pleasure reading) and less frequently follow the principles of extensive reading instruction; 2) there are methodological weaknesses in empirical research designs, and; 3) research scope is limited regarding participants and methodology. Suggestions for extensive reading research and instruction are included.

The Use of Schema Theory, Information-Processing Theory, and Sociocultural Theory in Teaching Culturally Unfamiliar Texts in Second/Foreign Language Classrooms

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-38
Author(s):  
Amirreza Karami
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Reading Instruction ◽  
Sociocultural Theory ◽  
Schema Theory ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Information Processing Theory ◽  
Processing Theory ◽  
Language Classrooms ◽  
Reading Activities

This theoretical review is an overview of three important theories: schema theory, information-processing theory, and sociocultural theory. Second/foreign language teachers need to familiarize themselves with these theories if they want to teach culturally unfamiliar texts more successfully in their language classrooms. Although each of these theories can be applied to different stages of reading instruction (pre-reading, while-reading, and post-reading), schema theory is more applicable to the pre-reading stage; sociocultural theory to the post-reading activities; and information-processing theory to the while-reading stage if teachers choose to use text-relevant video segments. A new framework for reading instruction, as well as some implications and suggestions for language teachers and researchers, are discussed in detail.

scholarly journals Technology in the Language Classroom: How Social Media is Changing the Way EFL is Taught

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arab World English Journal ◽  
Hamza Alshenqeeti
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Computer Assisted Language Learning ◽  
The Past ◽  
Efl Teacher ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Language Classrooms

This paper explores how technology, and specifically the application of social media, in the English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom is changing how language is taught. The paper begins with a depiction of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) and how technology has generally been employed in EFL classrooms in the past few decades. This critical appraisal, which provides the context for the paper, assesses how successfully technology has been viewed in relation to language teaching and learning and how it has developed up to the present day. The focus then moves to social media apps and mobile technology as a contemporary form of CALL. The discussion considers the ways in which social media is used in language classrooms and more importantly the things it can offer the EFL teacher and learner. Importantly, the paper concludes by proposing ways in which these types of technologies can be better incorporated across cultures and contexts to promote EFL teaching and learning.

An exploration of target L2 morphemes in the oral production of young EFL learners in Croatia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelena O'Reilly ◽  
Eva Jakupčević
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Simple Construction ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Oral Production ◽  
The Past ◽  
Base Form ◽  
Production Study ◽  
Efl Students

Although the second language (L2) acquisition of morphology by late L2 learners has been a popular research area over the past decades, comparatively little is known about the acquisition and development of morphology in children who learn English as a foreign language (EFL). Therefore, the current study presents the findings from a longitudinal oral production study with 9/10-year-old L1 Croatian EFL students who were followed up at the age of 11/12. Our results are largely in line with the limited research so far in this area: young EFL learners have few issues using the be copula and, eventually, the irregular past simple forms, but had considerable problems with accurately supplying the 3rd person singular -s at both data collection points. We also observed a be + base form structure, especially at the earlier stage, which appears to be an emergent past simple construction.

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