Piloting M-Reader in University Communication and Literature EFL Courses:Results and Issues

To boost the reading abilities of learners in English as a foreign language (EFL) courses in Japan, more and more teachers in various educational institutions in Japan are guiding their students to engage in extensive reading (ER). A good extensive reading program is one in which students are provided with a variety of reading material to choose from that is easy for them to read, and in which students are encouraged to read more difficult material over time, at a faster rate (Day & Bamford, 2002). owever,implementing such a program can be logistically difficult and time-consuming for teachers, who should ensure that students are being held accountable to meet reading goals established in the course. One solution to this dilemma is the use of M-Reader, a user-friendly website which allows students and teachers to track students’ reading progress. This paper reports on the initial use of M-Reader in EFL university-level literature and communication courses at a private university in Western Japan during the 2017 summer semester. After establishing justification for the use of ER and M-Reader as a tool for measuring students’ reading progress, this paper describes the implementation of the program, students’ reactions to ER and M-Reader, and the motivational and academic results of the program. This is followed by a reflection of the program, and suggestions for how to improve it. It is hoped that the information provided in this report will be of use to future institutions which are interested in establishing their own ER programs and which are considering implementing the use of M-Reader themselves.