EXTENSIVE READING IN JAPANESE

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EXTENSIVE READING IN JAPANESE

• Claire Hitosugi
• Department of East Asian Languages and Literature
• Richard R. Day
• Department of Second Language Studies
• University of Hawaii

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ORGANIZATION OF PRESENTATION

• Setting up an ER library
• Target Number of Books
• Grading
• Classroom Activities
• Results

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The Library

• Plan Ahead
• Start Early
• Get Financial Support
• Buy, Beg, Borrow and Steal As Many Books As
  Possible

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The Library

• Set up a cataloging system
• Figure out a storage or delivery system
• Keep getting a wide variety of books (and video
  tapes)

5
The Library

• Purchased books from local Japanese book stores
• Purchased a book cart, color labels, index cards,
  etc.
• Obtained funding from UH
• Categorized books into six levels and labeled
  them

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• Created library cards, envelope slips, reaction
  reports
• Made a master list of books
• Created student folders (chart for timed repeated
  readings, weekly reading log, book summary)

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READING TARGET GRADING

• Set a target number of books to be read.
• Determine how much of the grade the extensive
  reading component will be.
• Set up a procedure for tracking students reading.

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• Set a target number of books for the ten week
  period 40
• Assigned 10 to ER
• 40 books 10
• 30 to 39 books 7.5
• 20 to 29 books 5
• Fewer than 19 books 2.5
• Extra credit up to 51 for additional four
  books

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• Classroom Activities
• We used a small portion of class time,
  approximately 30 minutes once a week, to create a
  positive classroom environment that supported and
  encouraged the students outside reading and
  promoted their learning of Japanese.

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Classroom Activities

• Timed Repeated Reading
• Once Upon a Time
• Role Plays

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RESULTS
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RESULTS
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Means of Reading Test
(Highest possible score for each section A5,
B5, C10)
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Mean Average Gains on the Test of Reading Ability

• A B C Total
• 0.20 -0.01 0.88 1.08

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Results of the 22-Item Affective Questionnaire

• Pre-ER Post-ER Overall Gain
• 51.57 50.00 1.57
• (Note The lower the number, the higher the
  positive affect.)

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Students Reactions

• Overall students enjoyed ER, but ER appealed more
  to some. A student perceived by instructor as
  marginal blossomed after introduction of ER. A
  mature student with business background did not
  like ER much. It could be due to the nature of
  books we used rather than ER itself.
• In an unexpected developed, a student reported
  that she read books with her grandmother, and
  developed a better relationship.

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Teachers Reflection

• ER definitely enriched students language
  learning experience and reinforced learning.
• Using videos with books worked well.
• Management of library and books is challenging
  tracking missing books is another task itself.
• We need more books to implement ER more broadly.
• Administrative support, funding, and
  collaboration are desired for future ER projects.

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Extensive Reading In Japanese

• Thank you for coming to our session!