Implementing and Managing Online Extensive Reading: Student Performance and Perceptions

Travis Cote, Brett Milliner

The International Association for Language Learning Technology

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Exploration into digital ER exclusively through the medium of mobile devices is only an emerging area of study in the English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) classroom. This study reports on the implementation of a 15 week (one semester) pilot test of Xreading? (www.xreading.com), an online Graded Reader (GR) library and learning management system (LMS) devoted specifically to the implementation and operation of extensive reading at a private university in Tokyo, Japan. Participants in this study have access to a vast virtual library of graded readers and are being instructed to read outside of class using a mobile device. This paper reports on student engagement with this platform exclusively for 15 weeks in regards to changes in reading speeds, volume of reading, and correlations between these numbers and TOEIC? IP test scores. The authors will reflect on student attitudes and perceptions of reading digitally and lastly, present some considerations for teachers and administrators who...