ER and reading targets:

An investigation into the rationales behind teachers’ choices

Abstract

Language teachers make many decisions in the course of their lessons, and those choices can be influenced by previous training, beliefs, or external pressures. The setting of reading targets and grading policies for extensive reading (ER) is one such choice. While there is both quantitative and qualitative research on teacher rationales in general education and language teaching in general, there has been little focus on extensive reading targets and grading. Examining how teachers have arrived at their decisions may assist new and future ER practitioners in setting reading targets for their own contexts. This study used an open-ended questionnaire to investigate the rationales of ER practitioners within Japan for their choices of reading targets and grading policies. Through thematic analysis of responses, the authors found five themes: Student-oriented, Practice-oriented, Socially-oriented, Contextual-oriented, and ER principle-oriented rationales. Based upon these findings the authors suggest ways in which teachers can develop extensive reading targets for their own contexts.