Are Individual Attention and Modeling More Effective than Whipping?:

Longitudinal Case Study of Engagement Patterns and Motivating Factors for University Students’ Extensive Reading

Abstract

The paper reports findings of a two-year qualitative study into university students’ learning processes and possible motivating factors which play key roles in determining their learning patterns. Multiple data such as interviews with students, students’ word counts, their responses to survey questions, and TOEIC scores were used. The results showed that factors such as big gaps in teaching methodologies from high schools and challenging workloads changed their perception about reading in a foreign language after the first semester. However, teacher related factors seemed to have played major roles in determining their motivation for reading and their engagement patterns in the following semesters, in addition to other factors such as peer, external, and learner factors. It was suggested that the participants’ motivation and learning behaviors have changed as different factors interacted, leading to different patterns of engagement with ER. Pedagogical implications will be provided based on the findings of the study.