Talking past each other: Chinese EFL teachers' understanding of extensive reading

Authors

  • Hongli Fan a:1:{s:5:"en_US";s:40:"State University of New York at Cortland";}

Keywords:

Extensive reading in China, Teacher cognition, attitudes toward ER, understanding of ER, implicit learning in ER

Abstract

Researchers have long been asking the question: Why aren’t teachers doing Extensive Reading (ER)? A lack of knowledge on ER has been proposed as one of the reasons, but there is a scarcity of studies investigating teacher cognition in ER. Using quantitative questionnaires and qualitative interviews, this study examined attitudes and understanding of ER among a group of Chinese college professors. The results showed that these professors held a strong positive attitude toward ER. However, they looked down upon simplified readers, and regarded extensive reading as a means for linguistic study instead of a way for information or enjoyment. Because of these misconceptions, the ER in the mind of the participants resembled more intensive reading done by their students independently. The study revealed an urgent need for teachers in the Chinese EFL context to learn what ER really is and why it works. 

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Published

2023-11-08

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 4 (2023): Journal of Extensive Reading

Section

Articles

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