Semi-structured Interviews on Extensive Reading with Japanese University Students

Abstract

In the last three decades, quantitative studies, the most prominent research type in the field, have achieved significant progress in determining the effects and importance of extensive reading (ER). However, qualitative research has its own strengths, primarily its exploratory nature and its usefulness in studying smaller groups, as well as complicated and multifaceted phenomena in detail. The present qualitative study, centering on Japanese university students taking English as a foreign language, evaluates their book choices, motivations for reading, ways to tackle unknown words, and perceived effects of ER on vocabulary. These aspects have not been addressed sufficiently by quantitative research. After a three-month period of ER, 46 students completed free description questionnaires and six students participated in a semi-structured interview. A significant divergence appeared in all evaluated aspects that may stem from students’ varying beliefs and preferences. This research highlighted how those beliefs may relate to experiences of ER.