A Longitudinal Study of Japanese Learners who Continued Extensive Reading: Analysis of Records Throughout Elementary, Junior and Senior High Schools

Abstract

This paper reports a longitudinal study that observed Japanese learners in a long-term extensive reading program. The participants were nine students who continued reading throughout their elementary to senior high school years. Observation periods varied from learner to learner: they started reading between pre-school and 5th grade and ended between 11th and 12th grades. The analysis used their reading history corpus and reading and teaching records, which included the titles of books read, how they were read, notable events, learners’ comments, interviews with six participants, and teacher’s observations. The corpus analysis revealed a common and rapid growth in reading for most participants between the 7th and 9th grades. Analyzing the transition process of book selection, which was divided into three major categories with 8 subcategories, some transitions varied from participant to participant, reflecting their readiness to extensive reading, motivation to EFL learning and reading, self-confidence, and reading preferences. Six participants’ comments extracted from classroom communication and interviews revealed that their motivations for EFL learning focusing on extensive reading were diverse and dynamic, which was reflected in their reading amount and book selections.