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Extensive reading is one of the language learning strategies (LLS) that has proved to have positive effects on students’ English ability such as improving their reading speed, reading fluency, and grammatical accuracy. A recent study on extensive reading at a Japanese university assigned students 45 minutes to read graded readers (GR). Unfortunately, most Japanese university English for General Purpose (EGP) courses only meet once a week for 90 minutes. This study looks at ways to implement extensive reading in a typical 90-minute EGP class, and examines the extent out of class extensive reading assignment affects students’ reading and listening skills. 43 non-English major university freshman students in EGP course were assigned GR in their free time over a semester. Their improvement of listening and reading skills was measured based on the two TOEIC mock tests at the beginning of the semester and the at the end of the semester. Though the results were not significant, this study led to some insights into the parameters of an effective extended reading program including intensity, frequency and duration. この研究では 2016年 9月から 1月にかけて4ヶ月間行われた授業外多読課題とその効果 についての報告をする。多読は英語教育界では英語力を確実に伸ばす言語学習ストラテジ ー(Language Learning Strategy)として英語教育者及び研究者に広く認知されている。日 本の大学の一般教養としての英語(English for General Purposes)の授業で多読を取り入 れた成功例として西澤(2012)が週1回、授業内で45分間の多読を4年間続けた研究があ る。ところが、日本の多くの大学での一般教養としての英語の授業は週1回、90分を3 0回が主流であり、授業時間を多読に費やすことが難しい状況である。そこで多読を授業 外課題として2週間に1回課し、その効果を 2016年後期の初めと終わりで TOEIC形式の 短いテストを使って測った。2週に1冊を15週間続ける多読では英語力(リーディン グ、リスニング)には明確な効果は出なかった。しかし、授業外多読が成果を出すために 必要な期間、頻度、1回の多読の時間についての実証実験が今後の課題であるという気づ きを得ることができた。 Extensive Reading is a language learning method shown to positively affect students’ English proficiency, including reading speed, general language proficiency and improved motivation toward reading (Day, n.d.). Because of the limited number of English for General Purpose (EGP) classes at the university level, the ability to successfully implement extensive reading into EGP classes is limited. Despite the fact that extensive reading (ER) has been shown to be an effective language learning strategy, some researchers point out that extensive reading is not very popular among ESL teachers because it requires a lot of resources and class time (Day & SiSAL Journal Vol. 9, No. 1, March 2018, 3-10. 4 Bamford, 1998; Gabe, 2009). For example, at my institution which is a middle-sized four-year private university in Tokyo. We offer mandatory freshman 90-minute Japanese General Education English (EGP) courses once a week for 30 weeks over two semesters in the Spring and Fall. Instructors usually choose a textbook based on the focus of EGP classes, such as reading or speaking. If they plan a reading course utilizing the textbook, most of the class time would be spent working on activities from the textbook. Therefore, it is difficult to implement extensive reading in EGP classes. I have been teaching mandatory EGP reading courses to university first-year students for several years. My classes use a TOEIC preparation textbook for false-beginners in accordance with the curriculum requirements in our institution and are taught using a teacher-centered teaching style. However, students seemed not to be very motivated or showed little improvement on their TOEIC scores. In addition, they were lacking the basic vocabulary or grammar to comprehend short passages or short announcements. Therefore, I decided to implement ER once every two weeks as homework. A bi-weekly scheduled take-home extensive reading activity was decided on to alternate with a vocabulary quiz which was already a part of the course. How long and how often should ER program in EGP courses be conducted? Nishizawa and his colleagues (Nishizawa, Yoshioka, & Fukada, 2010) conducted a study measuring the effects of a long-term ER program. The program included 37 university students who participated in a four-year ER program. The students read graded readers (GR) for 45 minutes once a week for 120 weeks. In this study, the researchers concluded that ER programs should last at least two years to bring about improvement in Japanese university students’ English proficiency measured by their TOEIC test scores. In contrast, Mason and Krashen (1997) studied Japanese university students in EGP courses and observed improvement in EFL learners’ English skills with only a four-month semester long extensive reading program. The experiment group read graded readers for 90 minutes once a week for a semester. The non-experiment group of students received a traditional teacher-centered English reading course. Both groups took a cloze test of a 1600-word passage with every 10 words erased. Both the experiment and non-experiment groups took the same test before and after the treatment. The average gain of test score in the experiment group was higher than the nonexperiment group. Although Nishizawa et al. (2010) suggested that the ER program should be continued for least two years, Mason and Krashen’s study illustrated that a semester long weekly ER program can improve English skills. SiSAL Journal Vol. 9, No. 1, March 2018, 3-10. 5 How many words do students need to read to improve their English skills? Though studies differ regarding the optimal number of words that should be read, they tend to agree that students need to engage in regular reading habits over extended periods of time. Nation (2009) states that because of the nature of learning from reading, developing a successful ER program needs careful planning to take effect. Most of the vocabulary acquisition happens from reading occurred by incidentally encountering expressions repeatedly. Therefore, nearly 500,000 words per year need to be read by learners. In addition, this amount of reading has to continue over several years (p. 50). According to Nishizawa et al. (2010), students who read more than 300,000 words over four years demonstrated significant increase in their TOEIC score. In Mason and Krashen’s study, though the number of words read was not reported, participants read an average of 30 books over a semester of fifteen weeks. Participants The participants of this study consisted of 48 first-year students majoring in Economics and enrolled in an EGP course at a Japanese private university in Tokyo. The students were divided into two groups by class. Five students were excluded from data analysis because of their absence on the day of the pre-test or post-test. Of the remaining 43 students, 40 students were male and three were female students. All the first-year students in their major must take a first-year general English course and an English conversation course. Right after they entered the university, they took TEAP (Test of English for Academic Purposes) as a placement test to be placed in three different levels of EGP classes. Their TEAP score ranged from 40 to 83 points which is equivalent to lower than A1 level on the CEFR. Therefore, they were placed in the lowest level EGP class. Many students felt demotivated when it came to reading in English. They often struggled to comprehend stories even at the easiest level of graded readers and had difficulty passing online comprehension quiz.

Effects and Impact of Extensive Reading in Japanese University English for General Purpose Classes