Feature Article

Students Attitudes Toward

Extensive Reading in the
Japanese EFL Context
AKIHIRO MIKAMI
Kindai University
Although many studies state the benefits of extensive reading
(ER) for language learning, this practice is not common in language classrooms. Because few studies have investigated the
status of ER in second language classrooms, this study looks at
past and current ER practice among Japanese students of English as a foreign language (EFL) and their motivation toward it.
The researcher conducted a questionnaire survey using a
mixed-methods design with 141 university students in Japan.
Quantitative analysis showed that participants had little past or
current practice of ER, but many more participants felt like
reading more English books than those who did not. Qualitative
analysis indicated that their reasons for reading or not reading
more English books fell into three attitudinal categories: negative (reasons for not reading), positive (reasons for reading),
and ambivalent. Eight distinct negative reasons and six positive
reasons were identified. Ambivalent reasons were not grouped,
because each one was complex and unique. These results imply
that the participants motivation was not fixed or stable and that
it was difficult for them to maintain positive motivation. Using
students responses to the survey, this study examines the educational implications for promoting English ER to help EFL
teachers confront its unpopularity.
doi: 10.1002/tesj.283

Extensive reading (ER) in a second language has attracted

interest from researchers around the world (Day, 2015; Day &
Bamford, 1998; Grabe, 2009; Hill, 1992). Bamford and Day (2004,
p. 1) define ER as an approach to language teaching in which
learners read a lot of easy material in the new language. There is
TESOL Journal 0.0, xxxx 2016
2016 TESOL International Association

no consensus on the ideal ER amount, so students are simply

asked to read as much as possible (Day & Bamford, 1998). The
results of previous studies confirm that this has positive effects on
students reading abilities, linguistic competence, attitude, and
motivation (e.g., Elley, 1991; Mason & Krashen, 1997; Robb &
Susser, 1989). Specifically, Grabe (2009) discussed the results of the
ER empirical research conducted between 1980 and 2000; it was
found that ER develops not only students reading abilities but
also their vocabulary knowledge, motivation, and writing skills.
These ER studies, however, have focused on its effects on
students performance, failing to examine its practical
implementation in everyday classroom teaching and the methods
used. No studies thus have tried to investigate what percentage of
schools and teachers globally have implemented ER. According to
the results of the only survey on this topic administered in Japan
(Yamazaki, 2008), the percentage of schools using ER is 33% at the
junior high level, 71% at the senior high level, and 37% at the
university level. Thus, there is still insufficient evidence to verify
how common ER is in language classrooms around the world, or
in Japan.
Despite a lack of adequate evidence, certain studies have been
published asserting ERs unpopularity in language classrooms in
different contexts around the world (Day & Bamford, 1998; Grabe,
2009). Studies like Day and Bamford (1998) discuss why ER is
uncommon in language classrooms from the teachers perspective.
They note that contextual factors (e.g., limited class time, limited
reading resources) may hinder teachers from implementing ER
practice in their language classrooms. These studies thus highlight
educators reluctance toward using ER. However, they do not
discuss student engagement and perspectives on ER. Furthermore,
it is necessary to understand ER both inside and outside the
language classroom. Wigfield and Guthrie (1997) argue that
childrens reading motivation in their first language (L1) is
multidimensional and includes 11 different aspects, such as
reading efficacy, curiosity, and reading work avoidance. Although
reading motivation in a second language (L2) may not always be
identical to that in an L1, in both cases it seems to clearly have a
wide range of aspects and complicated component factors.
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Furthermore, De Burgh-Hirabe and Feryok (2013) show that

among a population of Japanese as a foreign language (JFL)
learners, motivation for ER is complex and dynamic, such that it is
influenced by different factors, including instrumental benefits,
intrinsic values, and ER books, and that it changes over time.
These studies indicate that teachers need to understand the
intricate, dynamic nature of learners motivation to engage in L2
ER. For example, it can be inferred that Japanese students are
influenced by English reading efficacy, instrumental benefits, and
intrinsic values. To ensure ER success, it is essential to explore in
detail their attitudes and motivation toward ER.
Furthermore, in investigating learners attitudes and
motivation toward ER, many questionnaire studies preferred
using quantitative question items because they are easier to
conduct and analyze. However, quantitative analyses are less
suited for interpreting nonnumeric information, such as the
range of student attitudes and motivation. In order to
realistically understand students attitudes and motivation
toward ER, this studys questionnaire elicited both quantitative
and qualitative data.
The present study reports the results of a questionnaire
conducted among Japanese EFL university students. First, at the
beginning of their language courses, it investigated their past
experiences of ER instruction and their then-current practices
when reading English in order to understand how they engaged in
English reading, their feelings regarding reading more English
books, and why they had those feelings. This study includes both
quantitative and (open-format) qualitative question items because
it attaches a high value to the collection of information-rich
responses, following D
ornyei (2010). The analyses will review
participants attitudes and motivation toward English ER;
educational implications will be subsequently drawn for
developing more effective English ER instructions for both
Japanese and other EFL learners.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The present study focuses on the following three research
questions:
Japanese Students Attitudes Toward Extensive Reading in English

1. What percentage of the participants received English ER instruction before?

What were its content and methods?
2. What percentage of the participants read extended texts in English? What
kind of texts and how much time do they read?
3. To what extent do the participants feel like reading more English books?
What motivates or demotivates them to do so?

METHODS
Participants
The participants in this study were 141 students in six classes
taught by the author at a private university in the west of Japan.
To select sample groups, the maximum variation sampling
(Merriam, 1998, p. 61), a purposeful sampling strategy, was used.
According to Merriam (1998), there are two sampling types:
probability and nonprobability. Probability sampling (e.g., random
sampling) is appropriate to obtain nonbiased information from
balanced attributes of sample groups; nonprobability sampling
obtains rich information from sample groups with attributes
selected by the researcher. The maximum variation sampling is
considered nonprobability sampling (i.e., a purposeful sampling
strategy) because researchers intentionally select sample groups to
obtain the richest information for understanding the investigated
situation. This strategy enables researchers to collect the widest
possible range of responses from participants with selected
attributes. In the maximum variation sampling, the criteria for
choosing participants are very important. In the current study,
students majors and grades were part of the criteria because it is
assumed that students with dissimilar majors or grades will
respond differently. For the first criterion, business administration
majors were selected to represent the humanities and social
sciences, and pharmacy majors represented the sciences. The
second criterion involved selecting students from as many grades
as possible; however, only first- to third-year students were chosen
because no fourth-year students participated in the authors
classes. Detailed information on the participants is shown in
Table 1. The current foreign language curriculum at the university
requires first-year students to take three 90-minute English
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TABLE 1. Participants
Major
Year
1
2
3
Total (%)

Business
administration

Pharmacy

Total (%)

56
60
10
126 (89.36)

0
14
1
15 (10.64)

56 (39.72)
74 (52.48)
11 (7.80)
141 (100)

language classes and second-year students to take two 90-minute

English language classes over the course of the year. Each class
meets once a week; one class each year is taught by nativeEnglish-speaking teachers; the others are taught by Japanese
teachers of English. Third- and fourth-year students can also take
English language classes as electives.
In high school, the participants were generally required to take
English classes following the Ministry of Educations Guidelines
(i.e., the Courses of Study; Japanese Ministry of Education, 2008,
2009). These classes aim to develop students comprehensive
English communicative competence through activities related to
the four skills (i.e., listening, speaking, reading, and writing).
Participants English proficiency as of the first class session
ranged from 136 to 268 out of 500 on the Global Test of English
Communication College Test Edition (GTEC-CTE), an online
English proficiency test for college students jointly developed by
the Benesse Corporation and the Berlitz Corporation (for more
information about GTEC-CTE, see Maeda, 2010). This is a
relatively wide range, roughly equivalent to 249623 on the Test of
English for International Communication (TOEIC) and 382512 on
the Test of English as a Foreign Language, Paper-Based Test
(TOEFL, PBT). Therefore, the present studys participants included
false beginner to intermediate-level learners.
Instrument
To understand students attitudes toward ER, the questionnaire
was developed with reference to Yamazaki (2008) and D
ornyei
(2010). It includes three quantitative and three qualitative
Japanese Students Attitudes Toward Extensive Reading in English

questions (see the Appendix). From the responses to the

quantitative questions (1, 3, and 5), students past experiences and
current practices regarding ER can be objectively analyzed along
with their desire to read more English books. In contrast,
Questions 2, 4, and 6 used open-ended question techniques to
elicit richer responses concerning students complicated past and
then-current ER experiences, and why they wanted to read in
English.
Procedure and Data Analysis
The questionnaire was administered in the first class session of the
course and was completed in about 20 minutes. Afterward,
students responses to the quantitative questions were counted,
and qualitative content analysis was performed based on Miles
and Huberman (1994), using a process consisting of three
concurrent flows of activity: data reduction, data display, and
conclusion drawing/verification. Miles and Huberman describe
data reduction as the process of selecting, focusing, simplifying,
abstracting, and transforming the data that appear in written-up
field notes or transcriptions (p. 10). Data display is when reduced
data are presented as an organized, compressed assembly of
information that permits conclusion drawing and action (p. 11).
Conclusion drawing/verification extracts the datas meaning and
confirms its plausibility. For instance, the qualitative data in
Question 6, which asks why students feel like reading more
English books, were analyzed as follows. First, the author
consolidated all the reasons in a list. Two college teachers, namely
the author and another college English teacher with a masters
degree in TESL, subsequently read the list and coded each reason
separately, thus making this the data reduction stage. For further
data reduction and data display, each teacher correlated a
keyword from each reason with a code. After the teachers coded
all the reasons, they conducted conclusion drawing/verification by
comparing their lists and resolving any inconsistencies. For
instance, for one of the students reasonsIt is time-consuming
to read in Englishthe code troublesome was given by one teacher
whereas the code difficulty was given by the other. They discussed
why they assigned the codes and exchanged their opinions about
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TESOL Journal

their decisions with each other. Finally, they agreed that the
reason this student was assigned to the code of troublesome created
a subcategory of difficulty. As this analysis sample shows, even if
different tentative decisions on the coding by the two teachers are
drawn, final decisions that both teachers agreed on are reached
through their discussion, which plays a role of verification. In this
way, two teachers had agreement on the decisions on coding for
all the students mentions on the list.
Merriam (1998, p. 204) defines triangulation as using multiple
investigators, multiple sources of data, or multiple methods to
confirm the emerging findings. The qualitative data analysis in
this study was thus triangulated through the two coders analyses.

RESULTS
The Proportion of Participants With Past Experience of English
ER Instruction and the Content and Methods of That Instruction
(RQ 1)
The results of Question 1 (see Appendix) show that only 8 of 141
students (5.67%) had received English ER instruction before the
investigation; 94.33% had no prior experience of it.
Table 2 shows the results of Question 2. Qualitative analysis of
students answers to this question showed that five students had
read English books as assignments to be completed during
holidays in high school (for periods ranging from 1 to 3 weeks).
Only one student had received ER instruction in high school (and
only in one year). The remaining two students had received it in
their university English courses, for 2 weeks and 1 year,
respectively. These findings show that very few students had
experienced periodic or continual ER instruction as part of their
English courses.
Current Practices Related to the Reading of Extended Texts by
Participants, the Content of These Texts, and the Amount of
Reading Time (RQ 2)
The results of Question 3 showed that only 5 of 141 students
(3.55%) regularly read English books other than their course
textbooks.
Japanese Students Attitudes Toward Extensive Reading in English

TABLE 2. Content of Students Past Experience of English Extensive

Reading

Time
Summer
vacation in
high school
English classes
in high school
English classes
in university

Number
of
students

Length

Example

13 weeks

I read a book of English novel as an

assignment for summer vacation.

1 year

I read English books in a school

library inside the class.
I read English books during about
ten minutes inside the class.

2 weeks
or 1 year

TABLE 3. Students Reading Materials and Average Reading Time

Student
A
B
C
D
E

Reading materials

Reading time per week (min)

Materials related to TOEIC test

CNN magazines
English conversation books
Short stories
Folk tales

420
60
30
10
5

Table 3 shows the results of Question 4. These few students

read various magazines, news, and folk tales in English. Two
students read 1 hour or more a week, and three others for
30 minutes or less. It can be said that Student A, who read the
most (420 minutes a week), seems to study English for the TOEIC
test, one of the qualification examinations. Thus, it turned out that
very few students in this study read extended texts, and even for
students who read English books except for textbooks for the
classes, the amount of their reading time in English is very limited.
The Intensity of Motivating or Demotivating Factors of
Participants Desire or Lack Thereof to Read More English
Books (RQ 3)
In Question 5, students were asked to what extent they felt like
reading more English books and were required to answer using a
5-point Likert-type scale, with scores ranging from 1 (strongly
disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). As shown in Figure 1, the results
demonstrated a graded increase in responses from 2 to 4, with
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Figure 1. Intensity and direction of students desire to read more English

books. Note. N = 141.

only small numbers of responses 1 and 5. The sum of positive

responses 4 and 5 was a little larger than that of negative
responses 1 and 2, meaning that somewhat more students wished
to read more English books than did not.
In Question 6, students wrote open-ended reasons for their
responses to Question 5. In all, 114 students responded and 135
reasons were mentioned, because some students wrote more than
one reason. Their answers were categorized into three groups: 62
reasons for negative feelings (45.93%), 55 for positive feelings
(40.74%), and 18 for ambivalent feelings (13.33%) toward reading
in English. Reasons for negative feelings were related factors that
made students reluctant to read English, whereas those for
positive feelings were related factors that made students willing to
read English. Moreover, participants also had ambivalent feelings
(i.e., both positive and negative) toward reading in English.
In order to understand what motivates or demotivates these
students to read in English, we next consider the further
classification results for the above three groups in turn. First, the
62 negative reasons were coded into eight subgroups: difficulty,
lack of ability, no interest, low priority, preference for native language,
lack of confidence, lack of opportunity, and no need. Second, the 55
positive reasons were coded into six subgroups: to improve English
abilities, interest, to create life opportunities, yearning to use English, to
increase English input, and international understanding. Tables 4 and
5 show the categorization of reasons into negative and positive,
with sample descriptions. Last, the 18 ambivalent responses were
Japanese Students Attitudes Toward Extensive Reading in English

TABLE 4. Reasons for Negative Desire to Read More English Books

Category

Code

1. Difficulty
(General)
difficulty
understanding
Troublesome
Difficult
vocabulary
2. Lack of
ability
3. No interest

5. Preference
for native
language
6. Lack of
confidence
7. Lack of
opportunity
8. No need
Total mentions

23
14

5
4
15

No interest
No eagerness
4. Low priority

Number
of
mentions

11
9
2
4

Example
It is hard to understand the
content of English books.
It is time-consuming to read in
English.
There are many difficult words.
I am weak in English.

I do not like it.

I do not want to read in English.
I dont have much time because I
am busy studying for my other
university classes.
My native language (Japanese) is
easier to read.

It looks difficult.

I have few opportunities to read

in English.
I have no need to read in English.

2
62

not divided into subgroups because they indicated both positive

and negative reactions in different ways. In general, they
expressed lack of confidence in the face of the difficulty of reading
in English, but also a desire to read English texts and a recognition
of their value (e.g., in a typical answer, Im interested in English
but I dont have good command of English). Responses like It
depends on the materials were also received.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

For research questions 1 and 2, the results show that participants
had little past experience of ER and little ongoing practice of
reading in English, except for their textbooks. The students in this
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TABLE 5. Reasons for Positive Desire to Read More English Books

Category

Code

1. To improve
English
abilities

Number
of
mentions

Example

21

To improve
(general)
English
abilities
To improve
(English)
reading
abilities

18

I want to improve my English

skills by learning a variety of
expressions and vocabulary.

I want to improve my reading

abilities.

2. Interest
3. To create life
opportunities

14
8

4. Yearning to
use English
5. To increase
English input
6. International
understanding
Total mentions

8
2
2

I am interested in English books.

It will be useful in various
aspects of life if I can read
English books.
I want to become able to use
English as well as Japanese.
I want to have much exposure to
English.
It is good to learn about peoples
lives in the United States.

55

study thus had much less ER experience than those in Yamazaki

(2008) mainly because this studys participants were nonEnglish
majors or understood the term extensive reading more restrictively.
These results demonstrate the unpopularity of ER instruction in
English language classrooms in Japan, especially for nonEnglish
majors. This also implies that the 6 years of English language
education the participants had received before entering university
did not provide enough opportunity for them to read extensively
in English or to build strong English reading habits. As Grabe
(2009) and Day and Bamford (1998) point out, this may be a
common condition in language classrooms around the world,
especially in Asian EFL contexts.
As for research question 3, the results of Question 5 showed that
many more students wished to read more English books than those
Japanese Students Attitudes Toward Extensive Reading in English

11

who did not. This indicates that the desire to read more English
books is generally not low, even among students who have little
past experience and engagement in ER. On the other hand, the
results of Question 6 demonstrated that students have more reasons
for having negative rather than positive desire. This implies that it
is difficult for students to maintain their positive desire to read in
English because they encounter more reasons for negative than for
positive desire. This can also be seen in the nonnegligible number
of ambivalent responses. Therefore, the findings clearly show that
students motivation toward English reading is not fixed or stable.
Ultimately, though their motivation was not negative, it was not
strong enough to lead to much English ER.
To explore research question 3, we look more carefully at what
motivates students to read more English books through further
analysis of their answers to Question 6, wherein six categories of
reasons to read more English books (i.e., positive reasons) were
identified. It is noteworthy that the largest number of responses
related to improving English abilities, in contrast with the two
general reasons for reading given in Anderson (1994): reading for
information and reading for pleasure. It can be inferred that these
students were unable to comprehend motivations other than
reading for practice. This tendency to read for practice (rather than
information or pleasure) and to see it as a way to increase
linguistic abilities may represent an unexpected negative result of
the Japanese national education policy. Since 1989, the previously
mentioned Courses of Study have emphasized communicative
competence in English (for the latest ones, see Japanese Ministry of
Education, 2008, 2009). In other words, the students in this study
should have received English language education focusing on
developing their communicative competence; the present results
therefore may imply a gap exists between national policy and
students attitudes toward ER.
Furthermore, the positive reasons found in this study can be
considered the same as the concept of orientation for L2 learning.
Gardner (2001) discussed the distinction between instrumental and
integrative orientation, where instrumental orientation refers to an
interest in learning the language for pragmatic reasons that do not
involve identification with other language community (p. 8) and
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integrative orientation refers to an interest in learning the second

language in order to come closer to the other language
community (p. 5). Following this distinction, integrative
orientation can be seen in Question 6s qualitative analysis results,
with only two mentions, which are coded for international
understanding, out of 55 positive reasons from Table 5. It indicates
that the participants tended to have a larger instrumental rather
than integrative orientation.
On the other hand, the eight categories of negative reasons
(reasons not to read in English) mostly related to difficulty
understanding English, and lack of ability and interest in
English. It seems natural that these reasons would emerge in a
situation featuring few opportunities to read in English, as in
the Japanese EFL context. However, the social EFL context is
unlikely to be the sole reason. Another reason may be that these
students have received English language education under a
standardized system for 6 years before entering university,
following objectives and content defined by the Courses of
Study and using only authorized textbooks. This approach
requires them to read the same materials at the same pace,
generating weakness in and dislike of English reading.
Moreover, when our participants reasons for ER were
interpreted using the self-determination theory, negative reasons
can be interpreted as amotivation or the state of lacking the
intention to act (Ryan & Deci, 2002, p. 17). Therefore, students
with negative or even ambivalent reasons can be inferred to feel
helpless when reading English.
More importantly, this studys results support ERs
unpopularity in relation to students past and current ER
practices. What, then, can teachers do for students with little
experience or practice of ER? First, ER should be proactively
introduced in language classrooms. In order to address students
lack of English reading opportunities, it might be more effective
if such opportunities were introduced as part of the foreign
language curriculum. For example, Green (2005) suggests that ER
should be incorporated into a task-based language curriculum
because it can provide students with more opportunities to
interact in the target language. Moreover, teachers should always
Japanese Students Attitudes Toward Extensive Reading in English

13

remember to pay attention to instability in students motivation

toward ER once the practice is incorporated into their language
classrooms. Ushioda (2001) points out that positive thinking is a
key to successful language learning; therefore, teachers should
help students concentrate on the positive aspects of their
complex motivation toward ER throughout their ER programs.
As the current study results show, students had less integrative
rather than instrumental orientation in positive reasons, and thus
teachers may attempt to balance the two orientations. For
example, teachers can broaden the varieties of students
integrative orientation through discussing English-speaking
peoples lives and customs after reading graded readers about
them. Without actively enhancing and maintaining students
motivation to read, it will be very difficult to keep students
continuously engaged in English reading extensively. For
students to overcome the negative aspects of their motivation
toward ER, it is also necessary to reduce students perceived
difficulty in reading English texts. For example, it will be useful
to use books written in simple English (e.g., graded readers,
picture books, graphic novels). Furthermore, teachers must
carefully support students who feel helpless when reading
English in order to increase their confidence. These educational
implications thus offer suggestions on how to best promote ER
for learners struggling with the task, both in Japan and in other
EFL contexts.
Finally, some of this studys limitations should be addressed
in future research. First, the reliability and validity of the
questionnaire used here was not verified. This needs to be
addressed before it can be used in future studies. Second, this
studys mixed-methods design relied mostly on qualitative data
and used quantitative information only descriptively. It is
necessary to develop a questionnaire that can statistically analyze
how much students engage in ER. Additionally, other qualitative
data collection techniques (e.g., interviews, journal writing)
should be integrated in future research because these methods
will be more desirable for triangulating the qualitative data.
Third, the participants were chosen from both humanities and
science courses, but the sampling was limited to the authors
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classes at one private university. Therefore, we should be careful

about generalizing this studys results to other university
students in Japan. In order to increase generalizability, more
research needs to be conducted with students in other Japanese
universities.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am most grateful to Yuka Mikami for her cooperation in
qualitative data analysis and her insightful suggestions regarding
the manuscript. In addition, I would like to thank anonymous
reviewers for their valuable comments on the manuscript. This
work was supported by MEXT Kakenhi (Grant-in-Aid for Young
Scientists [B], grant number 21720212).

THE AUTHOR
Akihiro Mikami is a professor in the Faculty of Business
Administration at Kindai University, in Japan. His current
research interests include extensive reading, teaching methods,
and TESOL teacher education. He has published articles in JACET
(Japan Association of College English Teachers) Journal and The
Language Teacher.

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doi:10.1037/0022-0663.89.3.420
Yamazaki, A. (2008). Tadoku shido no genjyo: Kaken kenkyu no
seika [Current status of extensive reading instruction: Findings
of studies supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research].
Proceedings of the 34th JASELE (Japan Society of English Language
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Process.

APPENDIX
QUESTIONNAIRE ON EXTENSIVE READING IN
ENGLISH (ORIGINALLY IN JAPANESE)
Answer the following questions on extensive reading in English.
This questionnaire is administered to improve classroom teaching.
Therefore, your answers are not related to your grades for the
course.
1. Have you ever received extensive reading instruction before? (Yes/No)
2. (For students who answered Yes to Question 1) Write the time, length, and
content of extensive reading instruction that you have received.
a.
b.
c.

Time (e.g., summer vacation in high school)

Length (e.g., about two weeks)
Content (e.g., I read a book of supplementary materials as an assignment)

Japanese Students Attitudes Toward Extensive Reading in English

17

3. Do you read English books, other than textbooks, for your courses? (Yes/
No)
4. (For students who answered Yes to Question 3) What kind of English books
and how many minutes a week on average do you read?
a.
b.

Material:
Average time: about ( ) minutes a week.

5. Do you feel like reading more English books?

(Strongly disagree) 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 (Strongly agree)
6. Why did you respond so in Question 5? Write the reasons for the response
freely.

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TESOL Journal