"This study aimed to improve writing skills in students, including increased vocabulary acquisition in university writing classes by incorporating both Extensive Reading and Explicit Vocabulary Teaching. The class used for this research had 29 students and ran for one semester. Compared with the 75% of the students who completed their task of reading 20 Extensive Reading texts, the 25% of students who could not complete them showed lower writing accuracy in writing tasks. 37% of students out of the 75% of students also showed an increase in reading speed of on average of 20 seconds over one minute on the post-test. Moreover, Explicit Vocabulary Teaching of both synonyms and derivatives showed an increase in post-test scores of three times higher compared to the pre-test. These findings can hopefully contribute to providing a valuable baseline for writing teachers.

This presentation examines extensive reading (ER) speed and words read by students at a Japanese university using a digital ER platform called Xreading and compares them to standardized test reading performance using the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The presentation reports the year-end results for first- and second-year students who participated in ER in a year-long academic reading and writing class. The data combines quantitative data on reading speed and words read with their IELTS reading performance over two testing points during the academic year. The findings indicate significant reading progress in reading speed and words read. Total words read showed a moderate correlation with IELTS reading scores; however, no significant correlation was found between increased reading speed and IELTS reading score changes across semesters. Based on the findings, the presentation concludes with future implications to improve and streamline the ER program for better results and participation.

Extensive reading researchers have previously identified a number of factors used in selecting texts, including difficulty level (Nation and Waring, 2020; Takase, 2007), length (Nishizawa, et al., 2010; Robb and Kano, 2013), personal interests (Yamashita, 2013), and initial impression of the cover and title (Bamford and Day, 2004). This research identified methods and information learners use within Xreading. A convenience sample of 32 university students in Japan required to use Xreading were surveyed anonymously. An equal percentage of responses indicated always using the filtering function as those always simply scrolling through the automated offerings (34% each), while 19% indicated always using the search feature. Further details, including results regarding use frequency for all filtering categories and perceived usefulness of all types of information available in each book's description will be presented and discussed. Implications for how instructors guide students in selecting materials and related research possibilities will also be discussed.

Extensive Reading (ER) is widely practiced in English language education worldwide, yet its application in Japanese—known as Tadoku—remains limited due to a lack of research, resources, and implementation. In 2020, I introduced Tadoku into the reading and writing curriculum at the University of Languages and International Studies, VNU Hanoi. Since then, it has been positively received by students. Surveys conducted from 2021 to 2024 show that over 80% of participants enjoy Tadoku activities and find them beneficial. Furthermore, Tadoku has inspired student-led research projects, contributing to curriculum innovation and increased learner engagement. Given these positive outcomes, Tadoku holds strong potential to enhance reading motivation and skills in Japanese language education across Vietnam. This presentation will explore the implementation process, highlight key challenges and successes, and share practical strategies—such as material selection, activity design, and student engagement techniques—that support the sustainable integration of Tadoku into university programs.

In a study done on the extensive reading motivational factors in the United Arab Emirates, it was found that approximately 83% of the students became intrinsically motivated to read within weeks of the beginning of the competition because they began to see how beneficial extensive reading was for their language acquisition. A competition was designed using both intramural classroom leaderboards and intermural classroom leaderboards to encourage the students to read competitively to gain 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. Later, the presenter moved to Indonesia and was tasked with developing an extensive reading program at a national university. The presenter implemented a competition-based extensive reading program in the Indonesian context. This presentation presents and compares the results of a mixed methods study to determine the success of the reading competition in both the Indonesian context and the United Arab Emirates context. Data was collected by survey, focus groups, and teacher interviews.

Extensive Reading (ER) is widely recognized for enhancing language acquisition, but its impact on creative writing and discourse agency remains underexplored. This study investigates how ER shapes storytelling, discourse patterns, and identity construction in an EFL Creative Writing course. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, it examines how ER influences students’ narrative structures, lexical choices, and gender representations in short stories. Students read ER texts before writing their own narratives, allowing for an analysis of intertextuality, discourse adaptation, and creative agency. Data is being collected from 6th- and 8th-semester university students, who began writing in February 2025. Preliminary findings suggest diverse discourse adaptation strategies, including intertextual borrowing, narrative transformation, and shifts in identity representation. The study explores how ER shapes students’ portrayals of social identities, including gendered discourse. Findings will provide insights into how ER fosters textual creativity, discourse awareness, and critical engagement, offering strategies for writing curricula integration.

Traditional teaching methods can sometimes fail to engage students, especially for reading tasks. Game-based learning introduces an element of fun and competition, which can significantly increase students' motivation to read English Extensive Reading books. This study investigates the impact of game-based learning on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students' reading comprehension by employing pre-test and post-test assessments. The primary objective is to measure the changes in students' reading comprehension ability after participating in game-based learning activities during reading classes. This research was conducted among Mongolian high school students during one academic year of Extensive reading with game-based activities. Preliminary results have indicated a significant enhancement in students' reading comprehension, suggesting that game-based learning can effectively support literacy development in EFL education. The research findings are intended for EFL educators seeking to enhance English reading comprehension through effective teaching methods.

Studies in the last two decades have shown that Extensive Reading has great impacts on English learners’ language development (Bell, 2001; Day et al., 2011, Nakanishi, 2015). However, in EFL context, its impact depends on how deeply learners engage with texts. This presentation aims to share the implementation of deep learning approach in ER-based Book Report Class in Indonesia context and how it fosters students’ deeper text interaction, analytical skills, and reading motivation. Deep learning is the new approach to education In Indonesia, highlighting deep understanding rather than surface-level learning. A qualitative research methodology was applied to examine how deep learning approach, and its three fundamental aspects (meaningful, mindful, and joyful) can foster Indonesian university students’ active, meaningful, and collaborative engagement. Data collection includes classroom observations, student reflections, and interviews. The findings show that deep learning fosters students’ deeper text interaction, improves analytical skills, and increases motivation to read.

This presentation will introduce ER programs at two separate universities, one incorporating xreading and another utilizing physical books, and will review the activities in both programs. After reviewing these two programs and their implementation, I will discuss how AI has been incorporated in the form of Google NotebookLM to support extensive reading. Google NotebookLM, is a Google AI-powered tool that helps users interact with documents and sources by summarizing, extracting information, and answering questions based on uploaded content. NotebookLM’s ability to generate audio summaries has the potential to enhance ER by improving comprehension and engagement. Surveys and semi-structured interviews with students will be presented to reveal student impressions of the tool. This presentation will then discuss how NotebookLM can be integrated into an ER program, as well as its benefits, challenges, and pedagogical implications, with the aim of offering insights into AI’s role in supporting extensive reading.

A partnership between The Hobbit and technology can help overcome the challenge of teaching SLA literature in the 21st century. The development of extensive reading habits is an ongoing challenge for SLA students. Tolkien wrote this work for his children in a way that helps instructors and students meet that challenge. Simple vocabulary and syntax, identifiable characters, a mythic structure at once familiar and new, and popularity that has resulted in translation into over 60 languages all combine to make The Hobbit a broadly applicable tool in SLA extensive reading instruction. This presentation illustrates the scaffolding methods, syllabus design, online journaling, AI interaction, and evaluation techniques of an upper-level CLIL literature course using the annotated version of The Hobbit as instructional material. The presentation will explore how to merge analog approaches with technologically-mediated, multi-modal study, both to enrich classroom experiences and to spark a sustainable extensive reading habit.

Most Extensive Reading Practitioners are familiar with the ten “principles” of extensive reading listed in Day & Bamford (2002) and elsewhere. This paper, however, will suggest that we can have our students read more by ignoring some of the principles.

The only principle that cannot be violated is their #4, “Learners read as much as possible” since this is the very definition of Extensive Reading, but breaking some of the other nine may allow the students more practice.

For example, one rule states that “The reading material is easy,” yet a vocabulary list provided along the text would allow students to understand more difficult material. This will expand what is available for them to read but adds more work for the teacher..

In the above manner, we will discuss the various “characteristics” and suggest reasons for not following them in order to provide more reading material for your students.

Extensive listening (EL) has been widely used for exposing students to the target language. Numerous studies have discussed the effects of EL to improve students’ listening skills; however, a few concentrate on how EL affects speaking skills. This research investigated EL potential in developing students’ English-speaking skills. 24 Indonesian university students’ were exposed to EL by listening to one graded e-book and recording their thoughts related to the audio file for one semester. Data, coming from students’ weekly EL log assignments and online open-ended questionnaires, were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Results show that most students have benefited from EL in terms of expressing ideas, improving fluency, and developing confidence. Additionally, all students agree to include EL as one supporting activity in the conversation class. Overall, students’ EL experiences and EL effect on their English speaking skills will be discussed in the presentation.

In this session the presenters will discuss the process of writing graded readers from an initial idea, to writing and editing, and to finally getting the books into the hands of students in both paper and digital formats. Where do stories come from? How do we ‘find’ stories and tell them in an engaging and interesting way? We will detail the steps that have worked for us — from ‘story,’ format, length, level, editing and illustrations, to publishing steps and options, including ISBN numbers — all while trying to keep abreast of the rapid advancement of online tools. Mistakes have been made and lessons have been learned. We share where we are today in this journey in the desire to support burgeoning writers.

This presentation explores the growing trend of graded reading materials globally, focusing on graded picture books as ideal for young foreign language learners. It examines the limitations of traditional readers, highlights successful series like Kids Town from Korea, Climbing English from China and addresses challenges such as the lack of standards and the need for comprehensive databases.

This paper explores the impact of ER on development of reading fluency as measured by reading rates(wpm). It examines the progress rates of 21 students on the ER segment of a reading class over two semesters. The average TOEIC score for students was 483 while the class textbook level was CEFR B2. Students used the LMS, M-Reader to record their progress on ER. Student reading speeds were measured at the beginning and end of the semester. Students read silently for 1 minute and counted the number of words read. A two-tailed t-test was performed returning significant improvements with a large effect size. While there were significant improvements in wpm, the progress rates on ER were such that the effects of the ER segment on student reading speeds could be deemed minimal when viewed through the lens of research that suggests readers should read 300,000 words or above to improve proficiency (Nishizawa, Yoshoka & Fukuda ,2010).

Using Extensive Reading (ER) for language teaching to ESL/EFL was propounded by Michael West in Bengal (undivided India) in the 1920s. He opined that reading vocabulary-controlled interesting texts was more effective than the existing methods to teach English to Bengali children who could access English only inside the school. In spite of its well-established benefits for developing proficiency, ER practices have steadily changed in the Indian context. This ongoing study reports on the current trends prevalent in India. Secondary data has been collected from research carried out in the Indian contexts over the years. Primary data has been collected by interviewing teachers and students about trends observed and problems faced. The information so far shows that ER continues to be used in India, and exists in the form of graded readers. However, the transition into online ER practices has not been reached, books are the preferred mode.

Extensive reading (ER) often requires years to give students sufficient text exposure. However, maintaining student engagement over such a long period is challenging. As a result, studies extending beyond a year are rare. Keeping students motivated is crucial, and providing opportunities to recognize progress can help sustain engagement. This study explores the relationship between two years of reading volume and a one-year academic writing course in a Japanese high school. Using regression models, this study examines trends over time and shows that reading amount significantly predicts words written. This prediction enables learners to set small goals for progressing in reading, fostering improvements in writing fluency. Celebrating small successes supports long-term language development. While this study highlights the link between ER and written word count, future research should examine accuracy and language use to further reinforce the reading-writing connection.

This presentation shows how Oxford Reading Club (ORC), a digital reading program co-developed by Oxford University Press and iPortfolio, helps Korean children aged 4 to 12 improve their English. Based on factual evidence from homes, schools, and private academies in Korea, it highlights how students make fast and visible progress through extensive reading with the help of AI-based EdTech. The talk also explains how ORC is designed with pedagogy based on cognitive science, matching each child’s developmental stage. With fun, level-based books and smart technology, ORC supports children in building strong reading habits and better language skills. ORC offers a strong model for future English education by combining top-quality content with cutting-edge EdTech. This session will be helpful for teachers, parents, and educators looking for effective and practical ways to support children’s English learning in both classrooms and at home.

A well-established body of research supports extensive reading (ER) as a crucial component of language programs, yet its implementation in schools remains limited and challenging. This study examines key barriers to establishing ER programs in a private language school in Vietnam, drawing insights from program developers, teachers, and learners through a qualitative approach. Preliminary findings confirm that commonly cited challenges such as time constraints, limited resources, rigid curricula, and exam-oriented instruction contribute to these difficulties. However, two primary factors that emerge as critical determinants of success include teachers' awareness and beliefs about shifting from form-focused to meaning-focused instruction, and the school’s vision and commitment to implementing ER initiatives. The study further discusses solutions from multiple perspectives to enhance the feasibility and effectiveness of ER programs in similar educational contexts.

Based on a longitudinal study of 10 young Japanese learners who continued reading books for 6 to 14 years, eventually progressing to reading paperbacks for L1 teenagers, this study conducted a lexical and non-lexical analysis focusing on the books they used during their elementary school years to find out why they found certain books difficult. The data used in the analysis were taken from Reading AtoZ (levels aa to H) and Oxford Reading Tree (stages 1+ to 7), which they used until they moved on to graded readers for adult beginners. Reading AtoZ level aa books were mostly covered by known vocabulary and vocabulary they could associate with the illustrations. As the levels progressed, the number of words that were difficult to associate with the illustrations increased. It has been found that the books often reported difficult are due to lexical factors, irregular syntactic structures and unknown contextual backgrounds.

How can Extensive Reading (ER) be systematically leveraged to enhance writing and vocabulary skills at different proficiency levels? Based on six years of hands-on experience teaching students in a Korean academy, this session presents a step-by-step framework for integrating ER into writing and development across different learning stages. - Beginner: Building Foundations Guided Reading Responses – Using structured sentence starters to encourage early writing engagement. - Intermediate: Strengthening Skills Genre-Based Writing Tasks – Encouraging shadow writing from their reading and summaries, opinion pieces, and creative adaptations. - Advanced: Mastery and Expression Critical Analysis & Argumentative Writing – Developing independent thinking by engaging in comparative essays and theme-based writing. By following this structured approach, educators can effectively transform reading into a powerful tool for writing fluency and vocabulary expansion. Case study of students whose skills improved ensures that students not only absorb language but also actively produce and refine their linguistic abilities.

Buddy reading is a collaborative reading experience where individuals read the same book and discuss it together. This presentation introduces an online buddy reading community that encourages extensive reading among adults in Japan as a form of lifelong learning. Established in July 2023, the group has 27 members, meets monthly via Zoom, and communicates through LINE. So far, they have read five books. The presenters, one organizer and one participant, will share research findings focusing on how the community supports continuous language learning and fosters reading as a more social activity, based on data such as LINE communication records, participation notes, and interview transcripts. In addition, further details will be shared. This community model highlights how digital platforms can bring readers together from diverse backgrounds to share insights, build connections, and support one another’s learning journeys. The presentation will also explore ways to enhance engagement in similar online reading communities.

This reflective paper explores how Extensive Reading (ER) can effectively prepare learners for academic tests, specifically IELTS and TOEFL. Drawing from my experience as an educator in Mongolia, I reflect on how incorporating ER into test preparation programs enhanced students' reading comprehension, vocabulary acquisition, and overall language proficiency. This approach not only improved test scores but also fostered positive reading habits and reduced test anxiety. By selecting graded readers relevant to academic topics, students engaged in meaningful and enjoyable reading experiences. This reflection discusses practical strategies, challenges faced, and observed outcomes, highlighting the impact of ER on student motivation and performance. Educators will gain insights into integrating ER into their own test preparation curricula.

This study explores the relationship between reading and language proficiency, specifically focusing on how reading can enhance language skills and creativity in adolescents aged 12 to 14. The research examines the effects of reading on speaking, listening, and writing skills, building on previous findings that emphasize reading's role in vocabulary acquisition and cognitive development. A quantitative approach was employed, using V-test analyses (language proficiency tests conducted before and after the reading intervention) to evaluate the impact of reading digital texts obtained from XReading.com over a year. The study involved 60 randomly selected Mongolian middle school students. This methodology aims to encourage extensive reading while also addressing concerns about eye health in teenagers, particularly related to the amount of time spent on screens during reading activities.

Extensive reading is often omitted from EAP programmes because of the lack of suitable materials. In particular, materials used in EAP programmes should include salient academic vocabulary, while being of interest to students. Fortunately, a series of graded readers that addresses both of these requirements has recently been developed. 'My Mysterious Friend Sora' is an engaging, exciting, and often poignant story that follows the life of a university student and her unusual friend, Sora. The story ‒ which spans 10 graded readers ‒ includes the systematic recycling of all 570 items from Coxhead’s (2000) academic word list. In this session, the presenter will discuss the vocabulary gains made by the students who read the series as well as the feedback provided by students. Finally, the potential usefulness of the series (which is available on Xreading) in other teaching and learning contexts will also be discussed.

In Japan, some public libraries offer English books suitable for extensive reading to support lifelong learning among local residents. Over the past 20 years, the number of such public libraries has been on the rise. However, the actual situation nationwide was unknown except in certain regions, so the first national survey regarding extensive reading was conducted in 2024. In this survey, we asked about the number of representative readers for extensive reading in their English collections, as well as the librarians’ views on extensive reading. In consideration of the increasing need to support the study of Japanese by non-Japanese residents, we also asked about the collection and use of Japanese language materials suitable for extensive reading of Japanese. The questionnaire was sent to 1,023 central libraries, and 571 libraries responded. In this presentation, we report the results of the survey and analysis thereof.

It has been over twenty years since Richard Day and Julian Bamford first came out with their 10 Principles of Extensive Reading. This seminal list, and the many papers and studies on the topic that came afterwards have greatly increased awareness of extensive reading. However, appreciating the benefits of extensive reading, and providing your students with a large library of graded readers, whether physical books or digital, does not ensure they will actually read. Students need to be motivated to read, and that can be accomplished with a well-planned and implemented program. The presenter, who has advised dozens of ER programs, has come up with ten strategies that will significantly increase the likelihood of your program’s success, and your students doing considerably greater amounts of reading

This presentation explores the reading habits of around 12 prominent Telugu-speaking personalities from the Telangana , Andrapradesh states in India and abroad. With over 96 million (according to 2022 statistics) Telugu speakers worldwide, the study highlights how reading in Telugu (L1), English (L2), and other languages shapes leaders across professions. Through interviews and questionnaires, the study captures how bilingual or multilingual reading nurtures creativity, leadership, and public engagement. Participants include politicians, professionals, writers, and artists who credit reading—especially in their mother tongue—as foundational to their growth. In a digital age, these stories aim to inspire a stronger reading culture, especially among Telugu youth. Emphasizing the role of mother tongue literacy, the presentation shows how reading in Telugu builds identity and deepens learning alongside global languages.

Until relatively recently few publishers, mostly the larger ones, published graded readers. However, in recent years there has been an explosion in the number of books available. Big companies, small companies and individual writer/publishers are producing some excellent books in graded format. These books cover a wide range of genres, such as adventure, romance, mystery, and non-fiction, to appeal to all types of reader. They are available at different levels, in different formats and wordcount. So, how do we know which books we can use in tandem with other classroom content? How do we recommend books to students? How can we create themed assignments? In this session, the presenters will give a brief, informative overview of the different series available by publisher giving participants a clearer idea of what is available in this market.

This presentation highlights the Village Reading Program in Narayanapur, Telangana, designed to foster a reading culture within the community. The initiative trained 100 students to mentor 100 struggling readers, who together visited 797 homes, distributing free books to encourage home libraries and shared reading. To overcome obstacles such as limited engagement with the village library and initial hesitation from families, I planned in advance, selected most of the mentors from my own school for easier coordination, and actively involved the community for support and trust-building. This grassroots effort helped students reach grade-level proficiency and strengthened community bonds. Based on our experience, suggested steps to replicate this program in areas like Indonesia include: selecting student mentors through schools, involving local volunteers, distributing free starter books, conducting home visits, and creating small community reading groups. This program shows that with simple tools and strong local support, a culture of reading can flourish anywhere.

The study examines the impact of an Extensive Reading (ER) program for first-year English Department students at a tertiary education institution in Indonesia. Research has found that developing independent reading habits is crucial in foreign language learning, yet many first-year English department students struggle to transition from required reading to self-directed reading for pleasure. To address this challenge, ER is integrated into the curriculum as a compulsory course for first-year English department students. The case study investigates how a one-semester ER course influences the reading habits and experiences of a cohort of first-year students. It examines data from 150 students, using ER self-reflection reports, reading history logs from the digital platform Xreading, and interviews to gain information on the evolution of the student's reading habits. The expected findings will reveal patterns in their reading habits, challenges they encounter, and the role of the digital reading platform in shaping their experiences.

Most ER research has adhered to the principle that reading must be individual and silent (Nation & Waring, 2020). Utilizing Conversation Analysis (CA), this presentation introduces two studies that explore ER in a context where the silent reading rule was abandoned and readers could read together. Drawing on 30 hours of video data from a Japanese as a Foreign Language (JFL) ER club, we present video clips demonstrating how reading aloud and co-locally provided opportunities for collaborative language learning and ‘language enjoyment’ (Botes et al., 2022), how learners recruit peer assistance to make learning-relevant ‘noticings’ (Schmidt, 1990), and how learners used talk and gesture to negotiate the meaning of the text for learning during ER. Rather than relying on self-reports or an experimental design, these studies explicate how ER benefits language learning by examining ER in-situ. Based on our findings, we advocate and discuss a 'loud', interactive approach to ER.

How ‘extensive’ do learners need to read in order to improve their overall English language proficiency? This case study offers valuable data and analysis to shed light on this and other pertinent questions. A sample of 189 university-level students read on average around 200,000 words for 28 hours over an eight-month period, and their English language proficiency was measured via the TOEIC-IP test before and after the reading intervention. Results show a statistically significant average gain of 24 TOEIC points, however, as a close examination of the data in this presentation will reveal, the 200,000 word target is problematic and the assigning of extensive reading as a part of a for-credit university course fraught with challenges. Drawing on this insightful data, this presentation highlights best practices and principles for cultivating sound and sustained extensive reading habits in university-level learners, and avoiding imposing on them an alternative form of ‘extrinsic’ reading.

This presentation will be delivered in Chinese with bilingual PowerPoint support.

Current English instruction overemphasizes intensive learning (grammar, pronunciation, etc., 85% class time) while neglecting extensive reading (only 15%), resulting in limited fluency despite years of study. To address this, we developed the PERC Balanced Reading System, integrating 1,500+ leveled readers to solve three core challenges: text selection of scientifically graded materials with thematic diversity, instructional methods using evidence-based classroom protocols, and sustainability through progress monitoring and motivational design. The program was validated by hundreds of educators, which revealed the system demonstrates a synergistic intensive/extensive reading framework, quantifiable literacy improvement solutions, and the effective resolution of "Dumb English" implementation barriers.

IELTS is widely used in Vietnam for university admission and graduation assessments. While high school students increasingly achieve high IELTS scores, university students, including English majors, often struggle to meet such a graduation requirement. Given that Extensive Reading (ER), particularly ENIE, is among the most common teaching and learning measures, this research investigates ENIE's implementation in high school students and university English majors, both aiming for this English certification, through interviews and pre-test/post-test analyses. The study findings suggest that a range of external and internal factors shape learners' ability to incorporate ER into their IELTS training. These factors directly influence their reading volume, language acquisition, and coherence in writing skills, ultimately contributing to differences in their language learning patterns and outcomes. These results highlight ENIE’s potential in ER but emphasize the need for adaptive strategies to optimize learning outcomes for different student groups.

This presentation introduces an AI-powered platform, currently in development, that transforms students from passive consumers to active creators of reading material. Learners generate personalized stories with AI assistance, creating a dynamic library of student-led content that can be shared within the learning community. The system incorporates adaptive difficulty scaling to align texts with proficiency levels while maintaining coherence. Real-time tracking of student interactions offers insights into engagement and language challenges, with the potential to reveal patterns in content generation, learning trajectories, and attitudes toward reading. Features such as vocabulary support, AI-generated audio narration, and optional comprehension activities may further enhance autonomous learning. We will focus on how AI-driven analysis of student feedback informs refinements to both the system and pedagogical approaches in general. This presentation will showcase how the integration of AI technology can create an engaging, personalized, and data-informed learning environment while maintaining the core principles of extensive reading.

MReader is a free website with an LMS and quizzes for over 8000 graded readers. This innovative system was launched in 2012, suddenly making it much easier for schools to manage their extensive reading program. However, it was not helpful for schools without sufficient reading materials. In 2014, the subscription based Xreading digital library was launched. This system, with currently over 2000 graded readers (including the audio narrations), suddenly allowing schools without sufficient books to have an extensive reading program. It’s not hyperbole to say that these two systems impacted the way extensive reading is practiced in academic institutions around the world. While students using Xreading can also take any of the quizzes from MReader, the two systems have remained independent… until now. From 2026, MReader and Xreading will be merged. Their URLs will remain distinct, and MReader will continue to be free, but the two systems will be two sides of the same platform. In this session, the creators of the two systems will explain the rationale for the merger and display screenshots of the new site which removes redundancy and combines the best features of both sites.

Over the past five years, the importance of extensive reading (ER) has grown significantly in China. However, while many schools understand the benefits of ER, they often face challenges like lack of support from parents, students' busy schedules, and limited time, making it difficult to sustain these programs. In this session, I will share 3 models that how Chinese teachers implement ER for children aged from 5-12. The three models are Offline Home-Based Model, Offline Center-Based Model and Online Reading Camp. In each model, I will share one or two case studies.These cases will provide training school teachers who want to start ER good examples. They can learn how to integrate ER into their own courses, how to encourage parents to join in ER and how to set the goal for ER and so on.

Since 2021, the author has incorporated ER-related activities in Indonesian language courses, primarily using children's books. For less commonly taught languages that lack Graded Readers, children's books are often recommended as an alternative. Day & Bamford (1998) and Nation & Waring (2020) note that, despite not aligning with university students' cognitive levels, many children's books explore universally relevant themes such as environmental issues, endangered species, cultural heritage, and food. Lestari (2024) highlights that although these texts are not simplified or controlled, making them challenging for beginners, the Spring 2024 ER program ran smoothly and received positive feedback. This presentation will examine the types of support needed for integrating children's books into ER, showcasing book catalogs designed for Indonesian learners, including online and print resources, student feedback, and rating scales.

Emotional well-being is an important factor in students’ academic performance and overall development. Extensive reading (ER), when designed as a low-pressure and enjoyable activity, can help address stress and support emotional health. This study explored how ER activities outside the classroom provided a relaxing reading experience for university students. The program allowed students to select texts freely without formal assessments. Semi-structured interviews and observations were conducted to understand how ER affected their stress levels and motivation. Findings suggest that ER helps students feel more relaxed, emotionally supported, and motivated to read more. This session will share activities used in the program and offer ideas for using ER to support students’ mental health and engagement beyond the classroom.

Extensive reading (ER) is widely recognized for improving language proficiency, but its impact on reading comprehension over time is less understood. This study investigates how Xreading, an online ER platform, influences students’ reading comprehension over two semesters in the Miyazaki Municipal University English Language Program. Using pre- and post-test scores from the Edinburgh Project on Extensive Reading (EPER), results show that students make significant gains at the end of the first semester compared to the beginning. However, improvement is less pronounced at the end of the second semester. These findings suggest that while ER enhances comprehension, the rapid gains in the first semester may reflect an initial learning curve, with progress slowing as students reach a plateau in the second semester. This presentation will discuss the implications for ER integration in academic programs and strategies to maximize its long-term benefits.

Reading is a crucial skill for children's literacy development. While much research has focused on alphabetic languages. There is limited investigation into Indic scripts. These complex writing systems, like Assamese, a Northeast Indian language pose unique challenges for young learners due to their extensive symbol inventory, consonant clusters, and inherent vowels. This study evaluates reading outcomes in primary school children learning Assamese by assessing their accuracy and fluency using the Assamese equivalent of TOWRE (Torgesen et al., 2012) that included simple words, complex words, and non-words, and was administered to 60 children across grades VI, VII, and VIII. Results indicated that children struggled with decoding opaque clusters and polysyllabic words. Performance differed by grade, with VI and VII students demonstrating significantly lower speed and accuracy than grade VIII. Findings confirm that complex orthographies like Assamese can hinder literacy development, necessitating awareness of orthographic symbols and consistent reading practice to improve fluency.

Graded readers are often created with the assumption that all learners can seamlessly decode text, leaving behind those who struggle with reading. This session shows how I have adapted the Easy-Read standard —originally created for native speakers with intellectual disabilities, low literacy, or difficulty processing complex information—to make graded readers more accessible for lower-secondary language learners. By simplifying the language and the way it is presented on the page, these materials support those with reading difficulties and make the information easier to read and understand. I will demonstrate how modifications in layout, text structure, illustrations, dialogue, and narrative style enhance readability, alongside a progressive introduction of vocabulary and the integration of paratextual elements that provide a single-page reading experience without overreliance on glossaries. Additionally, I will discuss how AI-driven tools can streamline these adaptations through “student personas,” allowing educators to tailor texts to specific learner needs.

The author analyzed the reading histories of 42 students in an ER program in Japan. They joined the program at 15 years old and read a million words or more of English texts for five to seven years. They were divided into three groups depending on their TOEIC score increase rate: 57, 121, and 187 points per million words on average. Their readability levels (Yomiyasusa-level: YL) and the total words read were analyzed. The lowest score-increase group had read 2.2 million total words and was reading the texts of YL 3.2 on average. In comparison, the highest score-increase group had read ‘fewer’ 1.2 total words and was reading ‘easier-to-read’ text of YL 2.1 when they both scored TOEIC 500. The result suggests that the optimum readability levels for Japanese elementary-level EFL learners are around YL 2.5 or even lower when their TOEIC scores are 500.

Numerous studies have been conducted to prove the efficacy of extensive reading (ER). The majority of them have revealed the impact of ER on receptive skills. How can ER affect productive skills? This presentation explores what aspects of ER could possibly influence the acquisition and retention of controlled productive vocabulary. Sixty-two English majors at a private university in Japan who experienced ER for 13 months participated in the study. They took the Productive Vocabulary Levels Test at the 2,000-word level 3 times: at the start of ER, toward the end of the second semester, and in the beginning of the third semester following the school closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings from statistical tests and analyses of the participants’ reading records will be discussed. Pedagogical suggestions will be offered to conclude the presentation.

As many have argued (e.g., Nation, 2013), extensive reading is a prime method for making progress in a foreign language. While students read, teachers have an active role to play (Yoshida, 2014), guiding students as to what to read, and setting clear assignments to encourage them to read. This presentation reports on the use of parallel assignments involving both paper books and digital books on an ER course at a Japanese university. Each format has advantages (Altamura, 2024; Pardede, 2019), but some students only explored both formats when assignment settings encouraged them to do so. The assignments were set in a well-known online reading platform. The presenter will describe how the course was managed as student interest and confidence in reading seemed to be falling, and report on student preferences for each format, as given in survey responses and shown in the reading data.

This study explores student perceptions of the Type 5: Integrated Extensive Reading (ER) Program, a structured standalone ER course implemented in the English Education Department at the fourth-semester level. Unlike traditional ER, which focuses on reading for pleasure, this program integrates reading, writing critical reviews, focus group discussions, and presentations to enhance engagement. The research examines how students perceive its implementation, particularly regarding academic experience, workload, and skill development. By analyzing student feedback, the study identifies challenges, advantages, and overall reception of the Integrated ER approach. Using qualitative methods, including student reflections and discussions, it highlights how students navigate the program, their engagement levels, and perceived impact on learning. The findings offer insights into how structured ER programs are received in higher education and provide recommendations for improving implementation, ensuring that ER remains an effective and engaging approach to developing language proficiency and critical thinking skills.

This research aims to provide educational suggestions by analyzing extensive reading strategy preferences of Japanese university students. Extensive reading was incorporated in an English class to enhance their English proficiency. The students read books from the library for the first 20 minutes of every 90-minute class. Subsequently, a questionnaire was conducted with 16 students, employing a five-point Likert scale. The questionnaire was based on the top 10 principles proposed by Day & Bamford (2002), which were originally written for teachers but were modified in terms of students. As a result, the most favored principles were reading easy materials, choosing what they want to read and reading for general understanding. Although modeling is generally considered an effective learning strategy, the teacher as a role model of a reader was the second least favored principle. Finally, teachers should introduce those preferred principles earlier in class, creating a learning environment to realize them.

Students enrolled in the second year of an elementary school teacher training course read extensively over a three-month period (once a week for 45 minutes x 9). The results of an English writing test (fluency, syntactic complexity, syntactic accuracy, lexical complexity) and a vocabulary survey (150 questions in total, 30 each at the 1000-, 2000-, 3000-, 4000-, and 5000-word levels) conducted before and after the extensive reading program showed no significant growth in writing skills, but significant growth in vocabulary was observed at the 1000-word level, the 4000-word level, and in total. The reflections written by the participants after the 3rd, 6th, and 9th lessons were analyzed qualitatively, and the factors behind the quantitative results were analyzed and implications will be discussed based on these results.

This study investigated the effectiveness of an online learning environment (OLE) to practice for reading and listening tests of Cambridge English language tests in a restricted post-COVID situation using additional reading and listening materials. This mixed-method, exploratory research used a convenience sample (n=100) of students aged 11 to 15 within six months. WhatsApp was used as a communication tool, while Zoom-based instructions and Google form-based formative assessments were administered in the OLE. Results revealed that the OLE was a convenient way to exam practice using extensive reading and listening materials, even with some infrastructure and digital literacy issues. Participation was high, and the results were excellent. However, a need to improve teachers' and students' basic computer literacy was observed. Limitations such as teachers’ knowledge about online teaching tools and ethics of working with online pedagogy were identified as areas for further research.

This study investigates the effectiveness of extensive reading and listening in an online teaching environment (OTE) to facilitate a group of female teachers aged 30 to 50 with restrictions to participating in face-to-face training sessions. OTE was a combination of MS Teams and other online tools. While the trainees were expected to refer to class notes and additional e-reading materials leisurely, synchronous online discussions were held to discuss the progress and conduct online evaluations. Data collection was done via interviews, an online blog and questionnaires. Though the trainees were reluctant to read and participate early, current findings show that the OTE facilitates and motivates the trainees at the expected level, leading to full participation in most online sessions later. While immediate support on technical matters has been adhered to as most participants lack technical knowledge, trainees can also contact the trainers online to address any urgent matter.

This presentation will discuss the neccessity and significance of setting up an assessment system for an ER programme for young learners. Although the aim of extensive reading is to read for pleasure, it is important for teachers to know the reading level of the students at different stages of the ER programme in order to assess students' progress and to reflect on the programme itself. Some tools and methods for diagnostic testing, periodic assessment and evaluation will be presented. The advantages and limitations of different assessment tools will also be discussed.

This presentation reports the preliminary results of an extensive reading (ER) program implemented using XReading, a subscription-based virtual library. Thirty-two students participated in a 9-week study as part of a college General English course in Taiwan. Using data from post-program questionnaires and focus group interviews, the study explores learners’ perceptions of XReading for ER and investigates ER’s impact on their attitudes towards reading in English, and perceived benefits and challenges. The study reveals that most participants responded positively to using XReading for the ER program. The findings indicate that learners generally perceived improvement in their overall reading ability, reading rate, vocabulary, and motivation to learn English. However, many failed to meet the reading goal due to time constraints, lack of interest, or selecting readers that were either too challenging or not to their preferences. Recommendations to enhance participation and guidance are discussed for better implementation of online ER programs.

Despite the variety of graded-reader (GR) titles in the major European languages, in their search for a “genuine” reading experience many curious learners and teachers peek beyond these GR at authentic literature. Although “authentic” books might seem incomprehensible for Japanese low-to-intermediate-level learners of German, this search is worthwhile because there are few truly low-level GR available. A previous book analysis of the Gruffalo and the positive feedback from students concerning the enjoyability of such a challenging book further fuel prospects of authentic texts. Considering the Japanese setting this study analyses Manga and children's books for their suitability as extensive reading materials. Keeping an eye on the balance between supporting factors such as pictures, familiarity and shorter idea-units on the one hand, and the challenging grammar and vocabulary on the other, we will present book analyses trying to map out strategies to identify appropriate reading material.

Since the late 1990s, the acquisition of foreign languages—particularly English—has garnered significant attention both globally and within the Mongolian educational context. Despite this growing interest, achieving successful outcomes in English language learning remains challenging and, at times, stressful, often resulting in limited progress. In Mongolia, the need for effective English language teaching and learning strategies has become increasingly urgent. While national policies outline clear expectations for English proficiency, classroom realities often reveal a gap between these standards and practical implementation. Many students lack access to tools that facilitate the active use of English, including vocabulary development and reading practice. This paper explores effective practices in Extensive Reading (ER) activities that align with standardized English instruction. It argues that digital platforms such as Xreading.com play a vital role in bridging the gap between policy goals and classroom practices.

Graded readers are essential for language acquisition, but their effectiveness depends on quality stories, linguistic accessibility, and cultural relevance. While many graded readers exist, few are tailored to specific local cultures. Many stories are based on Western norms, which may not resonate in non-Western countries. This presentation focuses on developing graded readers for Thai learners of English, considering their cultural perspectives, reading preferences, and linguistic challenges. Drawing from a project funded by The Fundamental Fund, Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI), the session explores narrative styles, familiar themes, cultural frameworks, interests, and vocabulary needs that align with Thai sensibilities. It also discusses how the materials from this project align with the Thai National Curriculum to enhance motivation and comprehension. The session provides practical insights for educators, publishers, and curriculum designers looking to create engaging and culturally sensitive reading materials.

Extensive Reading (ER) has been widely recognized for its benefits in enhancing reading comprehension and motivation. With the growing integration of technology in ER programs, digital reading platforms such as XReading have emerged as valuable tools for engaging learners. While previous research has largely focused on the experiences of highly motivated readers, studies comparing avid and reluctant readers remain scarce. This study explores how XReading can foster Directed Motivational Currents (DMCs) among both reader types, providing insights into factors that influence their engagement with ER. By employing a mixed-methods approach, the study investigates the role of digital reading platforms in sustaining long-term motivation and proposes inclusive strategies to support learners with varying levels of reading commitment. The findings contribute to the ongoing discourse on technology-assisted ER and offer pedagogical implications for designing more effective and inclusive reading programs.

As the population of 18-year-olds declines in Japan, the number of international students has increased in recent years. This presentation focuses on the impact of ER on international students enrolled in a range of EFL courses at a Japanese university from 2020 to 2024. Sixty-four students from 10 countries participated in 17 classes with Japanese peers. Since 2020, X-Reading has been used online in ER classes, while paper books in others. The reading target varies by class (native books for a fluent student). The presenter will show the reading amount, the series and tasks/activities they liked, and the results of the C-Test. She will include the data on their educational backgrounds and motives for taking English classes. The results from the comprehensive class survey have provided positive support for implementing ER linguistically and/or affectively. Overall, ER conducted in a globalized learning environment created synergy for the international and Japanese students.

Stories about national heroes are essential for teaching history and understanding the concept of heroism in Indonesian society. However, picturebooks effectively capturing their significance remain scarce. This study aims to reconstruct national hero narratives in picturebooks and investigate elementary school students’ responses to them. We employed a research and development approach with ADDIE design (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation) focusing on five heroes from Aceh Province. 62 elementary school students from Aceh Province were involved as participants. Their responses of reading the books were gathered through classroom observations, artefacts, and interviews. The results of qualitative analysis shows that our picturebooks foster the students’ critical engagement with Aceh history and culture. The students were able to interpret the texts dynamically, drawing connections between textual information, visual images, fictional elements, and historical concepts. This highlights the potential of picturebooks to enrich historical teaching and learning in complex and meaningful ways.

This study examined the effectiveness of different English reading instruction approaches at two Korean engineering universities. At University A (U-A), students engaged in extensive reading (ER) using English novels exclusively, while University B (U-B) employed a blended approach combining intensive reading (IR) of EFL textbook passages with ER assignments. The study involved 167 participants using pre- and post-tests. At U-A, intermediate-level students showed significant improvement in reading comprehension, whereas advanced-level students made modest gains. At U-B, advanced-level students experienced substantial improvement. Survey results indicated that students at both universities viewed English novel reading positively. However, U-B students preferred TOEFL-style reading, while U-A students favored peer discussions about novels. The findings suggest that the blended approach offers measurable advantages in test performance due to its alignment with TOEFL’s emphasis on detailed comprehension, while ER provides motivational and developmental benefits, indicating that a balanced mix of ER and IR may optimize curricula.

Since 2023, I have implemented an extensive reading program for newly enrolled sixth - graders. A year later, Shanghai began its new curriculum reform. This presentation highlights a personally - devised 10 - Tier Reading System in a Chinese public school, where the students are aged 11 - 12. The system started with the traditional Chinese comic story Journey to the West (Lexile ~ 350L) and advanced to novels such as Frindle. After one year, it has yielded significant outcomes: an average reading volume of 200,000 words per year (with the word count recorded in their reading logs) and a 38% growth in vocabulary knowledge (measured by a vocabulary test app). Combined with ER and the newly-reformed text books, this system has effectively transformed some struggling readers into more confident ones.

This talk is for people thinking about writing or self-publishing graded readers. It will reflect on my experiences writing over 25 published graded readers. The talk will start by outlining my teaching context and experience running extensive reading programs for over ten years at a Japanese university. It will then cover how the reading challenges some of my learners were facing motivated me to write graded readers. The talk will then outline how I became a published graded reader author and then later an independent publisher of graded readers. Later, the talk will reflect on the challenges of writing material for lower-proficiency-level young adult readers. It will also look at tools and platforms useful for starting out in self-publishing including editing and grading text, cover design and audio, getting ISBNs, and publishing print and eBooks on different platforms.

This research explores the perspectives of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students about using Learning Management System (LMS)-based reading logs as a measure to encourage extensive reading in the digital age. An online questionnaire was administered to 125 third-year English majors at a public university in central Vietnam to examine their attitudes, preferences, and perceptions of benefits as well as challenges associated with LMS-based reading logs. The findings show that most students had positive attitudes toward LMS-based reading logs, emphasizing benefits like improving their reading skills, enhancing positive reading habits, enhancing self-study skills, and increasing their learning motivation. However, students faced several challenges when making LMS-based reading logs, including time constraints, workload, lack of cognitive skills for reflection, self-discipline issues, and insufficient teacher support and feedback. These problems can suggest some further improvements to increase the effectiveness of applying this kind of activity in EFL reading courses.

When reading extensively, learners often exhibit a state of deep concentration and involvement, known as flow. Second language (L2) researchers increasingly recognize flow states as crucial for understanding their engagement in reading. However, our comprehensive review of L2 flow research identified that limited research exists on flow in English as a foreign language (EFL) reading tasks, particularly in Japanese classrooms. This study examines how task characteristics influence flow in EFL reading. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used, based on data from a total of 230 participants. The findings indicate that reading tasks with clear goals, an optimal challenge-skill balance, and intrinsic interest significantly promote flow, enhancing learner engagement and motivation. Interest in reading materials is identified as a key driver of sustained flow, underscoring the importance of content selection in curriculum design. The study provides practical insights into the long-term impact of flow-enhancing reading strategies on language proficiency.

This action research investigated a center-wide "Reading Challenge" Extensive Reading (ER) program within a private language center catering to Vietnamese EFL young learners (aged 6-12, A1-A2 levels), a context under-researched within the ER literature. The program, successfully conducted annually for four years, was followed by an attempt to integrate ER into individual classrooms. Data collected through pre- and post-program teacher interviews provided insights into teacher beliefs, attitudes, and encountered challenges. Findings revealed that the "Reading Challenge" allowed teachers to recognize its benefits for enhancing students' reading comprehension, vocabulary, and reading habits. However, integrating ER into regular classroom instruction proved challenging in terms of materials and time constraints, hindering widespread adoption. This study identifies key areas for program improvement specific to private language center contexts, offering valuable recommendations for both practitioners and researchers.

Mini-Bibliobattle, a book-report activity in which students present and vote for their favorite books, has been reported to enhance learners' interest in reading and improve their presentation skills. This activity can be incorporated into ER, and students can present their books and bridge reading with speaking. However, the specific factors that distinguish Book-Champions from other participants in terms of reading and presentation styles remain unclear. A questionnaire survey revealed that winners were more likely to: 1) attract the audience’s attention, 2) speak fluently without hesitation, and 3) use gestures frequently. Follow-up interviews indicated that winners read their presenting books more carefully than other books, focusing on key highlights. Additionally, they selected books that personally interested them, allowed them to incorporate their own experiences, or had storylines that were easy for the audience to understand. These findings suggest that Mini-Bibliobattle encourages students to engage in more careful reading and deliver more captivating presentations.

The aim of the “READ & REACH” program is to foster English reading, writing, and creativity through highlighted authors’ writings and books. In the scope of the program, readers at different levels of English language are enabled to engage in extensive reading experience both speaking and writing. One of the engaging part of this program is "Speak to an Author Meeting" which offers an opportunity for ER readers to meet authors of their favorite stories. A reading theme is chosen per month or quarter, named after an authentic author feature or publishing house on Xreading VL. We will be sharing our insights on this unique experience of Author Meetings with educators, ESL teachers and graded book authors of ERWC7.

With English returning to the Indonesia's primary school curriculum in 2027, early exposure to English texts is essential. However, many schools, including Bopkri Gondolayu Yogyakarta Primary School, have limited access to English reading materials, restricting students’ opportunities to develop reading skills. The lack of extensive reading resources in school libraries further complicates English teachers’ efforts to integrate reading into lessons. To address this, the English Language Education and Product Design Study Programs of Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana Yogyakarta have collaborated to establish the Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) English Reading Corner at Bopkri Gondolayu’s library. This initiative provides 50 leveled readers, organized on specially designed shelves according to the seven virtues of Kurikulum Merdeka, the Freedom Curriculum. The program aims to (1) enhance students’ exposure to English texts, (2) cultivate a habit of extensive reading, and (3) assist teachers in incorporating leveled readers into English instruction.

How can EFL teachers empower students through Extensive Reading? What is the difference between Intensive and Extensive Reading? Which is mostly practised in class? How can we design reading lessons that raise social awareness and encourage students to take action in real-world issues? Enjoy participating in a lesson that explores extensive reading as a tool to empower teenagers in overcoming difficulties in life and in persuing their dreams.

The ERF Graded Reader List is an online database featuring English graded readers from over 30 major publishers. Data for each book include publisher, series, word count, headwords, level (publisher, CEFR), genre, format, awards, etc. The main database consists of a separate Google Sheets file for each publisher. A companion, all-in-one list includes a limited set of data for all books in one searchable Google Sheets file, viewable on mobile devices. This presentation will provide an overview of the history and features of the List, as well as thoughts on continuing development. Discussion will focus on how the list might be improved, particularly on ways in which current technology could enhance its usefulness and functionality for educators and learners.

In my presentation I would share my experience about an approach called ”Student Triangle of Support,” known as a three way relationship that exists between parent, teacher and child that opens communications lines for helping students succeed. An English reading development plan was discussed by parents and teachers then we used an ER online library and held a reading marathon was named ‘’Let’s read with purposes as a class.” 58 students participated in the marathon. Students read in small teams several times, created book posters, and organized creature exhibition that encourage them to continue reading. Explaining their creative works to the parents and teachers helped them develop good presentation skills. As a result, ER was succcessful in my class because developing students' reading skillsis always encouraged by both parents and teachers.

The presenter demonstrates how pre-enrollment English assignments at a university are managed for in-coming high school graduates, using various online programs including digital extensive reading. Between 2021 and 2024, Xreading has been assigned as part of pre-entrance tasks. High school students admitted to the university are encouraged to read 60,000 words worth of graded readers while they are still not enrolled, some of whom reading over a few million words within four months and submitting dozens of journals. The presenter will demonstrate how the task is implemented, followed up, and connects to the students’ English learning at the university. She will also demonstrate the students’ accomplishment over the years and their feedback on the program, which may be of interest to teachers considering extensive reading as a bridging tool.

This presentation will share insights into Wuri and the Waves, a story that was commissioned by the Extensive Reading Foundation in 2024 to be used for a reading roadshow in Indonesia. Reflecting on the themes of resilience, loss, identity and change, crafting this narrative required balancing accessible language with complex emotions, demonstrating that graded readers are not just language tools but powerful vehicles for meaning and for the co creation of meaning on the part of the reader. Writing this story was an exploration of how storytelling can carry deep emotional impact. As the story unfolded it became, to a certain extent, a metaphor for how learning happens.

Many young EFL learners struggle with fluency and comprehension despite years of exposure to English books. Even early readers among them often fail to develop strong reading skills, leading to frustration and disengagement. In Korea, parents often enroll children in reading programs, hoping for dramatic results from early English reading. When progress is slow, however, extensive reading loses credibility, and many parents turn to grammar-translation programs. Repeated reading and listening can restore reading programs’ credibility by effectively improving fluency, comprehension, and confidence. This presentation explores strategies for engaging students in rereading and relistening to familiar texts, reinforcing language patterns and retention. Techniques, like story mapping, shadow reading, and echo reading enhance fluency and comprehension. Repeated exposure to text and audio develops automaticity, improves pronunciation, and strengthens listening skills, leading to greater reading success. By applying these methods, educators can help struggling readers become more proficient, confident English learners.

Leadership competencies are crucial for university leaders. They are required to equip themselves with knowledge and skills needed to develop themselves, their institutions and their teams. This study focuses on self-regulated reading (SRR) that can elevate these competencies by recommending intentional and reflective reading practices. It also discusses how SRR is embedded in leadership development programs, pointing out its potential to gain leaders’ competencies to face the challenges of universities. 90 participants did SRR first and implemented the leadership strategies at their workplaces. An online survey was conducted to collect data and mix-method was used for analysis. The results presented that SRR could elevate leaders’ intellectual capacity and provide them with competencies of business savvy, strategic decision making and building organizational talent. This study also revealed that academic competencies were not sufficient. University leaders also needed to be more capable becoming professional business administrators.

This study attempts to reveal the process of learner-identity building through discursive practice to promote L2 extensive reading in a university classroom. Few studies approached reading quality that involve readers’ agentivity in realizing general comprehension (i.e., ‘normal’ reading as in L1) (Waring & McLean, 2015). In the framework of legitimate peripheral participation (Lave & Wenger, 1991), this study heuristically observed the focal students’ participation degree in the interactions utilizing Young’s (2007) notion of interactional competence. The results revealed the complexity of EFL learners’ identity shifting process, substantiated by conversation analysis (CA) and concurrently balancing reading rate and accuracy, which resulted in reading fluency tests. The multiple data to triangulate CA demonstrated the trajectories of individual students’ various degrees of ER treatment spanning 25 weeks; some were absorbed in stories with unconscious reading rate and accuracy adjustment, and the others remained in verbatim translation of L2 text comprehension.

Virtual exchanges and COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) allow students in participating classes to communicate with peers around the world, an experience that can be highly motivating for students. These programs often get off to an exciting start when students first meet their counterparts from another country. However, the exchanges soon start to suffer due to a lack of input necessary foster engaging discussions. Extensive Reading provides students with input, but many students lack motivation to read. Combining the two can be a recipe for success. In this session, the presenter will discuss a proposed virtual exchange in which each week, students prepare for a meeting with their partner in another country by reading a graded reader about a different aspect of their partner’s country. Entering the meeting with detailed knowledge of the topic and some related questions can result in more engaging interaction.

Research on extensive reading (ER) is often limited by a lack of control over how the ER treatments are conducted and assessed. Recent studies suggest that when ER activities are self-reported and unmonitored, participants may falsify reading records, introducing bias into research findings (Mikami & Shiozawa, 2023). Moreover, few studies investigate the comparative effects of other ER-based approaches, such as extensive listening (EL) and audio-assisted extensive reading (AER). This study aimed to examine the impact of monitored ER, EL, and AER on the general language proficiency development of learners of Japanese as a foreign language. Using an experimental design, we collected and analyzed participants’ standardized language proficiency test scores from the Japanese Computerized Adaptive Test. While our preliminary one-year findings indicated that AER outperforms ER and EL, this presentation will report the comprehensive results of our three-year study, offering deeper insights into the efficacy of these approaches for language acquisition.

This study aimed to improve writing skills in students, including increased vocabulary acquisition in university writing classes by incorporating both Extensive Reading and Explicit Vocabulary Teaching. The class used for this research had 29 students and ran for one semester. Compared with the 75% of the students who completed their task of reading 20 Extensive Reading texts, the 25% of students who could not complete them showed lower writing accuracy in writing tasks. 37% of students out of the 75% of students also showed an increase in reading speed of on average of 20 seconds over one minute on the post-test. Moreover, Explicit Vocabulary Teaching of both synonyms and derivatives showed an increase in post-test scores of three times higher compared to the pre-test. These findings can hopefully contribute to providing a valuable baseline for writing teachers.

Research into the pedagogical benefits of Extensive Reading has bloomed in the last decade, yet socio-cultural content of ER materials has not received similar attention. While there is a significant body of literature related to gender in ELT textbooks, research into gender representation in English-language graded readers is nearly non-existent. The presenters worked to address this gap through a collaborative, two-pronged study of English graded readers. A set of narrative fiction readers and another of non-fiction readers, including titles from several publishers, were selected while considering relevance in the researchers' teaching context. The researchers examined and coded the visual and textual content in the selected readers for gendered representations and used content analysis to build a description of each set, then compared and contrasted the respective data. This session will present the findings in detail, explore the implications for instructors and ER programs, and note further avenues for related research.

The Extensive Listening (EL) program, inspired by Extensive Reading (ER), emphasizes regular exposure to authentic audio materials supplemented with text support. ER Central facilitates this program through material delivery, progress tracking, and quiz administration. This study explores the effectiveness of an EL program using ER Central in improving Indonesian university students' TOEFL listening comprehension. The program was implemented for one semester with 61 English course students, who underwent pre- and post-tests using the TOEFL listening section. Findings revealed a significant improvement in students' TOEFL listening scores, with an average increase of 26.89 points from pre-test (378.52) to post-test (405.41). A paired t-test confirmed the statistical significance of this improvement (t = -5.085, p < 0.001). However, correlations between the number of quizzes, average quiz scores, and score improvements were weak and insignificant, suggesting that frequent quizzes alone may not directly enhance listening comprehension.

One of the challenges of implementing extensive reading (ER) programs is the lack of shared knowledge about how these programs are structured and managed in different contexts. To address this, we propose the creation of an Extensive Reading Program Database—an open, collaborative platform where teachers can upload and share detailed information about their ER programs. This database will allow educators to contribute insights into their program design, implementation, challenges, and successes. It will serve as a resource for teachers looking to start or improve their own programs by providing examples from real-world contexts. Attendees will learn how this platform promotes collaboration, fosters innovation, and enhances the collective understanding of best practices in ER. Join us to explore how this database can empower educators, facilitate knowledge exchange, and strengthen the global ER community, ensuring greater success for extensive reading initiatives worldwide.

This session will discuss how such a database might be created and implemented with attendees.

Recently many publishers are increasingly disinterested in developing graded readers, and no longer prioritize promoting their existing graded reader catalogs, leading to these valuable resources becoming largely unavailable in bookstores worldwide.

This presentation will address this critical issue and propose a solution: educators, researchers, and passionate individuals must take the initiative to create graded readers themselves. By leveraging insights from language teaching and learning needs, this grassroots effort can fill the void left by publishers and ensure a continuous supply of accessible, engaging, and pedagogically sound materials. Practical strategies for independent graded reader development, including collaboration, funding, and digital distribution, will be discussed. The goal is to inspire a movement to sustain and revitalize extensive reading through proactive, community-driven efforts. This presentation will report on two major graded reader writing projects in Thailand and Indonesia and will show was attendees might get involved.

This presentation unveils Thai university teachers’ implementation of extensive reading (ER) in foundation English courses for non-English majors. 63 participants responded to an online questionnaire and eight respondents joined semi-structured Zoom interviews. Questionnaire respondents were categorized into Groups A (less experienced with ER) and B (more experienced). Findings revealed that there was no significant difference in their perceptions of ER implementation aims between the two groups and there were strong correlations between some aim sets. Both groups generally demonstrated similar ER practices, with the majorities making ER mandatory, using a mix of paper-based and online formats, and relying on free materials. Additionally, both groups commonly used intensive reading materials, indicating potentially inappropriate material usage for ER. The findings underscore the need for more teacher training on ER and materials selection to enhance their understanding and practice of ER.

ER learners have many opportunities to be exposed to materials about social issues, activists and people who have contributed to our world. Many graded readers address these topics, though learners tend not to choose such books proactively. In Hokusei Junior College's ER course, the instructor chooses some short books to read to the students in class. Reading aloud to learners has benefits and presents the opportunity to expose the learners to various topics. Randomly introducing topics on the instructor’s whim can seem unnatural, however relating it to a special day can be a convenient way to broach the topic and possibly generate further interest. Every year is full of special days, such as Earth Day, Malala Day, and even World Chocolate Day. Sharing books related to these days with students contributes to global issues education, even in the context of a curriculum not specifically designed to do so.

For the past ten years, I have worked as a reading mentor, guiding Korean elementary students in English reading. I’ve seen that children who enjoy coaching and feel happy coming to the reading center are more likely to develop lasting reading habits. This led me to an important insight: before building language skills, we must first build a child’s positive attitude toward English. This presentation shares the “magic” of focusing on strengths. When we recognize and support a child’s strengths, we grow their confidence and love for English. This strength-based approach begins with the teacher. Educators who value their own strengths can better inspire students. Lastly, I will offer practical coaching strategies to help students build a positive bond with English and with themselves. With the right approach, reading becomes a joyful and powerful experience—making Happy Reading a reality.

This presentation addresses common challenges in expanding English vocabulary and presents effective solutions. Many learners struggle with limited word acquisition and retention, which hampers effective communication. One issue is the passive learning of vocabulary through reading without active engagement. To help learners convert passive vocabulary into active vocabulary, learners should keep a vocabulary journal to document new words, along with their meanings and context. Another challenge is the lack of practical application; learners often do not use new vocabulary in conversation. Participating in language exchange groups or discussion forums can provide opportunities to practice these words actively. Furthermore, relying solely on traditional methods can stifle creativity. Incorporating fun techniques, such as word games and multimedia resources, can enhance learning experiences. Lastly, setting achievable goals, like learning a "word of the day," promotes consistent growth. By identifying these problems and implementing targeted solutions, learners can significantly improve their English vocabulary and overall communication skills.

Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) is a reading practice employed by educators to encourage students to maintain focus and engagement in texts. (Garan & DeVoogd, 2008; Lee, 2007). Studies done show the efficacy of the practice. This paper seeks to report on student attitudes towards the practice. A survey was given to university students participating in SSR on a weekly basis during reading-oriented classes. Three first-year university student populations were chosen. The survey was based on prior action-research done by the educator, and a study done previously on the idea by Boakye (2017). Students were asked their views on perceived reading gains, reading enjoyment, and how much SSR should last in class. The results are analyzed and given context. The study makes suggestions about effective use of SSR in the EFL classroom.

Shanghai H2 company has been implementing the integrated approach of ‘extensive reading + intensive reading’ in Shanghai for over a decade. With two campuses in Pudong, Shanghai, we have guided reading development for more than 1,000 children. How do we synergize these two methodologies? ‘Intensive reading’ is delivered through structured classroom instruction. ‘Extensive reading’ is facilitated post-class at home using curated booklists. Throughout this process, our teachers provide personalized reading guidance to help children cultivate consistent daily reading habits. Notably, we emphasize the listening-first principle in language acquisition. During the extensive reading phase, we systematically incorporate large-scale extensive listening tasks to reinforce learning. What defines our core strengths? We are Shanghai's pioneer in guiding children to read authentic original-language books daily. Every child who joins us develops a genuine love for reading – there's not a single exception. Our presentation will comprehensively detail these evidence-based practices.

In rural areas, students face significant challenges in developing their English language skills due to limited opportunities for participation in extracurricular programs, clubs, and circles. These constraints restrict their ability to engage in additional learning and growth. However, the X-Reading e-library provides a valuable solution by offering a platform that allows students to improve their English skills at their own pace. This digital library gives students access to books tailored to their language level and personal interests, fostering a love of reading while enhancing comprehension and vocabulary. Furthermore, the platform encourages active involvement from parents and guardians, enabling them to track their child’s progress and support their learning journey. By integrating the X-Reading e-library into rural education, students gain the opportunity to develop their English language skills independently, fostering more equitable learning opportunities and promoting lifelong learning.

In 2024, the number of Chinese students taking the Cambridge English Main Suite Examinations (MSE) reached 470,000 person-times. However, the combined excellent rate and outstanding rate for KET is 33.6%, for PET is 20.6% and for FCE is 16.2%. Most of the examinees have relatively low scores in reading and listening, and those who pass the exams often need to rely on their writing and speaking to boost their overall scores. Behind these figures, it indicates the insufficient amount of English reading among Chinese teenagers. For those learners who achieve full marks in reading and listening, it reflects their extensive English reading. This presentation will show the positive effects of extensive reading on preparing for the MSE, and report on case analyses.

I teach in a Mongolian public school in Ulaanbaatar with average class sizes of 35-40. This presentation will explore how I use Xreading to get my students reading and to keep them reading. We will discuss and explore: getting started with Xreading; getting and keeping students reading out of class at home; using Xreading for in class reading; motivating non-readers and reluctant readers; how I use data; and how I involve parents and families. I will also explain the benefits of using Xreading for all students to read the same book at the same time together in class, and the benefits of having everyone read individually their own book choices at their own chosen level at their own speed. In Mongolia using Xreading is a dramatic shift from mostly just teaching grammar exercises and I want to encourage others to make this same exciting change.

Reading is one of crucial language skill. To thrive at reading, as well as to understand the subject and advance in reading, students must cultivate reading habit and interest. Hereby, this study aims to investigate more about the reading habit and interest of Indonesian university students in order to evaluate the phenomena of low interest in reading. The result found that 90.8% of students like reading but they preferred reading in Bahasa Indonesia (92.1%). Most students accessed reading materials through bookstores (54%) and had a primary motivation of increasing knowledge (69.7%), aligning with the overarching purpose of seeking information and knowledge (43.4%). Challenges in the form of distractions from social media and television (39.5%) were identified as obstacles to reading. The implications of these findings extend to educational policymakers and curriculum developers to tailor reading programs, enhance library resources, and adapt curriculum content to better engage students and foster literacy.

JALT (Japan Association for Language Teaching) ER Special Interest Group (SIG) hosts a monthly online presentation about all aspects of extensive reading. PresentERs takes place on Zoom on the last Sunday of the month. You do not have to be a JALT member to participate or present. Everyone interested in ER is welcome. Past presentations are uploaded on the JALT ER SIG Youtube channel, but by attending live, participants can engage in lively discussions, Q&A sessions, and exchange information with other instructors. The purpose of this presentation is to raise awareness of PresentERs to the wider ER community.

Extensive reading is one of the many tools available to EFL teachers. Extensive reading can be an effective starting point for creating lifelong readers and learners. Allowing students to see themselves in their reading content is essential to turn teacher empathy into a productive learning tool. When educators use extensive reading to get their students started on reading, deeper engagement can be made via inquiry-based learning, allowing students to draw on their L1 expertise and L2 learning. By encouraging students to ask questions—particularly those with personal importance—they may discover new learning paths and open themselves up to a broader variety of level-appropriate and graded reading materials. This presentation will discuss how extensive reading and inquiry-based learning may be utilized to extend and personalize the literacy experience.

Why do we want students to read? What do we want students to get out of the stories and books that we ask them to read? In this presentation, two teachers –one Mongolian and one American- will discuss their working together in a Mongolian secondary school in Ulaanbaatar. They combined using an Xreading approach with students (where each student reads different texts at different levels and in different genres) and all students reading the same text together with activities to find common themes (resiliency, empathy and overcoming adversity) and homebased activities that involve parents with students’ emerging English learning and reading.

The study will focus on the effects of integrated and segregted class settings to improve reading to students. One curriculum states that teaching of English must be integrated. However, there are still some schools applying segregated class setting in improving the students` skills. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to find out (1) whether integrated and segregated class settings could improve students` reading skill (2) which class settings should be applied to encourage students in reading. The nonrandomized control-group pretest-posttest design was used and 60 out of 128 students were purposively taken as sample. The activities were reading aloud and identifying topic and information in texts. The finding showed the segregated class setting could improve reading skill more than the integrated class setting did. Teachers were suggested to apply segregated class setting to encourage students` reading interest. This session will provide strategies for encouraging reading in segregated class setting.

How can we make language learning more memorable and meaningful? Story-logic—the deep structure of narrative built on character, conflict, and attempted resolution—offers a powerful way to enhance comprehension, motivation, and retention. In this session, we’ll explore how story-logic shapes communication and language learning, synthesizing research on how story-driven input boosts engagement and acquisition. We’ll examine findings showing how story-logic amplifies meaning-making, helping learners understand, enjoy, and retain language more effectively.

Participants will gain strategies for using story-logic in teaching. We’ll explore techniques that center on predicament-powered, dilemma-driven, and incident-embedded texts and activities. We’ll also try story-logical retelling for retrieval practice and apply narrative techniques to both fictional and factual output. Whether teaching reading or any other skill, story-logic provides a blueprint for making language learning more compelling and effective. Attendees will leave equipped with practical story-logical tools they can use right away.

B.B.カードは幼児、小学生から大人まで幅広い世代を対象とした英語学習ツールとして、民間英語教室や小中学校等で使われている。英語多読との相性の良さも長年指摘されてきた。本発表では、認知言語学の「使用基盤モデル」の視点から、その特徴を分析する。特に言語の８割を占めるという「定型表現」の習得と「読み」の前段階として重要な「音」の蓄積に焦点をあてる。併せてB.B.カード及び絵本の読み聞かせと「一緒読み」を通して英語の「自力読み」に至った事例についての報告をする。「足場がけ」として母語を使い「意味を理解して読む」ことの意義、さらに学習者中心の授業を行う際の指導者の役割について振り返る。

英語専門学校、高専、予備校での数年の多読指導を経て、2008年からカルチャーセンターで大人対象の多読講座を開いてきた。さらに４年前に空家を活用して私設の英語図書館Goodieをスタートした。 十数年に渡って英語を読んできた受講生が、どんな本を読み、どのような楽しみ方をしているか、記録や体験談をもとに伝えるとともに、多読から始めて、長期に渡って英語読書を続けるためにどのような働きかけやサポートしてきたかをふり返る。 また、生涯学習としての英語多読が、読書コミュニティを形成を促し、参加者のウェルビーイングに役立つ可能性について考えてみる。

In this moderated session, the scholarship recipients who received funding to support their attendance at ERWC7 will share solutions to some of the main problems associated with ER. Common challenges including limited awareness of ER in training on pedagogical approaches, rigid curriculum and institutional policies, and a lack of localized research evidence all hamper initiatives to implement ER. Although these are significant hurdles, it is only with access to suitable materials that ER/EL/EV can be introduced and delivered effectively to move forward in addressing these challenges. The success in grassroots classrooms and institutional programs depends on teachers having interesting, level-appropriate, graded materials for their learners. Drawing from their experience and summarizing a range of presentations at this Congress, the panelists will share examples of resources available and novel methods being taken to overcome this primary limitation. Participants will be able to add and take away valuable ideas.

近年、生成AI（大規模言語モデル）の進展により、英語学習における教材作成の可能性が広がっている。本発表では、生成AIを活用したオーダーメイド型多読テキストの作成とその教育的意義について報告する。特に自己決定理論（SDT）に基づき、生成AIによる個別最適化テキストが多読活動における内発的動機づけをどのように促進するかを考察する。さらに、中高生や大学生向けに試作したテキスト例を紹介し、その有用性についても議論する。生成AIを単なる教材作成ツールではなく、学習者の心理的ニーズ支援ツールとして捉え直す可能性を提示し、今後の応用と展望について参加者と議論を深める。

東京世田谷にある中高一貫校では、2004年から英語の授業に多読プログラムが導入され、授業内多読や本の貸し出しを６年間の学校生活で継続して行っている。2025年2月、卒業生を対象にgoogle formを使ってアンケートが実施され、大学生、大学院生、社会人を含む156名から回答があった。読了語数は30万語未満から300万語以上にわたり、自由回答をコーディングすると3つのコンセプトに集約できた。生徒たちは、多読のプログラムが現在の自分の英語学習や生き方にも影響を与えたと答えた。実施された多読の活動を振り返り、効果的なアプローチ、多読環境の整え方、指導法についても考察する。

We have been conducting a 6-year Extensive Reading program for grade 7 to grade 12 students since 2006. Our ER program is divided into 3 stages. The first stage takes students from beginners to being able to read Oxford Bookworms Level 1. The second stage involves students reading YL 2.0-4.0 graded readers such as Cambridge English Readers Level 2 to 4 and children’s chapter books such as the Magic Tree House series. The third and final stage is when students read children’s books and young adult books such as Harry Potter, Holes, and House of Night, whose YLs are higher than 4.5. In each stage, we will show you what points we pay attention to, what books we use, what difficulties weaker learners face, and how many years students need to get from one stage to the next.

This presentation first examines the current state of reading and especially extensive reading in the university context in Vietnam. This review shows that EFL reading classes in Vietnam almost exclusively teach reading intensively with little to no effort made to engage the students in systematic ER programs. We will then discuss the potential solutions to more smoothly implement an ER program in Vietnam by providing an example of one such ER program at our university. The particulars of our ERF supported ER program will then be explained followed by a review of its goals and achievements. In closing, we will propose some future steps we plan to take to not only embed ER more deeply into our curriculum, but mention ways to expand this model to other universities and schools in the region.

英語多読指導の要所を解説します。高専生向け7年継続多読授業では、訳読からの卒業を前半の目標、90分の継続読書を後半の目標と設定し、毎週１回の多読通年授業での平均読書語数は約200万語弱でした。訳読からの卒業には、絵本から始めることが不可欠で、聴き読みが効果的と感じました。また、100万語読破後も英文レベルを低く（YL2.5以下）誘導したところTOEIC得点上昇率が高まりました。日本語を介さずに内容を理解し、英語で考えること（Comprehensible input）を実現するために必要な英文レベルは、想定よりも低いのではないかと考えました。実際に高専生が読んでいた英文レベル（YL）とその時のTOEIC得点との関係データを示し、適切な英文レベルを検討したいと思います。

Considering the significance of critical thinking skills in Discourse Analysis, this study explores the effectiveness of reading, particularly in analyzing the representation of the former Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Before engaging in discussion and paper writing, 20 sixth-semester intermediate English students read two 1,000-word newspaper articles weekly for five weeks on post-presidency activities. This task aims to enhance their critical reading skills, expose them to varied discourse strategies, and provide a rich foundation for discussion. After the discussion, students complete a questionnaire assessing the impact of reading on analytical engagement and discourse comprehension. Preliminary findings suggest that the task aids in identifying linguistic patterns, contextual influences, and ideological framing in media texts, leading to more nuanced discussions and deeper analytical insights. Utilizing a qualitative research method, this study highlights the role of reading in fostering critical thinking and discourse competence, reinforcing its value as a pedagogical tool in discourse analysis courses.

This presentation will describe a study investigating the role of collaborative learning in enhancing student engagement in ER. While this topic has been widely documented, little attention has been paid to collaborative reading in online environment. First-year EFL college students were instructed to share their ER experiences with their peers through an LMS while working on ER. A post-course questionnaire was administered to examine the extent to which collaboration influenced their learning process. The findings suggest that collaborative learning had a positive impact on various aspects of students’ reading engagement, including goal achievement (e.g., word count and book completion), self-regulation in pacing, adherence to deadlines, and the selection of appropriate reading materials. These results indicate that incorporating collaborative elements into ER programs may enhance student motivation and accountability, particularly among reluctant readers. The study underscores the potential of collaborative learning in fostering more effective and engaging ER experiences.

Extensive reading (ER) has clear benefits for reading and writing skills, vocabulary, and more (Bamford et al., 2004). However, its significance is still emerging among novice Vietnamese EFL teachers, particularly those taking Teaching English as a Second Language courses (TESOL). This mixed-method action research aims to explore ER-related perceptions among these teachers and enhance TESOL course content by integrating ER into their traning process. The participants includes 40 novice Vietnamese EFL teachers at a TESOL center in Ho Chi Minh City. Data will be collected through semi-structured interviews and surveys during 12 weeks. Findings will provide insights into novice teaches’ beliefs about ER, allowing TESOL trainers to adjust the curriculum to emphasize the benefits of ER and effective ER-promoting strategies. Ultimately, this can engage their future students in ER, improving their overall English skills.

Extensive reading (ER) provides learners with opportunities to read for enjoyment and develop reading skills without formal assessments This study investigates factors influencing both motivation or the reasons students choose to read and engagement or how actively they participate in a weekly graded reading program involving 52 university students in a critical reading class. Using surveys and semi-structured interviews, the study explores students' experiences, challenges, and perceived benefits of ER. Findings reveal key motivators that sustain participation, as well as obstacles that may hinder engagement. The session offers insights into how ER activities can foster student engagement and potentially increase the amount of reading they do. Attendees will gain practical recommendations for implementing ER in similar educational contexts and strategies to encourage students to read more through meaningful engagement.

The Five-Finger Rule is a widely recommended strategy for selecting appropriate reading materials in Extensive Reading (ER) programs, particularly for language learners using graded readers. This study investigates how Thai university students apply and perceive the rule, and how they implement it, using an online survey to collect data from 64 students participating in an ER program. Data on the number of books they assessed, the number of difficult words they encountered, and their reasons for choosing a particular book were gathered. The findings revealed that most students (53.8%) selected books that fell within the recommended difficulty range, aligning with their goal of a moderate challenge that still allows for comprehension. Interestingly, 13.8% of students intentionally chose books at a higher difficulty level, motivated by a desire to expand their vocabulary. These findings suggest that students adapt the Five-Finger Rule based on personal reading goals and language learning strategies.

The success of Extensive Reading (ER) is not just about how many books students read, but how effectively teachers coach them. A strategic and reflective approach is essential for maximizing outcomes. This presentation introduces six key coaching elements shown to be effective in EFL contexts. First, teachers identify student interests through interaction and observation. Second, they define reading thresholds that represent the minimum input needed for ER to be effective. Third, questioning techniques promote critical thinking. Fourth, motivational systems support long-term engagement. Fifth, fluency develops as phonics instruction is naturally embedded in meaningful reading experiences, including repeated read-alouds. Sixth, positive teacher language builds student confidence. Drawing on ten years of classroom experience, this session shares real examples of how these elements shape students’ reading habits and performance. This approach helps transform ER into a sustainable, engaging process that fosters deeper involvement and long-term personal growth.

This presentation will highlight the impact of incorporating book-reading activities into the classroom to encourage Japanese elementary school students to learn English. Since the Japanese Ministry of Education (MEXT) officially launched English education at elementary schools in 2020, approximately 70% of students have expressed interest in studying English. However, reading activities remained underutilized in classrooms (MEXT, 2024). To address this, the presenter collaborated with schoolteachers to integrate storybook-based reading activities into lessons, fostering students’ familiarity with English texts. The study involved two classroom teachers and 37 sixth-grade students at a public elementary school in Japan. Activities included weekly teacher-led storytelling using a big book, collaborative reading among students, and independent reading of mini books as homework. Results showed that students improved their receptive test scores and increased their motivation to learn English. This session will provide participants with practical techniques and strategies for effectively integrating reading activities into English instruction.

Incidental vocabulary learning through ER has been examined for the uptake rate of new words learned, but ER also provides an opportunity to deepen knowledge of high-frequency words. This study examines the productive knowledge of high-frequency English vocabulary of Japanese university students of similar English proficiencies between those who have read over 430,000 tokens of ER and those with little or no ER experience. Subjects were tested on receptive and productive knowledge of the 2000 most frequent words of the NGSL (New General Service List) utilizing the testing application VocabLevelTest (McLean & Raine, 2019). ANOVA results showed a significant main effect of ER on productive vocabulary (p < .001, η² = .32), with similar effects observed for both NGSL 1-1000 and NGSL 1001-2000 word bands. These results suggest that ER contributes to strengthening productive knowledge of high-frequency words through repeated encounters in meaningful contexts, additional justification for curriculum integration of ER.

While digital reading materials are increasingly available, engaging ESL learners in extensive reading remains challenging in the digital age. This presentation explores how Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) can serve as an innovative platform for extensive reading practice, aligning with fundamental extensive reading principles of free choice and learner autonomy. Drawing from a year-long study integrating commercial MMORPGs into ESL learning, this session demonstrates how game narratives (quest descriptions, character dialogues), in-game texts, and player interactions provide authentic, self-selected reading materials across multiple proficiency levels. The research reveals that ESL participants showed increased reading engagement and vocabulary retention when given ownership of their reading choices within the gaming environment. Beginner learners benefited from short quest descriptions, while advanced learners engaged with complex game lore and player-generated content. Practical guidelines for implementing game-based extensive reading programs will be shared.

In this session, the ERF affiliates will report their activities in the previous two years. They will also present their plans for the upcoming years. Anyone is welcome to attend. Those who are interested in setting up their own ER Association or who wish to be affiliated with the ERF are welcome to attend.

Research has shown that children who are exposed to Extensive Reading from a young age not only excel in academic skills, but also develop empathy, moral judgement and become culturally sensitive. Equipping students to explore diverse perspectives has never been more crucial in this day and age. Bennett (1986) proposes six stages of acculturation that learners can move through to gain greater cultural awareness. With constant exposure, they develop their own personal ideas, ultimately assimilating the culture of others into their own worldview. In this presentation, we will explore theories of “Cultural Development” and the cultural trajectories in the students’ learning journey to assimilation using themes from Eli’s Real Lives Series Graded Readers as a stepping stone. At the end of the session, participants will have a better understanding of how to utilise Graded Readers for all CEFR levels.

"The Happy Reading Project" is a specialized curriculum developed for English language immersion kindergartens in Nagoya, Japan, with the objective of fostering essential social-emotional competencies through weekly interactive picturebook read-aloud sessions. As Ghosn (2013) asserts, “Children’s literature not only enhances language learning…but it can also nurture moral reasoning skills, emotional intelligence, and empathy” (p. 39). Building on this premise, the curriculum incorporates a carefully curated selection of almost 30 picturebooks, spanning years K1 to K3, with an emphasis on first cultivating self-awareness before progressing to social awareness and balance. Supplementary lesson plans offer kindergarten teachers structured guidance on pre-, during, and post-reading activities, including art, music, games, and movement-based exercises. This presentation will provide detailed teacher feedback on the project's impact on both young learners and educators, providing insights into its initial successes and the ongoing challenges observed during its first implementation across kindergarten classrooms in the 2024/25 academic year.

This presentation will highlight how to create extensive reading content in video format that is free, fun, and effective. Teachers and materials writers can learn how to generate an endless supply of engaging media content that students can read through captions. The emergence of AI and various online tools, such as VEED.IO, has made it easy to provide captions for video and audio content. As a result, both the extensive listening and extensive reading movements are now merging with the development of extensive viewing. This presentation will demonstrate how teachers can create or find content for any level and how to add captions to videos to help students increase their reading time. Additionally, the presentation will explore the differences between reading blocks of text in paragraph format and reading captions on various devices, as well as how captions can serve as a bridge for developing a love for reading.

This study investigates the reading comprehension skills of 84 sixth-grade students in a primary school in Palembang, Indonesia, to identify their strengths and weaknesses in English language ing. Using 18 informal comprehension assessments and six teacher-developed English proficiency tests, data were analyzed through Smart-PLS 4.0. With three validated comprehension categories: literal, inferential, and critical, the Reading Comprehension (RC) measurement demonstrated strong reliability (Cronbach's Alpha -0.882, Composite Reliability = 0.923, Average Variance Extracted = 0.801). These categories exhibited positive correlations with English proficiency whose reliability is 0.65, 0.808, and 0.586 consecutively. The overall mean RC score was 26.57 with the highest category on literal and weakest critical. Meanwhile the mean English proficiency score was 87.46, being significantly influenced by Reading Comprehension for 27.9% (p = 0.007). The findings underscore the need for comprehensive reading strategies beyond mere word recognition and gender-responsive materials to enhance reading proficiency.

This study investigates the types of miscues frequently produced by proficient and less proficient readers. Using purposive sampling, six 11th-grade students from Babun Najah Islamic Boarding School participated. The students read a text, and their readings were recorded. A descriptive qualitative approach, based on the miscue analysis frameworks of Argyle (1989) and Mahmud and Gopal (2018), was employed. The findings reveal that substitution miscues were the most common (340 instances, 63%), followed by hesitation (82 instances, 15%), repetition (58 instances, 11%), correction (41 instances, 8%), insertion (17 instances, 3%), and omission (2 instances, 0%). Substitution miscues were prevalent due to students encountering unfamiliar words and substituting them with ones they believed fit the context. Additionally, confusion between words that look or sound alike contributed to substitutions. These findings provide insights into developing alternative teaching strategies to enhance English learning and improve reading proficiency.

High school students in Indonesia face challenges with Extensive Reading (ER) due to limited materials, a test-focused curriculum, and low reading motivation. Intensive reading dominates classrooms, leaving little space for reading for pleasure. This study explores ways to integrate ER in schools using a qualitative approach, including case studies, teacher interviews, and classroom observations. Data from teachers and students highlight effective strategies such as graded readers, digital libraries, and student-led reading groups. Findings show that encouraging book selection, storytelling, and discussions boosts engagement, while using students’ first languages improves comprehension and confidence. Collaboration among teachers, schools, and communities is essential for building a strong reading culture. The study emphasizes the benefits of ER in enhancing fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Future research should examine long-term ER programs and their impact on multilingual literacy development.

It is often recommended that learners not use a dictionary when doing Extensive Reading and instead rely on surrounding context to infer meaning of unknown words. The current research project, supported by a Japanese federal grant, is investigating how access to an integrated dictionary during ER correlates with learners’ ability to accurately guess meaning. Roughly 120 first-year English majors read 200-300,000 words using the ER application Xreading, which offers optional access to glossary definitions. At the beginning and end of the year, students report the reading strategies they use and take a test to gauge their ability to accurately guess meaning from context. This presentation will report results from the first three years of the research project. Results thus far do not indicate overall significant differences between control groups and those allowed dictionary access. Later stages of this research will include further replication and the addition of guessing from context training.

The presenter will first share their experience in ER teacher-training programs in schools in Nepal and Indonesia. Both countries share challenges including low literacy levels in home environments; economic hardship; diverse L1 backgrounds in which minority languages often have an oral tradition; and unsupportive institutional environments (Chaudhary, 2024). These factors have hindered the establishment of not only a robust reading culture but also in sustaining and cascading ER practices, particularly when there is a dearth of reading resources and libraries necessary for building a school reading culture (Loh, et al. 2017; Sharma, 2024). This will be followed by a look at two communities where ER has been successful due to the perseverance of individuals that believed in its efficacy. The success seen in initial reluctant reader groups will be shared based on their testimonials over a 5-year period. Their initiatives might serve as models for sustainability in low-resource communities.

This presentation aims to share insights from the establishment and operation of an extensive reading school in China, focusing on curriculum design and student engagement strategies. Through a series of regular and short courses, tailored reading plans, and ongoing feedback mechanisms, the program addressed diverse learner needs—from young beginners to exam-focused older students. Findings revealed that structured yet flexible ER plans, coupled with consistent feedback for students and parents, significantly improved reading engagement and reading ability across age groups. Younger learners developed language foundations through guided reading, and older students balanced ER with exam prep through strategically curated texts. The program’s progress highlights the importance of adaptable curricula, personalized tracking, and interactive incentives in sustaining motivation. Practical takeaways will equip educators to implement ER effectively in varied contexts, emphasizing scalability and learner-centered design.

Extensive reading (ER) has been documented as a beneficial activity that contributes to the improvement of learners’ English proficiency and reading skills. However, very little research reported the impact of ER on young avid reader’s TOEFL scores. In this talk, I will present my qualitative case study research with a young female avid reader (age 13 and year 9 student) who got a 560 score (58 for structure & written expression; 51 for reading comprehension) of the TOEFL ITP test. Through in-depth two interviews and observation, I found that the prolonged engagement with ER activities since year 3 (from 2016-present) by reading English fiction novels and online Japanese manga has developed her vocabulary mastery, reading skills, and implicit knowledge, which eventually facilitates her to get good scores on the section of structure & written expression and reading comprehension test. This study implies the long-term ER benefits for high-stake test scores with EFL learners.

This study examines an scaffolded extensive reading (ER) program to leverage English literacy, motivation, and vocabulary in a deaf-hearing inclusive school in Bali, Indonesia. Framed within descriptive qualitative research, the study employed interviews to two voluntary teachers and observations to the students’ reading logbooks. The transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis and the logbooks were by interactive model analysis. The study found the program leverages students’ literacy, engagement and English reading skills. Key themes include inspiring activities, increased English proficiency, vocabulary development, and shifting reading habits. While the ER program enhances students’ learning, challenges persist, involving limited supports and book access, vocabulary gaps, and sustainability. These findings emphasize the role of scaffolded ER in building sustainable reading cultures in underserved communities while highlighting its need of library resources, digital reading tools, and long-term literacy initiatives. Exploring technology-driven reading interventions and community-based literacy programs are strongly encouraged for future research.

This presentation highlights the value of extensive reading as a resource of comprehensible input for ESL and EFL learners and its myriad benefits for the development of their language and speaking skills. It examines classroom observations from case studies of two experienced English teachers and shares their practices to develop Primary 5 students’ extensive reading and listening skills to hone their knowledge of the sounds, words and structures of English. Teachers’ modelling of extensive reading and listening and thoughtful design of speaking tasks helped students to improve their content and language. The scaffolded practice enabled students to use the speaking structures to participate in interactions right away, adapting the ideas from classroom talk. Finally, the presentation concludes with a discussion of the implications for instruction and teachers’ important roles in creating conducive environments in class to model and promote extensive reading to enhance students’ language and speaking skills.

In the digital world, electronic books become more and more popular for those who love reading for pleasure with general understanding of the materials, flexible time and place of reading. This study focuses on the way to design some e-books by using AI technology with software for creating ebooks. The research results provide some audio ebooks designed with attractive images and voice as samples to encourage English learners to enhance their reading motivation. Based on experience with 120 students in the English Reading classes at the English faculty of a foreign languages and international relations university in Vietnam using those ebooks designed, we find their motivation for reading English materials has been enhanced. Through these audio ebooks, this study dedicates the combination of teaching English reading skills and AI technology application into building various resources for developing the English learners’ extensive reading.

This study investigated an Extensive Reading (ER) implementation in a university classroom. It involved the first-semester students who read a combination of the same graded readers at different levels and self-selected books based on their preferences. The study focused on students' engagement and progress on the combination as well as on group dynamics in the classroom. The data collection included students’ reading logs, group work results, and students’ feedback. By analyzing student feedback and individual and group reading engagement data, the study found that most students participated in the group reading and enjoyed the combination of two types of book choices. However, some challenges such as book availability, demotivated students, and students’ reading speed were still present.

Extensive reading (ER) should be truly fulfilling to students. While enjoyment is reported to be vital in language learning, meaningful ER goes beyond positive emotions. Drawing insights from psychological and sociological research on well-being, this study introduces Yomigai (sense of fulfillment/worthiness from reading)—a Japanese concept derived from Ikigai (life purpose) and Yarigai (situational ikigai)—as a holistic concept integrating emotions, motivation, engagement, and more. A survey conducted with Japanese university EFL learners quantitatively (multiple-selection) and qualitatively (comment) examined their most Yomigai-laden books, reasons for their choice, and emotions experienced. Findings indicate that curiosity and interest, combined with challenge and immersion, contribute to Yomigai. Length and difficulty were perceived as motivating rather than discouraging. These findings corroborate the Deep Epistemic Emotion Hypothesis. Response examples and practical strategies to enhance Yomigai in ER are also discussed. This research provides insights into optimizing ER programs for deeper, more fulfilling learning experiences.

Some children can read at a high level but beginner readers may struggle performing cognitive tasks such as reading. Therefore, teachers have to learn many reading strategies, teaching methods that can be used to help develop their English language and reading skills. This study aims to improve beginner students' English reading skills by integrating extensive reading practices. For 6 years, students' reading comprehension improved by reading the original text and doing regular exercises after completing the reading task. By using these steps 1. Read with understanding, not speed; 2.Read for 5-10 minutes every day; 3. Use flashcards like CVC, CVCC; 4. Choose interesting books; 99% out of the 200 students in 5 groups at the 8th grade level learned to read well in English, and the remaining 1% needed additional support.

This presentation explores multilingual practices implemented in an after-school buddy reading program with Grades 3 and 7 learners from a township school in South Africa. In this qualitative study, learners were provided with a selection of linguistically and culturally relevant books in both isiXhosa and English, enabling them to maintain their home language while simultaneously learning their first additional language. Given that the participants were emerging bilinguals, the study explored educational activities that valorise multilingualism, in a complementary manner to support multilingual development. Activities such as interactive reading with translanguaging, storytelling and retelling in both languages, and the use of bilingual storybooks were designed. The multilingual strategies implemented in the program supported linguistic development and enhanced learners’ confidence in their ability to use both languages in social and academic contexts. The study recommends promoting multilingualism to policymakers and educators, highlighting its importance in nurturing literacy, linguistic diversity, and cultural identity.

This presentation explores how extensive reading (ER) can be combined with in-class activities to promote creativity and encourage reluctant readers to discover the joy of reading in English. Due to the time-consuming nature of ER, it is commonly performed largely outside the classroom. Tools such as Xreading cater to language learners’ diverse needs: students are free to choose reading materials from a library with a wide range of graded readers. However, autonomous learning environments such as these may be unfamiliar and overwhelming for some students, leading to a reluctance to fully engage with ER. Students completed pre and post surveys designed to measure experiences and attitudes to reading in English, and gave feedback after each in-class reading activity. The presenters will discuss the most effective practices according to student feedback and their own experiences of conducting the activities, and ways to encourage creativity and collaboration in ER will be explored.

Digital storytelling is a pedagogical approach aimed at enhancing students' motivation, critical thinking, learning outcomes, and socio-economic development. Recent studies indicate its effectiveness in teaching English as a second language to forty-five tertiary learners, assisting in mitigating negative emotions such as shyness and fear of speaking, embarrassment in classroom settings, and lack of confidence when using English in social contexts. Students were randomly divided into eight independent groups. The four controlled groups were taught the basic use of PowerPoint to digitalize their bilingual storybooks. Other groups were granted the autonomy to create a digital storybook outside the classroom using other Apps such as CapCut or Canva. Flipping the classroom has proven to be an effective strategy for encouraging verbal expression while also fostering trust and connection among group members. The digital narratives effectively engaged learners, enhancing their motivation to read and understand the content.

Extensive reading (ER) is a valuable yet often overlooked approach to improving English proficiency, particularly among Information Technology students who primarily engage with technical content. This mixed-methods study at Ho Chi Minh University of Industry and Trade investigates ER’s impact on vocabulary acquisition, reading comprehension, and language development. Data from 150 students, collected through surveys and interviews, explore their reading habits, challenges, and perceptions of ER. Findings emphasize ER’s role in academic success and professional communication, highlighting its adaptability to technical education. The study also identifies barriers such as low motivation, limited reading materials, and time constraints, while proposing strategies for integrating ER into the curriculum. This study offers insights into adapting ER for technical education, equipping students with essential English skills. Ultimately, this study aims to foster a reading culture that enhances language proficiency and prepares students for global career opportunities.

This session explores how a corpus-based approach is utilized in extensive academic reading. A corpus tool, combined with text-based academic reading instruction, helps students recognize and articulate research gap statements in scholarly texts. Through structured interventions, four undergraduate English education students conducted corpus analyses to examine discourse markers and collocation patterns in published research articles. Findings suggest that integrating corpus-based learning into academic reading instruction fosters critical reading skills and academic literacy. This session will highlight practical strategies for implementing corpus tools in reading classrooms, empowering students to become active and analytical readers. Participants will gain insights into leveraging corpus-based approaches to help students identify linguistic patterns that contribute to meaning-making in academic discourse.

In this presentation, I will focus on how to make an extensive reading program work at a higher vocational college where support and resources are very limited. The presentation is divided into three parts: preparation, practice and implications. The preparation includes eliciting support from the department, the library and the college, as well as asking for help from experts by reading academic books and attending conferences. The practice involves three rounds of trials. Using LINKS as the main coursebook and www.xreading.com as the main e-resources, extensive reading has now become an indispensable part of the reading course for English majors at my college. I will also share my experiences of encouraging my students to write about their reading experiences after class. I hope my efforts, achievements and reflection can help peer teachers in similar situation carry out extensive reading programs successfully.

Living in the “24-hour news cycle”, whether through traditional news sources or social media, we can easily keep up with important issues from around the world. Literature on using news in ESL/EFL classrooms suggests that news stories can be used to develop leaners’ reading, writing and speaking skills (Tafida & Dalhatu, 2014), However, resources for language learners can be limited. One resource that does provide news stories written with graded language is Xreading News. This is a collection of five current news stories, written at the CEFR B1 level and published weekly on Xreading. This session will introduce Xreading news, discuss how it is created each week, and suggest some ways it can be used in the classroom. Presenters will also show graded readers featuring world topics. Books written in an engaging and accessible way, which provide students with the language needed if they are to discuss real world issues.

This presentation details the steps taken for implementation of a digital extensive reading programme at a private middle school in Beijing. In the school’s A1 cohort, one class took part in an ER trial for one semester, while others received traditional reading instruction only. The extensive reading group significantly outperformed comparison groups on internal reading examinations, and the programme was subsequently greenlit for 273 A1-B2 students. A student opinion questionnaire administered after one semester of whole-school ER showed strongly positive responses from the student base. Firsthand experiences including logistical and financial considerations are shared. The results showcase the viability of teacher-led ER programme pitches in large for-profit institutions.

L2 English learners have been blessed with a wealth of research and resources to address various issues in reading comprehension and fluency development, but the same level of attention has not been paid to the issue of “laddering up” to independent reading in other languages. For Japanese, there is the additional barrier of kanji on top of the potential barriers to reading texts written for L1 speakers such as vocabulary, grammar and cultural knowledge. This presentation will discuss these issues as well as introducing some of the available tools and potential solutions that can assist learners to reach independent reading, such as the use of Aozora Bunko and the JLEX lexical analyser. In particular, it will focus on fostering learner reading outside of the classroom, given that the large volumes of text required to achieve independent reading are best done outside of class hours, with some in-class support.

Research is lacking regarding implementing ER activities across an entire Japanese degree programme, including the feasibility of including ER from the students’ first semester of language study. This presentation will discuss how ER is being incorporated into six Japanese language courses, including from the first semester course, and what can be learnt from this trial. Major considerations included whether reading would be required or voluntary, what materials to use and how they would be provided to students, how much students would be expected to read, how to collect data, and how to determine whether they were indeed reading. We are collecting data regarding learner perceptions of attitude and language improvements resulting from doing ER, suggestions of the amount of reading that can be expected of students, as well as data regarding the pace at which they can increase their reading levels when engaged in ER over several years.

Reading comprehension remains below average among Indonesian students, as reported in the National Literacy Movement Report (2022), emphasizing the need for improved independent reading skills. Supported Independent Reading Time (SIRT), a structured reading program designed to foster student autonomy, offers a potential solution. This factorial experimental study investigated the effects of SIRT and reading interest on reading comprehension. Forty tenth-grade students from SMA Dharma Bhakti Palembang were assigned to experimental and control groups, categorized further by high and low reading interest levels. Data were collected through pre-test, post-tests, and questionnaires. Results indicated significant improvement in reading comprehension (mean = 11.95) and an essential difference between groups (t = 11.89, p <.001). A partial interaction effect was found between SIRT and reading interest on inference (p =.029) and vocabulary (p =.041), suggesting SIRT’s influence varies across reading comprehension. These findings provide insights for educators to enhance independent reading strategies.

Reading speed is a crucial yet overlooked component of reading fluency (Tran, 2012). Students can increase their speed in as few as 20 sessions of 10 minutes each (Chang, 2010; Chung & Nation, 2006). Little attention has been given to the impact of reading medium on fluency development. This presentation explores pedagogical implications of reading medium in speed reading instruction. Sixty-eight university students in Japan read short stories using paper copies or ESL Speed Readings, a mobile application developed by the presenter. After six weeks, students switched formats and reflected on their experiences via questionnaires. Mixed effects regression revealed that the digital medium was superior, and the questionnaires showed digital reading offered practical advantages over paper. A framework for implementing an effective speed reading program will be outlined. Attendees will receive access to free speed reading software and a learner management system to help integrate speed reading into their classrooms.

Extensive reading has become an increasingly important aspect of language teaching due to its numerous advantages. Observationally, Vietnamese people have not had reading habits, making it more challenging for working adult learners to engage in extensive reading. This study aims to examine working adult learners’ perceptions of graded readers and their motivation to integrate them as homework outside the classroom. Data were collected through a questionnaire and individual interviews with a diverse group of 100 adult learners, ranging from Generation X to Generation Z. Additionally, in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 participants, including 5 from Generation X, 5 Millenials, and 5 from Generation Z. The findings revealed differences in the levels of preference for graded readers across the three generations and identified key obstacles they encounter when engaging in extensive reading. To address these challenges, this study presents students' suggestions and proposes strategies to enhance the effectiveness of extensive reading.

Many educators include graded reading in their courses based on research evidence outlining the potential to improve learner motivation (McLean & Poulshock, 2018) and develop language learning (Grabe & Stoller, 2019; Nation & Waring, 2019). Winning over reluctant readers poses a challenge. However, insights into what caught the interest of readers putting in the most time and effort in a reading project have merit. This session shares student-approved, case study statements covering past experiences, recent success with graded reading and MReader quizzes, and future reading. While not all learners see the light, better understanding the lived experience of these readers provides a window into the potential to engage other learners by process, texts, and support. The two-fold aim is to inform teachers for their practice but also to reward these students with an opportunity to share their reflections in live, recorded, and transcribed interviews in English at an academic conference.

Extensive reading (ER) floods learners with meaningful language, but how do we ensure it sticks? This session introduces ULTRA—a Unified Linguistic Theory of Real Acquisition—a comprehensive, research-informed framework for how language enters brains and becomes fluent output. ULTRA identifies 16 core elements, including input, story-logic, addictive learning, output, fluency, elaboration, and more. After briefly overviewing ULTRA’s core, we will explore key elements that help teachers strengthen and vary their ER practice. We will examine prompts that help learners retell stories out loud (retrieval) and write short reactions or personal connections to what they read (elaboration). We will also consider gamification tools for tracking progress and recognizing achievements (addictive learning). Educators across levels will find actionable ways to lift ER’s impact—practical shifts, not grand fixes. Leave with a clear framework and effective strategies to help learners retain and enjoy ER more—ready to tweak your classroom tomorrow.

The benefits of Extensive Reading (ER) for vocabulary development are well established in theory and research (Boutorwick et al, 2019; Suk, 2017; Webb and Change, 2015a and 2015b). ER is fundamentally an implicit approach to increasing reading rate, reading comprehension, and vocabulary size. As such its impact is not easily measured over short periods of time or without considering the role of many others types of L2 input for the learners. Vocabulary, on the other hand, can also be taught explicitly and measured for at least some forms of acquisition, quickly and easily. This presentation provides a model for combining both explicit and implicit methods of vocabulary learning, including use of the New General Service List, Vocabprofiler and diagnostic tests from Lextutor.ca, flash cards, structured review, and individualized quizzes to target high frequency vocabulary learning.

L2 reading comprehension is often hindered by students’ limited vocabulary and contextual meanings. Conventional reading instruction may not provide sufficient support, leaving students struggling with unfamiliar words and contexts. This study examines how multimedia glosses (pictorial, textual, pictorial + textual) with summarization activities impact Ethiopian secondary school EFL students’ reading comprehension performance. The findings indicate that multimedia glosses with summarization activities significantly enhance comprehension by providing context-rich support, enabling students to decipher challenging words, sustain reading, and reflect upon texts. The study highlights the pedagogical implications of integrating technology into L2 reading. Future research could explore the long-term impact of multi-glosses with summarization activities on reading proficiency and how digital reading can be optimized for broader classroom applications. Attendees will gain insights into effective strategies for implementing multimedia glosses in offline reading and integrating them with output activities, and the potential policy and instructional recommendations for improving comprehension in similar contexts.

Xreading is digital library that gives students access to over a thousand graded readers from major publishers such as Cambridge University Press, Macmillan, and National Geographic/Cengage Learning. Students have unlimited access to all books as well as audio narrations, ratings, and quizzes. In addition, the system tracks students' reading progress (books read, words read, reading speed, quiz scores, etc.) so it makes management and assessment much easier for teachers. Since it’s launch is 2014, the system has been continuously evolving and growing in terms of the number of books and features. In this presentation, the founder of Xreading will explain the new functionality that has been added over the past year, and what is planned for the future including our new textbook series and COIL project. Current users of the system are encouraged to provide feedback and suggestions based on their experience.