The effect of extensive reading on English reading comprehension of Chinese EFL students with low and high reading self-efficacy

Abstract

English language teaching in rural Chinese high schools has not only been methodologically backward, but also impractical in content and approach, it led to distract student motivation, decrease language abilities, and even diminish reading improvement. With the emphasis on motivating students to read extensively, it might reduce these obstacles and challenges to promote an authentic reading intervention in a foreign language. This study investigated how English extensive reading improved reading comprehension and reading self-efficacy among Chinese EFL students for rural contexts in China. Fifty-four Chinese high school students participated in a twelve-week mixed-methods study. Quantitative data were collected through English reading comprehension test, while qualitative data were obtained through a reading self-efficacy questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and a reading log. Results supported that extensive reading continued to be an effective intervention to enhance students' reading comprehension and reading self-efficacy. Recommendations also offered how students with different reading self-efficacy levels efficaciously interacted with the extensive reading intervention.