Technology Meets Extensive Reading: Design of a Blended Extensive Reading Program in an English as a Foreign Language Context

Abstract

Extensive reading (ER) is of great value in fostering language competence and nurturing a lifelong enthusiasm for reading in a foreign/second language (L2). The ER research has begun to follow an innovative path to address the evolution of learner profiles in the age of technology transformed into the digital realm. To integrate technology into ER and enhance L2 learners’ reading experiences, this study was designed to provide a systematic ER program integrated with blended learning for tertiary level English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. Rooted in the core of ER principles and an EFL context’s features, the program of this study, the blended ER program, aimed at encouraging learners to read various types of digital texts within their interests and current proficiency levels. Considering the ER and blended learning research, the blended ER program’s design used the advantages of online and face-to-face learning components. The online component of this program included digital reading materials and learning management systems (LMSs), Google Classroom and Padlet, to provide learners with a virtual library with open-access digital reading resources and a virtual reading log. The program’s face-to-face learning component involved weekly meetings where learners shared their reading experiences through follow-up ER tasks. This study presents the details of the blended ER program regarding the participants’ ideas. EFL learners’ reactions to the blended ER program led to the conclusion that the program offered myriad opportunities to enhance L2 reading experiences. The study proposes suggestions for effectively integrating a blended ER program into EFL contexts.