Developing a checklist to support learners’ choice of graded readers in extensive reading

Abstract

Many extensive reading (ER) programs encourage second/foreign language learners to choose reading materials by themselves. However, given the difficulty of choosing appropriate reading materials, it is necessary to provide support. Hypothesizing the importance of learners’ subjectivity in their choice of reading materials, this study aimed to develop a checklist that measured learners’ perceptions of text difficulty in order to support their text choice. First, a multivariate generalizability theory analysis was conducted to determine the number of graded reader texts included in the checklist. Then, 18 Japanese female university students learning English as a foreign language used the checklist during the ER program. The change in their perceptions of text difficulty in the ER program was summarized descriptively, while an open-ended questionnaire was analyzed by conducting reflexive thematic analysis. The results suggested the effectiveness of the checklist in helping students choose appropriate texts, encouraging future research and practice to support learners’ choice of ER materials.