Reading Short Stories to Enhance Beginning Chinese Learners’ Reading Skills

Date

2025-02-24

Contributor

Advisor

Department

Instructor

Depositor

Speaker

Researcher

Consultant

Interviewer

Narrator

Transcriber

Annotator

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center
Center for Language & Technology

Volume

37

Number/Issue

1

Starting Page

1

Ending Page

17

Alternative Title

Abstract

Extensive reading (ER) has been found to have an assortment of positive effects on various aspects of second/foreign language learning. However, few studies have investigated its impacts on learners of Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL), especially early beginning learners. To address this gap, this study reports an intervention of extensive reading using teacher-developed short stories within a regular first-semester CFL curriculum at an American university. Students’ perceptions regarding its effects were examined, and qualitative data were collected after two months of implementation. The findings revealed positive effects on students’ reading attitudes, consolidation of previously learned vocabulary, incidental vocabulary acquisition, reading speed, and comprehension. The reading strategies employed by the beginning CFL learners were also described. The research findings suggest that extensive reading should be regularly incorporated into CFL classrooms.

Description

Keywords

extensive reading, Chinese as a Foreign Language, beginning learners, short stories, second/foreign language teaching, reading attitudes, incidental vocabulary acquisition, reading speed, reading comprehension

Citation

Zhou, W., & Li, X. (2025). Reading Short Stories to Enhance Beginning Chinese Learners’ Reading Skills. Reading in a Foreign Language, 37(1), 1-17. https://hdl.handle.net/10125/67483

Extent

17

Format

Article

Geographic Location

Time Period

Related To

Related To (URI)

Table of Contents

Rights

Rights Holder

Local Contexts

Collections

Email libraryada-l@lists.hawaii.edu if you need this content in ADA-compliant format.