The effects of independent reading with oral feedback on EFL fifth graders’ English reading motivation and vocabulary acquisition in a private school China

Abstract

Chinese primary students seldom get access to English stories and most of them have no experience of reading English storybooks outside school independently, especially for low reading achievers. This action research investigated the effects of short-term independent English storybook reading with oral feedback program on EFL low reading learners’ vocabulary acquisition and reading motivation. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the intervention of this study was conducted through virtual platform of Zoom. Participants in this study were 5 students with low reading ability currently studying Primary Five in a private elementary school in mainland China. In many EFL contexts, getting reluctant readers who are low-motivated to read English storybooks is challenging due to their deficiency in vocabulary and restricted access to storybooks in foreign language. This short-term independent reading program (10 days) was conducted in attempt to help these 5 low achieving English learners increase their reading motivation and word recognition through free reading with teacher’s oral feedback afterwards. The data was collected adopting pre and post vocabulary tests and motivation questionnaire, a semi-structured interview and observation. Results indicated implementation of independent reading embedded with teacher’s support and feedback could enhance low achieving students’ reading confidence and motivation as well as their growth of word recognition. Students’ perceptions about independent reading and implications applicable to my teaching of the similar students were also discussed.