Implementing a year-long reading while listening program for Japanese University EFL students.

This paper describes the implementation and evaluation of a year-long reading while listening (RWL) program run for university first-year students at a private university in Japan. The program was developed to give students practice in listening to a large volume of spoken English – a practice that the majority of Japanese students lack. The students in the program (N = 230) practiced RWL and took progress tests using a Moodle module that also kept records of their progress (MoodleReader). The program was evaluated in two ways: by measuring student gains in reading rate, vocabulary recognition, and general English proficiency, as measured by the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), and by investigating student attitudes toward the program itself and the MoodleReader through the use of a 24-item questionnaire. Results of the evaluation showed RWL had a significant effect on reading rate and vocabulary recognition, but not for general English proficiency. Questionnaire results uncovered negative attitudes toward the RWL program and the MoodleReader, and that these attitudes affected the amount of work students completed in the program. The findings suggest that user interface and ease of use are the key factors to consider when implementing such a program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]