Putri, Zalva Fajhira Shabrina (2025) Fun to fundamental: young efl learners’ digital extensive reading through interests and culture / Zalva Fajhira Shabrina Putri</p>. Masters thesis, Universitas Negeri Malang.
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Extensive reading (ER) has been widely acknowledged as a beneficial reading approach in developing reading enjoyment for learners including young learners learning English as a foreign language (EFL). However implementing ER for young EFL learners is still considered rocket science by many due to the difference in their active learning style egocentrism and short attention span. This necessitates carefully selecting a wide range of reading materials to facilitate young EFL learners rsquo enjoyment of further reading. This includes serving learners with relevant reading materials that expose them to different personal interests and cultural experiences. Serving these reading materials regardless remains a challenge as many teachers lack access to reading materials that are accessible and cover diverse topics and cultures. Digital extensive reading (DER) then appears as promising as it relies on digital resources to facilitate accessible reading materials emphasizing interactive features that support young EFL learners rsquo personal interests and cultural exploration. Thus the present study aims to explore how DER caters to the personal interests and cultural exploration of young EFL learners ultimately leading to their enhanced reading enjoyment. The current study employed an action-oriented qualitative case study design which allowed the researcher to engage directly with participants and gain in-depth insights through active involvement. It further enabled the researcher to observe real-time experiences and explore how DER practices unfolded naturally with young EFL learners outside of formal classroom instruction. Data were primarily collected through real-time observations audio recordings and learners rsquo diaries with secondary data obtained through interviews with parents or guardians. The participants involved were seven young EFL learners aged 9-12 from various regions in Indonesia selected through purposive sampling based on their diverse cultural backgrounds different language proficiency levels and different screen time habits. While the sample size was small the study was exploratory and aimed to generate rich contextual insights rather than broad generalizations. The data were collected over two weeks with each learner participating in the DER sessions twice a week and reading a total of ten reading materials. Reading materials were obtained through Let rsquo s Read a freely available website and Epic a paid website with a one-week free trial ensuring diverse topics and English levels. Data collected were further analyzed using thematic analysis using the Data Analysis Spiral by Creswell and Poth (2018). The results further indicate that DER effectively supports young EFL learners by facilitating access to a wide range of interactive reading materials that cater to their personal interests and cultural backgrounds maximizing their reading enjoyment. During the first session of DER learners mentioned various personal interests and cultures they wanted to explore. However they ended up exploring more than they had initially aimed for. In the diaries learners expressed their reading enjoyment through their emotional responses to what they read. The positive feelings explained emerged as what they read resonated well with their personal interests. Instead of only writing about their reading comprehension they added how the reading materials chosen were related to them. They enjoyed what they read as they found culture-related reading materials that were relevant to their own culture or the one they experienced. Parents or guardians of the learners further added that they previously did not have the chance to serve their children with English reading materials because those were expensive. With the help of digital platforms parents or guardians who had previously allowed their children to use phones can now support their children in learning English by reading English reading materials online. They also revealed how they never intentionally pushed their children to learn about their own culture yet through DER their children could read for enjoyment while also learning about their own culture and others. Drawn from the study rsquo s findings the research suggests further studies and practices in similar fields to investigate how DER can be developed over time and embedded into formal instruction. Investigating the role of teachers rsquo digital literacy may also play a valuable role in supporting the successful implementation of DER. This study also offers practical recommendations for selecting engaging materials and designing culturally and personally relevant DER experiences for young EFL learners to be both engaging and educational.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
|---|---|
| Divisions: | Fakultas Sastra (FS) > Departemen Sastra Inggris (ING) > S2 Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris |
| Depositing User: | library UM |
| Date Deposited: | 24 Jun 2025 04:29 |
| Last Modified: | 09 Sep 2025 03:00 |
| URI: | http://repository.um.ac.id/id/eprint/390611 |
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