THE EFFEECT OF EXTENSIVE READING ON THAI STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHESION TO LEARNING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGAUGE

THE EFFEECT OF EXTENSIVE READING ON THAI STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHESION TO LEARNING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGAUGE By SOPHEAK SEK A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Education Emphasis in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Faculty of Education Asia-Pacific International University Year 2021

i Thesis Title: The Effect of Extensive Reading On Thai Students’ Reading Comprehension to Learning English as a Foreign Language Author: Sopheak Sek Thesis Principal Advisor: Dr. Josephine Katenga Thesis Co-Advisor: Dr. Tatenda Mushunje Program: Master of Education with Emphasis in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Academic Year: 2021

ii ABSTRACT The topic of this study is the effect of extensive reading on Thai students’ reading comprehension to learn English as a foreign language. The main objectives of this study are to examine students reading comprehension after they participated in extensive reading for ten weeks. The study also aims to explore the scores difference between male and female students in this extensive reading program and to check their reading motivation after they finish the program. The participants were thirty-three first-year students at Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University, Nakhon Pathom province, Thailand. A pre-test was given at the beginning of the course and a post-test was also given at the end of the experiment. After that, a questionnaire about reading motivation was contributed to students. The post-test results of reading comprehension abilities in English improved (mean 32.3939, standard deviation 9.56537) after the intervention. The result also reveals that there were no significant differences between male and female students, but female students put more effort and spent more time in extensive reading. Finally, the study also shows a high reading motivation (mean 3.85303, standard deviation 0.866952) in English language classes.

iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First of all, I wish to express my greatest appreciation to Dr. Josephine Katenga, my advisor. I am so thankful for her patience, supervision, guidance, instruction, suggestions and feedback. Next, I would like to thank Dr. Tatenda Mushunje, my second advisor who gave me insightful comments and suggestions on this independent study. Without their help, I would not have completed this independent study. I would also like to thank Assistant. Professor. Dr. Damrong Sattayawaksakool, who was my Independent Study examiner for his valuable time and comments. Moreover, I would like to thank Assistant Professor. Dr. Wilairat Kirin, the Director of Language Institute of Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University, who allowed me to use the extensive reading software and students from the school for this experiment. I would like to thank my parents, Mr. Hun Sophea and Mrs. Klork Bunnath who provide support, motivation, and encouragement when I took this graduate program. Finally, I would like to thank to my wife, Mrs. Sem Lida who supported me financially and cared for me from the beginning until the end of this study. Sopheak Sek

iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................iii LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................... 1 Background and Context of the Study......................................................................... 1 Rationale of Study ....................................................................................................... 6 Statement of Problem .................................................................................................. 7 Purpose of Study.......................................................................................................... 9 Research Questions...................................................................................................... 9 Significance of Study................................................................................................... 9 Delimitation ............................................................................................................... 10 Limitation .................................................................................................................. 10 Definition of Terms ................................................................................................... 10 Organization of the Study.......................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................... 12 Introduction................................................................................................................ 12 Organization of the Literature Review ...................................................................... 12 Definition of Reading Comprehension............................................................... 12 Definition of Extensive Reading ........................................................................ 15 The Advantages and Disadvantages of Extensive Reading ............................... 16 The Issues of Extensive Reading in the Thai Context........................................ 18 Motivation in a Foreign Language Learning...................................................... 19 Students’ Factors’ Influencing Extensive Reading.................................................... 22 CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................................................. 26 Introduction................................................................................................................ 26 Research Questions.................................................................................................... 26 Research Methodology .............................................................................................. 26

v Research Design ................................................................................................. 26 Participant........................................................................................................... 27 Instruments of the study............................................................................................. 27 Pre-test and Post-test .......................................................................................... 27 Questionnaire...................................................................................................... 28 The Reliability and Validity of The Instrument ................................................. 28 Procedures.................................................................................................................. 28 Data Analysis............................................................................................................. 30 Ethical Consideration................................................................................................. 31 CHAPTER 4 RESULT AND DISCUSSION................................................................. 32 Topic 1: The Effectiveness of Extensive Reading on Reading Comprehension ....... 32 Topic 2: Differences in Male and Female Extensive Readings Scores..................... 34 Topic 3: Reading Motivation from Extensive Reading............................................. 39 CHAPTER 5 FINDINGS................................................................................................ 42 Purpose of the Study.................................................................................................. 42 Summary of Findings ................................................................................................ 42 Research Question 1 ........................................................................................... 43 Research Question 2 ........................................................................................... 44 Research Question 3 ........................................................................................... 44 CHAPTER 6 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............ 47 Summary.................................................................................................................... 47 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 49 Limitations................................................................................................................. 50 Significance of Study................................................................................................. 51 Recommendations for Future Research..................................................................... 51 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 52 APPENDICES .................................................................................................................. 59 APPENDIX A: PRE-POST TEST IN ENGLISH ..................................................... 60 APPENDIX B: QUESTIONNAIRE แบบสอบถาม ....................................................... 79

vi LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Overall scores in the Questionnaire of Pre-Post Test ....................................... 30 Table 2. The Scale for Interpreting Quantitative Data from Questionnaire ................... 31 Table 3. Comparison of English Reading Comprehension Ability of NPRU Students Pre and Post Test......................................................Error! Bookmark not defined. Table 4. Paired Samples Statistics and Statistical Comparison for all Students............. 33 Table 5. 11 Male Students’ Scores of English Reading Comprehension Abilities .Error! Bookmark not defined. Table 6. Paired Samples Statistics and Statistical Comparison of Male Students...Error! Bookmark not defined. Table 7. 22 Female Students’ Score of English Reading Comprehension AbilitiesError! Bookmark not defined. Table 8. Paired Samples Statistics and Statistical Comparison of Female StudentsError! Bookmark not defined. Table 9. Comparison of the Post-Test Scores Between Male and Female Students. Error! Bookmark not defined. Table 10. Paired Samples Statistics and Statistical Comparison of Male and Female Students..............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined. Table 11. Comparison of English Reading Time Spend Between Male and Female Students.............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined. Table 12. The Arithmetic Mean (x ̅), the Standard Deviation (S.D) and the Levels of Motivations Towards the Extensive Reading. ................................................. 41

vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Theoretical Framework of Motivation ............................................................. 23

1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Background and Context of the Study Reading is an essential skill in learning English Foreign Language (EFL). There are well-designed reading materials and other good reading resources that will help them to grow up as independent learners. Even though students know that reading is a very important tool to improve their English competency, it is still hard for them to enjoy reading and obtain knowledge through reading simultaneously. For the last decade, Thailand has setup Self-Access Learning Centers (SALC) to facilitate students’ reading at all different levels in the educational system. Darasawang (2007) said that SALC offers facilities and other materials for students to select to read that suit their proficiency level. SALC also allows an individual to develop their language ability through reading rather than studying in a big group in the classroom. However, Boonaree, Goulding & Calvert (2017) stated that a result of the international study of student performance in mathematics, science, and reading of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 shows that Thai students are weak readers in the PISA table league below the average score of 450 and ranked 60th out of 78 nations. This result was because of the poor students’ English comprehension. This result has become one of the hot debatable topics in the Thai education system of what has gone wrong, mainly on the reading literacy or reading program among Thai students. Both teachers and students are the cause of weak reading comprehension in Thailand. Therefore, the quality of English

2 teaching and learning is still unsatisfying, especially in reading comprehension (Hayikaleng, Niar, Krishnasamy, 2016 & Wirayachitra ,2002). English has never been given any special status as an official language but has remained one of the dominant foreign languages in Thailand. Kaur, Young & Kirkpatrick (2016) mentioned that in 2008, the government reformed foreign language learning policy significantly by nominating English as a core language. This reformation is to teach English for communication purposes and consider it a compulsory subject at schools. However, from then and now, teaching and learning English is still unsatisfying because Thailand ranked 55th out of 60 English Proficiency Index and ranked 116th out of 163 in English as a Foreign Language in 2010 (Kaur, Young, Kirkpatrick 2016 & Wirayachitra, 2002). Therefore, Noom-ura (2013) urges that the problems of teaching and learning English as a foreign language in Thailand must be well organized, and both students and teachers need strong motivation to teach better and learn English. The students in Thailand spend twelve years of studying English from primary to high school, but their English ability is still unusable. Many challenges hinder them from developing their English competency. Amjar (2014) & Villas (2016) said that some students consider English as one of the most difficult subjects they have ever learned. This might make them lose their motivation and interest in learning English due to difficulty with vocabulary, sentence structure and reading comprehension. They think English is challenging to learn because of the huge differences in pronunciation, syntax and idiomatic usage compared to the mother tongue language. In addition, there is a lack of opportunity to use English daily. Songsirisak (2017) said the teacher who teaches

3 English is Thai, and the classmates are also Thais, so students do not have any interaction with foreigners or native English speakers. Furthermore, they feel English lessons are difficult to understand. Because of the difficulty level, students become passive learners and lack responsibility in their own learning (Wirayachitra 2002). Thai students learn English just like they learn other subjects in math or science by memorizing, but more importantly, some students learn English to fulfill the course requirement. Watanapokakul (2011) said that students are bored and demotivated from learning English, especially when the chalk-and-board and lecture-based approach is used in the EFL classroom. Furthermore, they are not taught how to learn English through reading even though some schools have Self Access Learning Center (SALC) equipped with many books and other reading materials. Noomura (2009) explained that students do not often take advantage of SALC. They go there to fulfill their assignment only. They use it in a minimum amount, and some go there to download some worksheets and leave. As a result, Wisaijorn (2017), Thai students experience difficulties in English upon entering university education. They must read extensively to succeed and effectively in English since, at the university level, many course books and reference materials are in English. Teachers also face challenges in teaching English. They have heavy teaching loads, too many students in one class, approximately 45 to 60 students, insufficient English language skills, inadequately equipped classrooms, and lack of educational technology: and a lack of teaching styles. Kaur, Young & Kirkpatrick (2016) & Noomura (2013) mentioned that English teaching in Thailand has a slow progression. The Thai educational system is teacher-centered in which teachers are superior in the classroom.

4 They also still carry the traditional classroom method. Rhein (2017) stated that many Thai teachers prefer teacher-centered learning environment that presents the information to students while students are expected to gain knowledge through the information presented. This teaching methodology might work for mathematics and science subjects, but languages are different. Hence, this mode of teaching might not be suitable for learning English. Furthermore, English teachers in Thailand are not qualified to teach English. They do not know how to teach English and create a good learning environment for their students. 60% of Thai teachers of English have a knowledge of English and teaching methodologies below the syllabus level they teach. Of the remaining 40%, only 3% have a reasonable level of fluency, and 20% teach the class level in which they are qualified and competent. Because of the lack of qualifications, they teach grammar and translation using Thai as a medium of instruction using teacher-centered teaching styles. This method uses few classroom activities, making little or no impact on the students learning English (as cited from Noom-ura, 2013). The teachers and students must try a new teaching and learning methodology in the field of EFL at a Thai university level. This methodology is an approach to second language learning via reading instruction called extensive reading (ER). Bamford & Day (2004, p.1) “an extensive reading is an approach to teach language in which learners read much easy material in the new language. Students choose their reading material and read it independently from the teacher. They read for overall meaning, information and enjoyment”. According to Yamashita (2013) extensive reading can sometimes be called pleasure reading, sustained silent reading, free voluntary reading, or book flood. The

5 main goal of extensive reading is to read a considerable amount to gain general knowledge and improve language capacity simultaneously. To support this idea, Day (2015) explained that extensive reading is necessary for the students in the field of EFL or ESL because they get both language goals and exposure to real-world experience. Hitosugi and Day (2004) agree that extensive reading is an approach that enables students to read many books or other materials that fit with their linguistic competence. They only need to read in their interest at their speed. Most importantly, students are responsible for learning a foreign language and developing the skill. However, Laufer (2001) pointed out that even though reading is the primary source in obtaining a second language knowledge, it is challenging to keep the students reading or reading for long periods even though the reading materials are accessible and exciting. They will never finish reading a whole book or only read the first one and refuse to read further. They don’t like to read if it’s not an assignment from their teacher or a course requirement. So, they need the motivation to accomplish their reading goal. It is a general belief that the success or failure of learners to learn a second language is depended on motivation. In terms of learning a second language, motivation plays a significant role in a learner’s attitude, desire, interest, and willingness to obtain knowledge. Renandya (2015) said that motivated learners are more enthusiastic, goaloriented, committed, persistent, and confident in their learning. He continued to say that in learning a second language, motivation is the students’ attitude toward the targeted languages and their willingness to learn those targeted languages both inside and outside of the classroom (as cited from Renadya,2015)

6 Rationale of Study In the Thai educational system, extensive reading activities in the classroom are not a well-recognized practice. The EFL classes in Thailand use the traditional method where the teacher is the leading authority in the school (Noom-ura, 2013). The teacher directs the students to learn based on the textbook within the classroom. Therefore, students pay little attention to the extensive reading and are not interested in it. Baker and Boonkit (2004) said that English reading in the Thai Context remains deficient because of the cultural distance from the western academic Context. Sawangsamutchai and Rattanvich (2016) said that English material reading is the weakest point of Thai students because they lack interest in reading, have low motivation, and have poor reading habits. The National Statistical Office survey in 2005 revealed that 30.9% of the Thai population, which comprises approximately 18 million people, do not read because they dislike reading. These people do not find any reading pleasure in their mother tongue and do not see any reading pleasure in a foreign language. Regarding reading comprehension, the students do not understand what they read. Chomchaiya and Dunworth (2008) explain that Thai students read the text but do not understand that text because of numerous issues such as first language reading ability, low-level decoding skills, lack of cultural knowledge of the material, lack of motivation to learn, lack of diversity in teaching materials, over-dependence on the teacher and a concomitant lack of learner autonomy, lack of opportunities to read and inadequate exposure to reading materials. Moreover, Hayikaleng, Nair, and Krishnasamy (2016) said that teaching methodology makes students uninterested and unmotivated in reading skills. The English

7 teachers in Thailand still use conventional teaching techniques which as chalk and talk, to teach English reading skills in class. The teachers read out loud and ask students to follow sentence by sentence or section by section. After that, they ask students to answer the comprehension questions. This way of teaching does not promote thinking skills and demotivates students from learning English reading comprehension. Because of this reason, it is not surprising that the reading comprehension of Thai students is a weak point. Teachers should find another way to teach reading and to increase students’ reading comprehension. Hence, extensive reading can be a potential pedagogical approach to teaching EFL reading comprehension in Thailand, and it has not yet been highly experimented with. Using extensive reading activities at the university level can motivate students to learn English. To summarize the rationale of the study: -Thai English teachers use traditional methods where learning is passive -They teach English in the Thai language - This is not good for acquiring new language skills -A new way of teaching English in Thai schools is needed. Statement of Problem Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University (NPRU) uses the Thai language as a medium of instruction. The students from different fields of study are required to take some English courses as their general education, such as 1500010: Fundamental English I, 1500011: Fundamental English II, 1500134: English for communication, and 1500135: English at work. The language institute of NPRU hires Thai and foreigner teachers to teach those English subjects. It has already had its SALC equipped with enough materials for the students to read for both academic and non-academic. SALC of NPRU has

8 different genres and levels of books to read and has purchased extensive reading software allowing students to access the material and read from everywhere. The language institute of NPRU uses extensive reading by requiring students to read the reading material in the second semester of the academic year. The reading record of SALC says many students read the material for the sake of class assignments to submit to their teachers, but overall, they do not increase their reading comprehension. Therefore, they do not improve their English much because they can still not communicate in English at the end of the semester. From the observation, the students at NPRU show low motivation in the class hour period. They show their challenges in reading and show little or no improvement in their English knowledge. Extensive reading can allow them to develop their English reading competency outside the classroom context. There is an option for teachers to use extensive reading in SALC or create their task assignment, which weighs 20% of the entire grade. Most teachers at NPRU do not use the SALC of the university because it requires a lot of work and effort. So, they prefer to develop their class assignment, which is easier to grade in an extensive English class and a teaching workload. If they choose to use extensive reading, they must be the students’ role models and have to finish reading all the books or other materials to answer the students’ questions. Therefore, the current study aims to use extensive reading at NPRU, a local public university in Nakhon Pathom province, Thailand. The experiment of extensive reading using SALC will be employed in which students have to read at least 200,000 words for a whole semester. The teacher will be a facilitator and role model as they participate in this extensive reading program.

9 Purpose of Study There were two purposes for this study. The study examines whether extensive reading can improve the students’ comprehension of learning English. The second aim is to see the students’ reading motivation in English after participating in extensive reading for a semester. Research Questions This study is designed to answer three research questions are follows: 1. Does extensive reading have an effect on students’ reading comprehension in learning English? 2. Are the scores of English reading comprehension abilities between male and female students significantly different? 3. Does extensive reading give the students a higher motivation toward reading comprehension in English? Significance of Study The study will promote the development of EFL reading comprehension and to encourage the use of an extensive reading approach in NPRU. It also encourages the school to ensure that teachers use the learning center. The finding will be beneficial for the curriculum developers to design a better English curriculum and to remove some negative factors that hinder or demotivate students’ learning. The recommendation from the study will help the teachers in the field of EFL to use the correct setting to improve their student's reading comprehension and to help them overcome learning difficulties in English. Finally, the students will be able to understand better extensive reading and how it can change their attitude and motivation in learning English.

10 Delimitation The present study was conducted at NPRU on Thai students majoring in Social Studies from the faculty of education. This setting exposes first-year Thai students in a second semester who have a strong ambition to learn English. Moreover, they have already taken 1500010: Fundamental English I and English learning experience from high school. Limitation This quantitative research utilized a pre-test/post-test (t-test analysis) to collect data. However, the study may face some limitations, such as students not understanding the pre-test/post/test questions due to their limited language ability. Besides this, the student's unwillingness to answer the experiment question may lead to inaccurate information. The students have busy schedules, which is challenging when collecting data. Therefore, the study will be conducted within English class hours. Also, the class was conducted via online learning due to the Covid-19 virus, and students and teachers did not interact face-to-face. This study only includes the students whose major is in education, and who are of Thai nationality. So this sample may not represent the population equally and may have some sampling bias. Definition of Terms The following terms are used in the current study: -Reading comprehension refers to the ability to process or understand the meaning in the text students read. -Extensive reading refers to learning text reading for enjoyment to develop reading skills.

11 -Foreign language refers to a language initially from one country and used by people in different countries. -Learning refers to a behavioral change that results in acquiring knowledge through experience. -University level refers to the degree of the academic status of students after their accomplishment from the high school level. -EFL refers to English as a Foreign language, that is, the use of English by speakers of other native languages. -Reading motivation refers to personal reading goals, values, or beliefs to gain outcomes via reading. Organization of the Study This study is divided into six chapters. The first chapter introduces the background and Context of the study, the study's rationale, the problem's statement, the study's purpose, research questions, the significance of the study, delimitation, and limitation, and the definition of the terms. The second chapter presents a literature review on extensive reading and reading and provides a theoretical framework for extensive reading. In the third chapter, the methodology is discussed and categorized into sections such as research design, settings, participants, data collection method, instrument, and procedure. The fourth chapter discusses the analysis and the results, followed by the fifth chapter, which summarizes the four chapters and discusses the findings. The sixth chapter will provide a conclusion, limitations, and recommendations, including suggestions for further study.

12 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction The study aimed to explore the impact of extensive reading on foreign language learning (EFL) for Thai university students’ reading comprehension. The chapter consists of six sections: a) the definition of reading comprehension, b) the definition of extensive reading, c) the advantages and disadvantages of extensive reading, d) the issues of extensive reading in a Thai context, e) motivation in EFL, f) factors that impact students’ extensive reading. Organization of the Literature Review Definition of Reading Comprehension The Oxford Living Dictionary (2020) defines comprehension as the “ability to understand something”. Reading comprehension is a fundamental skill for students to understand what is being read, so comprehension is essential. However, reading comprehension is very complicated because to be able to comprehend the text requires intricate and detailed processes. Kirby (2007) explains that reading comprehension has different levels of difficulty, including lower and higher levels. A recognized word in the text plays a significant role even though the readers cannot pronounce the word. When a word has been recognized and knows its meaning, the reader can comprehend the meaning of the whole phrase or sentence.

13 There are two types of processing in reading comprehension: Bottom-up and Topdown. In bottom-up process, words are formed into phrases, and phrases form more abstract units or ideas. This process requires the readers’ knowledge of syntax. Several words can be processed into phrases, and several phrases are processed into one main idea. These processes are called literal comprehension. Literal comprehension is a lower level of comprehension because the texts state directly so. The readers can find or identify the answer easily in the test. On the other hand, a top-down process occurs when a higher level of text processing occurs. The text can have complex words which require a deeper understanding of the meaning embedded in the text. The readers need to recognize the bottom-up or top-down processing that often occurs in reading comprehension. When readers know which is the bottom-up process, it can help them decide what is essential in the text and direct them to a correct answer. This is called interactive processing (Kirby, 2007). Wahjudi (2002) said that extensive reading effects reading comprehension across different ages and gender groups. In a study by Renandya, Rejan & Jacob (1999), adult (20-60 years old) L2 Vietnamese students enrolled in EFL was examined to support this idea. The study aimed to determine if extensive reading could be successfully implemented with adult L2 learners and determine the relationship between the learning gained and the extensive variables. The study had three instruments to collect data (1) a designed test to check participants’ proficiency, (2) a book record form, (3) a constructed questionnaire to obtain information from participants. The result from a designed test to measure participants’ proficiency in English showed that the adults in L2 received a great

14 benefit from an extensive reading program because they increased their reading comprehension. Extensive reading not only has an impact on purposes, but it also provides a significant impact on non-academic learners. Yang (2001) used extensive reading of English mystery novels on Hong Kong L2 adult learners for their career or pleasurable purposes, and the test result showed that the participants gained proficiency. At the same time, they also received a deep motivation to learn. Lin (2010) investigated reading comprehension in seventy-eight senior high school students. They were assigned to read three graded readers, level 2: 600 words, level 3: 1200 words, and level 4: 1700 word wordlists. To collect data, they had to do reading comprehension tests, follow-up reading tests, and questionnaires. The results revealed that (1) females’ reading comprehension ability had improved dramatically. (2) there in no significant difference in reading comprehension between male and female students in level 2 and level 3, but in level 4, the female students received higher scores than male readers because they comprehend text better and have few problems in comprehending the content. (3) females used more strategies to understand the text. Edy (2014) investigated whether extensive reading can improve students’ comprehension. The investigation was to see if extensive reading correlated with students’ motivation. To collect data, a quasi-factorial design was used. The study was conducted at STAIN Curup, Indonesia, in the academic year of 2011-2012. An objective test measured the students’ reading comprehension achievement in multiple-choice questions. The researcher used a Multivariate Analysis of Covariance to analyze data collection. The result shows that (1) students who were taught extensive reading activity

15 had higher scores than those who were not. (2) there were no correlations between motivation and extensive reading. However, motivation is critical to increasing students’ reading comprehension achievement intrinsically and extrinsically. Wisaijorn (2017) investigated extensive reading on proficiency and attitudes toward reading English of Chulalongkorn university students in Thailand. Fifty-one finalyear students at a Thai regional university completed a 15-week project in which they had to participate in extensive reading. The participants were assigned to do a) a pretest and posttest of reading ability, b) a pretest and posttest questionnaire about attitudes, c) make a journal entry, d) record their completed readings, and e) finally do mid-and post-project evaluations. The result revealed that pre and post-test reading ability in English show improved considerably for lower-level students. The pre and post-questionnaire and the evaluations show a positive development of attitude to reading in English. Therefore, the overall result shows that Thai students’ proficiency in reading English and their attitude to reading English can be improved by engaging in extensive reading, especially for those students whose proficiency is not yet highly developed. Definition of Extensive Reading Extensive reading has been recognized as a crucial feature in helping students to develop their foreign language skills because of its efficiency and simplicity in implementation. Day (2015) defined extensive reading as an approach to teaching reading in a foreign language with the purpose of pleasure and gaining information. The readers must read as much as possible without concern for the occasional unknown vocabulary and get a general understanding of the texts. Furthermore, extensive reading should be an enjoyable experience where learners feel free to select texts or topics they are interested

16 in. The students’ reading comprehension checks are kept to a minimum to avoid anxiety, which might lessen reading enjoyment. Bamford & Day (1997) said that the main goals of extensive reading are to build readers' fluency, reading speed, and a general understanding of the texts and to practice the skill of reading itself. Guo (2012) mentioned that materials used for extensive reading must be authentic and have real-world language produced to design and convey a real message quickly. Day (2015) & Day and Bamford (2002) state that the extensive reading program has ten successful principles, which are: (1) easy reading material, (2) the various topics on reading material, (3) learners’ choice in reading, (4) learners need to read as much as possible, (5) the purposes of reading are just for pleasure, information and general knowledge, (6) reading is the reward, (7) reading speed because student read texts that are easy and interesting, (8) an individual and silent reading, (9) teachers’ guidance in reading, (10) teacher is a reading role model of students. These ten principles of extensive reading must be implemented to help students to become proficient foreign-language readers. (Day, 2015). The Advantages and Disadvantages of Extensive Reading Hitosugi & Day (2004) explained that extensive reading enables students to read many books or materials that fit with their language level. They read in their interest and speed so that their reading selections become a need different from their friends or classmates. Jacobs & Farrell (2012) added that extensive reading is a simple idea that students regularly read large quantities to learn to read better and enjoy reading more. The more they read, the more they can improve their grammar, vocabulary, speaking, listening, and writing. Shelly (2015) mentioned Bamford’s statement that extensive

17 reading can be used in any EFL class, no matter the content, intensity, age of the students, or language level. Extensive reading is vital to prepare students to meet the targeted language. Powell (2005) argued that extensive reading not only improves a reader’s ability but can also offer the foundation for using in speaking, writing, and listening activities. Extensive reading gives excellent opportunities for students to learn how to read through reading. DoHuy, Hull & Tepsuriwong (2006) explained that students learn at their own pace, and it can help them to increase subject awareness and help them to become autonomous readers. Grundy (2004) argued that extensive reading is a positive approach that can both improve reading skills and develop the learners’ language because when the students have gone through it, they can achieve vocabulary growth, grammar, and text structure. With a similar finding, DoHuy, Hull, and Tepsurinwong (2006) agreed that extensive reading affects and enhances the subject’s perception of their reading ability. Extensive reading stimulates reading skills, reading habits, positive attitude, vocabulary learning, and general knowledge proficiency. Therefore, the benefits of extensive reading seem to expose readers to various reading materials. The learners acquire general knowledge and language from the self-selected texts they read (Maneekhao & Tepsuriwong, 2016). On the other hand, extensive reading has some disadvantages. Arinawati (2012) explained that getting support from school administrators is challenging because launching an extensive reading program costs much money and is time-consuming. Students might have difficulties accessing the text at their language proficiency level. The extensive reading program is easy to create only when the students have a medium

18 level of second language competency. For low language competency students, it is challenging to find texts they can read without a help of a dictionary. Hence, keeping the students motivated to read is very hard as the program continues. Some established extensive reading programs use a weighing scale for students to record materials read and give more marks for materials read at a higher level. This program can discourage students from engaging in an extensive reading program for extended periods because the more difficult texts are hard to manage. To add to the issue of extensive reading requires much money to open a library with various reading materials. Renandya adds that the program will have no success if there are: teachers’ inaccurate teaching techniques, outdated materials, and big-size classrooms. Furthermore, the unwillingness of teachers, unmotivated students, and inappropriate learning strategies may lead to the failure of extensive reading programs (2007). Because of these reasons, extensive reading can become a burden for teachers, students, and school administrators. The Issues of Extensive Reading in the Thai Context Boonaree, Goulding & Calvert (2017) stated that Thai students do not enjoy reading. Hence, there are not so many readers in the country. They have poor reading behavior, mainly because most come from low-income families who cannot afford books and other reading materials. Thai students fail to read adequately in English and fail in their attempt to cope with their reading problems at university (Wisaijorn 2017). This is partly because they do not understand what they are reading, with the result being that they always read English slowly. Even though extensive reading is a good and powerful tool to improve the English language, students still see it as a big challenge. Students

19 cannot read and enhance their knowledge because of a deficiency in alternative materials for extensive reading. Maneekhao & Tepsuriwong (2016) indicated that reading materials for extensive reading are published as simplified readers, graded readers, and authentic material readers. However, these materials require budget and careful selection because not all the topics are at the right level for readers. To understand stories in the reading materials, the students require some adequate cultural knowledge to understand them, and it might be too demanding for them. Furthermore, the teachers collect various reading resources to use as authentic materials for readers. These resources usually are non-fiction which could be selected from short stories, biography, history, science, advertisement, news, documentary, and film reviews. These materials may leave concerns for readers, such as the level of difficult words, so these materials are tough to put in correct readers’ proficiency (Maneekhao & Tepsuriwong, 2016). Motivation in a Foreign Language Learning According to Grabe (2009), motivation is to be moved to do something. If people are full of energy or act on a particular thing, they are considered motivated, p.175. Grabe continues with this definition by saying that “motivation involves a belief set, values, and expectations and a set of defining behaviors, engagement, persistence, strategic problemsolving, and requests for help, p.176”. Khan, Sani, Abdullah (2017) added to this definition by saying that motivation is the force of being moved to act. Lai (2013) said that motivation is one of the crucial elements in the EFL learning process, and it has a massive impact on the students’ learning outcomes. A second language motivation is an enlargement to which a person works to learn the language because of a wish or being

20 inspired by learning activity (Ghazvini and Khajehpour, 2011). Motivated learners will pursue an activity positively such as performing tasks, passing academic subjects, or achieving personal goals. Therefore, learners must be determined and persistent to learn to view their desired future language selves, Dörnyei & Chan (2013). Extensive reading can motivate learners to read in a second language because when students have enough exposure to the target language, they desire to read anything in a second language (Mori, 2002). And more precisely, the more learners are in contact with target language, the more motivated they are to read. A well-developed motivation theory such as Gardner’s theory of motivation and Self-Determination Theory (SDT), defines motivation as the effort to learn a language, the desire to achieve a goal, and a positive attitude toward language learning. These theories can motivate students to be more optimistic and willing to work on a difficult task and activate effective learning behavior. Incorporating these motivation theories includes the integrative and instrumental motivation theory of Gardner (1985) and the extrinsic and intrinsic motivation theory of Ryan and Deci (1985). Integrative and Instrumental Motivation The primary of Gardner’s motivation theory (1985) is integrative motivation. Integrative motivation is an approach to a learner’s attitudes toward learning a specific second language. It reflects the learners’ willingness or desire to be a representative member of other language communities. Furthermore, it reflects the learner’s effort to learn the second language to communicate with a group. Wang (2014) agreed that learners with strong integrative motivation admire the target culture, are very eager to learn their history and society and are curious about the structure and expression of their target language. In this sense, the learners try every

21 way to integrate with the language. Kato (2016) explained that language learners with high integrative motivation concentrate on developing their language proficiency and seek more opportunities to interact with native speakers or to fit in their communities. Instrumental motivation is a desire to achieve social recognition or economic benefit through knowing a second language. The learners are interested to learn a second language because of the benefits they may get, such as a high salary, power, or career (as cited from Ghazvini and Khajehpour, 2011). Al-Ta’ani (2018) states that instrumental motivation is the learner’s interest in learning a language to get essential qualifications and improve career prospects. Gholami, Allahyar, and Galea (2012) state that learners with instrumental motivation consider language to get rewards. A student with instrumental motivation wants to acquire a new language as a means of attaining goals such as meeting the requirements for the university entrance, passing the language tests, applying for a job, requesting higher pay, reading technical materials, or achieving higher social status (Wang, 2014). Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation The primary of Deci and Ryan’s motivation theory (1985) is extrinsic motivation. Deci and Ryan (2000) explained that extrinsic motivations arise from outside the individual and often involve rewards such as trophies, money, social recognition, or praise. Usually, extrinsic motivation refers to doing something because it leads to separable outcomes, which means outside encouragement or rewards are earned from performing tasks, not the enjoyment. Legault (2016) stated that extrinsic motivation refers to behavior controlled through external factors such as deadlines, rewards, directives, or punishment. This type of motivation serves the external demands, so the source of motivation for the behavior is external rather than internal.

22 Singh (2016) added that extrinsic motivation could be used to receive real rewards such as salaries, bonuses, promotions, and other benefits. Extrinsic motivation is an essential type of motivation; it may significantly impact language learning in a short period. People have a strong motivation to accomplish learning goals so that they are rewarded, or otherwise, they are sanctioned (Deci and Ryan,2000). Intrinsic motivation differs from extrinsic motivation in that intrinsic motivation arises from within the individual, such as doing a complicated crossword puzzle purely for the personal gratification of problem-solving (Goyal, 2015). Intrinsic motivation characterizes behavior that is fun, interesting, and optionally challenging (Ryan and Deci 2000, Legault, 2016). Interestingly, Ryan and Deci (2000) explained that intrinsic motivation strongly connects with learners’ activities. The fun, challenging, and engaging activities can motivate the students intrinsically. The activities from intrinsic motivation can lead to the innate psychological need for competence, autonomy, and relatedness (Ryan and Deci, 2000). Singh (2016) concluded that intrinsic motivation is a psychological feeling that people get from doing meaningful work so that they will erform it well. Students’ Factors’ Influencing Extensive Reading Numerous studies have experimented on the impact of extensive reading on students. Kargar (2012) studied the extensive English reading project's effect on Iranian lower-level students. The experiment was conducted on sixty-seven EFL students who failed their reading course. Forty participants were selected randomly and divided

23 randomly into on experiment and a control group. A standard proficiency was used for both groups. During the ten weeks of the program, the participants from the experiment group were assigned to read ten exciting stories in English as their reading assignments, while the control group received their traditional reading class. At the end of the program, the post-test was given to both groups, and the result revealed a big difference between the experiment and the control group. The experiment group with the intervention positively impacts the reading proficiency achievement. Figure 1 Theoretical Framework of Motivation Burgh-Hirabe and Feryok (2013) experimented with an extensive reading program on 9 adolescent (10-19 years old) high school students studying Japanese as a

24 foreign language in New Zealand. The extensive reading program was voluntary and was done outside of the class. Those nine participants were encouraged to read easy and exciting Japanese books as much as they could outside of the classroom for between five to seven months. They read at least one book a week and were asked to keep a journal entry and fulfill the reading records. After they finished the extensive reading program, the data collection methods were used, including interviews and journal entries, to analyze their motivation factors. The result revealed that motivation for extensive reading, defined as a commitment, depends on the number of books read and the time spent reading. The motivation of four students increased, three decreased, and two remained relatively stable. The significant factors influencing the Japanese foreign language learners’ motivation for extensive reading were identified as (1) the goal to develop their Japanese language, (2) instrumental benefits, (3) progression and feeling of success, (4) intrinsic values, (5) extensive reading books, (6) beliefs about L2 learning, (8) autonomy, (8) external demands, (9) distractions, (10) self-regulation. Tanaka (2015) examined the motivation of Japanese university students in a short extensive reading class using the Self-Determination Theory (SDT). The experiment was done in a women private’s university with 203 participants who took two 90 minutes classes per week as a longitudinal study. The participants took a pretest and posttest of English proficiency, and after that, they responded to a designed questionnaire to measure SDT motivation. The result revealed that three subtypes of SDT motivation increased over time, including competence, relatedness, and autonomy. Huang (2015) aimed to verify whether extensive reading can promote English reading motivation and a positive attitude towards reading in English. The study was

25 done for twelve weeks, from October to December 2014, with 258 senior students from four high schools in Taiwan. The reading materials were carefully selected according to the participants’ linguistic abilities and interests. The students were encouraged to read as much as possible for 30 minutes daily. Hence, they can finish six books in twelve weeks. When the reading activity ended in December, interviews were done with 72 randomly selected participants, with six English teachers from these participating high schools. The result reveals that extensive reading positively affects students’ attitudes towards reading in English and that extensive reading is very beneficial in promoting English reading ability. Srimalee and Charubusp (2018) also investigated the effect of using reader’s theatre in extensive reading to check thirty-eight Thai first-year students’ reading motivation. The experiment was conducted outside the classroom for six weeks. Every week, an individual participant was assigned to read at least two reading theatre scripts, perform the activity, the film that performance, and then submit the video of the performance to the teacher. This study employed pre and post-test reading motivation questionnaires and a semi-structured interview. The result showed that students reading motivation had increased in different ways such as self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, interest in reading, and extrinsic motivation in terms of how they managed their reading. The reading script was highly recommended because it provides some benefits to students in goal achievement, capturing their attention, allowing them to explore more texts, and competition in reading theatre. The performing and recording of the reading theatre can increase students’ motivation to know their progression and performance. They can observe strengths and weaknesses every time they perform their reading theatre

26 CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Introduction This study mainly aimed to examine the impact of extensive reading on Thai university students’ reading comprehension. This chapter discusses the research methodology which is used in the study. It starts with the research questions, design, population and sample, instrumentation, procedure, and data analysis. Research Questions 1. Does extensive reading have an effect on students’ reading comprehension in learning English? 2. Are the scores of English reading comprehension abilities between the male students and female students significantly different? 3. Does extensive reading give the students a higher motivation toward reading comprehension in English? Research Methodology Research Design This study uses a quasi-experimental quantitative research design. A quasiexperimental quantitative is a type of research design used to estimate an intervention's causal impact on a target group without random assignment. The group will be pretested, and treatment will be administered. This study uses extensive reading as a treatment that

27 lasts for ten weeks within a semester to determine whether extensive reading impacts students’ reading comprehension of the English language. The data from pre and post-test is used to show whether there is improvement in students’ English language comprehension. Participant The participants are first-year university students taking a compulsory course, Fundamental English II taught by the researcher at NPRU. The number of students is thirty-three from the faculty of education. They are the regular Thai students in the academic year of 2020-2021 whose age range is from 17 to 19 years old. Instruments of the study Pre-test and Post-test The pre-test and post-test are reading comprehension tests that comprise two segments, as listed below: 1. The first part involved participants’ personal information such as gender, age, academic status, and significance of the study. 2. The second part consisted of 50 questions: 5 passages with 10 questions per passage from reading comprehension. The time frame was 60 minutes for the pretest and 60 minutes for the posttest. The test is taken from reading comprehension free online practice tests for learners of English. The difficulty level of the test is A2 KEY, also known as KET, which is suitable for beginner learners for Cambridge English Exam.

28 The pre-test is used to determine students' English reading comprehension level before the study. After the experiment, the post-test will be used to see if students gain a higher score in English reading comprehension from extensive reading. Questionnaire After administering the pre/post-test, students are given a questionnaire to check their level of motivation in reading comprehension through extensive reading. The questionnaire comprises two segments, as listed below: 1. The first part involved participants’ personal information such as gender, age, academic status, and significance of study. 2. The second part consists of 20 questions on students’ motivation in reading comprehension after implementing extensive reading. The Reliability and Validity of The Instrument The pre/post-test comprehension is taken from the reading comprehension test of the English Cambridge Exam. The Cambridge English test has software to check and ensure test score reliability by following the guideline and practices for the development and operational implementation of educational measurements so that the score reflects the students’ ability. The research instrument was given to Dr. Kazimoto, an expert on the instrument from Asia Pacific International University (AIU), to check. Procedures A questionnaire was administered in the first class(pretest), where the students were allotted an hour to complete their comprehensive test. The class met online once per

29 week for three hours. The students were required to read English books via extensive reading software provided by LI of NPRU. The software recorded the number of hours or words the students had read. The teacher has access to the records. Students were encouraged to choose any 200,00-word books they wanted, or they were encouraged to spend 50 hours reading in the experiment. Every week, students told the stories they had read or gave a reading reflection of what they had read. If the book was difficult to read or they were not interested in it, they had to choose another book to read. The three hours class period was divided into two class sections. The teacher used the first-class section to teach English lessons of the course as required by the LI of NPRU for two hours and twenty minutes. The teacher devoted extensive reading activities in the second-class section for about 30 to 40 minutes. After reading, students were asked to do a small quiz at the end of the final hour. The questions for the extensive reading quiz included the book's name, author’s name, thought, feeling, or brief information on what they had read. Students earned some points in class to engage in this extensive reading program which helped their comprehension for other class assignments. Moreover, as an incentive, they were rewarded extra points for reading improvement and actively involved in this experiment. During and after the quiz, the teacher also modeled reading a book. The teacher mentored the students in reading and answering their questions. He gave advice or comments to encourage them to read another book for the next class activity.

30 Data Analysis Overall, the data of this study were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) for t-test analysis to compare the means of the pretest and posttest. The rationale for using a t-test is to determine whether the intervention influences the participants, or whether the pretest and posttest differ. The t-test value is used to check the difference between the mean of two sample sets, and the paired t-test was employed to see whether there was a significant difference between the pre and post-test results. This was also used to assess if any differences existed between the genders. Data from the 5 Likert scale questionnaire was transformed into descriptive statistics, including means (̅) and standard deviations (S.D). Figure 2 shows the scale for interpreting data. The sequences used to analyze the data are outlined as follows: 1. Data concerning the participants’ pretest and post-test and the gender difference were presented in paired t-tests. 2. The result of reading motivation was presented by mean (x̅) scores. The scale value of the mean for each question is as follows: very how (1.00-1.49), low (1.50- 2.49), moderate (2.50-3.49), high (3.50-4.49), very high (4.50-5.00). Table 1 Overall scores in the Questionnaire of Pre-Post Test Experiment group Pre-test Post-test Mean Median Standard deviation Minimum Maximum

31 Table 2. The Scale for Interpreting Quantitative Data from Questionnaire Scale Mean range Motivation level Score range 5 strongly agree very high 4.50-5.00 4 agree high 3.50-4.49 3 moderate average 2.50-3.49 2 disagree low 1.50-2.49 1 strongly disagree very low 1.00-1.49 Ethical Consideration Permission to conduct this study and to contribute the questionnaire to students was obtained from LI and NPRU. The participant’s rights were protected, and confidentiality was assured to all participants and their responses.

32 CHAPTER 4 RESULT AND DISCUSSION This study aimed to explore the effects of reading comprehension via extensive reading activity on students and to check their reading motivation after participating in the experiment. Students were given pre and posttest to test the effects of extensive reading activities on reading comprehension. The performance of the students is recorded below in Table 1. Topic 1: The Effectiveness of Extensive Reading on Reading Comprehension From Table 1, the student's reading comprehension scores in the pre-test ranged from 8-25, while the post-test score ranged from 14-49. However, their post-test scores for most students were higher than the pre-test scores except for students 1 and 10. According to the research question 1, it was demonstrated in that the overall English reading comprehension ability of NPRU students after participating in the extensive reading program was significant at a. 0.05 level (sig = 0.001< 0.05). This is evidenced by a higher average score-after the treatment of 32.3939 (̅= 32.3939, S.D. =9.56537) compared to that of 17.7576 (̅= 17.7576, S.D. =3.79992) before the treatment.

33 Table 3. Comparison of English Reading Comprehension Ability of NPRU Students Pre and Post Test No. Total Score (50) Difference (D) No. Total Score (50) Difference (D) Pre-test Post-test Pre-test Post-test 1. 25 23 -2 18. 24 43 19 2. 23 45 22 19. 17 19 2 3. 18 47 29 20. 13 21 8 4. 19 45 26 21. 16 27 11 5. 8 31 23 22. 17 24 7 6. 17 27 10 23. 16 32 16 7. 23 47 24 24. 15 34 19 8. 13 36 23 25. 18 25 7 9. 22 36 14 26. 15 32 17 10. 18 14 -4 27. 14 47 33 11. 16 35 19 28. 18 36 18 12. 17 41 24 29. 22 22 0 13. 18 27 9 30. 19 26 7 14. 16 49 33 31. 23 34 11 15. 12 24 12 32. 19 20 1 16. 20 32 12 33. 21 42 21 17. 14 26 12 - - - - According to the research question 1, it was demonstrated in that the overall English reading comprehension ability of NPRU students after participating in the extensive reading program was significant at a. 0.05 level (sig = 0.001< 0.05). This is evidenced by a higher average score-after the treatment of 32.3939 (̅= 32.3939, S.D. =9.56537) compared to that of 17.7576 (̅= 17.7576, S.D. =3.79992) before the treatment.

34 Table 4. Paired Samples Statistics and Statistical Comparison for all Students Paired Samples Statistics (mean, std. deviation, std. error) Mean N Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean Pair 1 Pretest 17.7576 33 3.79992 0.66148 Posttest 32.3939 33 9.56537 1.66512 Comparation of mean, std. deviation and std. error of students 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean Lower Upper t df Sig. (2- tailed) Pair 1 PretestPosttest -14.63636 9.68187 1.68540 -18.06941 -11.20332 -8.684 32 0.000 Next, the scores of male and female students were compared in each table. Below are the scores of the male students in the study. Topic 2: Differences in Male and Female Extensive Readings Scores The data in Table 3 shows that the students’ reading comprehension scores in the pre-test ranged from 14-23 while the post-test scores ranged from 14-47. Their scores were higher after learning English reading comprehension via extensive reading except for the student #3. Table 4 shows that the overall English reading comprehension ability of these 11 male students after participating in an extensive reading program was significantly higher than before the treatment. The statistically significant different was at a. 0.05 level (sig = 0.001<0.05). Precisely, the mean score after the treatment was 31.2727 ( ̅=31.2727, S.D. = 10.22830). The standard deviation difference between the scores before and after the treatment was 8.27043.

35 Table 5. 11 Male Students’ Scores of English Reading Comprehension Abilities No. Total Scores (50) Difference Pre-test Post-test (D) 1. 23 47 24 2. 22 36 14 3. 18 14 -4 4. 18 27 9 5. 20 32 12 6. 14 26 12 7. 24 43 19 8. 17 19 2 9. 16 32 16 10. 19 26 7 11. 21 42 21 Table 6. Paired Samples Statistics and Statistical Comparison of Male Students Paired Samples Statistics of male students Mean N Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean Pair 1 Pretest 19.2727 11 3.06891 0.92531 Posttest 31.2727 11 10.22830 3.08395 Paired Samples Test of male students 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean Lower Upper t df Sig. (2- tailed) Pair 1 PretestPosttest -12.00000 8.27043 2.49363 -17.55615 -6.44385 -4.812 10 .001 According to Table 5 the score of English reading comprehension abilities of these 22 female students in the pre-test ranged from 8-25, while the post-test ranged from 20-49. Their post-test scores were higher after participating in the extensive reading program, except for student #1.

36 Table 7. 22 Female Students’ Score of English Reading Comprehension Abilities No. Total score (50) Difference (D) Pre-test Post-test 1. 25 23 -2 2. 23 45 22 3. 18 47 29 4. 19 45 26 5. 8 31 23 6. 17 27 10 7. 13 36 23 8. 16 35 19 9. 17 41 24 10. 16 49 33 11. 12 24 12 12. 13 21 8 13. 16 27 11 14. 17 24 7 15. 15 34 19 16. 18 25 7 17. 15 32 17 18. 14 47 33 19. 18 36 18 20. 22 22 0 21. 23 34 11 22. 19 20 1 According to Table 6, the overall English reading comprehension ability of these 22 female students after participating in an extensive reading program was significantly higher than before the treatment. The statistically significant difference was at 0.05 level (sig = 0.001<0.05). Namely, the standard deviation score after the treatment with an arithmetic means of 32. 9545 (̅= 32.9545, S.D = 9.41365) (Table 6) was higher than that before the treatment with an arithmetic mean of 17.000 (̅= 17.000, S.D = 3.96412) (Table 6). The standard deviation difference of the scores before and after treatment was 10.23755.

37 Table 8. Paired Samples Statistics and Statistical Comparison of Female Students Paired Samples Statistics of female students Mean N Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean Pair 1 Pretest 17.0000 22 3.96412 0.84515 Posttest 32.9545 22 9.41365 2.00700 Paired Samples Test of female students 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean Lower Upper t df Sig. (2- tailed) Pair 1 PretestPosttest -15.95455 10.23755 2.18265 -20.49362 -11.41547 -7.310 21 .000 The results so far have demonstrated that the student's abilities in English reading comprehension after the experiment of extensive reading were higher than before the experiment. This seems to be in line with the hypothesis of this research study. The score of male students and female students were compared. Below is the comparison of male and female students’ scores in the study. The students’ English reading comprehension increased significantly after the treatment. To be precise, the average score of the male students’ pre-test was 19.2727 (̅ =19.2727, S.D = 3.06891). It was higher than the female students’ pre-test that was with an arithmetic mean of 17.000 (̅=17.000, S.D = 3.96412). Also, the average score of the female students’ post-test was 32.9545 (̅=32.9545, S.D = 9.41365).This was higher than the male students’ post-test that was with an arithmetic mean of 31.2727 (̅ =31.2727, S.D= 10.22830).

38 Table 9. Comparison of the Post-Test Scores between Male and Female Students Male students Female students Pretest Difference Posttest Difference Pretest Difference Posttest Difference Min 14.0 14.0 14 14 8.00 8.00 20.00 20.00 Q1 17.5 3.5 26 12 15.00 7.00 24.25 4.25 Med 19.0 1.5 32 6 17.00 2.00 33.00 8.75 Q3 21.5 2.5 39 7 18.75 1.75 39.75 6.75 Max 24.0 2.5 47 8 25.00 6.25 49.00 9.25 According to Table 8, there is no significant difference in test scores between male and female students (male test score ̅=31.2727 and the female test score ̅ =32.9545). However, from the observation and report in Table 9, the female students spent more time in reading than the male students, with an average time of 33:09:26, while the male students only spent 27:15:17 for the ten weeks of the experiment. Table 10. Paired Samples Statistics and Statistical Comparison of Male and Female Students Paired t-Test Statistics of male and female students post test Mean N Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean Pair 1 male test 31.2727 11 10.22830 3.08395 female test 32.9545 22 9.44746 2.84852 Paired Samples Test of Male and Female Students 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean Lower Upper t df Sig. (2- tailed) Pair 1 PretestPosttest -5.36364 17.30475 5.21758 -16.98913 6.26186 -1.028 10 .328

39 Table 11. Comparison of English Reading Time Spend Between Male and Female Students Male students Time spending Female students Time spending 1 16:53:09 1 43:50:45 2 26:06:09 2 80:03:00 3 16:33:00 3 34:11:42 4 25:19:03 4 51:30:42 5 21:57:36 5 52:14:21 6 50:27:24 6 33:25:21 7 24:02:30 7 19:11:03 8 21:32:30 8 13:08:15 9 50:10:48 9 57:02:18 10 19:30:45 10 23:18:21 11 28:42:42 11 50:45:48 12 23:11:45 13 25:01:09 14 44:41:36 15 37:49:03 16 13:45:45 17 42:11:39 18 22:58:36 19 17:37:54 20 0:03:30 21 22:53:54 27:15:17 33:09:26 Students’ motivation toward English reading comprehension using extensive reading program after the experiment. Topic 3: Reading Motivation from Extensive Reading The third research question wanted to assess students’ motivation level to the extensive reading intervention. To this effect they were asked to fill in questionnaire that used a Likert scale. The results are presented below in Table in a form of arithmetic mean (̅) and standard deviation (S.D).

40 According to Table , most of the items were rated at high motivations (Likert scale 1-5). Interestingly, the students agreed that they tried to finish reading the whole text (mean, ̅= 4.000). They liked to search for more information if they didn’t understand important lines in the reading text (mean, ̅= 4.0606). They tried to read more to improve their grades (mean, ̅= 4.0909). They tried to find their weak points in reading and to improve their reading skills (mean, ̅= 4.1212). They also saw that reading is important and it is a skill worth retaining in the long-term (mean, ̅= 4.1212). In summary, the total of students’ motivation level toward the English reading comprehension through the use of extensive reading was at a high level with the arithmetic mean of 3.85303 (mean, ̅=3.85303, S.D = 0.866952)

4 Table 12. The Arithmetic Mean (x ̅), the Standard Deviation (S.D) and the 1.I try to finish reading the whole text. 2.I like to search for more information if I don’t understand importa 3.I like to help my friends with their reading assignments 4.I try to learn the definitions of any words I don’t understand. 5.I try to find ways to read faster. 6.I only try to read more to improve my grades. 7.I have to read because the teacher assigns me work to do. 8.I don’t like reading anything with too many paragraphs. 9.I try to complete reading assignments or tests by myself to check m 10.I try to find details in the reading text to answer questions. 11.Reading activities make me feel bored. 12.If I don’t understand the text, I will read it again. 13.I set and achieve my reading goals. 14.I am willing to work hard to read better. 15.If a text is interesting, I don’t care how hard it is to read. 16.I always quit reading when I have to read difficult texts. 17.It is important for me to find main idea in each reading text. 18.Although I get bad reading grades, I continue to improve my rea 19.I will find what my weak point in reading skills is and try to imp 20.Reading is important and a skill worth retaining in the long term

1 he Levels of Motivations Towards the Extensive Reading. N Min. Max. Mean S.D. 33 3.00 5.00 4.0000 .75000 ant lines in the reading text 33 3.00 5.00 4.0606 .82687 33 2.00 5.00 3.6970 .84723 33 2.00 5.00 3.9394 .99810 33 2.00 5.00 3.9091 .87905 33 3.00 5.00 4.0909 .84275 33 2.00 5.00 3.8788 .92728 33 2.00 5.00 3.4242 .75126 my understanding. 33 3.00 5.00 3.9697 .84723 33 2.00 5.00 3.9394 .89928 33 2.00 5.00 3.2727 .91079 33 3.00 5.00 3.8788 .78093 33 2.00 5.00 3.8485 .87039 33 2.00 5.00 3.8485 .90558 33 2.00 5.00 3.8182 .98281 33 2.00 5.00 3.4242 .96922 33 3.00 5.00 3.9091 .72300 ading skill. 33 2.00 5.00 3.9091 .84275 prove it. 33 2.00 5.00 4.1212 .92728 . 33 3.00 5.00 4.1212 .85723