This study examines how the perceptions that twelve teachers of Japanese as a second language (L2) had of extensive reading (ER) changed following 10 months of online English ER. Interviews provided much of the study data, supported by pre-project and post-project questionnaires. The participants' pre-project and post-project vocabulary sizes and…

L2 extensive reading (ER) research primarily studies intermediate and upper-intermediate learners, but few studies investigate beginners. This study addresses this gap by reporting on beginner Japanese as Foreign Language (JFL) learners' attempts to do ER according to Waring and McLean's (2015) ER principles. In this study, 13 second-semester…

This paper examines learners' fluency development in L2 silent reading rate and comprehension. In both L1 and L2 readings, a positive relationship between readers' silent reading rate and comprehension has not been as firmly established as theories might propose. Based on Wallot et al. (2014), the paper indicates the need to look at readers'…

This study is an extension of Nahatame's (2018) research that demonstrated the effects of causal and semantic relations between sentences on second language (L2) text processing. Employing eye tracking, this study aimed to examine whether these effects appear during more natural, uninterrupted reading processes and to identify the time course of…

In this response to Sakurai, Meredith Stephens agrees that Sakurai (2015) raises an important issue of which native English speaking teachers may be unaware; Japanese learners of English typically translate into Japanese while reading English. Sakurai explained, "It is speculated that Japanese students naturally translate English into…

The paper "The influence of translation on reading amount, proficiency, and speed in extensive reading" (Sakurai, 2015) outlined the first six years of the official English education system and policy in Japan. It then discussed the efficacy of extensive reading (ER) followed by a distinction between reading and translation. Previous…

This study attempted to examine the influence of a decrease in translation on the number of words read, reading comprehension, and reading rate in an extensive reading (ER) program. The participants were 70 first-year university students who experienced ER both in and outside the classroom for 15 weeks. The results of regression analyses confirmed…

The present study addressed the role of speed as a factor in tests of second language (L2) vocabulary knowledge, presupposing that speed of performance is important in actual language use. Research questions were: (a) Do learners with a larger vocabulary size answer faster on an L2 vocabulary breadth test than smaller vocabulary sized learners?;…

Grouping words into meaningful chunks is a fundamental process for fluent reading. The present study is an attempt to understand the relationship between chunking and second language (L2) reading fluency. The effects of text segmentation on comprehension, rate, and regression in L2 reading were investigated using a self-paced reading task in a…