E-reading and e-discussion: EFL learners' perceptions of an e-book reading program

Abstract

In our new multiliteracy age, texts have moved beyond the printed page to a variety of online formats that involve online reading, online navigation and research, and many-to-many synchronous and asynchronous communications. In the field of education, one way to bridge the shift to this new literacy is to expand the limited text forms that students are exposed to and to engage them with electronic books, or e-books. This study aims to investigate students' perceptions of an e-book reading program. The participants were 67 first-year university students drawn from two sections of an intermediate “English as a foreign language” (EFL) reading course in a national university in northern Taiwan. During the yearlong experiment, students read at least one online e-book weekly from the reading list provided by the researcher. In questionnaires and interviews, students provided positive feedback on the program's strategy tools and its learning effects; they pointed out e-books' potential to cultivate better reading habits and increase motivation; they also perceived e-books as being more available, portable, and eco-friendly than print-based texts. However, students also noted difficulties with e-book reading in terms of eyestrain and dealing with lengthy texts. Suggestions to improve future e-book reading programs can serve as a model to integrate new literacy formats – such as iPads, Amazon Kindle, or other cell phone devices – into the L2 reading curriculum.