ESL Teachers’ Experiences on XReading as a Formative Assessment Tool in Extensive Reading: A Study of a Federal Institution in the UAE

Abstract

AbstractExtensive reading is a widely used effective strategy for enhancing students’ reading skills. The study explores how digital libraries like XReading impact students’ extensive reading skills in the English as a Second Language program. XReading provides a Learning Management System where teachers can track and set goals to enhance students’ performance. It also has a key feature of online formative assessments that keep students motivated and accountable in their learning journey. The study using a qualitative research design was conducted at a federal college in the UAE, and it aimed to explore teachers’ perceptions of using XReading as a formative assessment tool, its benefits and challenges the students face, and how it influences students’ performance. The data were collected qualitatively using semi-structured interviews and observations to reveal the effects of XReading as a formative assessment tool in extensive reading. The results indicated that along with cooperative learning, XReading involves the students with a multitude of features it offers and fosters engagement, collaboration, and learner autonomy among students which is a twenty-first-century learning skill.