Abstract
Reading is important for students by contributing significantly to success in their studies and their career development. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted in the English Department of the College of Basic Education, Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET), in Kuwait. Based on 410 responses of EFL college students in Kuwait on their reading practices, it was found that students read mainly for entertainment, and reading does not appear to be a popular activity among students. Fiction, fashion, and best sellers were the three main types of reading, indicating that academic reading was not a priority. Only a small proportion of students used e-books. Most students perceived such features of e-books as their portability and ability to store more information as likely to attract more students to e-reading, and indicated that they would be attracted to reading e-books themselves if circumstances change. This indicates a good potential to promote e-reading among students if steps are taken to make e-books and e-readers available to them through libraries and academic institutions. E-reading is also expected to become more popular among students if it could be linked to academic reading, particularly to the availability of text books in e-format. Libraries in Kuwait should start more proactive program to promote e-books and e-reading among college and university students.
Highlights
Reading is a process, a mode of thinking, and an experience that involves many complex skills. Anderson and Pearson (1984) consider reading a cornerstone for success throughout the life of an individual. Kirsch and Guthrie (1984) assert that reading contributes significantly to job success, career development, and the ability to respond to change. Baron (2015) stated that the amount of time spent in engagement with electronic media was on the increase
A questionnaire-based survey was conducted in the English Department of the College of Basic Education, Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET), in Kuwait
Based on 410 responses of English as Foreign Language (EFL) college students in Kuwait on their reading practices, it was found that students read mainly for entertainment, and reading does not appear to be a popular activity among students
Summary
A mode of thinking, and an experience that involves many complex skills. Anderson and Pearson (1984) consider reading a cornerstone for success throughout the life of an individual. Kirsch and Guthrie (1984) assert that reading contributes significantly to job success, career development, and the ability to respond to change. Baron (2015) stated that the amount of time spent in engagement with electronic media was on the increase. Anderson and Pearson (1984) consider reading a cornerstone for success throughout the life of an individual. It is expected that students growing up in the digital information era will do more reading. Increases in the availability of e-books are expected to make reading more popular, as e-books have numerous advantages over printed books, including remote access, portability and up-to-date information (Hernon, Hopper, Leach, Saunders, & Zhang, 2007). Larson (2015) discussed the learning potential of e-books and pointed out that e-book technology affords readers new possibilities of controlling text to meet individual needs. Digital texts come in different forms with multimodal features such as hyperlinks, audio, video, and images, all of which will impact the growth of reading. It is expected that students will be attracted to electronic books more than printed books
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