134

www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2023.63.03.12

How to Cite:

Yüksek Öğretim EFL Öğrencilerinin E-Kitap Tabanlı Kapsamlı Okumaya İlişkin Algıları

Ma, Assistant Lecturer, English Language Teaching Department, Faculty of Education, Tishk International University, Erbil/Iraq.

Learning a language is related to effective

communication. Therefore, proficiency

necessitates accuracy and facility (Daskan &

Yildiz, 2020). In this context, reading plays an

indispensable role in people’s lives, so

reflections of reading can be observed at different

stages of lives. Mastering reading by following

successfully. These elements include oral

language growth, phonemic awareness, phonics,

vocabulary, fluency and comprehension, which

can serve as a milestone in learners’ lives (Kumar

& Palukuri, 2022). The learners who are

equipped with these elements are expected to

information, digital, media and financial literacy

without having much difficulty. Likewise, the

learners who have mastered reading and other

following various websites can be distinguished

from others in terms of having accurate and

updated information. Moreover, a software

engineer who catches up with the latest

developments in computer science can grab the

opportunities to make a difference in the field.

After that, a visionary farmer who reads

frequently to be knowledgeable about the latest

proven techniques on agriculture can be a role

model for others. Similarly, an educator who

the content, duration and genres. In addition, it

directed (Yildiz & Yucedal, 2020). In this

because learners can actively construct their

knowledge and progress accordingly. According

to Robb and Kano (2013), implementing an ER

based instruction at educational institutions

offers several benefits such as increasing word

power, developing reading fluency, figuring out

grammar patterns, incidentally, learning various

addition, teachers are encouraged to enrich their

classes with supplementary activities in line with

modern teaching methodologies, so ER can be of

greatest importance to change learning

atmosphere positively (Celik, 2018). Thanks to

the increased popularity of ER globally, several

prominent publishers such as Oxford, Penguin,

Cambridge and Pearson have been increasing the

number of publications in various stages to

welcome all learners and allow them to progress

Kahoot, Padlet have contributed significantly to

increase the engagement of the students in

classes. In the same vein, the practices of reading

have been affected from this modification as

well. E-books have been receiving much

attention as they offer numerous advantages for

readers and teachers (Abdulrahman & Kara,

2023). E-book is an electronic version of the

traditional book which allows readers to read on

the internet through their mobile devices such as

grounds if they read the books with them.

hand, it has some negative implications which

136

www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307

satisfaction rate of the students. To illustrate,

distractibility, increasing costs, limited battery

life, eye fatigue and losing the respect for reading

on the paper need to be considered and fixed, so

readers can develop good habits towards reading

books electronically (Fraser & Abbot, 2016). In

addition, balancing the time is fundamental while

implementing an e-book-based instruction

because reading on paper is the standard globally

argued that e-book-based ER can help students

develop their linguistic competence if certain

measures are taken to implement it in a

professional manner.

The research questions of the study were:

This study investigated the perceptions of

their untouchable social media accounts, which

tends to transform students into introverts. Still,

this condition can be beneficial in leading

students to read online (Yildiz, 2019).

Extensive reading programs have been prevalent

in different versions on a global scale as it allows

popularity has been increasing in the last two

decades. For example, Krashen’s five hypothesis

which are natural order, acquisition, monitor,

input and affective filter can be noticed clearly in

ER activities. Krashen (1992) puts forward the

idea that learners can learn well if activities are

ordered in a logical order where the items to be

learned should be neither too easy nor too

difficult. In other words, learning goals should be

in line with learners’ current levels. Krashen

learners to improve their skills with the guidance

of an expert which are ensured with a teacher in

ER programs. In other words, learners can

embark on a learning journey with their teachers,

so they can enhance their performance

correspondingly in ER programs. Likewise, ER

programs are consistent with John Dewey’s

(1938) theory of learning which highlights that

students learn well when they join, discuss,

brainstorm, experience, share, evaluate and apply

more fruitful approach than others in terms of

mastering grammar (Celik, 2019) and boosting

number of scholars asserted that ER affects

motivation positively (Tanaka, 2017), changes

students’ overall attitudes towards learning

English in a positive way (Takase, 2009) and

reduces language learning anxiety sharply

(Kargar, 2013). Accordingly, there is a plethora

of study in this respect.

To name a few, Iwata (2022) conducted a study

students majoring in ELT at a private university

in Iraq which displayed that students noticed

positive effects of ER during their education

because ER helped them to fill the knowledge

gaps gradually and become proficient in English.

Additionally, Kargar conducted a notable study

in Iran context where she examined the effects of

ER on reading anxiety at a tertiary level which

revealed that ER reduced reading anxiety after

being exposed to graded readers. Afterwards,

overall attitude towards learning English after

being exposed to ER in a systematic way. They

reiterated that they were hopeful to master

English in the short run because they noticed that

language learning was not as challenging as

expected if materials were graded based on their

levels.

Some studies focused on the effects of online ER

on improving students’ linguistic competence.

quizzes to promote reading rate globally. His

that XReading program improved their English

portable devices and accessing electronic books

at any time were main reasons to join this study

more enthusiastically. In addition, Nkomo (2020)

conducted a pioneering study in South Africa on

primary school students which revealed that

online ER program not only improved them

academically but also personally. Students

reported that they improved their English and

became active speakers in conversations thanks

(2022) conducted a study on Indonesian EFL

students at a tertiary level which revealed that

hybrid extensive reading activities raised the

standards in many dimensions. They attested that

reading books traditionally and electronically

increased students’ engagement, so they were

more motivated during the study which boosted

their overall performance dramatically.

Additionally, Kuru Gönen and Zeybek (2022)

carried out a pioneering study in Turkey on

(2017) found that Japanese students increased

their success considerably when they read the

books from the library and took online quizzes on

MReader website which offers free quizzes for

graded readers globally.

possible and cross-check them (Morgan et al.,

test, Shapiro Wilkinson Normality Test, Mann

138

www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307

application was used to categorize the transcripts

in the interview and analyze accordingly.

The setting of this study was TISHK

International University (TIU hereinafter) where

around 5000 students have received a top-notch

education in 29 departments in Erbil, Iraq as of

the university by TIU Language Preparatory

School as a technical non-elective course

spanning the whole year so that freshman

students, whose English levels are not sufficient

according to taken English proficiency exam, can

sharpen their English in 4 domains with

experienced and dynamic academicians. Their

lessons are enriched with CALL and MALL to

keep the students engaged with real life

examples. Additionally, students are encouraged

to join some short talks and write some essays, so

they are granted privileges to improve their

English in a written and spoken format. The

underlying reason to choose TIU as the setting of

this study was that it has been offering all the

courses in English and encouraging the

academicians to take advantage of the current

trends in language learning and teaching process.

the constructs in the questionnaire were relevant

and easy to comprehend. Thus, content validity

was ensured by updating the questions according

to the opinions of the experts. Later, Cronbach

Alpha was run to measure the reliability of the

items within 5 main categories which culminated

in .877, so internal reliability was also sufficient

enough to conduct the questionnaire in practice

with the participants.

importance. The lesson to be learned in this book

is that eyes can serve different purposes

according to the particular need of the

environment.

Earth helps the readers explore different places

on the Earth such as rivers, mountains, seas,

oceans, plains, deserts and forests. It also gives

information about Earth’s rotation and its

meaning for a sustained life. It also depicts some

Rainforests have diverse plants and animals in a

humid tropical climate. The lesson to be learned

in this book is that Earth is a vast area to explore

more and more.

Jobs introduces various jobs such as being a

doctor, a teacher, an office worker, a flight

attendant, a construction worker, a fire fighter, a

tour guide, a chef, a potter, a bus driver, a farmer,

a fisher, a miner, an engineer, a police officer, a

UAE allows the people to do different winter

sports. Subsequently, Bollywood dance is more

famous than any other ones in India and is

spreading to other countries as well. Moreover,

Tae kwon do is a national sport in South Korea

where it is so popular that some courses are

integrated into school curriculums about Tae

kwon do. Furthermore, manga, a type of comic

book, is the most popular genre in Japan. Also,

basketball is so popular in the USA and China

scouting and cycling are popular pastime

activities in the UK and the Netherlands

respectively. The lesson to be learned in this

book is that there are different inclinations about

popular sports in each country mostly shaped by

the climate and promotions.

Super Structures promotes various schools,

bridges, castles, skyscrapers, tunnels with clear

examples. For example, it can be learned that

140

www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307

skyscrapers in the UAE and Malaysia

respectively. Furthermore, the Itaupu Dam,

between Paraguay and Brazil, is one of the tallest

dams in the world. Subsequently, Beijing Capital

International Airport is one of the biggest

terminals in the world. The book also depicts

some structures with different shapes such as O2

in London, Biosphere in Arizona, Ice Hotel in

Sweden, the Poseidon Undersea Resort in Fuji,

learned in this book is that human beings and

animals are capable of building unique structures

according to their creativity and needs.

Considering the genres and levels, it can be

suggested that a variety of genres and levels were

integrated into e-book-based ER to increase the

engagement of the students.

Three subcategories, which were survey,

questionnaire, and survey were forged to

weaknesses of e-book based ER activities and

students’ inclinations to join such studies in the

future voluntarily.

Once Table 3 was analyzed on e-book-based ER,

it was observed that participants were asked to

choose some options which applied to them

regarding advantages, weaknesses and

preferences for a future study. To illustrate, they

emphasized getting pleasure, increasing

knowledge and being more creative as

advantages, however, they warned about

difficulty taking notes, distractibility, and

financial burdens as the weaknesses. When the

mean scores were compared, it was also revealed

that advantages of e-books (86 %) outweighed

the weaknesses (70 %). Another noteworthy

finding of the survey was about their preferences

which showed that an overwhelming majority of

the participants (92 %) would like to join such a

similar study in the future.

3

5

4.66

0.56

3

5

4.56

0.73

Construct

Item

Min

Max

Mean

Overall Attitudes

Being hopeful in the language learning

142

www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307

As shown in Table 4 and 5, e-book-based ER was

appreciated by the participants with varying

degrees in terms of macro-skills. For example,

their satisfaction level descended from listening

to writing. Although the satisfaction level was

significant in reading. listening and speaking, the

same satisfaction level was not observed in

writing. It can be argued that reading in large

volumes, listening to audio tracks and

The questionnaire uncovered noteworthy points

in terms of sharpening micro-skills which

encompassed grammar, vocabulary and

pronunciation. The findings revealed that

participants noticed a considerable improvement

in vocabulary enhancement and pronunciation

thanks to following the program by reading and

listening to the audio-tracks simultaneously. In

other words, designing the reading and listening

and micro skills with a well-established program.

Findings of the questionnaire on participants’

motivation deserve special attention as well. The

findings unearthed that their intrinsic motivation

was stimulated more than extrinsic motivation. In

other words, they participated in the activities in

a voluntary way rather than being motivated for

a reward or punishment. It can be stated that real-

life connections, having fun, learning

cooperatively could increase their enthusiasm

towards joining the reading activities more

actively.

Suffering from language learning anxiety is

another phenomenon which grips many students.

The findings in the questionnaire offered some

data to monitor closely. The majority of the

students reiterated that they stepped forward on

the way of fixing the obstacles in 4 macro-skills

driven to change their overall attitudes towards

learning English. Nearly all participants

unanimously chose strongly agree which can be

interpreted as a positive gain. It can be stated that

ER can support language learning process and

change students’ overall attitudes tremendously.

Once the items in the questionnaire were

analyzed categorically, it was observed that e-

book based ER produced more promising results

Prior to conducting further analysis, a normality

test was run in order to figure out whether the

gathered data were distributed in a normal range

or not. This test was put into practice through

Shapiro Wilk formula of SPSS 23.0 for windows.

The criterion was whether p-value was higher or

less than 0.05. The result of normality test of the

writing test could be observed in the table 2.

In this study, in inference statistics, if the data

non-parametric statistics was applied which