Cultivating students' reading literacy using digital lexile-based reading in a Chinese primary school

This Macau study investigates the unwillingness of primary 5 Chinese native students to read in English on a Lexile® Framework based digital reading platform provided by their school, with visible negative consequences on their English reading literacy, and whether or not it is possible for teachers to help improve students' reading literacy by adopting specific instructional practices. The study, carried out in a school which uses Chinese (Cantonese) as medium of instruction, initially measured student's reading level and tried to identify possible reasons that deterred students from reading in a digital reading platform. The investigation was based on an action research model (to look, think, act) while a mixed method approach was deployed to collect data: numerical information from the platform which informed about students reading ability was treated with descriptive and inferential statistics and focus group interviews were conducted to allow a deeper understanding of students' attitudes towards reading. The findings revealed that students in general were not averse to reading, although they seemed to need someone to facilitate the process for them as well as to guide and encourage them to read. Extrinsic motivation strategies were found helpful and, by way of teacher's same intervention with all her students (group A), such as constant reminders to read, compulsory reading of a certain number of books per month, publicly praising students and granting them bonus points on their marks, meaningful improvement was achieved. These findings are discussed in relation to the significance of the teacher's intervention, in terms of providing constant support, facilitating the reading process and monitoring students' reading activity, by adopting varied instructional practices to appeal and motivate children to engage in reading.