EXTENSIVE READING IN ENGLISH IN HITOTSUBASHI UNIVERSITY PACE CLASSES: JUSTIFICATION, ESTABLISHMENT AND OBJECTIVES

Extensive reading has been shown to improve literacy, increase reading rates, aid vocabulary acquisition, and improve attitudes towards second language learning. The students in the lower-level PACE (Practical Applications in Communicative English) English classes at Hitotsubashi University often lack confidence in their English abilities, have lower motivation, may not have much exposure to English outside the classroom, are less automatic with vocabulary recall, and often make elementary grammar errors in their writing. At the same time, the majority of these students rate reading as their strongest English ability. To address their weaknesses while utilizing their strengths, it was decided to introduce an extensive reading program to the lower-level PACE English classes. These research notes will outline the steps involved in setting up the program, and may be of use to other educators interested in adopting a similar approach. Key words: extensive reading (ER), pleasure reading, graded readers, fluency, motivation I. Extensive Reading Extensive reading (ER) involves the utilization of “graded readers”; simplified text