Interesting Books and No Translation : Two Factors to Increase the Amount of Reading in an Extensive Reading Program

This paper discusses predictors of the amount of reading in an extensive reading program. Two multiple regression analyses were conducted with the total number of words read as the dependent variable and replies to the questionnaires as independent variables. Judging from the t values, the most influential predictor of the first model obtained was that readers stop translating stories into Japanese. How interesting books were contributed to the second model most. Despite the fact that two group of first-year university students who participated in the current study differed in the length of experience in extensive reading, these two predictors were shared by the two models. Although the values of adjusted R2 indicate that stronger predictors exist other than the independent variables utilized in this study, the outcomes suggest that the amount of reading increases when students read interesting books without translation