Assessing Student Empowerment in Mobile-Assisted Extensive Reading in a University Setting

Abstract

Mobile-assisted language learning and its impact on students’ learning outcomes have been examined as one of the attractive methods in English extensive reading (ER). Yet, studies investigating mobile-assisted extensive reading on students’ empowerment are scarcely reported. Grounded in a learning empowerment scale, this research aimed to assess students’ empowerment toward the enactment of mobile-assisted extensive reading in a private university in Indonesia. This case study involved students (n=27) from the Department of English Education at the university. All participants were voluntarily recruited according to the research protocol assigned by the department. All data were garnered from closed-ended questionnaires, reflective journal writing, and semi-structured interviews to get an in-depth analysis of university students’ lived experiences in extensive online reading. The findings revealed how the students felt empowered during their mobile learning engagement. The present study also demonstrates how self-driven reading tasks have engaged students in sharing information and values during the reading report tasks. Further, it was found that students’ self-regulated learning was shouted through students’ reading motivation and self-reflection, including satisfaction and impact. Pedagogically, this study implied that teacher educators need to consider a wide range of topics and materials related to the second essential principle ER. Therefore, for a successful extensive reading program to happen, the teacher educators should provide a continued reading schedule and incorporate it into classroom reading practice.