Investigating the impacts of task-based extensive reading on reading ability of Thai high school students

The purpose of this mixed method study was to investigate the impacts of a Task-Based Extensive Reading (TBER) program on the reading ability of Thai high school students at a demonstration school in Thailand. A total of 9 Mattayomsuksa 6 students enrolled on a Math-English program, who were selected through purposive sampling, participated in a 10-week reading study. All were required to read 8 graded readers throughout the program followed by task-based post-reading activities after they finished each book. The data were collected through a pre- and post-test on reading ability employed to investigate the effectiveness of TBER. Verbal reports and semi-structured interviews were utilized to understand the students’ perceptions towards TBER. The results revealed that every student in the experimental group received positive higher gain scores in their post-test. Furthermore, they outperformed the other group of students in the comparison group who showed a mix of gain scores: positive, negative, and no difference. Additionally, the students in the TBER program reported that they personally felt a sense of improvement in their own reading ability and reported gains in vocabulary acquisition. Plus, with the help of this TBER program, students were able to overcome the anxieties experienced from reading English books and showed positive observable signs of good habit readers.