Transforming Foreign Language Narratives into Interactive Reading Applications Designed for Comprehensibility and Interest

摘要

This study reports on the design and use of a second language reading application for enhanced comprehension and pleasure reading. The application combines short narratives with dialog construction tasks. Quantitative reading comprehension scores were compared between reading by using the application and reading by using regular text and it also evaluates qualitatively how users perceived the application. Preliminary results indicate that the software was successful in improving reading comprehension by guiding user behavior through its design. However, not all students were optimistic about the application as a learning tool given its implicit approach. How the work stands in relation to extensive reading is also discussed.