Students’ perception on Extensive Reading (ER) through virtual book club to promote a pleasure reading

Abstract

Book club is broadly believed to give contribution to students’ positive attitude of willingness and enjoyment in reading. Online ER book club was set up for the first year students in a higher education level to support ER class, especially to promote pleasure reading. This study aimed to delve into the students’ perception on ER book club of first semester students of the English Education Department of a private university Central Java, Indonesia. Framed within a descriptive qualitative method, a questionnaire and an interview guide were administered to the research participants. The questionnaire aspects comprise perceiver, target, and situation where ER aspects, namely, book choice, reading fluency and reading comprehension, were embedded in the items. An interview was also conducted to get more detailed facts about the book club. The findings reveal that students perceived the ER book club positively. ER book club provides fruitful and enjoyable activities for the students that promote their interest for pleasure reading and improve their English skills, particularly reading ability. Based on the findings, the writers suggest making the ER book club as a regularly sustainable program to maintain a positive culture of reading for pleasure that might lead to good reading habits.