Implementing extensive reading to enhance reading comprehension in EFL students of basic education in Jipijapa

Resumo

Reading comprehension in English as a foreign language remains a persistent challenge in Ecuadorian public education, where instruction is predominantly grammar-focused, limiting students’ engagement and comprehension development. In response to the identified problem, the general objective was to design a didactic strategy based on the Extensive Reading approach to enhance English reading comprehension among tenth-grade students at a public educational institution in Jipijapa; to achieve this purpose, the following specific objectives were established:  (i) to identify the main difficulties affecting students’ reading comprehension in English, (ii) to analyze the theoretical foundations supporting the Extensive Reading approach and its effectiveness, (iii) to design structured reading guides aligned with MINEDEC and CEFR standards, and (iv) to evaluate the potential of Extensive Reading to improve motivation and reading comprehension. This study adopted a convergent mixed-methods design, combining a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test approach with qualitative data from interviews and classroom observations. The intervention was implemented over four weeks with 37 students using structured reading guides aligned with MINEDEC standards and CEFR A2 descriptors. The findings revealed a 52% improvement in reading comprehension scores, accompanied by increased motivation, engagement, and the use of inferential and contextual reading strategies, as well as reduced reliance on translation. These results suggest that structured Extensive Reading can significantly enhance reading comprehension in low-resource EFL contexts, providing relevant implications for curriculum design and educational policy.