This exploratory, 10-week study employed online questionnaires to gauge Japanese university students’ sense of engagement as they participated in selection, reading and discussion stages of a graded reading activity. Specifically, we examined the effects of self- vs. group-selection of graded readers—done in alternate weeks throughout the study. Results revealed similarly moderate levels of reported engagement, with no statistically significant differences and small to negligible effect sizes at each stage of the activity. However, an exploratory examination of the results beyond strict statistical constraints hints at slight advantages for reading of group-selected readers in the effort domain, and for discussion of group-selected readers in terms of engagement, competency and success. Further work may be merited in these areas. In sum, students responded positively to both approaches, and lacking strong evidence of differential engagement, instructors working with similar activities in similar contexts can feel free to vary their use of self- or group-selection depending on practical constraints and/or the type of activities they want to try. This study was conducted as part of the 2018 Quantitative Research Training Project, a professional development program for language teachers in Japan looking to gain knowledge and experience in quantitative research methods.
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