Engaging Children With Pleasure Reading: The E-Reading Experience

• Main Authors: Ghalebandi, Seyedeh Ghazal, Noorhidawati, Abdullah
• Format: Article
• Published: SAGE Publications 2019
• Subjects: QA75 Electronic computers. Computer science; Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources
• Online Access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/19942/; https://doi.org/10.1177/0735633117738716
• Institution: Universiti Malaya

Traditional definitions of reading seem inadequate in today’s world as children encounter and interact with electronic screen-based reading using handheld devices such as tablets, smart phones, and so on. This study builds upon the context of reading engagement for pleasure and targets Malaysian bilingual children at the early stage of learning to read in English as their second most important language. The following research questions are put forward: (a) What drives children engagement with reading apps? and (b) how do children exhibit their e-reading experience? First- and second-grade children from primary school who had previously shown high achievement in English subject were selected for this study. Field observations and interviews were employed to capture children’s reading activity for pleasure in individual or shared reading settings using e-storybooks and educational reading apps. The findings indicate that children’s e-reading experience encompasses both motivational constructs and behavioral engagements. Children exhibit their e-reading experience through reading aloud or reading in silence along with screen manipulation.