| Summary: | 碩士 === 朝陽科技大學 === 應用外語研究所 === 98 === To explore if the application of the students'' self-chosen authentic materials would be effective in terms of improving the English learning motivation and reading ability of students in a rural elementary school, the researcher adopted the rural students'' self-chosen authentic materials (i.e., English illustration books and English language-learning websites in this study) as a supplement to their regular English courses. The participants consisted of 29 fifth and sixth graders in a rural elementary school in Taichung County in central Taiwan. The treatment lasted for 8 weeks, including 40 minutes in each period and 16 periods in total. During the treatment, Questionnaire of Students'' Preferences for Authentic Materials, the students'' self-chosen authentic materials, reading worksheets, and STYLE (Level 1) for pre-and-post tests were employed. Dependent T-test was used to analyze the difference of the scores between their pre-and-post tests. Pearson Correlation Coefficient was used to analyze if there was relationship between the students'' English learning motivation and their reading ability improvement. Besides, the teacher''s reflective notes, the students'' Motivation Questionnaire and a focused-group interview were conducted to triangulate the results and to obtain an in-depth understanding of the rural students'' opinions.
The results of the study indicated:
(1) Rural elementary students were interested in authentic materials. The most popular ones were sequenced in order: English illustration books, English language-learning websites, the introduction of the target and local cultures, etc.
(2) The supplement of the students'' self-chosen authentic materials to their regular English courses was effective concerning improving the rural elementary students'' English reading ability.
(3) The supplement of the students'' self-chosen authentic materials to their regular English courses was effective concerning improving the rural elementary students'' English learning motivation.
(4) There existed a correlation between the rural elementary students'' English learning motivation and their English reading ability.
Based on the results mentioned above, some suggestions could be made for the practicing teachers, the authority related to English education and further researchers for references.
Key words: authentic materials, learning motivation, reading ability, rural elementary schools
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