University Students’ Expectations of their Lecturers’ Support Regarding Extensive Reading – A Case Study of first-year English major students at a South African University
Madoda Cekiso 
& Florence Olifant
Issue: Vol.6 No.2 Issue Article 2 pp.58-72
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2025622 | Published online 7th February, 2025
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Despite the importance of extensive reading in higher education, limited research has explored university students’ expectations of their lecturers’ support in this area. This qualitative case study investigated the expectations of 65 first-year English Majors students at a South African university regarding their lecturers’ support for extensive reading. The respondents were purposively selected and open-ended questionnaires were used to collect data, which was analyzed thematically. The findings revealed that students expected lecturers to provide guidance on digital reading, encourage reading groups, improve access to diverse reading materials, consider students’ reading interests, expose them to newspapers and magazines, and promote the use of social networks for extensive reading. The study highlights the importance of considering students’ perspectives in shaping reading instruction pedagogy and offers practical implications for lecturers to effectively support and facilitate extensive reading.
Keywords: Extensive Reading, University Students, Lecturers’ Support, Reading Instruction, Student Expectations
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Madoda Cekiso is a professor in the Department of Applied Languages at Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa. He holds a PhD in English Applied Language Studies from the University of North-West, Potchefstroom Campus. His research interests include reading and writing in a second language, learning styles, onomastics and second language teaching methods.
Florence Olifant is a lecturer in the Department of Applied Languages at the Tshwane University of Technology. She holds a Doctoral Degree in Language Practice (DDLP) from the same institution. Her expertise lies in teaching English and Psycholinguistics, with a research interest in the reading practices of secondary school learners studying English as a First Additional Language.
Cekiso, Madoda and Florence Olifant. “University Students’ Expectations of their Lecturers’ Support Regarding Extensive Reading – A Case Study of first-year English major students at a South African University ,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 6, no.2 (2025): 58-72. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2025622
© 2025 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
