The English Language Education Department (ELED) of UKDW was joining hands with the Indonesian Extensive Reading Association (IERA) to hold a webinar with the theme “Assessing Extensive Reading” on November 7, 2020. The webinar was conducted through the zoom platform and broadcasted live on ELED’s Youtube Channel. Around 190 participants joined this event.
The keynote speakers in this webinar are Michael McCollister (the head of Taiwan Extensive Reading Association and lecturer at Feng Chia University, Taiwan) and Anita Kurniawati Hadiyanto, M.Hum., (IERA representative and lecturer at Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana). McCollister emphasized four things to be considered in assessment: simple, fast, should not be difficult to accomplish, and should not diminish the learning motivation. He also explained the use of MReader and Xreading apps to access extensive reading (ER). meanwhile, Anita explained the purposes of assessing ER, such as to monitor students’ progress, to motivate learners in extensive reading, to make sure they truly understand what they read, and to reflect the progress accomplished by participants. She also said that assessment is a form of communication and interaction between teachers and learners.
In the panel session, Fithrah Auliya Ansar, M.Hum. (lecturer at Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Raden Intan, Lampung) laked about Anthropolinguistics learning through ER. Various techniques were used to facilitate learners in comprehending Anthropolinguistics elements in the reading materials. Enriching the discussion on assessing ER, two speakers from UKDW Ignatius Tri Endarto, M.A. and Dra. Mega Wati, M.Pd. talked about taxonomy in the affective domain according to Bloom that focused on learners’ enjoyment.