Integrating ChatGPT into Extensive Reading: Evidence from an Experimental Study on EFL Reading Fluency, Vocabulary Gains, and Motivation

Namiq, Faraidoon

doi:10.22080/iselt.2026.30417.1145

Integrating ChatGPT into Extensive Reading: Evidence from an Experimental Study on EFL Reading Fluency, Vocabulary Gains, and Motivation

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Faraidoon Namiq

Language Centre, University of Garmian, Kalar, Iraq

10.22080/iselt.2026.30417.1145

Abstract

Extensive reading (ER) has long been recognized as an effective approach in EFL instruction; however, the potential contribution of integrating generative artificial intelligence into established ER programs remains underexplored. The present study examined whether incorporating ChatGPT into extensive reading enhances EFL learners’ reading fluency, vocabulary development, and reading motivation. Participants were 60 Kurdish intermediate EFL learners, aged 18 to 23, in a private language institute in Erbil, Iraq. Following placement via the Oxford Placement Test, intact classes were assigned to one of three instructional conditions over a ten-week period: a control group, an ER-only group, and an ER group supplemented with guided ChatGPT activities. The control group followed the institute’s regular curriculum without extensive reading or AI support; the ER-only group engaged in sustained, self-selected extensive reading using level-appropriate texts; and the ER+ChatGPT group completed the same extensive reading activities supplemented with brief, guided ChatGPT interactions designed to scaffold comprehension and vocabulary without modifying the texts. Reading fluency was measured using words-correct-per-minute from parallel passages, vocabulary gains were assessed through a teacher-made 30-item test with parallel forms, and reading motivation was measured using a validated questionnaire (Wang & Jin, 2021). Pretest-adjusted ANCOVA results indicated that ER significantly outperformed the control condition on all outcome measures, with medium to large effect sizes, indicating educationally meaningful gains in reading fluency, vocabulary development, and reading motivation. More importantly, learners in the ER+ChatGPT condition demonstrated significantly greater gains in reading fluency, vocabulary, and motivation than those in the ER-only group. These findings suggest that integrating carefully guided AI-based scaffolding into extensive reading can yield incremental benefits without compromising the core principles of ER.

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Main Subjects

Copyright © 2026 The Author(s). Published by the Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages at the University of Mazandaran. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license.

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