Using Technologies to Foster the Reading Habit in L2 (English)

Abstract

In a society which is becoming more and more globalized, it is essential to promote teaching processes that enable the meaningful acquisition of knowledge, emphasizing the learning of English, as the main goal of the teachers. Reading in education is the paradigm of culture and is part of the language learning process. Nevertheless, its practice has declined in recent years. Consequently, through this Project, with the aim of motivating the Reading frequency, we intend to take a deeper look into the role of technologies in order to foster the Reading habit in a foreign language, highlighting the importance of reading for the student cognitive development. For that reason, an innovation proposal for promoting reading based on the use of ICT in the educational field is presented, with a specific focus on the Booktube community, as a tool to increase interest and motivation in reading.

Full Text

INTRODUCTION The motivation for this research work is the interest of reading in the educational field and especially in the foreign language (English), since it is the lingua franca of communication, business and culture. Reading has been and continues to be the paradigm of culture in society. In order to address the issue in depth, reading habits will be analyzed both in the mother tongue and in foreign languages, with the aim of knowing in greater detail the frequencies and tastes in order to try to encourage this practice. Part of the importance of reading lies in its transversal nature that brings along associated benefits so that, the achievement of a correct reading habit will facilitate the understanding of written materials and, consequently, the achievement of good academic results (Gutierrez-Braojos and Salmerón Pérez, 2012). The reading habit is embedded in a broader concept, reading competence. According to the OECD, it is defined as “the ability of an individual to understand, use and reflect on written texts in order to achieve personal goals, develop knowledge and skills and participate in society” (OECD, 2016). This definition highlights the vital importance of reading within the teaching and learning process, as well as in the acquisition of basic skills stipulated by law in Primary Education and in the integral development of students. The reading skill is key to the processes of growth and maturity of the population (Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, 2017). Hence the importance of promoting reading habits among students. However, as Lluch and Sánchez-García (2017) point out, its construction is a complex task and requires a continuous great effort. Numerous studies prove the fundamental role that reading plays in the process of acquiring and learning a foreign language (Brown, Waring and Donkaewbua, 2008; Horst, 2005; Paribakht and Weshe, 1999; Pigada and Schmitt, 2006; Schmitt, 1998; Waring and Takaki, 2003; Zahar, Cobb and Spada, 2001). In spite of the multiple formats in which it can be found at present - paper, digital, etc. - information decoding takes place in all of them (García-Delgado, 2015). It should be noted that the use of the new Information and Communication Technologies (hereinafter ICT) has increased considerably and they have become extraordinary means of information, useful for promoting reading and expanding knowledge. However, they can have the opposite effect. Children are reporting a growing demand in the use of numerous devices (tablets, mobiles, computers, etc.), although they do not always use them for educational purposes or to obtain benefits related to deep and critical reading (Malena and Moreno, 2017). That is why the need to take advantage of the benefits of reading. Reading in Spanish develops creative imagination, higher mental processes, improves fluency, works the memory, develops logical thinking, expands the space for communication, improves oral communication and increases vocabulary (Bettelheim and Zelan, 1983), apart from awakening emotions and allowing the reader to develop empathy, among other characteristics. Besides, reading in a foreign language (English) also allows students to develop attitudinal goals, favouring a positive attitude towards the subject. Likewise, reading in a foreign language also favours the acquisition of the lexicon, spelling and writing fluency and even acquiring grammatical competence (Santos-Díaz, 2017; Elley and Mangubhai, 1983). Furthermore, reading in English allows access to academic literature, since according to Quezada (2011), 75% of it is written in English. As English is the predominant language in scientific and technological fields we need to have a good command of it to work on a worldwide basis. On the other hand, in the case of technologies, they connect well with the children, increase their interest and curiosity because they are interactive and they have skills to use them (Ruiz and Tesouro, 2013). Additionally, one educational competence is the digital. Therefore, it is important to emphasize that working with technologies contributes to develop skills for lifelong learning (Correa and De Pablos, 2009). Students can use them to share knowledge, encourage concentration or stimulate planning and memory (Cascales and Real, 2011). Research carried out by Tesouro and Puiggalí (2004), goes deeper into this point, establishing many benefits of technologies: interactivity, student autonomy, decrease of fear of making mistakes, flexibility to each subject, obtaining diverse resources, and the capacity to adapt to each student. Therefore, due to the perceived decrease in the reading practice observed in schools, it is essential to integrate the use of technologies to achieve the didactic objectives related to reading habits. Reports and research made by governments and education systems in all countries of the world seek to know the reading competence of the young to be able to act accordingly. In this case, two reports are analyzed: - PIRLS: Progress in International Reading Literacy Study. - PISA: Programme for International Student Assessment. 1. PIRLS Report The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement's (IEA) Progress in Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) assesses the reading comprehend- sion of students in Grade 4. However, these data do not provide information about how much student do online, because Spain does not participate in EPIRLS, an inno- vative assessment of reading on the Internet (Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, 2017). The last report, which is conducted every five years, is from 2016. As for the data collected in Spain, the trend with respect to the previous report conducted in 2011, was an increase in average performance, but still below the rest of the world. Focusing on this report, if we look at the results in reading comprehension, Spain scored 528 points, being at the intermediate level, and below the average of the European Union (539) and the whole of the OECD countries (540), placing us in 26th place out of 33. If we analyze the results by reading purposes, Spain would still be at an intermediate level (527 in informative and 530 in literary), rising to 18th place, but also below the average of the EU and OECD countries. Finally, in the comprehension processes results, data are obtained on: “obtaining information and making direct inferences “and” interpreting, integrating and evaluating”. In the first process, 527 while in the second 529 points were obtained. A significant difference can be seen with respect to the EU results (542 and 537) and those of the OECD (542 and 540) which relegate our country to position 21. Figure 1 is presented below, with a detailed analysis of the evolution of very low and advanced performance levels in reading comprehension. Figure 1. Evolution of the percentage of students in the very low and advanced levels after three PIRLS cycles (2006, 2011, 2016) These data show the information previously analyzed and allow us to know the situation, in order to take measures that try to redirect and improve the academic results related to reading. 2. PISA Report The PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) report is an international assessment study that attempts to identify, describe and explain what 15-year-olds know and can do at the end of their compulsory education (Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, 2019). It is a three-year study, focusing on three core competences: reading, mathematics and science. Here we are only concerned with reading. The last report dates from 2018 and had reading comprehension as its main evaluation competence. In the test carried out in Spain, anomalies were recorded due to the outstanding number of students who obtained surprisingly satisfactory results in the reading fluency test. This showed that these results were not representative of their actual competence, so they were only partially presented. Consequently, this paper analyses the overall results, as well as those aspects that have been validated in the recent test. We will now comment on the most significant aspects. The reports shows that, over the last decade, what we read and the way in which we read has changed substantially, particularly due to the growing influence and dizzying development of ICTs. This new channel of communication is not only textual, but multimodal, as it includes other modes of communication such as audio and visual (Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, 2019). Returning to the school environment, according to the data from the ICT familiarity questionnaire, the amount of time students spend online has increased between 2012 and 2018 by one hour per day. They have become 3 hours online (outside the school) on school days and 3.5 hours on weekends (OECD, 2019). At the same time, students say they read less for pleasure. However, they read more to meet their practical needs (transport schedules, advice, etc.) (Figure 2). From the graph presented, it can be seen that the reading habit in students has increased only in those items in which technologies are involved, highlighting that students do not enjoy reading (“magazines, fiction, newspapers”), and only do so out of obligation (“I read only out of obligation”). These data provide sufficient indications to attempt to address the deficiencies detected and alleviate those factors that can be detrimental to the reading habit (in Spanish and English) since the data obtained can be extrapolated to the foreign language, and can be redirected towards increasing the reading frequency using technologies constructively. Figure 2. Changes between 2009 and 2018 in the motifs and genders that 15-year-old students read 3. Foreign Language Reading Habits, English Research in English language shows that similar results to those of the area of Spanish language and literature, emphasizing the lack of reading habit in foreign language. Foncubierta and Fonseca (2018) study the acquisition of reading skills in foreign languages. In their research they find that a high number of primary and secondary students do not have the optimal level of reading ability for their age neither in their mother tongue nor in foreign languages. This, in turn, would lead to a lack of motivation among students, and consequently, a decrease in the reading habit, producing negative results in the reports made (PISA, PIRLS) and in the research carried out (Foncubierta and Fonseca, 2018; Govea, 2017; Gómez, 2014). In the same line, Govea (2017), states that in a sample of 80 people, 56% of the students showed low levels of reading and written production and only 16% had a high level of skill. Similarly, Gomez (2014) in a study conducted to find out the English reading habits of future teachers, highlighted that 84.5% of participants in a sample of 110 people, had no habit of reading in English, stating that they only read materials required to pass the subjects. This highlights, on the one hand, the scarce reading habit developed during the school period and, on the other hand, the influence that these absence of habits could have on the students. This emphasizes the importance and influence that the two great agents, the teacher and the family, exert on the reading formation of children at early ages. Specifically, the primary objective of this research is to foster the Reading habit in English through a proposal that will attract the attention of students, and thus cultivate a habit that is decreasing to benefit from technologies and improve their reading frequency range. However, not only will reading be worked on in the lessons designed, but implicitly and complementarily, other contents of the Decreto 54/2014, por el que se establece el currículo de la Educación Primaria en la Comunidad Autónoma de Castilla-La Mancha (Decree 54/2014, which establishes the curriculum of Primary Education in the Autonomous Community of Castilla-La Mancha), will be worked on. These are within the programs of the subject of the selected grade and allow not to leave aside the contents established by the curricular area. Considering the data presented, it is important to act accordingly and try to promote reading habits in a foreign language (English) in order to advance in knowledge and improve the performance of the students. 4. Reading in Educational Laws and the Curricular Decree 4.1. Reading in Spanish After contrasting the information gathered from the reports carried out by the educational systems, it then goes into more detail on the importance given to it within the education laws. In relation to the presence of reading in the curriculum of Spanish language and literature of the Ley Orgánica 2/2006, de 3 de mayo, de Educación (Organic Law 2/2006, of May 3, of Education, Hereinafter LOE) and of the Ley Orgánica 8/2013, de 9 de diciembre, para la mejora de la calidad educativa (Organic Law 8/2013, of December 9, for the improvement of the educational quality, Hereinafter LOMCE), some differences can be observed. A detailed analysis of the LOE offers a definition of what reading means and what reading comprehension is, as well as a curricular proposal coherent with this theoretical framework. In Article 19 of this law appears for the first time the mention that in the stage of Primary Education “in order to promote the Reading habit, some time will be dedicated daily to it”. In the case of the LOMCE, one can appreciate the integration of contents related to reading with others linked to orality (“comprehension of texts read aloud”, “listening to different types of texts”), with elements closer to the objectives of the curriculum (“selection of books according to personal preference”) or with the strategies of the centre (“Reading Plan”) (Trujillo, 2016). If we focus on the Decreto 54/2014, por el que se establece el currículo de la Educación Primaria en la Comunidad Autónoma de Castilla-La Mancha, (Decree 54/2014, of 10/07/2014, which establishes the curriculum for Primary Education in the Autonomous Community of Castilla-La Mancha), we find that its general principle number eight states that: “In the development of the curriculum, teaching centres shall carry out a transversal or specific treatment of the following elements: reading comprehension and reading habits, oral and written expression, audiovisual communication, information and communication technologies, [...]”. In addition, objective “e” specifies: “To know and use the Spanish language properly and develop reading habits”. Furthermore, we will highlight the Orden ECD/65/2015, de 21 de enero, que describe las relaciones entre las competencias, los contenidos y los criterios de evaluación de la educación primaria, la ESO y el Bachillerato (Order ECD/65/2015, of 21 January, which describes the relations between the competences, contents and evaluation criteria of primary education, secondary education and the Baccalaureate). This Order was promulgated almost a year after the curricula, and proposes an approach more in line with international proposals such as PISA or the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Trujillo, 2016). Likewise, this Order promotes reading as a school strategy and indicates: “actions such as the design of a School Linguistic Project, a Reading Plan or strategies for the use of the School Library as a space for learning and enjoyment allow a more global and efficient treatment of the competence in linguistic communication”. These regulations show the importance attached to reading within the education system. This is where the relevance of the foreign language (English) as a tool for improving the reading habit within educational institutions would be integrated. 4.2. Reading in English Taking the previous data into account, the interest in promoting and developing the reading habit, both in Spanish and English, is unquestionable. Analyzing the Real Decreto 126/2014, de 28 de febrero, por el que se establece el currículo básico de la Educación Primaria (Royal Decree 126/2014, of 28 February, which establishes the basic curriculum of Primary Education), one can appreciate the importance of English in terms of the acquisition of communicative skills associated with the improvement of various fields, including the mastery of reading and writing. Consequently, if we take consider the previously mentioned Decree, we can appreciate in the introduction of the English area how decisive the command of this competence is in order to favour the employability and the professional ambitions of the students. However, if we continue analyzing this same Decree, in the methodological orientations, we will find the following paragraph: “Reading allows students to deal with themes, functions, structures and vocabulary integrated into a whole and in a contextualized way. The frequent and varied reading of texts in English helps them to develop reading competence and brings them closer to the pleasure of reading and the experience of being informed by a new language. Using strategies, knowing previously learned words of frequent use and identifying the most common graphic patterns will help them to understand what they read. Hence the importance of including in the classroom strategies to approach reading from the first levels, through techniques of listening to the teacher read aloud, participate in shared or guided reading, reaching independent reading”. In other words, we not only emphasize the importance given to reading in the area of Spanish language and literature, but also and mainly in English since it allows and favours the achievement of the objectives and competences of the educational system, in addition to the benefits it brings to promote the integral teaching of the students and its application in different contexts of their daily life. 5. Influence of Technologies on the Reading Habit In the findings of the Eurostat report (2017) (Being Young in Europe Today), we read that “the use of ICT is widespread among children and young people, and in some cases is reaching saturation point”. On the other hand, research carried out by Fundación Telefónica (2018), as corroborated in the Anibes study on the sedentary habits of minors published in the scientific journal BMC Public Health, indicates that half of Spanish children between the ages of 9 and 17 consume 90% of their time using screens of different types (mobile phone, tablets, TV, computer, etc.) (Mielgo-Ayuso, et al., 2017). This is one of the main reasons why students do not read in their free time. Hence, we must try to redirect these entertainment habits by trying to take advantage of the attraction that ICTs generate in this age group. The increase of electronic devices in convergence with the expansion of the Internet, is transforming the figure of the reader (Bustamante, 2017; Cordón-García, 2016). This is why several authors, such as McKenna et al. (2012) and Cassany (2016), propose measuring reading practice including that in the digital format. In the same line, Subrahmanyam, Smahel and Greenfield (2006) affirm that there find coherence between the on- and offline behaviour of these young readers, so it can be foreseen that the reading behaviour can be a mediating element in the uses of the net (Larrañaga and Yubero, 2018). It is necessary to emphasize that the use of this new constructivist tool is not opposed to the enrichment of reading and writing; on the contrary, electronic materials favour the teaching-learning processes by adapting to today's society and the interests of the students, being the core of knowledge and individual cognitive development (Andrade and Moreno, 2017; Yubero and Larrañaga, 2013). This is why Andrade and Moreno state “Only with the help of ICTs can we make reading and writing pleasant activities, but at the same time useful for acquiring knowledge and contributing to the development of society. The medium is inevitably transforming the way messages are received and the way they are created into new and meaningful texts” (Andrade and Moreno, 2017). In this field, digital technologies open the door to multiple resources from publishers, digital libraries, applications, forums, blogs, social networks such as Youtube, or even interactive platforms that promote the reading experience. ICTs open up the option of book clubs, and as Yubero and Larrañaga (2013) state: “Reading networks generate interpersonal ties of trust, support and a sense of group identity, generating a positive interdependence among readers”. This context is the one we intend to create within the classroom, a program through which an interactive reading community is created in which students are able to share their reading experiences among themselves, and even with colleagues and friends outside the school, creating their own channels and making videos sharing literary information, increasing the motivation of students towards activities such as reading and writing. In this way, the activities will take into account the following components established in the Expectation/Value model proposed by Eccles and Wigfield (2002): 1) are relevant to the learners, 2) encourage their curiosity, 3) are useful and 4) do not overexert themselves. The following section presents the methodology used to implement the proposal presented, the justification of its need, the instruments used, the participants in the experiment and the expected results. 6. Methodology 6.1. Proposal for innovation After having analyzed and deepened on the theoretical base, the applicable legislation in force and the data offered by the different researches based on the reading habit and the technologies, a proposal based on the use of these ICTs to promote reading in the students, within the English language area, is presented with the purpose of contributing with empirical results that place us in a real approximation of the current situation. Therefore, the aim of this research is to introduce ICT into the classroom, exploring activities where they seek and discover what they like to read, through direct exposure to reading in English with the videos of their peers and Booktubers. Based on this objective, the following study hypothesis is proposed: “The use of technology increases the frequency of reading in English and favours interest and motivation in primary school students for reading in the classroom and as entertainment”. At this point it should be noted that the innovation proposal could not be carried out due to the exceptional situation experienced because of COVID-19, but that it is nevertheless planned to be implemented in the 2020-21 academic year. The design of the innovation is presented below, governed by the conditions under which it was to be implemented. 6.2. Justification for the proposal Early contact and the widespread use of ICT by children and young people has led to a change in the way they relate to their family and social environment, as well as to the modification of habits that were common in previous generations (López, 2017). Therefore, it could be said that the current generations have been born and raised in a media environment, describing their "natural" ecosystem as that of the 2.0 environment of social networks (Aran-Ramspott, Fedele and Tarragó, 2018) and we can consider them “digital natives” (Prensky, 2001) This is where the Youtube platform would be located, converted into a relevant area of social interrelationship, through videos, for students, which according to Pérez-Torres et al. (2018), favours the role of youtubers as reference models. The study carried out by Aran-Ramspott, Fedele and Tarragó (2018) states: “Youtubers are an integral part of adolescent culture as “influencers” and protagonists who help initiate adolescents into multimedia products specifically aimed at them. Moreover, they can become role models at the same time, especially among the youngest ones, thanks to their ability to improvise, as well as to the sense of authenticity, empathy, accessibility and intimacy they share”. In other words, the characteristics that attract students are entertainment and the feeling of being part of a digital teenage culture, which they can share with their peers. Furthermore, the fact that many youtubers are young makes it even more valuable to analyze their relationship with pre-adolescent Internet users (Westenberg, 2016). To achieve these effects, they use familiar elements such as greetings, nicknames, or even linguistic devices (e.g., highly emphasized or elongated vowels) (Cocker and Cronin, 2017). Taking into account the influence that this platform has on students, a community has emerged within it, Booktube, whose objective is to transmit and share, through this channel, a preference for reading, using and taking advantage of the interest and motivation that the technology itself provides. Therefore, it favours the possibility of communicating with others, reflecting, learning about tastes, and even establishing a critical dialogue. In a similar way to youtubers, booktubers are the authors of these videos, defined by Monteblanco (2015), as: “referents and trainers of new readers”. The booktubers share the opinion of the readings with the viewers using their own language, and putting themselves in the viewers' place, which favours promotion, and the consequent increase in reading frequency (López, 2017), turning reading into a social activity that allows people with a common interest to connect, create new knowledge or contribute information and content that can be useful to other people (Monteblanco, 2015). 6.3. Methodology It was necessary to employ to a mixed methodological design, carrying out a quasi-experimental investigation, in order to provide information based on the hypothesis and the objective set for this paper. Two same years groups, 6th grade of Primary Education, class A and B, were selected. In this case, the first group would be the experimental one (class A), while the second would be the control group (class B). At the beginning of the course and in a first phase of quantitative character, the pretest would be applied to both groups. This pretest consists of some questionnaires composed by questions structured according to the concept of reading habit, both in the mother tongue and in English, and to the use of ICTs. During the school year, the proposal described below (section 2.5) would be applied to the experimental group, keeping the control group with their usual practice. Before the end of the course, the post-test (initial questionnaire) would be applied to both groups. In a second qualitative phase, a series of interviews with the tutors of both classes would be carried out, both at the beginning and at the end of the course, in order to know their viewpoints about the results obtained, as well as the daily activities carried out in the classroom, paying special attention to the time and the importance given to reading (both in Spanish and in English) and to the technologies. The variables considered for the characterization of the reading habits of the respondents were: a) the frequency and the means and formats for reading, b) reading in another language, c) literary tastes and d) motivation towards reading. On the other hand, the variables considered for the characterization of the use of the technologies of the participants have been a) frequency of use, b) the motivation for them, c) and the pleasure and enjoyment in their use. For this, as in every experiment or research, an independent variable (VI) has been established. This variable undergoes the changes introduced and is subsequently controlled to know the effects it causes on the dependent variable (VD) which is the one that is measured and investigated. In our case the independent variable is: - Reading intervention program through the introduction of ICTs. And, at the same time, the dependent variable would be - Significant improvement in the levels of motivation, attitude and reading frequency. The measurement of these levels will be carried out through the administration of questionnaires and interviews. The statistical unit observed in the variables has been the individual student in Primary. The survey would be administered to students through a form on the Google Forms platform to collect the data directly. The questionnaire and the interview were designed based on the defined information needs, establishing a response average time to complete the survey of approximately 10 minutes. 6.3.1. Participants This study would have a sample, N=52, of students from 6th grade of Primary Education, coming from the same educational centre. The age range of the respondents was 11-12 years old. Half of them, who belong to class A, would be to the experimental group, while the remaining 26 students would be part of the control group, and belong class B. All participants work with tablets or electronic devices within the classroom. 6.3.2. Instruments The questions of the questionnaire (link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI pQLScP2aoXeKaCcGYNjSJ5TwPoRo1m_OAeLIdZOTq0Gpx9h3rN7A/viewform?usp= sf_link) were grouped into three sections. The first one referred to the general data: age, sex. The second section, related to the reading habit (influence and frequency of reading) both in mother tongue and foreign language. And the third, concerning the use of technologies and their level of importance. For the second and third sections, validated questions chosen from questionnaires used by other organisations have been used. In the second section, we selected questions used in the questionnaire on reading habits devised by the Centro de Estudios de Promoción de la Lectura y la Literatura Infantil y Juvenil (CEPLI) for Primary Education students (Yubero, 2009), as well as the adaptation of Serna and Etxaniz (2017) from the survey conducted by Yubero and Larrañaga (2010) on schoolchildren in Castilla-La Mancha. These questions mainly inquire into reader pleasure: reading for pleasure both Spanish and English, the frequency of reading in the previous year, the reasons for reading and the reading influence of family, friends and teachers. Six questions and three sub-questions have been established in this section. Among the questions, five are based on the Likert scale typology with a range of answers from “nothing” to “a lot”, “every day” to “no day”, “never” to “many times”; a mixed typology question is also included (combining dichotomous question with open question); and multiple choice questions. As for the third section, questions were adapted from the Dornaleteche, Buitrago and Moreno On-line Digital Literacy Test (2015), found in Larrañaga and Yubero (2019). The adaptation of Serna and Etxaniz (2017), mentioned in the previous section, was also taken into account. Likewise, original questions were designed to adapt them to the characteristics of the proposal. The questions of the third section are about the frequency of use of the technologies, the pleasure and use given to them, and the activities the respondents like doing in their free time. Out of four, two are based on a Likert scale typology with answers that range from “never” to “all or almost all days”; one multiple choice and one open question. The interview (Annex I), as the questionnaire, is divided into three sections: reading in the mother tongue with questions related to the importance given to reading, the reading habit, the teaching-learning processes; reading in English with questions about the promotion of reading in English, the time devoted or the importance given to reading; and finally, the use of technologies within the classroom with questions related to their use or opinion. The design was based on an interview conducted by Serna and Etxaniz (2017), with the head of a school library apart from other new questions essential for the proposal. In order to verify the reliability of the questionnaire and the interview, an analysis and verification by a committee of experts was done, with the objective of introducing the modifications related to its adaptation in accordance with the hypothesis and objectives. Likewise, before having the definitive version, primary education students were tested in order to check the correct formulation of the questions and the validity of the answers. 6.4. Description of technologies and applications For the development of the study, it was necessary to use and know the technologies and the digital platforms that were going to be part of the research. Therefore, in Table 1 you may find a brief definition of those more specific in order to know their functioning and usefulness: Table 1 DEFINITION OF TECHNOLOGIES USED IN THE PROPOSAL TECHNOLOGIES DEFINITION Google Forms Google tool that allows the creation of different types of questionnaires to collect information, facilitating the work of tabulation by storing the data in spreadsheets (Loya, 2020). Google Drive Google tool that allows the online storage and modification of files up to 15 GB (Álvarez y Sánchez, 2014). QR codes Platform that allows you to create codes of different sizes to link texts, web pages, links or content. It is a quick way to create an access point to information accessible from any device with a reader (Pinilla, 2020). Pixton Virtual tool to create stories through the design of comic book bullets. It allows you to characterize characters, give them movement, facial expression, add details, or make adjustments in focus, among others (Valle, 2014). Booktube community Networked knowledge community, formed by users who produce original content, record videos related to their hobby of reading and books, and upload them to the “Youtube” platform. There are several sections that can be made in each video: booktags, wrap up, review, etc. The booktu- bers (that's how the users of this community are called) are considered as “references and trainers of new readers” (Monteblanco, 2015). Likewise, in order to investigate the types of video to be worked on in the Booktube culture, it is necessary to know the following terms (De la Torre, 2020) (Table 2): Table 2 TERMS REQUIRED TO DEEPEN INTO THE BOOKTUBE COMMUNITY TERMS DEFINITION Book-tag Simple questions on books. Book-challenge Literary challenges. TBR (To Be Read) o Wishlist Books that one wants to read. Wrap up Tour over books read over a period of time. Book haul Sample of the latest literary acquisitions, commenting on expectations, cover appearance, etc. Top Book selection according to a criterion. Bookternet Content selection of online books. NaCoWriMo (National Comic Writing Month) Challenge consisting on writing a comic book during the month using the Pixton tool and showing it to the Booktube community. Book review Summary and book review. 6.5. Proposal The proposal is annual so we will work with the experimental group throughout the course within the English language area. Both classes that form part of the research will carry out the questionnaires designed in Google Forms. After that, the innovation proposal will be introduced to group A. It is considered essential that students develop a pleasure for reading in their own language, so that it can be complementarily fostered in a foreign language (English), and they can benefit from its advantages. For this reason, reading will be worked in both languages, with special emphasis on English. Due to the fact that the model designed requires ICT know-how, especially those mentioned in the previous section, during the first month we will introduce the tools mentioned so that students can handle them correctly and know how to create QR codes, how to store information in their Google Drive, how to usethe Pixton tool and how to record videos. This proposal meets all the requirements and characteristics of the Booktube community, using Google Drive as video storage, instead of Youtube, in order to avoid exposure and promote the privacy and security of students. Generally speaking, students will have to record the a video every month and upload it to their Google Drive, which will be the equivalent of the Youtube channel. With that link, they will generate a QR code, which will be used in the class so that the rest of their classmates can access the final result. The videos will be in English and will have a maximum duration of 4 mi- nutes. At the beginning of each month, the teacher will show the them her own video on the corresponding topic, as an example of what the students will have to do during the stipulated time. The language used will adjust to the characteristics, needs and capabilities of the students. These recordings will be based on free reading or reading for pleasure, not on any imposed or mandatory reading, so that they are the students, helped by technologies or recommendations, will choose the book they want to read, or select those they want to show. For the selection of the books that the students want to read, it is worth mentioning that within the class there would be a Classroom Library with its corresponding section of books in English for book loan . The students will annotate the title and date on which they borrow and return the book in Google Drive. In addition, they will also be able to borrow books from the school library. Also, to facilitate the proposal kick-off, a book list with recommendations of books in English classified by literary genre and age range will be made. It will the student who will decide whether to start with books in Spanish or English, in order to promote an atmosphere of security and confidence, to move forward in the proposal, and integrate the books in English from the third video onwards. On the other hand, during the school year, the last hour of the English class will be devoted to pose questions related to the next video. The next table includes the programming (Table 3): Table 3 SESSIONS OF THE PROPOSAL WEEKS CONTENTS 1st week View next video, doubt solving and a reference sheet containing the outline, parts and explaining how to record the video. 2nd week The vocabulary, structures and comprehension strategies will be covered to facilitate the recording of the video. All this in line with the English area programming. They will highlight those contents included in the current unit. 3rd week We will work on the videos and books chosen by each student, to help and solve any doubts or problems that may arise. 4th week Delivery of the QR code that will be posted on the wall and display of the work of colleagues. Next, in Table 4, the timeline of the research proposal is detailed : Table 4 TIMELINE OF THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL MONTH AND VIDEO DESCRIPTION September’s video: Introductory video Each student will introduce his or her Booktube channel, inventing a characteristic greeting that will be repeated in all the recorded videos. Students can have a characteristic way of speaking that identifies them, explaining the name chosen for the channel, what they are called, how old they are, their tastes and hobbies, and whether they like reading. All this information will be collected in the relevant file to be able to organize your video and define what they want to say and how. October’s video: Wrap up: Books you read in summer The student will have to select some summer readings and talk about them briefly, following the structure of the card. November’s video: To be Read or Wishlist Those books that you don't have and want to read will be explained, specifying who the author is, the reason why you want to read them, their titles, what they are about and if someone has recommended them or how they have discovered them. December’s video: Book-tag Following the card that will be given to them, the students will have to say a book that fulfils the characteristic that is given. For example: say a book from when you were little, the best book read in English, the longest book you have read, a book in English that you would recommend to your classmates, etc. January’s video: A book in English recommended by my classmates Using the recommendation to the classmates of the previous video, each student will have to choose one of those books, read it, and make a review about it, indicating if it has been difficult for him/her, if he/she has understood it, if he/she has liked it, and grade it. February’s video: NaCoWriMo (National Comic Writing Month) In this case, during the month of February, students will have to write a comic book in English, using the Pixton tool, showing the final result and explaining it in the video of the month. The maximum length of the comic will be about 10 pages. To make this video, students will work in pairs, that is, a collaborative video will be made, cooperating with another Booktuber classmate, uploading both to their Google Drive platform. March’s video: Top 3 comics of my classmates that I like Using the comics that the students have written during the previous month, each student will have to read seven of them, selected at random, without knowing the name of the authors, and choose three, which are the ones he will talk about in his “Top 3 comics” video. April’s video: Bookternet Students will have to select content found on the Internet, which is related to the books. These can be other Booktubers, literary blogs, youtube videos, booktrailers, websites, online libraries, etc. They will talk about those resources that they liked or that caught their attention. May’s video: Book-challenge “Infinite challenge” This video will be based on a literary challenge, in which they have to say as many English book titles as possible in one minute. June ‘s video: Book haul: Books that I have and I am going to read this summer To do this, they will have to select and search for book titles that they think they might like and record the video of the month, explaining what the challenge is, why they have chosen those titles and try to do it as quickly as possible. Next, we deal with the evaluation and the progress of the experiment. 6.6. Assessment After the completion of the last video, the post-test will be carried out in both the control and the experimental groups. The interview with the teachers will also be conducted, taking as a reference the pre-test and the initial interview, in order to be able to compare the answers to the items with respect to the beginning of the course. Thus we will also check if the hypothesis of the proposal has been fulfilled and up to what extent it has been possible to promote the reading habit in English language. Likewise, to check the adequacy of the proposal, each student will be monitored through observation and interaction, as well as through the videos. In order to evaluate the implicit contents to be worked on, the standards and criteria established in Decree 54/2014 will be taken as a benchmark. The chosen methodology is active, allowing the participation and involvement of the students. Therefore, a registration and observation sheet will be used to track the evolution of the different milestones of the initiative. The activities will follow a progression (explained above) since it is necessary to start with those activities that are simpler, and to grow in learning, requiring a greater cognitive demand as the proposal progresses. In this way, students will feel that the activities are within their possibilities, seeing them as a challenge to achieve and facilitating the evolution of learning. That is to say, the activities will be located in the Near Development Zone, a concept developed by Lev Vygotsky in his sociocultural theory. It states that the teaching-learning processes generate development, adjusting it to the capacities that the student has and the demands and support that are presented to him (González and Palacios, 1990). Finally, as a method of evaluation, it is considered fundamental to assess the adequacy of the proposal, to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of the approach, with the aim of improving it and adapting it, and if necessary, to promote the achievement of the proposed objectives. The prospective results are set out below, as well as a brief debate analysing the advantages and disadvantages of the approach, as well as the future lines to continue and complement the research presented. 7. Results (Prospective) After implementing the proposal, the results obtained from the questionnaires and interviews from the post-test would be contrastively compared with those of the pre-test to check whether the objective and the hypothesis posed had been fulfilled. Starting with the surveys of the students in the pilot group, the results that could be expected would be the increase in reading frequency, especially in English. Therefore, in questions five and six, a positive change should be seen in reading more frequently in leisure time and in a language other than one's mother tongue, developing a pleasure for reading (showing that in questions one and six). In addition, to demonstrate this improvement, the percentages corresponding to the reading habit would be calculated, displayed on a graph and compared with the initial results of the pre-test, so that the changes originating in the students' habits could be visually noticed. Consequently, in questions three, four and five, related to book recommendations, a significant increase should be observed in the search for opinions, in family or from friends or teachers, to obtain new book titles to talk about in the videos. This would demonstrate the influence that these agents can have on student acquisition and encouragement to read. Questions one and five should highlight the little influence that the obligatory nature of the readings would have. Therefore this will prove that they mainly read the books that they choose. Questions related to reading influence are intended to show how students follow the model of their parents, peers or teachers, and how the behaviours they observe can modify and condition their own habits. The objective is that, in the posttest of the experimental group, a greater number of recommendations, book comments among friends, teachers or family, or even the purchase of a book or reading device as a gift, are recorded. As for the questions related to technologies and their use, the frequency of use would be similar in both tests (pre and post), but the changes in the students' free time, the purpose of use, and in the use of the technologies would be highlighted, showing a clear predominance in the increase of the items “watching Booktubers videos” and “reading”. Also a graph will facilitate to notice the range of importance of the data obtained. Next, we would continue with the control group, carrying out the same procedure, analyzing their results, comparing the pre-test and post-test, and finally, contrasting the results of both groups to know the inference that the proposal has had in the tastes, motivation, influence and reading habits of the students. It could be expected that the results obtained in the experimental group would show an improvement in the proposed objectives, while those of the control group would not show significant differences. As for the final interview with the tutors of both groups, depending on the initial opinion, the results could vary. So, if their opinion was negative, the objective would be the promotion of ICTs and of the reading habit in the English area within the classroom, properly adjusted, which would give rise to the benefits mentioned above in this research work. 8. Discussion and Conclusion The prospective results also intend to show the improvement in the knowledge of the English language. In a study Santos-Díaz (2017) proved, through a bivariate correlation, that the most assiduous readers in the mother tongue were also assiduous in the foreign language, which is why it was found that reading facilitates updating a greater number of words and the identification of technical terms in the foreign language. Therefore, it contributes to improve the mastery of lexical competence and is even related to greater academic performance of school children (Molina-Villaseñor, 2006). On the other hand, in the study carried out by Cheng, Hwang, Wu, Shadiew and Xie (2010), they state that the study of English through technological devices and digital applications, favours motivation in learning a language, reduces anxiety and eliminates barriers, as they possess recreational components that students value positively. Likewise, the results of previous studies (Dornaleteche, Buitrago and Moreno, 2015; Gutiérrez-Porlán, Román-García and Sánchez-Vera, 2018), related to the poor use of the Internet for academic purposes could be due to the low implementation and use of social Internet platforms in the teaching-learning process by educational institutions. Duart, Gil, Puñol and Castaño (2008) actively proved it by integrating social platforms in a natural way within the English area. This allowed students to develop strategies to learn, since they were main actors in their learning process. Therefore, as far as the hypothesis and the proposed objective are concerned, progress in terms of attitude and teaching method would have to be observed in the results, which would translate into an increase in reading frequency. In addition, in relation to the procedure, a greater enjoyment would be observed, as well as the involvement of the students in their learning process, which would favor a rise in the interest towards the subject. When students gain knowledge through different perceptual channels and relate it to personal daily experiences they find it entertaining and they incorporate it. Consequently, Coll (2002) adds that the interest and motivation for the content is due to the characteristics of the proposed task. Therefore the aim of this initiative is to reinforce a climate of greater dynamism so that unmotivated students would perceive a higher level of enjoyment, reducing passivity (Perlman, 2010). However, it is important to highlight that it would be necessary to continue the research with a larger sample, with the aim of verifying the veracity and reliability of the results that would be obtained in this research. This study aims to create a precedent by analysing in detail the influence of a variable, such as technologies, when they become an essential element within the society in which we live. Likewise, the influence of family and school could be the object of a more detailed analysis in subsequent research, as it does not go into detail on those aspects that determine the personality and tastes of the students. Similarly, and following the line presented, one could analyze the books of obligatory reading in school within the English area, and a continuation in the integration of technologies, since as has been previously analyzed, and as shown by Molina-Villaseñor (2006), the taste for reading is related to better academic performance of the students. Therefore, as shown in Santos-Díaz (2017), it implies a strengthening of the role of the available lexicon in linguistics applied to language teaching given by its precursors Gougenheim, Michéa, Rivenc and Sauvageot (1956). Therefore, concluding this research and considering the information analyzed, it is undoubtedly necessary for teachers to know how to adapt to changes and generational demands and, therefore, to adapt the tools to the tastes and needs of students, trying to promote teaching-learning processes that are meaningful to them. To achieve this, it is necessary to provide continuous training, and to take advantage of the potential that technological resources can provide, researching those procedures, instruments, strategies or methodologies that allow an improvement in education, more specifically in the teaching and learning of a foreign language such as English.