Graded Readers as Scaffolded Stories: Self-Efficacy, Enjoyment, and Narrative Engagement in Adolescent EFL Reading

Graded readers are widely used in EFL classrooms to make extended reading more linguistically accessible, yet less is known about how learners experience them affectively and narratively. This explanatory sequential mixed-methods study investigated the relationship between reading self-efficacy and L2 reading enjoyment, and explored eighth-grade learners’ perceptions of graded readers in a Chilean secondary classroom. Twenty-two learners completed adapted four-point scales after reading levelled Oxford Bookworms and Oxford Dominoes texts; six learners later participated in semi-structured interviews. Composite scale scores were analysed descriptively and through Spearman’s rho, while interview data were analysed thematically. Results showed relatively high reading self-efficacy and L2 reading enjoyment, together with a significant positive association between those two constructs (rho = .660, p = .001). Qualitative findings, on the other hand, indicated that enjoyment and confidence were supported by familiar vocabulary, accessible syntax, story comprehension, successful task completion, and the ability to follow engaging plots. Learners also highlighted genre preference, narrative perspective, suspense, and historical setting as relevant to their engagement, although level mismatch and limited thematic appeal limited the experience for some. The study argues that graded readers may support favourable conditions for adolescent EFL reading engagement when linguistic accessibility is combined with narrative appeal and carefully mediated pedagogy.