The second remark is an appeal to teachers’ sense of balance when implementing ER. Despite
the demonstrated positive effect of ER on affect across several studies, we have also seen some
counter-intuitive results in the literature. For instance, van Schooten et al. (2004) found that, in
their sample of students at the lower grades of secondary school (grades 7 to 9), both teaching
methods using structural analysis of texts and those supporting student-centered literary
experience showed positive effects on students’ feelings about reading literature. However,
“contrary to expectations” (p. 366), the greatest effects were exerted by structural analysis, not
by text experiencing. In L2 reading, Stoeckel et al. (2012) observed that, although there was no
statistically significant difference, students in the ER program tended to show higher perception
of intellectual value when quizzed. The authors contended that these students “may have felt
slightly greater intellectual benefit from the reading task” (p. 193) and that “possible positive
effects of ER quizzes should be explored” (p.194). This implies that teachers should not take the
extreme view that the ER approach is always superior in cultivating positive feelings towards
reading and improving excitement about learning for all kinds of readers. Sometimes students
prefer to be taught. Careful observation of students by teachers will promote the best choice of
methods, including eclectic ones, for their students in their context. Having said that, however, it
seemingly remains true that reading programs that incorporate ER are more likely, than those
that do not, to foster a love for reading.