Marc Helgesen Global Scholarship Program

Made Hery Santosa – Indonesia
As one ERWC7 scholar, I feel that my journey to the world of Extensive Reading has shaped my understanding more about ER concepts, its implementation in various ways, and how to assist the students under my ER project in the deaf-hearing inclusive school context. As the reading habit is already reportedly low for Indonesia, adding further to the need for an inclusive situation, conducting ER in this context really challenges me on how to provide the best way to assist the underrepresented children and teachers here. I found that having relevant and supportive graded reader materials for these students is crucial. However, getting access or having these materials is not easy. The need to accommodate the deaf students with signing supportive materials adds to this challenge. For the future, initiating ER projects, like training teachers to conduct ER in the setting, helping them and university students to create their own graded reader books, and using platforms, like XReading – with the support of other foundations – will be the next project plans to provide better capacities for the community within the ER project in Indonesia.

Francisca Maria Ivone – Indonesia
ERWC7 has enabled me to meet, share, and discuss various aspects of ER that are closely related to what I do daily (i.e., teaching, researching, and disseminating ER/EL/EV). Through my two presentations, I shared my research on students’ journeys from pages to habits in an ER course and discussed what I’ve been focusing on to address ongoing challenges around teacher awareness, local research evidence, and access to graded materials in the Indonesian context. I’ve been passionately involved in teacher training, school visits, and ER webinars. These initiatives have been personally rewarding as they help raise awareness among teachers and students about ER’s importance in EFL learning.
Moving forward, I’m excited to continue refining these efforts using the updated knowledge I’ve gained from the conference. My main goal as an academic is to generate and support research on ER implementation, both at my university and through collaborations with other institutions. I’ll keep encouraging my research supervisees to also research ER/EL/EV. Most excitingly, I’m thrilled to join the Graded Reader Author Indonesian Network (GRAIN), contributing to culturally-contextualised graded readers and collaborating with similar initiatives in Thailand and Vietnam.

Tham Thuy Hong – Vietnam
Receiving the scholarship to attend ERWC7 has been a truly meaningful experience for me as a Japanese language teacher. The conference deepened my understanding of Extensive Reading and revealed its broader potential across languages beyond English. I realized how ER can motivate learners, build fluency, and nurture higher-order thinking and personal growth, while also noting the misconceptions and challenges that persist, particularly in Vietnam and many other countries worldwide. Meeting passionate educators from different contexts highlighted the strength of a global community united by a shared vision—to make reading a catalyst for change in learners’ lives. Returning to my classes, I feel inspired to further implement tadoku, to share insights and evidence from the conference, and to encourage colleagues. I am deeply grateful to the Extensive Reading Foundation for this opportunity, which I believe will have a lasting impact on my teaching and on my students’ journeys.

Tram Nguyen- Vietnam
ER in Vietnam has not been formally implemented due to the lack of top-down direction from the Ministry of Education and Training. Fortunately, some EFL teachers here have been applying ER in our grassroots classrooms, albeit without labelling it ‘ER’. This insight has been brought by my attendance at the ERWC7 where I learned from other poster presentations and a workshop delivered by teachers from Vietnam. However, for an official V(ietnam)-ERA to form, more recognition for ER is a must. First, at EF-USSH, VNUHCM, apart from workshops on ER, we plan on a formal ER implementation to research into students’ engagement and reading motivation. Such findings will put forward the call to design an ER syllabus. Second, with books donated by ERF, we aim to set up an ER Corner in 2026 so that more reading activities can take place, fostering a reading culture among USSH students. Third, at the 8th International Conference on English Language Teaching (ICELT) that EF organizes biannually, ER will be one of the main focuses. With these initiatives, ER will gradually be introduced into the curriculum in Vietnam.

Narudol (Nathan) Semchuchot – Thailand
Two years ago in Bali, the Thailand Extensive Reading Association (TERA) wasn’t sure if we were ready to host ERWC. This year at ERWC7, we proudly embrace the honor to host the next Extensive Reading World Congress. 

Personally, I am also honored to be one of the first batch of Mark Helgesen Global Scholarship grantees for ER. ERWC7 truly illuminated our minds and shone brightly on how to make ER more impactful to more readers. In my context, while continuing our good work, TERA needs to take ER places, aiming at making it a national policy. We are delighted to have collaborated with MERA, IERA, RELO, Thailand TESOL, and British Council Thailand. Let’s do more! Let’s start from setting up the first across affiliates international team ER competition! As for future studies, the ERWC7 plenaries, oral presentations, and posters have suggested more than a few ways to make ER/EL more impactful. Valid proof of the success of ERWC7 will show in the participation, progress, and initiatives that will be reflected in presentations at the next congress. I cannot wait to welcome all to Bangkok, Thailand in 2027.