Extensive Reading

What it is

• Brown (1989) explains that extensive reading is carried out "to achieve a general understanding of a text."
• Long and Richards (1971, p.216) identify extensive reading as "occurring when students read large amounts of high interest material, usually out of class, concentrating on meaning, "reading for gist" and skipping unknown words."
• The aims of extensive reading  are to build reader confidence and enjoyment.
• Extensive  reading is always done for the comprehension of main ideas, not for specific details.

Historical Perspective

• Harold Palmer (1917) in Britain and Michael West (1926) in India were the first to pioneer the theory of extensive reading as an approach to foreign language teaching and to reading, in particular. Palmer chose the term "extensive reading" to distinguish it from "intensive reading".
• the 1929 Coleman Report on "Modern Foreign Language Study", introducing the Reading Method , recommended the inclusion of extensive reading in its Method (as distinct from inclusive reading).

          - Students were to read in the second language without a conscious effort to translate.
          - Emphasis was placed on developing independent silent reading and                                             increasing reading rate of  individual students.
          - Frequency word counts were developed and used as a basis for graded readers. 

• Broughton(1978) argued  for the important role Extensive Reading could play in second language programs.
• Nuttall (1982) wrote that the idea of Extensive Reading should be "standard practice" in second language learning. She suggested the following "slogan":  "The best way to improve your knowledge of a foreign language is to go and live among the speakers . The next best way is to read extensively."  (p.168)
•  Krashen (1984) supported Extensive Reading because he felt it automatically gave rise to competence in writing. In 1993, he termed it "free voluntary reading".
• Krashen (1995) argued that 'free voluntary reading" could be used a a "bridge" from communicative language competence to academic language competence.
• David Eskey (1995) drew the analogy of reading instruction to teaching swimming strokes to people who hated the water. It would be only through their discovery of the rewards of reading by actually doing it, that they would become people that can and do read.
• Elley (1996),  in his report on a study involving 210,000 students and 10,000 teachers in 32 educational systems around the world, concluded that "instructional programs that stress teacher directed drills and skills are less beneficial  in raising literacy levels than programs that try to capture students' interest and encourage them to read independently." 
• Dupre's research (1997) in French supported the theory that Extensive Reading is more pleasurable and beneficial for language acquisition than grammar instruction and practice. 
• Nuttal (1998) argued the case for Extensive Reading programs citing research studies that showed  "impressive" gains in reading ability,  motivation and attitude, and overall linguistic competence. There was also evidence of gains in vocabulary and spelling.    

Although research strongly suggests that extensive reading can boost second language acquisition, few second language learners engage in voluntary reading  at their own initiative, ( i.e. Reluctant Readers) and require  guidance in the form of Extensive Reading programs. 

Background theory

Several theories come into play in Extensive Reading:

• Krashen's Input Hypothesis (1982) made a distinction between acquisition and learning. For Krashen, the dominant mode of language learning is in acquisition,  the largely subconscious "picking up of the language" which characterizes language in informal settings and which is similar, if not identical, to the way children develop ability in their first language." ( p.10)  Language acquisition represents unconscious learning which takes place when attention is focused on meaning rather than form. In order to acquire language, Krashen suggested the learner must be exposed to large amounts of second language input that was "meaningful" , interesting,  relevant, not grammatically sequenced, and in a low anxiety setting.   It is felt that Extensive Reading programs provide such an environment. 
• The L1=L2 Hypothesis suggests that second language learning, like the first, follows a highly predictable pattern. If the conditions of first language acquisition are approximated by extensive second language reading, the second language learner can achieve native like competence in a classroom. An extension of this suggests that reading for pleasure from appropriate second language texts provides subconscious and progressively more difficult second language input much like that essential for first language acquisition.
•  Rumelhart (1980) proposed an "interactive model" of the reading process in which reading is a complex task of simultaneously combining "bottom-up" processes (in which the reader analyzes text in small pieces and builds meaning from these) and "top-down" processes (in which the reader makes "guesses" about the content of a passage). It is thought that  Extensive Reading programs provide the quantities of reading practice necessary for the automaticity of the "bottom-up" (word recognition) process. 

How extensive reading may appear in a language class

Types of programs:

Extensive reading may appear as any of the following: 

1. a complement to an intensive reading program
2. an extra-curricular activity where students read out of class
3. the main focus of a reading course (termed an Extensive Reading Program) where students work with a class set of books, individual reading of material, of their own choice, with follow-up activities such as reading logs, reading journals, book reports or projects. Although it is less common for extensive reading to form  an  entire reading course, there are well-established  Extensive Reading Programs operating around the world. They have been carried on  in many countries, at varying levels of education from Elementary School to College, and  in different languages.

Characteristics:

Day and Bamford (1980) put forward ten characteristics identified  in successful Extensive Reading Programs. They are duplicated (in abbreviated form) below:

1. Students read as much as possible.
2. A variety of materials on a range of topics is available. 
3. Students select what they want to read .
4. The purposes of reading are usually related to pleasure, information and general understanding.
5. Reading is its own reward.
6. Reading materials are well within the linguistic competence of the students in terms of vocabulary and grammar.
7. Reading is individual and silent.
8. Reading speed  is usually faster than slower. 
9. Teachers orient students to the goals of the program.
10. The teacher is a role model of a reader for the students.

Bell (2001), in his article "Extensive Reading : What is it? Why bother?" gives ten pieces of practical advice on running Extensive Reading programs.
 

Materials:

With demands for both simplicity and authenticity, the teacher must choose from the following: 

Graded Readers  available by major publishers (e.g.. Cambridge University Press , Heinemann, Oxford and Penguin
-These are readers with specific levels of word frequency and idiom counts and the  introduction of new vocabulary at a planned rate.
-Broughton (1978) favors using graded readers where less than one word in every  hundred is unfamiliar. 
-These are a good choice for students whose second language proficiency makes it   difficult for them  to read  texts written for native speakers. 
 

Texts on the same topic         

 -Reading more than one text on the same topic allows students  to bring more background knowledge to each new text read. 

Authentic materials  such as newspapers, magazines, that are related to the second language culture 

Web resources                                                         

- These should we chosen from suggestions by the teacher so that students do not choose those that are too overwhelming                                                                                        .

Stories and articles chosen by the teacher, with the following guidelines: 

1. The style should include repetition, without being monotonous.
2. New vocabulary should not occur at the same place as difficulties of structure. 
3. The text should break in sections that are not too long. This is to give the reader a  feeling of accomplishment when  completed.
4. Authors should be chosen  with less complex structure and less extensive vocabulary range.
5. The subject matter should be of real interest to the students and suitable for their age level. Rivers (1981) suggests the subject matter should be as close as possible to the type of material the students would read in their first language. 

Some thought may be given to socio-cultural issues. Should there be an attempt to match materials to students' cultural background? Students bring different knowledge of text types from their first language. Is it feasible to include these in the materials?

Annotated reading lists are available, suggesting books that can be read for pleasure and  a minimum of frustration for new language learners. Books that are recommended for English as a Second Language include the following: 

-Brown, D.S. (1988)  A World of Books: An Annotated Reading List for ESL/EFL Students (2nd ed.) Washington, DC: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. 

-Brown, D.S. (1994) Books for a Small Planet: A Multicultural-Intercultural Bibliography From Young Young English Learners . Alexandria, VA: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. 

Materials should be chosen that are at or below the reading ability of the student. They are usually at a lower level of difficulty than those chosen for intensive reading. This is for several reasons: 

1. It builds automatic recognition of words 
2. It allows the reader to see words in "chunks" of language, allowing for faster reading.

Activities that may occur:

• Reading may be combined with a speaking component. For example, they may interview each other about their reading.
• Reading may be combined with a writing component.  For example, after reading the newspaper, students may be asked to write a newspaper report. 
• Class time may be included  for book exchange, if there is an in-class library.
• Students may set their own goals for their next session.
• Students may  progress from reading graded reading material to authentic text . It should be expected that students will "slow down" in their reading then, it it becomes more challenging.
• Students may complete any of the following:

                   1. a reading log (recording number of pages read and at what level)                                          

                     2. a reading journal (reflections on the text read)
                         A reading journal may take the following format:
                              - date, title of  book and author
                              - the category of the book if known by the student
                              - a brief statement on what the book is about 
                              - a summary of each part as it is read
                              - student's reactions to each part 
                        Often teachers will respond to the students and if so, the student should leave room in the journal for this.
                  3.  a reflection on what they noticed about their own reading 
                  4.  a book report or summary  - Helgesen (1997) recommends not spending more than 20 minutes on a report 
                  5. a retelling of part of the text 
                  6. book project 

• In some Extensive Reading Programs, teachers will allow their students to report on their reading in their native language so as not to make the "proof" of reading more difficult than the reading itself. This, of course, only works if the teacher understands the student's first language. 

• Extensive reading programs are often cited as being more "pleasurable" because there are no "tedious"  exercises to complete. 

Assessment:

• there are no reading comprehension exercises or formal  assessments  in Extensive Reading programs.
• Course grades for an Extensive Reading program may be determined by marks given for reading reports, reading journals, book reports and projects.

Role of Teacher

• The teacher gives recommendations on reading materials, based on student's interests.

           -  The teacher guides students in choosing appropriate levels of material, beginning with  easy books.
           - The teacher guides students in choosing a variety of materials of their interest. This may     especially be necessary for students that choose the same type over and over.

• The teacher guides students in setting specific goals for amounts read.
• The teacher  provides modeling. If class time is given for reading, the teacher reads at the same time.
• The teacher overlooks if students are not aware of the exact meaning of each word.  The teacher  should not jump in and explain. 
• The teacher leads pre-reading activities to build interest in the text, such as in the characters, places, themes, and actions. The teacher must be careful to provide just enough  to stimulate curiosity but not so much that the need to read is removed. 

Role of Student

• The student assumes total responsibility for developing reading ability .
• The student reads without the use of a dictionary.
• The student usually chooses  their own material and moves along at their own pace but must push themselves in order to show greater progress.

Advantages

• The students may:

- develop a "reading habit"
- gain more confidence in reading
-improve their attitude towards reading and become more motivated to read 
- feel more autonomous over  their own learning and more likely to take more initiative.  - become more " independent readers", being  able to read for different purposes and being able to change reading strategies for different kinds of texts 
- become more aware of what's available to them to read and how to access materials
- expand sight vocabulary
- acquire "incidental" grammatical competence - that is, it may be acquired even though it  was not directly taught 
-build background knowledge
- increase reading comprehension
- improve overall language competence
- be more prepared for further academic courses because they have read large quantities 

• An Extensive Reading program may be combined with writing or combined with speaking practice in a meaningful way (such as when students discuss with each other the books they have been reading.
• Broughton (1978) suggested that  "It is by pursuing the activity of extensive reading that the volume of practice necessary to achieve rapid and efficient reading can be achieved." (p.92) 
• Krashen (1993a) suggested that the benefits of free voluntary reading included "enhanced language acquisition and literacy development, more ideas and information, greater success in life, loss of verbal memory, and more fun." 

Challenges:

• An Extensive Reading program may be costly and time-consuming to set up if materials are not already available. It  may  be difficult to get support from Administration.
• Students need to have easy access to texts within their language proficiency level. An Extensive Reading program is easiest to establish when the students have a high level of second language proficiency. For intermediate levels, students require a  specialized library within their language proficiency range. They need texts they can read without great use of a dictionary.
• It may be difficult to keep  students challenged to read more difficult texts as the program continues. Some established programs use a "weighing scale" for students to record materials read,  giving more "marks" for materials read at a higher level. Although this has proven to be a motivating or competitive factor in some cases, in others it becomes counter-productive if students try to read texts that are more difficult than they can manage and consequently become discouraged. 
• Reading each student's journals and reports can be very time-consuming for teachers.
• Students who come from a culture in which literacy is not valued may be unwilling to participate in pleasure reading or may not get support at home.
• Some teachers prefer a skills based program and do not feel comfortable with Extensive Reading.
• Some teachers are unaware of how to use Graded Readers and so, provide a limited range of activities for students, limiting their responses.
• Some teachers feel that time spent on Extensive Reading will take away from time that could be spent on learning language skills. Others will argue that Extensive Reading provides a "richer context" for practice. 
• Some people feel that if graded readers are used, they can give a false impression of the level of reading that has been achieved. They feel that some students may try "ungraded" materials too soon and  may revert to using a dictionary to translate.
• Some people feel that students may place too much emphasis on the number of pages read  instead of on the understanding achieved. 
• Students that have only been exposed to Intensive Reading programs may not believe that Extensive Reading is a  "proper" way to learn.
• Aeberscold (1997) reported that feedback from students in an Extensive Reading program indicated that they liked the "choice" but not the "load"