Extensive reading is an approach to language learning, including foreign language learning, by the means of a large amount of reading. The learners view and review of unknown words in specific context will allow the learner to infer the word's meaning, and thus to learn unknown words. While the mechanism is commonly accepted as true, its importance in language learning is disputed.(Cobb 2007)
Extensive reading is contrasted with intensive reading, which is slow, careful reading of a small amount of difficult text – it is when one is "focused on the language rather than the text".[1] Extensive and intensive reading are two approaches to language learning and instruction, and may be used concurrently;[1] intensive reading is however the more common approach, and often the only one used.[1]
Extensive reading has been used and advocated in language learning since at least the 19th century (with Latin; see below).
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Free voluntary reading refers to using extensive reading in language education. Students are free to choose a book that they like and are allowed to read it at their own pace. The aim of a free voluntary reading program is to help students to enjoy reading, so assessment is usually minimized or eliminated entirely.
The idea behind extensive reading is that a lot of reading of interesting material that is slightly below, at, or barely above the full comprehension level of the reader will foster improved language skills. Graded readers are often used. For foreign-language learners, some researchers have found that the use of glosses for "difficult" words is advantageous to vocabulary acquisition (Rott, Williams & Cameron 2002) but at least one study finds it has no effect (Holley & King 2008). A number of studies report significant incidental vocabulary gain in extensive reading in a foreign language (Huckin & Coady 1999). Advocates claim it can enhance skill in speaking as well as in reading.
Day and Bamford (1988), pp. 7–8 gave a number of traits common or basic to the extensive reading approach. Students read as much as possible. Reading materials are well within the reader's grammatical and vocabulary competence. The material should be varied in subject matter and character.
Students choose their own reading material and are not compelled to finish uninteresting materials. Reading material is normally for pleasure, information or general understanding; reading is its own reward with few or no follow-up exercises after reading; reading is individual and silent. Reading speed is usually faster when students read materials they can easily understand.
The teacher is a role model who also orients the students to the goals of the program, explains the idea and methodology, keeps records of what has been read, and guides students in material selection and maximizing the effect of the program. Teachers orient students to the goals of the program, explain the methodology, keep track of what each student reads, and guide students in getting the most out of the program and reading in general.
Some recent practitioners have not followed all of these traits, or have added to them, for example, requiring regular follow-up exercises such as story summaries or discussions and the use of audio materials in tandem with the readings (Bell 1998).
A "graded reader series" of books that increases in difficulty from shorter texts using the most common words in the first volumes, to longer texts with less common vocabulary in later volumes. Cobb (2008) cite Oxford’s Bookworm series, which includes the 2,500 most frequent words, The Longman Bridge Series (1945), with a systematic grading up to 8,000 words, now out of print, and the new Penguin/Longman Active Reading series with its 3,000 word-family target.
Many series of graded readers exist in English, and series exist in French, German, Italian, and Spanish.[2] As of 2008[update], readers are notably absent or scarce in Russian, Arabic, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese,[2] though since 2006, an extensive reader series is available in Japanese.[3] English readers have primarily been produced by British publishers, rather than American or other Anglophone nations. As of 1997[update], only one small series (15 volumes) was published in the United States, and a few in Europe outside the UK, with the majority in the UK.[4]
For advocates of extensive reading, lack of reading selection is an acute issue in classical languages such as Latin – the main readings available being quite difficult and are perceived as dry. To increase the available literature and make more light selection available, modern literature (particularly children's literature, comics, and genre fiction) may be translated into classical languages – see list of Latin translations of modern literature for examples in Latin. As F. W. Newman writes in his introduction to a Latin translation of Robinson Crusoe:
A really interesting opposition involved Cobb (2007), McQuillan & Krashen (2008), and Cobb (2008). All agree on the need of lexical input, but Cobb (2007; 2008) supported by Parry (1997) convincingly denounce the insufficiency (!) of extensive reading, the current lexical expansion pedagogy, especially for confirmed learners. According to Cobb (2007), Krashen (1989)'s influential and seducing hypothesis is that extensive reading (~free reading) generates a continuous hidden learning (lexical input), eventually "doing the entire job" of vocabulary acquisition. This hypothesis is without empirical evidence, neither on the extent (% of global vocabulary acquisition), nor on the sufficiency of extensive reading for lexicon learning.
Cobb (2007) thus proposed a computer-based study to quantitatively assess the efficiency of extensive reading. Basically, Cobb estimated the reading quantity of common learners within the L2 language (~175,000 words over 2 years), then randomly took 10 words in each the 1st thousand most frequent words, the 2nd thousand, and the 3rd thousand, to see how many times those words will appears. Those results should be higher than 6 to 10 encounters, the number need for stable initial word learning to occur.
Cobb (2007) summarize as following :"[the quantitative study] show the extreme unlikelihood of developing an adequate L2 reading lexicon [above 2000 words families] through reading alone, even in highly favorable circumstances" since "for the vast majority of L2 learners, free or wide reading alone is not a sufficient source of vocabulary knowledge for reading". Thereafter, Cobb restated the need of lexical input, and stated the possibility to increase it using computing capabilities.
McQuillan & Krashen (2008) answer that learners may read far more than 175,000 words but rather +1,000,000 words in 2 years. By digging in Krashen & McQuillan own sources and adding some others (Parry 1997), Cobb (2007) convincingly countered Krashen & McQuillan view as being excessively successful cases in reading over-simplified texts. Experiments cited by McQuillan & Krashen use easy and fast to read texts, but not the suitable material to discover new vocabulary. Non simplified texts are far harder, and slower to read. Accordingly, the problem stay at its full strength : common learners need more lexical inputs, extensive reading being insufficient, new sources of lexical input is encouraged to complete it.
Similar to extensive reading is extensive listening, which is the analogous approach to listening.[6][7] One issue is that listening speed is generally slower than reading speed, so simpler texts are recommended – one may be able to read a text extensively, but not be able listen to it extensively.
A series of periodic surveys of graded extensive readers in English have been undertaken by Helen C. Reid Thomas and David R. Hill, which provide a good overview of the evolving state of available readers.