Extensive reading (ER) aims to make covering large amounts of reading material enjoyable and thus help students become independent and confident readers (Day & Bamford, 1998; Nguyen, 2019).
Claims that extensive reading could lead to significant improvements in learners' reading speeds and thus, reading comprehension efficiency date back 40 years (Elley & Mangubhai, 1981). A recent meta-analysis of extensive reading research(Nakanishi, 2015), along with recent articles on ER reinforces the idea that it can prove beneficial for students' L2 reading skills (Suk, 2017; Januarty, 2018).
Drawing upon quantitative data, the purpose of this research is to explore the possible benefits of an E.R. project on Year 4 and 5 EFL students (9-10 year-olds) in a Greek Public Primary Education framework. More specifically the study investigates the effects of ER on young learners' general reading competence and their reading comprehension ability.
During School Year 2021-22 the students in a School in Thessaloniki were offered a one-hour ER treatment per week: Students have read booklets from two different reading programmes: the " A to Z reading" Series of Readers as well as short stories from the Monkey Pen Series, which are both aimed at native learners. Finally, the students were exposed to authentic Children's Literature material.
For the assessment of learners' overall reading competence two tools have been used: Oral Reading Fluency tests (Hudson et al., 2005) and Reading Age Tests (Toe by Toe Reading Age Test). Cambridge YLE Movers and Flyers Tests have also been administered for the assessment of the participants' reading comprehension. Two groups of EFL learners participated in this research: the experimental group (students exposed to the ER programme) , which consisted of 40 Year 4 and 5 students, and the control group, which consisted of another 40 learners of the same age group from a neighbouring school. The control group did not receive any ER treatment. Pre-tests and post-tests were taken by both cohorts before and after the treatment. The results of the study were very encouraging as they indicate clear advantages for the ER group.
References
Day, R.R & Bamford, J (1998). Extensive Reading in the Second Language Classroom, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Elley, W.B, & Mangubhai,F. (1981). The Impact of a book flood in Fiji Primary schools, Wellington: New Zealand Council for Educational Research and Institute of Education
Hudson, R.F., H.B. Lane & P. C. Pullen (2005). Reading fluency assessment and instruction: What, why, and how?, International Reading Association, 702–714.
Januarty, R. (2018). Extensive Reading (ER) practices and the development of language fluency. Lingua Cultura, 12(3), 267-272. https://doi.org/10.21512/lc.v12i3.4063
Nakanishi, T. (2015). A meta-analysis of extensive reading research. TESOL Quarterly, 49, 6–37. doi:10.1002/tesq.157
Suk, N. (2017). The effects of extensive reading on reading comprehension, reading rate, and vocabulary acquisition, Reading Research Quarterly, 52(1), 73-89.
