Extensive Reading

Extensive reading is one of the ways of teaching reading. According to Richards and Schmidt, "extensive reading means reading in quantity and in order to gain a general understanding of what is read."
Thus, although there are variations in the ways in which an extensive reading programme is administered, extensive reading programmes share the basic tenet that students read a relatively large amount of texts compared with what is called intensive reading, which usually involves a slower reading of a relatively small amount of materials and often with translation exercises, particularly in a foreign language situation. In extensive reading programmes, students read relatively simpler materials than in intensive reading programmes, and they are not usually required to demonstrate understanding to a degree as detailed as they would in intensive reading programmes. Instead, students are expected to read a large amount of texts while enjoying reading. Extensive reading, as partly mentioned above, "is intended to develop good reading habits, to build up knowledge of vocabulary and structure, and to encourage a liking for reading".

A considerable amount of research has been undertaken to examine whether extensive reading has beneficial results. Gains in various aspects of learners' abilities, such as general linguistic proficiency, reading, writing, vocabulary, and spelling, have been investigated. Positive effects of extensive reading on learners' affects, such as motivation and attitude, have been reported. Although there have been some criticisms of research methodology, and the results concerning the effect on learners' development have not always been clear-cut, researchers and educators involved in L2 instruction have become increasingly aware of the importance of extensive reading.

The previous studies on extensive reading were mainly interested in its effects on learners' development. The present study takes a different approach in terms of the cause-effect relationship of included variables. Previous studies treated extensive reading as a possible cause and other factors as the effects. In the current study, learners' performance in extensive reading is treated as the effect, and learners' attitudes towards reading in L1 and L2 are treated as possible causes.