Extensive reading is sustained, fluent, enjoyable reading for the purpose of building language.
If you follow the news in public education, you have likely seen a national push for legislation aimed at improving early literacy instruction. The ‘Science of Reading’ movement advocates for better instructional materials and teacher preparation in evidence-based reading strategies, especially in foundational reading skills such as the explicit teaching of phonics. These changes are being codified into law in many states. Some literacy experts, like Natalie Wexler, are advocating for instructional materials that not only help students build foundational literacy skills but also expand their content knowledge. I support these efforts to enhance reading instruction, particularly for our most vulnerable populations. Yet, within the teach-and-test culture of public education, one crucial element is often overlooked: fostering a love of reading. When students reach the point where they can decode text and read for pleasure—around a Lexile measure of 700—they need time and space to enjoy reading. My hope is that the “science of reading” movement will embrace practices that enable students, especially new language learners, to continue experiencing the joy of reading beyond the second grade.
My hope is that the “science of reading” movement will embrace practices that enable students, especially new language learners, to continue experiencing the joy of reading beyond the second grade.
I began studying Mandarin Chinese with the goal of learning more about the language acquisition process to help me become a better teacher. My biggest professional takeaway is the power of reading to improve language proficiency across all language domains: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Extensive reading is the single most powerful practice to acquire a new language. For a better view of my personal experience with extensive reading, please read my post on The Hidden Key to Learning a New Language. As a teacher, I have consistently observed students who show limited progress in language development share a common trait: they rarely engage in reading for pleasure. I have observed this same trend in adults who desire to improve their proficiency in a new or heritage language, but who have become stuck at the low-intermediate level. As you strive to level up your proficiency, it will require sustained engagement in daily reading, particularly things that hold your interest. My top recommendation for elevating your language proficiency is to wholeheartedly embrace extensive reading.
Extensive reading is sustained, fluent, enjoyable reading for the purpose of building language. It employs high interest, highly comprehensible texts in which readers recognize the vast majority of the words. At early proficiency stages language learners use ‘graded readers’—which are different from ‘leveled readers’ used in early reading instruction. Graded readers are specifically designed with a limited vocabulary that frequently recycles vocabulary and grammar structures. As learners advance in their language proficiency, they gradually transition to more complex texts, and eventually to ‘authentic’ texts, which are not specifically tailored for language learners.
Extensive reading is backed by decades of research, most of it coming from the English as a Foreign Language community. Paul Nation is one of the most prominent researchers to promote this method, as was Stephen Krashen in his heyday. (See The Power of Reading by Stephen Krashen) US educators are largely unaware of this body of research because our foreign language learning programs are a low priority compared to the rest of the world. Additionally, the longstanding seesaw battle of the “Reading Wars” has created a false dichotomy, pitting authentic, language-building reading experiences against systematic phonics instruction. (See the You Can Learn Chinese Podcast, July 10, 2023) A misunderstanding of the science of reading has, ironically, prompted some teachers to abandon reading for pleasure as a strategy for building literacy. The Common Core State Standards movement has added to the problem by shifting classroom practice to “close reading” (also called intensive reading) which involves reading and annotating complex texts rather than reading for enjoyment or pleasure. These pedagogical shifts have left no time allocated in the school day for what I consider the single most powerful language and literary building practice–extensive reading. These trends in literacy instruction relegate reading for pleasure primarily to the home rather than allocating dedicated time within the school curriculum.
Prolingual 