Extensive Reading in Low-Level ESL: Can It Be Done?

Abstract

Extensive reading (ER), or free voluntary reading, refers to frequent reading of self-selected material for pleasure, understanding, or information, which is done on the learners’ own time, separate from academic reading. Research shows the effectiveness of extensive reading in bolstering reader confidence and fluency in English, building vocabulary, and allowing the reader to notice sentence structure (Bamford & Day, 1998, 2004; Krashen, 2004a). After having observed extensive reading used effectively in a low beginning-level ESL (English as a second language) class that included LESLLA learners, the author was intrigued to see for herself if ER was feasible in her adult ESL class consisting of students with varying levels of education. Three basic questions came to mind: Can it even be done? Why do it? How would one implement it in such a class when graded readers are too difficult? The author turned to children’s literature and to fiction, nonfiction, and biographies that are of interest to adults. She found that her adult LESLLA students enjoyed the benefits of reading books. In this paper, she shares examples of how she adapted and evaluated ER for her ESL class, offering guidelines and advice to others who may wish to implement a similar program at the lower levels of language proficiency.