The Need for Extensive Reading

How often do you see a child these days holding a book or owning a book collection of different topics and genres to read JUST FOR PLEASURE? and not part of a school assignment?

I believe not very often. 

Unfortunately, most of the students have replaced the pleasure of reading a book with using i-pads to play games or scroll-down on social media applications. Although technological devices can be a useful source of knowledge, most students use it for less beneficial purposes. However, it is still possible for teachers to attract a student's attention back to reading books. One way to achieve such a great goal is implementing an extensive reading program. 


ER provides students the opportunity to self-select their reading material, which they do not usually have the chance to do as part of the intensive reading done in class. They can choose topics and genres which interests them unlike being forced to read a specific passage.

Moreover, students who read extensively are not expected to turn-in assignments related to the read materials. These components can be attractive to the majority of students.

Many schools and language teachers lack the needed knowledge of how to implement such programs efficiently. I believe more awareness is needed towards this issue.