The impact of extensive reading on students'

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
I.1. Background to the study.
The University of Labour and Social Affairs (ULSA) is a university which was
upgraded from the College of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in 2005. Like other
universities in Vietnam, this university is responsible for the training of skilled students to
meet the demand of the society in the process of industrialization and modernization. There
are faculties in the university namely Accounting, Insurance, Labour Management, and
Social Affairs with about 1.200 students being trained at the moment. However, this number
is increasing because of the expansion of the university.
Every year, graduates from ULSA are sent to work in various economic fields such as
national and local resorts, the state and joint-venture companies, enterprises located in Hanoi
as well as throughout the country. With the direction of globalization in our society
nowadays, foreign languages- especially English seems to be a very important condition for
them to get a job. ULSA graduates are supposed to be able to use English to communicate
as well as to read materials. However, a lot of ULSA graduates miss their job opportunities
because of their poor English proficiency.
Being aware of the problem posed to their students, ULSA authorities have
implimented some specific innovations in order to raise the quality of training in their own
context, among which is the change of teaching and learning English at the institution. These
attempts can be seen in the curriculum of the school which allocates outnumber of periods
for English among other school subjects and their encouragement to the English teaching
staff to renovate their teaching methods. During their course at the university, students are
given 330 class-hours of English ( each class-hour equals forty five minutes) of which 150
are spent on the course book Lifeline Elementary and divided equally in the first and the
second semester of the first year ( each semester covers 75 class hours). In the rest 180 class
hours, students must take English for Special Purposes (ESP) courses with the book "
English for Labour and Social Affairs" compiled by the English Division of the university.
In this course English learning focuses mainly on reading. However, after finishing the
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course book Lifeline-Elementary the students still have a lot of difficulties with new words
and new grammar structures which affect their learning.

Our observations and our experience of teaching English at ULSA suggested us to
think that English teaching at the institution tend to focus exclusively on intensive reading,
concentrating on the teaching of grammar and vocabulary in relatively short texts via post-
reading exercises, often ending up demanding a translation of the passage into Vietnamese
word by word with extensive use of a dictionary. The pedagogical result of this approach is
that students read slowly, without a communicative purpose and they have had a passive way
of learning that is students only perform what their teachers ask them to do. This results in
students finding English very difficult especially when they have to deal with ESP.
Facing the problem of finding an appropriate way to help our students improve their
English not only to do well in their exams but also to use it effectively when they go to work
after graduating, and encouraged by researches on the benefits of extensive reading for
students' English language learning and skills development, I decided to conduct an
experimental research on the topic to gain a better understanding about extensive reading
and its effects on the students' reading comprehension in the context of ULSA.
I. 2.Aims of the study
In an effort to provide more empirical evidence with regard to the actual impact of
ER in ULSA setting, the present study takes a control and an experimental groups and
measures their reading test scores before and after ER treatment in order to investigate the
efficacy of exposing ULSA students to ER techniques. The purpose of the investigation was
also to find out how fruitful students find the extensive program through the questionnaires
distributed to the learners.
I.3. Research hypotheses and question.
In order to gain the above purpose the study was designed to test the following
hypotheses:
• Null hypothesis: The students who take part in the program get the same result
measured in a post-test and have the same improvement in their reading skills as
those who do not.
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• Alternative hypothesis: Students who receive extra reading practice will
perform better overall in a post test and have some improvement in their reading

skill in comparison to those who not have extra reading practice.
So as to draw the conclusion on the hypothesis, the study is to get the answer to the
following question:
Does an extensive reading program have a positive effect on students' reading
comprehension in the context of ULSA?
I.4. Research method.
Research design can be thought of as the structure of research -- it is the "glue" that
holds all the elements in a research project together. Therefore, it requires the researcher's
prudence and caution to single out among a variety of research methods the one that best
suits the aims and objectives of the study.
As stated previously, this study is aimed to examine the effectiveness of extensive
reading on students' reading comprehension at ULSA, therefore, the best method to be used
in this study is experimental research. Experimental designs are proved to be especially
useful in addressing evaluation questions about the effectiveness and impact of programs, as
Salkind has pointed out that in an experimental research" One factor is related to another in
such a way that changes in that factor are usually causally related to changes in the other. So,
it is not just a relationship where two variables share something in common (as in the case
with a correlation relationship); it is much more. They share something, but one directly
affects the other." (Salkind, 2006; 127). The three designs within the scope of experimental
method are true-experimental, quasi-experimental and pre-experimental designs. They are
different from one another in terms of the degree to which they impose control over the
variables being studied and the degree of randomness that enters into the design. (Salkind,
2006; 218). Considering the conditions in which the study would be carried out, the quasi-
experimental design is chosen for the study for the following reasons. Firstly, the subjects of
the study have already been assigned prior to the study. In this study, two classes of first-
year students were assigned to the researcher as well as a teacher by the person who was in
charge of arranging the teaching schedule for the teaching staff. In addition to this, the two
classes in the study were not removed from the normal teaching and learning context. This
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characteristic made up the external validity of the study which helps to increase the validity

of the later generalization of the result to the population. Involving the generalization of the
results, extraneous variables need controlling prior to the experimental like the gender, the
group size, etc. To control the group size, some students were removed from the researcher's
observation and study during the experiment. That is, though these students received the
same treatment either in the control group or experimental group, their records were not
counted in the study. With regard to the disproportion in gender, three male students in the
control group were removed to make the number of male students in this group equal to that
of the experimental group.
Since all the participants were Vietnamese of the same age and had lived in Vietnam
since they were born, they were considered to be of the same level of social and cultural
background. In addition to this, their English readiness was the same according to their
scores in the placement test they had done.
Apart from the quasi-experimental design that acts as the main method of the study, a
post-program questionnaire was also designed and administered to the subjects to collect
their feedback to the extensive reading program. According to Seliger and Shohamy (1995),
questionnaire is an attractive means of collecting data on phenomena, which are not easily
observed, such as motivation, attitude, LLS use, etc…. They also point out that the
questionnaire is self-administered and can be given to large groups of subjects at exactly the
same time; hence the data are more uniform, standard and accurate. In the questionnaire of
this study students were asked about their general impression of the program, their
preference of the post- reading activities and other ingredients such as reading materials,
time spent on post-reading activities, etc.
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW.
II.1. Introduction
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This chapter reviews different issues in the theories of reading in a foreign language.
The three main features will be presented in this chapter are: theoretical background of
reading activities, definition of extensive reading and the benefits of extensive reading in
language learning.
Before we go any further, however, it is important to decide whether this study is

concerned with second or foreign language learning since there a traditional distinction
between the two. Those who learn a language as a second language live in countries where
the language is used at least for some day-to -day activities and/or as the medium of
instruction in the secondary schools. If people learn a language in a country where it is not
commonly spoken, they are taking part in foreign language learning. In the case of a
language learnt for academic purposes, learners may not use it in everyday life but use it as
the medium of learning at least at tertiary level. However, as my research related to English
as a subject at school, I shall refer to all non-native speakers as speakers of foreign language.
II.2. Theoretical background of reading and reading activities.
II.2.1 Definitions of reading
Reading is a completely individual activity which takes place in all different ways
from reading newspapers, magazines, written tests, telephone directory, labels on medicine
bottles, notices, ect. The ability to read is such a natural part of human beings that they
seldom try to define reading. However there are still different points of view on the
definition of reading.
If Ur defines "reading means reading and understanding" (Ur, 1996;138), Goodman
(1971; 135) considers reading as "a psychological process by which the reader, the language
user, reconstructs, as best as he can, a message which has been encoded by a writer as a
graphic display", and the act of reconstruction is viewed as " a cyclical process of sampling,
predicting, testing and confirming." Another researcher named Tickoo emphasizes "reading
involves a triangular interaction- between the reader, the writer and the texts."(Tickoo;
2006). In addition to this, Rubin and Thompson (1994; 91) offer another definition:"
Reading is active information -seeking process in which readers relate information in the text
to what they already know". In this view, reading is about understanding written texts. It is a
complex activity that involves both perception and thought. Reading consists of two related
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processes: word recognition and comprehension. Word recognition refers to the process of
perceiving how written symbols correspond to one’s spoken language. Comprehension is the
process of making sense of words, sentences and connected text. Readers typically make use
of background knowledge, vocabulary, grammatical knowledge, experience with text and

other strategies to help them understand the written text.
All in all, what all the linguists have in common is that reading involves a variety of
skills and reading usually means comprehending written language so when understanding
breaks down, reading actually does not occur.
Learning to read is an important educational goal. For both children and adults, the
ability to read opens up new worlds and opportunities. It enables us to gain new knowledge,
enjoy literature, and do everyday things that are part and parcel of modern life, such as,
reading the newspapers, job listings, instruction manuals, maps and so on. Reading is one of
the best ways for an EFL learner to improve his or her skills in English. Readers gain more
than just new vocabulary. They learn how words are used by native speakers. Reading a
novel, for instance, can help students review previously learned grammatical structures and
teach them to recognize rules being applied in a new way. Reading provides a way for
students to practice and reinforce new material learned in the classroom, with the benefit of
being portable for independent study.
With regard to the role of reading in foreign language learning, we now move to the
process of reading.
II.2.2. Reading Process Models
The reading models discussed in this part are bottom-up models, top-down models
and interactive models of the reading process.
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II.2.2.1.The bottom-up view of reading
With regard to bottom-up models, Nuttal generalizes that" In bottom-up processing,
the reader builds up a meaning from the black mark on the page: recognizing letters and
words, working out sentence structure." (Nuttal, 1996: 16). She also points out that bottom-
up processing can be used as a corrective means to "tunnel vision"(seeing things only from
our own limited point of view). She compares this approach to the image of a scientist with a
magnifying glass examining the ecology of a transect. This view is supported by Omaggio
who claims that language learning was characterized as a "response system that humans
acquire through automatic conditioning processes," where "some patterns of language are
reinforced (rewarded) and others are not," and "only those patterns reinforced by the

community of language users will persist" (Omaggio, 1993: 46 as cited in Elba,2006).
According to Elba (2006), the main method associated with the bottom-up approach
to reading is known as phonics, which requires the learner to match letters with sounds in a
defined sequence. From this point of view, reading is a linear process by which readers
decode a text word by word, linking the words into phrases and then sentences. Sharing the
same view, Anderson considers textual comprehension as a process which involves adding
the meanings of words to get the meanings of clauses (Anderson, 1994 as cited in Elba,
2006). In this view point, language is a code and the reader is a passive decoder whose main
task is to identify graphemes and convert them into phonemes. Information is received and
processed beginning with the smallest sound units, and then proceeding to letter blends,
words, phrases, and sentences. The bottom-up model describes information flow as a series
of stages that transforms the input and passes it to the next stage without any feedback or
possibility of later stages of the process influencing earlier stages. Elba (2006) also added
that the ESL and EFL textbooks influenced by this perspective include exercises that focus
on literal comprehension and give little or no importance to the reader's knowledge or
experience with the subject matter, and the only interaction is with the basic building blocks
of sounds and words. Most activities are based on recognition and recall of lexical and
grammatical forms with an emphasis on the perceptual and decoding dimension.
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II.2.2.2. The top-down view of reading
The top-down approach to L2 learning strongly emphasizes the experience and
knowledge of the learner. In Nuttal's words, in top-down processing," we draw our
intelligence and experience - the prediction we can make, based on the schemata we have
acquired- to understand the text........this kind of processing is used when we interpret
assumptions and draw inferences." (Nuttal, 1996: 16) This approach is compared to an
eagle's eye view of the landscape in the meaning that from a great height, the eagle can see a
wide area spread out below; it understand the nature of the whole terrain, its general pattern
and the relationships between various parts of it, far better than an observer on the ground.
Elba (2006) supports this approach by introducing the notions of meaningful learning and
rote learning. An example of rote learning in her study is simply memorizing lists of isolated

words or rules in a new language, where the information becomes temporary and subject to
loss. Meaningful learning, on the other hand, occurs when new information is presented in a
relevant context and is related to what the learner already knows, thereby being "easily
integrated into one's existing cognitive structure". She also emphasises that learning that is
not meaningful will not become permanent. In this view, reading is not just extracting
meaning from a text but a process of connecting information in the text with the knowledge
the reader brings to the act of reading. Reading, in this sense, is "a dialogue between the
reader and the text" (Grabe 1988, 56 as cited in Elba, 2006). It is seen as an active cognitive
process in which the reader's background knowledge plays a key role in the creation of
meaning. Reading is not a passive mechanical activity but "purposeful and rational,
dependent on the prior knowledge and expectations of the reader (or learner). Reading is a
matter of making sense of written language rather than decoding print to sound.
Apparently, top-down models have many superior strong points to bottom-up
models. To some researchers, these models still own some short comings. Failure to
distinguish adequately between beginning readers and fluent readers is said to be its main
weakness. Moreover, Stanovich (1980) argues that the generation of hypotheses would be
more time consuming than decoding.
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II.2.2.3. The interactive view of reading
The interactive model takes into account the continuous interaction between bottom-
up and top-down processing in the construction of the meaning of a text. Although good
readers decode automatically with little cognitive effort, second language learners need help
in decoding, since for them language is a key problem that cannot be solved by guessing.
The interactive model acknowledges that lower level processing skills are essential for fluent
and accurate reading; it also emphasizes that as bottom-up processing becomes more
automatic, higher-level skills will become more engaged.
In interactive model, different processes are thought to be responsible for
providing information that is shared with other processes. The information obtained from
each type of processing is combined to determine the most appropriate interpretation of
the printed page. (Hayes, 1991)

To summarize, the appearance and popularity of interactive model show that
interactive model is able to maximize the strengths and minimize the weaknesses of the
separate use of either bottom-up or top-down model. The interaction of the two models is of
much use as Nuttall concludes 'both approaches can be mobilized by conscious choice, and
both are important strategies for readers' (Nuttall, 1996:17). In this view he suggests using
the top-down approach, that is first activating all the prior knowledge you can about the topic
and the type of text and second, skimming to get the rough idea of the content and structure
when we start reading. This enables you to have "an idea of the context and the general
direction of the argument or narrative". If the top-down approach does not provide you with
adequate understanding of the text, you use the bottom-up insights 'to weigh up competing
interpretations.' And when you have already got the possible interpretation of the text, you
assess its plausibility using top-down means. (Nuttall, 1996:78)
II.2.3 Reading strategies /skills
Reading strategies( RSs) can be understood similarly to all other language learning
strategies and they have the same characteristics as other language strategies. If Garner
(1987) defines RSs as an action or series of actions employed in order to construct meaning,
Robb and Susser (1990) point out that RSs refer to the mental operations involved when
readers purposefully approach a text to make sense of what they read. According to Duffy
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(1993; 232) using reading strategies means making 'plans for solving problems encounted in
constructing meaning'. Although many researchers have claimed on the lack of consensus
about the concise definition of the term of RSs (Paris, Wasik, and Turner, 1991; Ellis, 1994)
Nuttall (1996) agrees that ' we can at least identify certain strategies which readers can make
conscious use of when reading difficult texts' and that ' the best way to acquire these is
simply to read and read' but' there is evidence that strategy training helps'. In Salataci &
Akyel (2002) point of view 'Reading researchers usually divide reading strategies into two
major categories: cognitive and metacognitive'. They cite Devine's opinion about this by
showing out that "skimming a text for key information involves using a cognitive strategy,
whereas assessing the effectiveness of skimming for gathering textual information would be
a metacognitive strategy" (Devine, 1993; 112 as cited in Salataci & Akyel, 2002).

The following diagram shows some strategies usually employed by efficient readers
as pointed out by Nuttall (1996)
Efficient reading

knowing what you want
from reading
Choosing the right material Using the text effectively

Flexibility Making use of all the
resources
Improving reading
speed
Adequate understanding Scanning and skimming
Practising scanning Practising skimming
From this point of view, knowing what you want from reading is not of much
important if you are reading for pleasure but you can make your job easier if you can define
your purpose when you are reading to learn. And when a reader has already defined his
objective, he must decide what resources to consult in order not to waste time on texts that
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do not help by using such resources as titles and headings, the blurb, the table of content, ect
and also advice and a bibliography from a knowledgeable person if possible.
The next strategy to use by an efficient reader is using the text effectively by (a)
reading flexibly, (b) making use of all the resources and (c) improving reading speed.
The first technique in this strategy is reading flexibly which involves using the
techniques of scanning and skimming to decide which parts of the text to ignore, which to
skim to get the gist, and then which parts ( if any) to study closely in order to accomplish
their purpose of reading (Nuttall, 1996; 43). Specifically, scanning involves reading quickly
to get an overview prior to in-depth reading. Although you may still need to read the entire
text, by scanning first you can decide where you want to concentrate your time. And by
skimming we locate specific information to give an overview of a text to decide whether a

text is relevant to our study. This overview will help you decide whether you should read
further, and how useful the document might be for your reading purpose. Scanning and
skimming are important as they do not remove the need for careful reading, but they enable
the reader to select texts or parts of texts that are worth spending time on but the distinction
between them is not particularly important (Nuttall, 1996).
Secondly, using the text effectively also involves making use of all the resources the
text provides such as graphic conventions (lay out, spacing, indentation, punctuation,
symbols), figures, and other reference apparatus ( appendix, notes, bibliographical references
in the text, lists of symbols, abbreviations, list of special terms, glossaries) as they enable us
to read selectively ( omitting irrelevant sections) and offer some clues to meaning by
signaling what we can expect to find in which part of the text.
Last but not least, improving reading speed is also an important technique in this
strategy. Speed is one of the factors to consider when judging someone's reading efficiency.
If two readers understand a text equally well, the one who performs more quickly is judged
more efficient. Readers can speed up their work by "finding the relevant texts/ sections and
focusing on these" (Nuttall , 1996, 54)
Reading skills are divided into word-attack skills and text-attack skills by Nuttall
(1996). In the first place, word-attack skills are those of interpreting structural clues,
inferring from context and using the dictionary. Firstly, two kinds of structural information
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involving in the first skill here are the grammatical function of the word (its place in the
sentence) and the morphology of the word (its internal structure). Secondly, inferring
meaning from context means getting a rough meaning from the context in which it occurred.
And lastly, it is essential for students to realize that they can cope without a dictionary and
they should be discouraged from using one. But 'any students reading for a serious study
purpose need to be able to look up key words. So they must learn to use a dictionary very
effectively and with discretion.' (Nuttall, 1996; 76)
The eight text-attack skills are sub-divided into sub-skills by Nuttall (1996) as
follows:
1. Understanding syntax

2. Recognizing and interpreting cohesive devices includes:
a. interpreting pro-forms such as it, our, his, this, those, then , one, ones and
comparative ( smaller, same, additional.....)
b. Interpreting elliptical expressions in sentences such as The days are hot and
the night cool.
c. Interpreting lexical cohesion includes synonymy, hyponymy, metaphor, text-
structuring words, pin-down words.
3. Interpreting discourse markers. Those markers include:
a. Markers that signal the sequence of event such as then, first, at once, next,
the following day....
b. Markers that signal discourse organization such as that is to say, for
example, to resume, in short......
c. Markers that signal the writer's point of view such as moreover, incidentally,
similarity, therefore, in order to, if, certainly.........
4. Recognizing functional value: the three functions that a single sentence can perform
are:
a. Independent functions (associated with propositional meaning).
b. Text -dependent functions (associated with contextual meaning).
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c. Interaction-dependent (associated with pragmatic meaning).
5. Recognizing text organization.
6. Recognizing the presuppositions underlying the text. The presuppositions can be
divided into two groups:
a. The knowledge and experience that the writer expects the reader to have.
b. The opinions, attitudes, emotion that the writer expects the reader to share, or
at least to understand.
7. Recognizing implications and making inferences.
8. Prediction
With the presupposition of the reader's adequate vocabulary, text-attack skills are of
valuable help in tackling unfamiliar words and clear away any lockage of comprehension.

These skills will assist readers to have proper understanding of a text.
There are a lot of other authors offering their own lists in order to best express their
point of view about reading strategies and reading skills but only the above were mentioned
due to the limitation of time and the scope of this study. Nevertheless, what they all have in
common is that these skills are interrelated and should be used flexibly. No single skill can
lead to efficient reading but a combination and recycle of skills over texts and tasks.
II.2.4. Types of reading
There are a great deal of ways to classify reading such as the classification according
to manners of reading and the classification according to the purposes of reading. In this
study the two kinds of reading mentioned are intensive reading and extensive reading.
Intensive reading "involves approaching the text under the guidance of a teacher or a
task which forces the students to focus on the text" (Nuttall, 2000:38). Brown considers
intensive reading as "a classroom-oriented activity in which students focus on the linguistic
or semantic details of a passage" (Brown, 1999: 297). The objective of intensive reading is to
achieve a full understanding of the text, not only of what it means but also of how the
meaning is produced. Through intensive reading, the reader must arrive at a profound and
detailed understanding of logical arguments, the rhetorical arrangement, the pattern of the
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text, the attitude and purposes of the writer and his linguistic means to achieve his purposes.
Intensive reading has the following characteristics:
1. The reading materials may not be relevant to learners' ability and interest as they
are chosen by teachers not learners.
2. In doing intensive reading, the actual amount of time spent on reading is very little
as a lot of procedures such as listening to the teacher's instructions, reading comprehension
questions, writing answers to comprehensive questions, discussing the content of the text,
doing pos-reading activities.... have to be followed.
3. Reading speed is usually slower than faster as learners have to stop at some
moments during their reading in the classroom to look up new words in dictionary, ask the
teacher for a definition or analyze the text by reading it word-by word or sentence-by-
sentence.

4. Reading in intensive reading approach is not individual as learners are assumed to
interact more with the teacher than with the text.
What is meant by all the characteristics of intensive reading approach mentioned
above is not that intensive reading is bad, only that it is limited in what it tries to do.
Another type of reading is extensive reading. In comparison with intensive reading,
extensive reading approach is argued to be more beneficial to learners in foreign language
acquisition in general and reading ability in particular. Due to the importance of extensive
reading in foreign language learning, the next section will be devoted to the discussion on
this kind of reading.
II.3. Definition of extensive reading.
A lot of trials have been made on working out a thorough definition of extensive
reading by those who are interested in the approach. One of these is the definition by
Helgesen (2005): Students read a lot of easy, enjoyable books. Obviously, this definition
fails to help readers imagine the whole picture of extensive reading since it only mentions
generally the amount of books and what kinds of books to read without the purpose to read.
In "Handout from the Extensive reading Forum" Omiya (1998) introduces a
definition as follow:
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*Extensive Reading usually means reading a lot of self-selected easy,
interesting texts, and doing few or no exercises afterwards.
*Extensive Reading is a way to teach a foreign language (in general) and a
way to teach reading (in particular.
Although this definition can show the role of extensive reading in language
acquisition, it does not mention the purpose to read.
In Susser and Robb's (1990) point of view extensive reading is reading (a) of large
quantities of material or long texts; (b) for global or general understanding; (c) with the
intention of obtaining pleasure from the text. Further, because (d) reading is individualized,
with students choosing the books they want to read, (e) the books are not discussed in class.
What makes this definition more satisfying than those mentioned above is the summary of
the general characteristics of extensive reading it provides including the issues related to the

amount of and primary purpose of reading and the role of learners in doing such activity.
However, because of the last characteristic that is the books are not discussed in class, this
definition is still not suitable to this study.
Given the fact that there is hardly any definition that can work in all contexts, it is
necessary to give out a working definition for this study. Considering various definitions and
the context of the study, our working definition is that extensive reading is reading (a)
without help (b) authentic texts in the foreign language (c) at students' own level of
proficiency (d) for general or global understanding (e) with primary intention of obtaining
pleasure from the materials and (f) done out of class without the added pressure of a
comprehension test to follow.
Large quantities are essential for this kind of reading to be "extensive," but the
question of how much "extensive" is still controversial. Our students are advised to read as
much as possible because the more they read, the greater they benefit from reading. From
Day and Bamford's point of view "the quantity of reading is not an absolute number of hours
or pages but depends on teacher and student perceptions of how extensive reading differs
from other reading classes; this will vary according to type of program, level, and other
variables (Day and Bamford ,2002).
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The level of global understanding required varies with the student's language
proficiency, the nature of the texts, and other factors. The aim of reading for pleasure can
also be derived from the fact that students do not have to face the pressure of completing the
tasks provided after reading activity. Moreover, taking part in extensive reading students do
not have to face the time pressure set by their teachers or any tasks involved in the reading.
Most of the reading tasks are done out of class, therefore students have to develop the ability
to read on their own, without the teacher's help. Students can read with pleasure within their
own comfort zone, both in the students' own time when and where the student chooses, or
inside the classroom when part or all of a classroom period is set aside for silent, self-
selected reading.
With regard to authentic texts, Nuttall gives her idea about this as follow "The
reading skill is of no practical use unless it enables us to read texts we actually require for

some real-life purpose. At least some of the practice should be with target texts, i.e. the sort
of texts the students will want to read after they have completed their course." (Nuttall, 1996;
32)
A few other points on the definition of extensive reading should be clarified. The
first one is about selecting texts. Usually in an extensive reading program, learners choose
what they want to read. This can be inferred that learners can choose texts they expect to
understand, to enjoy or to learn from. Correlative to this principle, learners are also free,
indeed encouraged, to stop reading anything they find to be too difficult, or that turns out not
to be of interest. If they have chosen correctly, the texts should be easy to read for general
understanding. But, according to Nuttall "some classes have such specific needs that most of
the materials must be collected by the teachers" (Nuttall, 1996: 173). From this point of
view, she suggests that the materials, in addition to being interesting, some of them at least
should "represent the kind of material students will need to handle" when they finish the
program. However, she also mentions that "it is often better to begin on materials chosen
chiefly for enjoyment, until reading skills improve" even if you are training specifically to
read, for instance, university level medical texts.
In comparison to intensive reading, extensive reading has the following
characteristics.(Table 1)
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Table 1. Factors and characteristics of intensive and extensive reading approaches.
Intensive reading approach Extensive reading approach
Reading is for language skills and
knowledge
Reading is for pleasure, information, and
general understanding
The teacher selects reading materials. Learners select reading materials
Reading materials are usually not varied. Reading materials are varied.
Only short reading passages are used Long and full texts are used.
Reading materials may not be relevant to
learners' linguistic competence.

Reading materials are well within
learners' linguistic competence.
Learners actually do little reading Learners do a lot of reading.
Learners read words by words or
sentence by sentence.
Learners read with ideas.
Reading speed is usually slower than
faster
Reading speed is usually faster than
slower.
Learners have no chance to activate their
background knowledge- schema- while
reading.
Learners have chance to activate their
background knowledge-schema- while
reading.
Reading is mostly done in class. Reading is mostly done out of class.
Reading is not individual and personal. Reading is individual and personal.
The teacher usually instructs and controls
learners' reading
The teacher usually instructs and models
learners' reading.
II.4. Research into the effectiveness of extensive reading on language acquisition.
On the whole the effectiveness of extensive reading on language acquisition is
summarized in the slogan cited in Nuttall's "The best way to improve your language of a
foreign language is to go and live among its speakers. The next best way is to read
extensively in it." (Nuttall, 1996; 128). Studies on language acquisition have a great deal of
evidence for the assumptions made about the benefits of extensive reading on learning as
well as teaching a foreign language. For the aim of this study, some studies on the effects of
extensive reading on learners' reading proficiency will be discussed in this section.

In the first place, extensive reading has been claimed to help increase learners'
knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. In their study implementing on children of grades
three and twelve ( US grade level) Nagy and Herman(1987) found out that the children
learned up to 3000 words a year and that only a small percentage of such learning was due to
direct vocabulary instruction, the remainder being due to acquisition of words from reading.
17
Rodrigo, Krashen and Bribbons in their study in 2004 found that those who took part in an
extensive reading program outperformed those in a traditional class on a checklist
vocabulary test and on a grammar test. The subjects in their study-fourth semester students
of Spanish as a foreign language at the university level in the US-were grouped in an
extensive reading class that combined assigned and self-selected reading; and a 'Reading-
discussion' class that consisted of assigned reading, debates and discussions. The reading
program proved to have effect on students in both classes in comparison to students in
traditional teaching method class.
Extensive reading is also proved to lead to improvement in reading proficiency. In
his study conducted to determine if young adult students’ reading rate over two semesters
could be increased through ER in Yemen, Bell (2001) used an intensive reading class as a
control group. The participants’ English proficiency was at a beginning level. The mean rate
in the post-tests of the treatment group improved from 68.10 to 127.53 words per minute
(wpm) and the control group showed gains from 78.45 to 92.54 wpm. He used t- tests on
pretests and posttests to compare means between groups and found that the differences were
statistically significant. Results indicate that subjects exposed to "extensive" reading
achieved both significantly faster reading speeds and significantly higher scores on measures
of reading comprehension.
In another study on the same issue which Lai (1993) conducted over 4 weeks on
lower secondary students aged 11 to 15 in Hong Kong he also found the evidence for the
improvement on students' reading proficiency. There were three treatment groups, no control
group, and the students’ English proficiency was heterogeneous. Participants took pretests
and posttests, and the researcher used a t-test to compare means within groups. The mean
rate in the posttests in Treatment 1 improved from 165 to 226 wpm, in Treatment 2 from 85

to 181 wpm, and in Treatment 3 from 106 to 121 wpm.
Sharing the same interest, Robb and Susser (1989) conducted a study over two
semesters, on freshmen, at a university in Japan. The participants’ English proficiency was
not mentioned. They were divided into two groups: an ER group and IR group. They took
pretests and posttests, and researchers conducted an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to
compare the means between the groups. The mean rate of the posttest in the treatment group
(ER) improved from 79.31 to 86.55 wpm, but not in the control group (IR), which fell from
18
78.50 to 76.75 wpm. They found that the mean differences in the posttest were statistically
significant. However, readability of the rate texts was not mentioned
In the experimental study over six months done by Lituanas, Jacons and Rynandya
(2001), the 60 students at a Philippines secondary school were divided into two groups.
Almost all students (ninety percent) of the school came from low-incomes homes where
reading materials tend to be scarce. In this study, the control group studied via a traditional
approach, focusing on intensive reading and phonics and the extensive reading class read
self-selected materials and did a variety of post-reading activities. The results of the t-tests
showed that after the 6-month experiment, there was a significant difference between the two
groups in terms of reading proficiency. However, there were some limitations in this study
such as the two groups were managed by two different teachers (this may interfere with the
interpretation of test results), and extensive reading was done in class (not different from
intensive reading- reading in class under teacher's control).
Taguchi et al. (2004) conducted a study on university students for 17 weeks in Japan.
Their English proficiency was at a beginning level. The participants were divided into two
groups: an extensive reading group and a repeated reading group. The total amount of time
the participants in the extensive reading group spent on sustained silent reading was from
733 to 901 minutes, and the number of pages they read was from 147 to 337 with an average
of 205 pages. To measure rate, the participants read an entire text, measured the time they
spent, and calculated their wpm. They read the passage 5 times, and their rate was measured
each time. To compare means, only their first reading rate was targeted. The results in this
study showed that within themselves, both repeated reading and extensive reading groups

increased their comprehension scores on both pretests and posttests as the number of
readings multiplied. In terms of comparisons between groups, the RR and ER groups
performed similarly on pretest and posttest comprehension measures.
Another study was carried out by Mason and Krashen (1997) through three
experiments. In Experiment 1, "reluctant" EFL students at the university level in Japan did
extensive reading for one semester. They began the semester far behind traditionally taught
comparison students on a cloze test, but nearly caught up to them by the end of the semester.
In the second experiment, four intact classes of EFL students were used with the total sample
size of 128 students, two classes from the English literature department at a highly regarded
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four-year university, and two from a junior college. The experimental classes in each
institution read from graded readers; the students from the four-year college were able to
move to authentic texts in the second semester. Students read at their own level and at their
own pace. The results show that on the reading comprehension test, both extensive reading
groups were significantly better than the comparison group, and were not significantly
different from each other. The subjects in the third experiment were divided in to three
groups including an English response group (students participated in an extensive reading
program and wrote their responses in English.); a Japanese response group (students did
extensive reading, but wrote their summaries in their first language, Japanese.); and a
comparison group. On the reading comprehension test, both extensive reading groups were
significantly better than the comparison group, and were not significantly different from each
other. Interestingly, the study found out that the extensive readers who responded in
Japanese improved their speed significantly more than those who responded in English
In summary, the studies presented above have shown some evidence to prove the
great impact of extensive reading on learners' reading proficiency. Nevertheless, due to some
drawbacks, their results have been limited in their own contexts. Sharing the same interest in
examining the effect of an extensive reading program on the students' reading proficiency,
this experimental research is conducted in the context of ULSA with the intention of
encouraging those who are interested in extensive reading as a remedial reading teaching
approach to improve learners' reading proficiency.

20
II. 5. Conclusion
This chapter so far has presented the relevant literature including the theoretical
background of reading activities, definition of extensive reading and the benefits of extensive
reading on language learning. On the whole, extensive reading, if being well-conducted, is
believed to result in achievement in learners' reading proficiency and is proved to be
effective in a great deal of different contexts. However, one may wonder if extensive reading
does have effect on learners' reading proficiency in the context of ULSA where the language
teaching and learning conditions are different. This study is conducted in order to find out
the answer to this question. The following chapter will discuss the methodology of the study
in the light of the above-mentioned theories and practices.
21
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY
III. 1. Introduction
This chapter aims to provide readers detailed description of how the study was
carried out. Firstly, there will be information about the research questions and detailed
description of variables of the study. Next, the readers will be provided information about
the data collection instruments as well as the subjects of the study. Data collection
procedures and data analysis will be presented in the following section.
III.2. Description of variables
As mentioned in chapter I the aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of
extensive reading on students' reading comprehension at University of Labor and Social
Affairs. In other words, experimental design is used in this study to determine how the
extensive reading program (the independent variable) causes the changes in students' reading
comprehension (the dependent variable).
 Independent variable
An extensive reading program may be measured by the amount of texts read by
students and that of time spent on extensive reading. Although the texts selected by students
in this study were considered to be at the same level, they might be different from one
another in terms of length. Therefore it would be unsatisfying to compare a student who had

finished one text of shorter length with another who had finished one of longer. In
comparison with the amount of texts, the amount of time spent on extensive reading was
easier to controlled and measured. As reading is mostly done outside the classroom, students
not have to suffer from time pressure and they were free to choose the time suitable for
reading. If two readers understand a text equally well, the one who performs more quickly is
judged more efficient. Readers can speed up their work by "finding the relevant texts/
sections and focusing on these" (Nuttall , 1996, 54). In short, the amount of reading time
would be the better choice to be the independent variable in this study. To get this type of
data the students in the experimental group were asked to submit a "weekly reading log”,
which included information on the texts they had read and the amount of time they spent on
22
reading per week. All these weekly resutls were then summed up to yield the final ones for
later analysis.
 Dependent variable
With regard to the dependent variable, comprehension in this study might be defined
as" the ability to use information in a text to accomplish a related writing task" (Johnson,
1992). The values of this variable were measured from the scores that students gained in a
test designed and administered to the students in both control and experimental groups.
III.3. Subjects
The subjects of the study were selected from two classes in the Insurance Faculty of
the university. Of the 93 students attending the program, the subjects of the study were only
80 students selected from 2 elementary classes. The reason for this will be explained in the
next paragraph.
In making an experimental research, to make sure that differences in the results of
the study is due to differences in the two different treatments, rather than to other factors,
"nothing except the planned treatment being studied is different for the two groups."
(Johnson, 1992; 177). To get this result, all the other conditions- such as the teacher,
curriculum, environment, materials, and so on - should be exactly the same in the two
groups.
As stated earlier, these two classes, which were arranged in such a way that their

members' overall English readiness was homogenous according to the result of the
placement test at the beginning of the course, were assigned to the researcher as well as the
teacher by the person who was in charge of arranging the teaching schedule for the teaching
staff so that the removal of any individuals from one group to the other is impossible. All the
students in these two classes were at the ages from 19 to 20 and had been living in a variety
of provinces in the north and central of Vietnam. This may be inferred that their social and
cultural background was relatively homogeneous. Moreover, the participants were selected
in the second semester with the assumption that they had had enough time to get used to the
teaching and learning environment at the university that was quite different from that at high
school. However the two sample classes were not the same in size, which numbered 45 and
48 respectively. In addition to this there was a difference in gender in these two groups. The
23
former consisted of 19 male students and 26 female students while the later had 21 male
students and 27 female students. After considering all these factors in sampling with regard
to a sudden event that one or more students in each group dropped either the pre-test or the
post-test during the experimental study, the final sample of 80 were chosen and divided
equally into two groups ( 15 males and 25 females in each), that is the control group and the
experimental group. The other students in the two classes still attended the program but no
data were collected on these students. Once again, the decision on which one would be the
control group and which one would be the experimental group was made at random. In short
the students in the two groups were representative of the first year students who made up the
target population of the study.
Of the 40 students in the control group(G1), based on the results of the pretest, 13
students with a score below 5.0(out of a possible 10.0) were regarded as bad readers and
were grouped in bad control group (BCG), 15 students with a score from 5.0 to 8.0 were
perceived as medium readers and grouped in medium control group (MCG) and the rest 12
students with a score of 8.0 and above were good readers and made up the good control
group (GCG).
In the same manner, the experimental group (G2) was sub-divided in to the bad
experimental group (BEG) with 15 students, the medium experimental group (MEG) with 14

students and the good experimental group (GEG) with 11 students. The purpose of such
division was to see which sub-group gave the best performance in the post-test. The detail of
the groups was described as follows:
Demographic factor Control Group Experimental Group
BCG MCG GCG BEG MEG GEG
Number of participants
13 15 12 15 14 11
Sex (M = male;
F= female)
5M
8F
6M
9F
4M
8F
4M
11F
7M
7F
4M
7F
Pretest results
mean
= 2.01
mean
= 6.56
mean
= 8.68
mean
= 1.86

mean
=6.28
mean
=8.43
Table 2: Background information of informants
24
III.4. Tests.
In this study, two separate tests, a pretest and a posttest, were used to collect data on
the students’ reading comprehension proficiency as well as their reading strategies (RSs)
used. Therefore, the tests should assess not only language and grammar items that the
students had learnt, but also should include variety of reading tasks they had practiced during
the course or part of course such as multiple choice, true or false, gap filling, main idea,
etc….
It was expected that in order to fulfill the tests successfully, the students would
probably use different appropriate RSs. Therefore, it was very likely that the more different
types of reading tasks the students fulfilled the more different RSs they probably used.
Through completing variety of reading tasks in the tests, the students would have
opportunities to apply variety of RSs, and as the result, they were supposed to provide more
accurate information about their reading comprehension.
In fact, in order to reach those aims of the tests, both pre- and post-tests were
designed based on the format of the progress tests and extension units in the students’ course
book Lifelines Elementary by Hutchinson (1999). Specifically, both pre- and post-tests
consists of five tasks as presented below.
- Task I is a multiple choice task with 8 comprehension questions. In order to
complete the reading task in part I successfully, it was expected that the students would
apply different RSs, such as, 'skimming for general impression or gist', ' scanning for
specific information', 'understanding the relationships between words and paragraphs( text-
attack skills).
- Task II is a true or false task with 6 statements. It was supposed that the students
would employ variety of RSs to fulfill the task effectively, such as ‘recognising opinions

and view point’, ‘recognising main ideas’, ' interpreting information', and making
inferences'.
- Task III is a kind of ‘filling in the gaps’ task including 6 sentences with 8 blanks.
To complete the task of part III well, the students were expected to utilize such RSs as
'scanning for specific information',' identifying parts of speech', 'inferring from context','
interpreting lexical cohesion'
25