Tài liệu Improving college students' vocabulary knowledge through short story reading action reasearch at university of economic and technical industries

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI UNIVERSITY VU DIEU THUY IMPROVING COLLEGE STUDENTS VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE THROUGH SHORT STORY READING: ACTION RESEARCH AT UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMIC AND TECHNICAL INDUSTRIES SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER IN TESOL SUPERVISOR: NGUYEN DUC HOAT, Ph.D Hanoi August, 2009 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that the thesis entitled “Improving college students’ vocabulary knowledge through short story reading: action research at University of Economic and Technical Industries” and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in TESOL is the result of my work, except where otherwise acknowledged, and that this thesis of any part of the same has not been submitted for higher degree to any other university or institution. The research reported in this thesis was approved by the Hanoi University. Signed: Dated: i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply indebted to my supervisor, Dr. Nguyen Duc Hoat, for the wholehearted guidance he gave me while I was doing this research. I am truly grateful to him for his precious ideas and knowledge, valuable comments and instructions, his considerate assistance and encouragement and constant support. Without these, the thesis could not have been completed. I would also acknowledge my great gratitude to all the lecturers and to the organizers for this Master course at Hanoi University. Furthermore, I am very thankful to the learners of class KT51 at UNETI for their willingness to participate in this study. Without their help, this project could not have been so successful. Last, I am deeply grateful to my beloved people, my parents, my husband and son for their support and encouragement which were extremely important for the completion of this thesis. ii ABSTRACT In an attempt to improve vocabulary knowledge of the second year non-English college students, the researcher decided to carry out an action plan with 35 students of class KT51, Accounting section, UNETI. Before the experiment, the data collected through questionnaire and pre-test helped to confirm the assumptions that the lack of vocabulary really existed. Based on the findings from the initial data and procedures of action research on extensive reading, the teacher created an action plan using short story reading activity outside class within 6 weeks. Data were collected from reading journals, post-test and attitude questionnaire. Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) tests using a 5-point scale asked students to demonstrate their knowledge of specific words in written form. Then data were computed and analyzed by means of descriptive analysis and Paired Samples T-tests with SPSS 17.0. The results of the study revealed that learners gained some progress in vocabulary learning and their positive attitude towards reading in English was significantly improved. The findings also indicated that extensive reading can be used widely in English language learning in universities and colleges in Vietnam. Through the experience of implementing recommendations were given for the teachers and learners. iii this research, some TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ...........................................................................................................I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................................... II ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................. III TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ....................................................................................................... VI LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................ VII CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................. 1 1.1. BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY................................................................................................. 1 1.2. THE AIMS OF THE STUDY .......................................................................................................... 2 1.3. SIGNIFICANCE AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY ........................................................................... 3 1.4. OUTLINE OF THE THESIS ........................................................................................................... 3 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................. 5 2.1. VOCABULARY LEARNING AND TEACHING .......................................................................... 5 2.1.1. The importance of vocabulary learning .................................................................................. 5 2.1.2. Implicit and explicit learning of vocabulary ........................................................................... 6 2.2. GRADED READERS AS A SOURCE OF EXTENSIVE READING ............................................. 8 2.2.1. Definition of extensive reading ............................................................................................... 8 2.2.2. Characteristics of extensive reading ....................................................................................... 9 2.2.3. The benefits of extensive reading in foreign language learning............................................ 12 2.2.4. Graded readers as a source of extensive reading ................................................................. 15 2.2.4.1. Definition of Graded Readers ........................................................................................................ 15 2.2.4.2. Typical levels of graded readers ....................................................................................................16 2.2.4.3. Extensive reading and Graded Reading .........................................................................................17 2.2.5. Application of Extensive Reading at UNETI ......................................................................... 18 2.3. PREVIOUS STUDIES ON EXTENSIVE READING IN EFL ...................................................... 19 2.4. SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................... 21 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................................... 22 3.1. RESEARCH QUESTIONS ............................................................................................................ 22 3.2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PARTICIPANTS .................................................................................. 22 3.3. SETTING ....................................................................................................................................... 23 3.4. RESEARCH DESIGN ................................................................................................................... 23 3.4.1. Definition of action research ................................................................................................ 23 3.4.2. Process of action research .................................................................................................... 24 3.4.3. Data collection instruments .................................................................................................. 26 3.4.3.1. Questionnaire ................................................................................................................................27 3.4.3.2. Reading journal .............................................................................................................................29 iv 3.4.4.3. Vocabulary Tests ........................................................................................................................... 29 3.5. SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................... 32 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ...................................................................................... 33 4.1. INITIAL DATA ............................................................................................................................. 33 4.1.1. Results from learners’ pre- questionnaire............................................................................. 33 4.1.2. Analysis of results of the pre-test .......................................................................................... 40 4.1.3. Findings from the initial data................................................................................................ 41 4.2. ACTION PLAN ............................................................................................................................. 41 4.2.1. The aim of the action plan ..................................................................................................... 41 4.2.2. The action plan procedures ................................................................................................... 41 4.2.3. Data collected in action stage ............................................................................................... 44 4.2.3.1. The students’ self-assessment to the level of difficulty of the stories ............................................ 45 4.2.3.2. Students’ opinion on the length of the story .................................................................................. 46 4.2.3.3. Students’ attitude towards the stories ............................................................................................47 4.3. POST DATA .................................................................................................................................. 49 4.3.1. The comparisons in the pre-test and post-test results ........................................................... 49 4.3.2. Data collected from attitude questionnaires ......................................................................... 52 4.4. EVALUATION OF THE ACTION PLAN .................................................................................... 55 CHAPTER 5: RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION .......................................................... 57 5.1. RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................... 57 5.2. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY ................................................................................................. 59 5.3. CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................. 59 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................................... 61 APPENDIX 1: READING JOURNAL ................................................................................................... 66 APPENDIX 2.1: QUESTIONNAIRE (ENGLISH VERSION) ............................................................ 67 APPENDIX 2.2: PHIẾU ĐIỀU TRA ...................................................................................................... 69 APPENDIX 3: THE ATTITUDE QUESTIONNAIRE ......................................................................... 71 APPENDIX 4: LIST OF STORIES ........................................................................................................ 72 APPENDIX 5: PRE-TEST AND POST-TEST RESULTS ................................................................... 73 APPENDIX 6: PRE AND POST -TEST ................................................................................................ 74 v LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 2.1: The vocabulary levels in the Oxford Bookworms series………………….16 Table 4.1: Results of the pre- test of 35 subjects…………………………….………..40 Table 4.2: Action plan procedures…………………………………………….………43 Table 4.3: Pre-test and post test results……………………………………………….49 Table 4.4: Comparison of the mean scores for the pre and post tests………………...50 Table 4.5: The students’ attitude questionnaire……………………………………….53 Figure 3.1: Action Research Cycle……………………………………………………24 Figure 3.2: The Vocabulary Knowledge Scale from Wesche and Paribakht ………..30 Figure 3.3: The VKS scoring categories – meaning of scores………………………..31 Figure 4.1: Learners’ length of learning before entering UNETI…………………….33 Figure 4.2: The learners’ self-assessment of their vocabulary knowledge …………..34 Figure 4.3: Students’ opinions on time for learning vocabulary in class……………..34 Figure 4.4: Students’ methods when meeting a new word……………………………35 Figure 4.5: Students’ answer on reading materials in English………………………..36 Figure 4.6: Kinds of materials students often read…………….…………………...…37 Figure 4.7: Difficulties of students while reading…………………………………….37 Figure 4.8: The causes of the learners’ lack of reading habits in English…………….38 Figure 4.9: Learners’ attitude towards reading short stories in English………………39 Figure 4.10: Kinds of short stories chosen by students……………………………….39 Figure 4.11: Students’ self-assessment to the level of difficulty of the stories……….45 Figure 4.12: Students’ opinions on the length of the story…………………………....46 Figure 4.13: Students’ attitude towards story reading activity………………………..47 Figure 4.14: Learners’ positive attitude towards story reading ………………………48 Figure 4.15: The difference between pre-test and post- test result……………………51 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AR: Action Research ER: Extensive reading EFL: English as a Foreign Language ESL: English as a Second Language ELT: English Language Teaching L1: First language L2: Second language UNETI: University of Economic and Technical Industries SPSS: Statistical Package for the Social Sciences SD: Standard Deviation VKS: Vocabulary Knowledge Scale vii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION This first chapter presents the background to the study, the aims of the study, the scope and significance as well as the organization of the thesis. 1.1. BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY Vocabulary plays an indispensable role in the process of learning a foreign language. Traditionally, vocabulary has not been a particular subject for students to learn, but has been taught within lessons of speaking, listening, reading and writing. Krashen (1989:439) stated that ‘a large vocabulary is, of course, essential for mastery of a language’ as ‘without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed’ (Wilkins, 1972:111). Students at University of Economic and Technical Industries (UNETI) clearly realize the importance of vocabulary in learning English and improving vocabulary knowledge has been one of the objectives of many learners at the university. The University of Economic and Technical Industries (UNETI) was originally a vocational high school, founded 50 years ago. Currently, it became a university training three different levels: university, college and lower college with various departments. At UNETI, English is a compulsory subject to all students. For college system, students learn English for 3 semesters. New Headway series (Liz and John, 2000) have been used as the course books for the students. In the first semester the students learn New Headway Elementary consisting 14 units in 60 periods. And in the second semester, they will learn the first 7 units of New Headway PreIntermediate. The last 7 units of the books are learned in the third semester. In each semester they learn 60 periods in 15 weeks, 4 periods a week. With the limited time in class, the periods for learning English are not much. The students are required to learn all four language skills, the time for vocabulary learning is very little. However, they have to cope with many difficulties in learning vocabulary. Many students complain that they do not know how to remember words and their meanings for a long time and use them properly in different contexts. They still maintain their old learning habits such as writing down words on note-books, learning words by heart, heavily depending on wordlist in textbook or passively 1 waiting for teacher’s explanations for new words. Most of the learners at UNETI often acquire new vocabulary from short passages in textbooks and they only think of vocabulary learning as knowing the primary meaning of new words and they ignore all other functions of the words. They do not have a habit of learning vocabulary in contexts which help them to know how to use vocabulary appropriately. The real situation leads to the assumption that the students lack of vocabulary knowledge. This hinders their language skills, reading comprehension as well as communication ability. The teacher’s task here is how to help students learn vocabulary more effectively. Many studies on “extensive reading” have showed considerable benefits for learners both in terms of learning gains and motivation and seems to be becoming ever more popular in the ELT world. Extensive reading has been proclaimed as, ‘the single most effective way to improve language proficiency’ (Maley, 2005: 354, cited in Brown, 2008). Extensive reading can lead to students’ improvement in the areas of reading, writing, vocabulary learning, and overall proficiency while also increasing motivation (Day & Bamford, 1998). Extensive reading offers the potential for reinforcing and recombining language learned in the classroom. A large amount of comprehensible input provided by extensive reading materials may increase opportunities to be exposed to words previously learned. It reinforced the learners’ existing knowledge of vocabulary and building new stock of vocabulary for students. Inspired by the studies on extensive reading in the second language classroom, the author decided to try out the method ‘extensive reading’ by way of action research. Through this small scale research, the teacher hopes that using short stories will improve college students’ vocabulary learning at UNETI. 1.2. THE AIMS OF THE STUDY The study was carried out with the aim to increase learners’ vocabulary knowledge. The specific aims of the research are as follows: 2 - investigate how short story reading improves vocabulary learning of the second year non-English major college students at UNETI; - discover students’ attitudes towards short stories as an extensive reading activity. 1.3. SIGNIFICANCE AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY Developing learners’ knowledge of vocabulary has attracted attention of many researchers and extensive reading has proved to be useful and effective for the learners not only in vocabulary but also other aspects. More importantly, extensive reading can create a reading habit in English which may help them self-study to enrich their knowledge not only during the time at university but for their lifetime. This small-scaled study, however, limits itself to story reading or graded reading, a special kind of extensive reading. Due to the limit of time and the level of learners, a number of stories Stage 1 in series of The Oxford Bookworms Library have been chosen for students to read. And action research was carried out only in one class where the researcher was teaching. Carrying out the study, the author hopes that its finding can help teachers in general and the English teachers at UNETI understand the benefits of reading stories in increasing learners’ vocabulary as well as in English language learning. 1.4. OUTLINE OF THE THESIS The thesis is divided into five chapters as follows: Chapter 1, Introduction, presents the statement of the problem, states the aims of the study, the significance and the scope of the study, and the outline of the thesis. Chapter 2, Literature Review, provides the basic concepts of the importance of vocabulary, extensive reading, graded readers and previous studies relating to the field. 3 Chapter 3, Methodology, describes the research method, the rationale for the method and data collection instruments. Detailed information about the participants of the study and research procedures is also provided. Chapter 4, Results and Discussion, presents the results from the initial data, the findings from these results, and provides information on the plan of action as well as the evaluation of the action plan. Chapter 5, Recommendations and Conclusion, draws conclusions and gives some recommendations from the study. It also states the limitations of the study and makes suggestions for future research. 4 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter presents some general theories related to vocabulary learning, definition of extensive reading and graded readers, previous studies on extensive reading in EFL. 2.1. VOCABULARY LEARNING AND TEACHING 2.1.1. The importance of vocabulary learning “Vocabulary is a core component of language proficiency and provides much of the basis for how well learners speak, listen, read and write. Without an extensive vocabulary and strategies for acquiring new vocabulary, learners often achieve less than their potential and may be discouraged from making use of language learning opportunities around them such as listening to the radio, listening to native speakers, using the language in different contexts, reading, or watching television.” (Richards and Rernandya (2002, p255). Vocabulary is a very important element that links the four skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing all together. Vocabulary knowledge is generally considered an important factor in the comprehension of language and the number of words acquired is strongly related to competence language use. In other words, in order to enhance overall English proficiency, ESL students need to attain a certain level of vocabulary knowledge. Some theorists state that the lexical level is the most important as it makes basic communication possible. The acquisition of vocabulary has assumed a more central role in learning a second language. They also argue that errors of grammar can still lead to understanding but lack of vocabulary will interfere with communication. McGinnis and Smith (1982: 236) believed that “without words students can seldom understand what is being communicated to him nor can he express his thoughts to others”. Rubin & Thompson (1994) also shared the same view that “one cannot speak, understand, read or write a foreign language without knowing a lot of words. Vocabulary learning is at the heart of mastering a foreign language” (p.79) 5 Carter (2001) has emphasized the importance of vocabulary acquisition to L2 acquisition that words have a central place in culture, and learning words is seen by many as the main task (and obstacle) in learning another language. Failing to acquire survival level vocabulary, the learners are unable to understand the target language. To any language learners, vocabulary learning is an essential element in their language learning. Cook (1996) states that virtually all second language learners and their teachers are well aware of the fact that learning a second language involves the learning of large numbers of words. Second language teachers find that the major obstacle in teaching English is not learning the grammar but in helping learners master sufficient vocabulary so that they can engage in meaningful conversations and read materials other than the textbook. In view of this, the initial stage of language learning should be devoted almost entirely to vocabulary work. Together with the acquisition of four language skills, L2 learners try their best to master a large stock of L2 vocabulary and their vocabulary knowledge has been improved intentionally and incidentally. This matter will be discussed in details in the following section. 2.1.2. Implicit and explicit learning of vocabulary Explicit and implicit learning are the two approaches to vocabulary acquisition. Explicit learning means that the students learn vocabulary directly or intentionally by means of word lists, word-building exercises, paired translation equivalents. And implicit vocabulary learning method where learners learn words indirectly or incidentally such as exposure to words in the context of reading real texts so that learners can infer words from context and thus learn words incidentally through reading. Hulstijin et al. (1996) defined incidental vocabulary acquisition as “learning in the absence of intention to learn”. This does not mean that the learners do not notice the target words but the learners’ attention is focused on “understanding the passage as a whole” and memory for the new word comes as a natural result of this process. Whether vocabulary is best learned through direct study or incidentally through reading has been much discussed. Nation (2001) believes that direct vocabulary 6 instruction has a place in SLA and should be directed towards the high frequency words of the language. He puts forward several points supporting the notion. First, he notes that non-native speakers beginning their study of English generally know very few English words. Because the high frequency words of the language are so important for language use and consist of a relatively small number of words (about 2,000), it is practical and feasible to directly teach a substantial number of them. Second, direct vocabulary learning is a way of trying to bridge the gap between second language learners’ present proficiency level and the proficiency level needed to learn from unsimplified input. Third, direct vocabulary study is a way to speed up the second language learning process (p.157). However, there are still limitations with explicit vocabulary learning. Nagy et al. (1985) believes that teaching vocabulary directly is time wasting. His major argument is that there are a large number of words in English and therefore a large amount of time is needed to deliberately and explicitly teach vocabulary. He concludes that direct teaching can only account for a very small proportion of vocabulary. Direct teaching of vocabulary cannot provide sufficient source of vocabulary for learners, since even the most ambitious vocabulary teaching programs typically do not cover more than a few hundred words per year. Moreover, there are many aspects to learn in order to master vocabulary. Some linguistists state that knowing an L2 word involves not only the ability to recognize its translation, audio and visual forms but also the knowledge to use the word communicatively in the context of meaning interaction. They explain that lexical knowledge include knowledge of form (pronunciation, spelling word deviations, position in grammatical constructions, collocations (co-occurring words), functions (frequency and appropriateness, and association (Nation, 1990). It seems that it is impossible for learners to learn all these aspects of words by explicit learning alone. Nagy et al. (1985) warns that direct instruction can deal effectively with only some aspects of word knowledge and not effectively with others. For example, when teachers explicitly teach students to analyze word parts, students may be able to remember the spelling and also the pronunciation of the words (productive knowledge) more easily but regarding collocational and 7 grammatical behaviour of words, it may be better for learners to read in context. Hence, Nation and Coady (1988) take the position that L2 learners have to learn vocabulary implicitly. This can be done in the form of extensive reading. According to Schmitt (2000) reading extensively should be structured in the vocabulary program. It is important for at least two reasons: meeting a word in different contexts expands what is known about it and the additional exposures help consolidate it in memory. For second language learners, both the explicit and implicit approaches are necessary in learning vocabulary. There needs to be the proper mix of the explicit teaching and activities from which incidental learning can occur because both methods be used together to supplement each other. 2.2. GRADED READERS AS A SOURCE OF EXTENSIVE READING 2.2.1. Definition of extensive reading Extensive reading has since acquired many other names: Krashen (1993, cited in Bamford and Day, 1997) terms it “free voluntary reading”, Grabe (1991) and others use the term “sustained silent reading”, while Mikulecky (1990, cited in Day and Bamford, 1998) calls it “pleasure reading”. Originally, Palmer (1917, quoted by Bamford and Day, 1997) chose the term “extensive reading” to distinguish it from “intensive reading” – the careful reading (or translation) of shorter, more difficult foreign language texts with the goal of complete and detailed understanding. Extensive reading, in contrast, is generally associated with reading large amounts with the aim of getting an overall understanding of the material. Readers are more concerned with the meaning of the text than the meaning of individual words or sentences. Robb and Susser (1989, p.3) define “extensive reading” as a language teaching/learning procedure because it is reading (a) of large quantities of material or large 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”. Day and Bamford (1998) defined extensive reading in a second language (L2) as “an approach to the teaching and 8 learning of second language reading in which learners read large quantities of books and other materials that are well within their linguistic competence” (p. viii). Parrot (1993) says that extensive reading is usually for one’s own pleasure. This is a fluency activity, mainly involving the information content. For Lewis and Hill (1985), extensive reading means students have a general understanding of the text without necessarily understanding every word. As pointed out by Richards et al. (1992), extensive reading means reading in quantity and in order to gain a general understanding of what is read. It is intended to develop good reading habit, to build up knowledge of vocabulary and structure, and to encourage a liking for reading. In summary, extensive reading implies fast reading of a large amount of longer, easy-to-understand material, with the reading done mostly outside of the classroom and at each student's own pace and level. There are few, if any, follow-up exercises, because the aim is for overall understanding rather than word-by-word decoding or grammar analysis. The characteristics of extensive reading will be described in greater details in the next section. 2.2.2. Characteristics of extensive reading In extensive reading, English language learners read large quantities of books and other material that are well within their linguistic competence. They read for information and enjoyment, with the primary goal of achieving a general, overall understanding of the reading material. Students select which books they are interested in reading, and read at their own speed. Day and Bamford (2002) identify ten characteristics of successful extensive reading programs: 1. The reading material is easy. The teacher should make sure that students read material that contains vocabulary and grammar within their linguistic competence. When students find no more than one or two difficult words on a page, then the text is appropriately easy; it is well within their reading comfort zone. Hu and Nation (2000, cited in Day and Bamford, 2002) suggest that learners must know at least 98% of the words in a fiction text for unassisted understanding. In addition, reading easy material helps the affective dimension of learning to read. The students 9 discover that they can read FL material, and as they read more and more material, they see themselves as readers in the target language. 2. There must be a wide variety of materials on a wide range of topics. Having variety allow students to find material they want to read. Different kinds of reading material also encourage a flexible approach to reading. Students learn to read for different reasons (e.g., entertainment, information, passing time) and in different ways (skimming, scanning, more careful reading). 3. Students choose what they want to read. Self-selection of reading material means that learners can select texts as they read, that is, they can choose texts they expect to understand, to enjoy or to learn from. Students are free to stop reading material that is boring, too difficult or that turns out not to be of interest. 4. Learners read as much as possible. This is the "extensive" of extensive reading, made possible by the previous principles. The most critical element in learning to read is the amount of time spent actually reading. There is no upper limit to the amount of reading that can be done. The more the students read, the greater the benefits. 5. The purposes of reading are usually related to pleasure, information, and general understanding and are determined by the nature of the material and the interest of the students. Students are encouraged to read for a variety of real-world reading purposes from entertainment to finding specific information. Also in common with real-world reading, 100% comprehension is not usually the goal. Only sufficient understanding to achieve one’s purpose is required. 6. Reading is its own rewards. Because the goal is for students to experience reading, they are not required to demonstrate their understanding by answering comprehension questions. However, teachers may need to ask students to engage in follow-up activities after reading for a number of reasons: 1) to discover what the students understood and experienced from reading; 2) to keep track of what students read; 3) to monitor the student’s attitude toward reading; and 4) to link reading with other aspects of the curriculum. 10 7. Reading speed is usually faster rather than slower. Because students read material that they can easily understand, they begin to read faster. Over time, they move from word-by-word decoding to fluent reading. Students are advised against using dictionaries as it interrupts the reading process, making fluent reading impossible. When encountering unknown vocabulary items, students are advised to either ignore the word or guess the meaning. Reading is individual and silent. Silent, individual extensive reading 8. contrasts with the way classroom texts are used as vehicles for teaching language or reading strategies or (in traditional approaches) translated or read aloud. It allows students to discover that reading is a personal interaction with the text, and an experience that they have responsibility for. Thus, together with freedom to choose reading material, individual silent reading can be instrumental in students discovering how foreign language reading fits into their lives. Extensive reading means learners reading at their own pace. It can be done 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. 9. Teachers orient and guide their students. Students need careful introduction to extensive reading. The teacher could begin by explaining the benefits of ER – it leads to gains in vocabulary knowledge as well as reading, writing, and oral fluency. The choice of easy materials, self-selection and reading for overall understanding could be discussed. Teachers can keep track of what and how much their students read, and the students’ reactions to what was read. Teachers may also wish to point out that there are no tests or comprehension questions. 10. The teacher is a role model of a reader for students - an active member of the classroom reading community who demonstrates what it means to be a reader and the rewards of being a reader. Example is the most powerful instruction. If the teacher read the same material that the students read, and talks to them about it, this gives the students a model of what it is to be a reader and also makes it possible for the teacher to recommend reading material to individual students. In this way, the teacher and students form an informal reading community, experiencing together the value and pleasure that may be derived from the written word. 11 2.2.3. The benefits of extensive reading in foreign language learning Reading is good for you. The research supports a stronger conclusion, however: Reading is the only way, the only way we become good readers, develop a good writing style, an adequate vocabulary, advanced grammar, and the only way we become good spellers (Krashen, 1993, p23, cited in Rosszell, 2006). Reading, in general, can enhance learners’ language knowledge and especially, research has shown that extensive reading offers a wide range of learning benefits to second language learners. It can help students improve vocabulary, reading skills, writing, and speaking, as Brown & Gakuin (2000) remark: …… Student readers benefit a great deal from extensive reading. As there are components for developing fluent reading and true comprehension such as a large sight vocabulary (those words that a child can recognize at sight in reading), a large general vocabulary (common vocabulary), knowledge of how the target language is used, knowledge of various text-types, and increased knowledge of the world in which we live. (p.3) Firstly, gains in vocabulary are among the most commonly cited benefits of extensive reading. Nutall (1982) maintains that “an extensive reading program is the single most effective way of improving both vocabulary and reading skill in general”. Extensive reading has been shown to be a highly successful way of reinforcing, confirming and deepening knowledge of vocabulary and expressions hitherto only imperfectly known, and of developing an implicit understanding of when and how words are used, by experiencing language in context (Coady, 1997). When students read widely, they will get ideas on what they have read and remember vocabulary on that topic. Nation (1990) also has the same point of view when saying that “if the small amount of learning of a word is not soon after reinforced by another encounter, then that learning will be lost”. Moreover, extensive reading can help students remember vocabulary and grammar structures they have just learned. Reading widely may be one of the best ways to increase the repetition of seeing the same vocabulary. In the book “Working with words”, Gainns & Redman (1985) pointed out two basic theories about remembering words. One theory suggests that information which is not activated 12