BEYOND THE WORD LIST: EXTENSIVE READING AND SECOND-LANGUAGE VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Vocabulary knowledge is a core component of proficiency in a second or foreign language, yet the classroom hours available for direct vocabulary instruction can cover only a small fraction of the lexicon that learners need in order to read comfortably. One long-standing answer to this problem is extensive reading: the practice of reading large quantities of self-selected, comprehensible texts with minimal dictionary use. This article reviews the theoretical foundations of extensive reading as a vehicle for incidental vocabulary acquisition, synthesizes the key empirical findings, and draws out implications for university EFL programs. The evidence indicates that extensive reading produces real but modest vocabulary gains; that these gains depend on repetition, word frequency, and the sheer amount of text read; and that extensive reading works best as a complement to, rather than a replacement for, explicit instruction. The article closes with a set of evidence-based principles for implementing extensive reading in higher education and with questions that remain open for future research.