Extensive Reading and Its Effects on Efl Thai Students: from Theory into Practice with a Focus on Reading Comprehension, Reading Fluency and Attitudes

This book is written for everybody who wants to improve his/her language skills in general and especially for those who are interested in foreign language learning and teaching process within a classroom context. The content is based on the research project undertaken by the author. The study was inspired by the research on Extensive Reading (ER), an approach to teaching and learning a foreign language without using a dictionary, but aiming to make learners better readers by doing a lot of reading with the focus on meaning rather than grammar. The conducting of the research has involved very much hard and difficult work. The procedure conformed to the principles of ER. The study employed a double-control pre- and post-test (Solomon) design, using six student groups: two experimental groups and four control groups. Multiple measurements used to assess comprehension with three texts were written recall protocols and translation tests; multiple-choice questions with twelve texts in timed reading to assess reading fluency; and a survey questionnaire and in-depth interviews for attitudes to ER. The findings suggest positive effects of ER on comprehension, fluency and attitudes.