The Effectiveness of an Extensive Reading Program in Developing Saudi EFL University Students’ Reading Comprehension

Abstract

The present study explored the effect on an extensive reading program on the reading comprehension of Saudi EFL university students. The sample of the study consisted of 54 students randomly chosen from King Saud University and assigned to an experimental and a control group of 27 students each. Pre-and posttest data were collected within a three months period. Both groups, the experiment group and the control group, were taught by the researcher. The researcher assessed the effect of extensive reading on the reading comprehension of the participants. The findings showed that the experiment group outperformed the control group in reading comprehension. This supported the positive effect of extensive reading on EFL learners' reading comprehension. Implications and suggestions for further research are reported. Introduction Reading is of paramount importance for SL/FL learners (Birjandi & Noroozi, 2008), as it is the basic avenue through which they learn the target language. Being a good reader is critical if one wants to be successful in their professional career (Bakir, 2004). It is quite difficult to manage in today's information technology world without good reading abilities. Another reason for the significance of possessing a good reading ability is its positive reflection on academic success. Researchers have found a strong correlation between reading and academic success. In other words, proficient readers are more likely to do better in school than less proficient readers. From a pedagogical point of view, reading comprehension is of great significance in second and foreign language classrooms. In this respect, Lee (1987) pointed out that reading comprehension plays three roles in foreign language curriculum: (a) it supplies the basis for interactive conversation and oral activity; (b) it provides the context necessary for presenting grammatical structure and vocabulary; and (c) it is an important skill which requires further promotion as the skill of speaking, listening, and writing. Omaggio (1993) also asserted that reading comprehension is important in the communicative classroom because authentic materials are often used in such classes. Reading used to be viewed as a passive skill since the reader, unlike the speaker and the writer, does not produce language. This traditional unrealistic view has recently been replaced with a view of reading as an active process that involves the reader in interpreting and extracting information (Benettayeb, 2010). To make sense of what is read, readers need to use both their background knowledge and textual knowledge. They need to interact with the text and read beyond the lines to understand the arguments presented (Chastain, 1988). This demanding nature of reading has been asserted by many scholars. According to Harris (2000), the message in the print is by no means readily available. Rather, it is created by the interaction between the writer and the reader as participants in a communicative situation. To Green (2005) reading is a thinking process that entails the reader to use multiple skills to gain information from the text such as inferring, questioning, predicting, and drawing conclusions.