Extensive Reading: How to Make Reading in English Easy and Meaningful for Your Students

Have you ever watched a group of motivated adults go completely silent the moment you say, “Let’s read a book in English”? I certainly have. For years I saw that mix of panic and guilt in my students’ eyes—until I discovered extensive reading as a calm, realistic way to build reading fluency without overwhelming them. In this article, I’ll unpack what is extensive reading, what are the types of extensive reading, which skills it develops, and how to build an extensive reading plan that really works.

I’m York Fern, a TEFL/TESOL‑certified English teacher, and for more than a decade I’ve been experimenting with extensive reading in different ESL and EFL contexts—from teens preparing for exams to busy professionals trying to survive academic reading in their field. Think of this as a conversation between colleagues: I’ll show you what I’ve tried, what failed, what finally worked, and how extensive reading can support your own teaching career. 😊

What is extensive reading? A simple definition for teachers

Let’s start with the basic question: what is the meaning of extensive reading in our context as teachers? Put simply, extensive reading means reading a lot of relatively easy, interesting texts for general understanding and enjoyment, rather than analysing every line. Students choose books or articles that are slightly below their current level and read large amounts, mostly without a dictionary, focusing on the story or ideas.

In other words, extensive reading is about helping learners become real readers, not just people who complete textbook exercises. Instead of treating the text as a vehicle for grammar drills, we treat it as reading material: something to enjoy, react to, and talk about. Over time, this leads to real changes in reading comprehension, reading speed and overall confidence with English.

• Text is easy. Learners should understand at least 95–98% of the words on the page so they can keep going without constant dictionary use.
• Large quantities. We aim for many pages, many stories, many books—not just one “serious” text per unit.
• Learner choice. Students choose what they read from a well‑curated reading list, which boosts motivation and ownership.
• Focus on meaning. The goal is to follow the plot or argument, not to translate every sentence.
• Regular reading. Extensive reading lives both in and out of class: short silent reading moments and voluntary reading at home.

Once learners feel that reading in English doesn’t have to hurt, they start behaving like genuine language learners: they browse books, skim texts, get curious about content, and reading stops being just another “exercise.” That’s when the real magic begins. 🎯

What is extensive reading with example: a snapshot from class

So, what is extensive reading with example—not in theory, but on a real Tuesday evening in an ESL classroom? Let me take you into one of my favourite groups. Adults, level B1: an HR specialist, a web developer, a nurse, a finance manager. We are about to start our first extensive reading course block.

I bring a box of graded reading books at A2–B1 levels, put them on the desk and say, “Tonight we launch our extensive reading program. Your mission is simple: pick a book you would actually like to finish.” One student looks at the covers and asks, “York, what if I choose something too easy?” I smile: “For extensive reading, an easy book is perfect. If you can read fast and enjoy it, your brain does the work for you.”

We agree on 10–15 minutes of silent reading in class twice a week and two short sessions at home. After each reading slot, they do very light extensive reading tasks in a reading journal:

• write a three‑sentence summary of what happened;
• copy one line they loved and explain why;
• add one sentence starting with “I felt…” about a character or situation.

After a few weeks, I have several wonderful extensive reading examples in those journals: a developer comparing a detective’s risky decision to a production release at work; a nurse reflecting on empathy in a hospital drama. That’s when extensive reading stops being a theory and becomes a lived experience.

What are the types of extensive reading and how they fit into types of reading

When teachers ask me, what are the types of extensive reading, I don’t show them a complicated model. Instead, I draw a simple line from “very guided” to “very free” and place a few formats along it. You can combine these inside one course and adjust depending on your learners.

• Class reader (same book). The whole group reads the same book, but at their own pace. This is ideal for your first extensive reading course, especially if your learners are nervous about reading alone.
• Free voluntary reading. Students choose their own books or long articles and read mostly at home. In class, you run short sharing activities: pair “book talks”, quick recommendations, or mini book clubs.
• Sustained silent reading. The classic SSR moment: 10–20 minutes of silence in the classroom, everyone reading their chosen text. For many adults, this is the only guaranteed reading time in their week.
• Academic or content extensive reading. Learners read easier but still authentic texts connected to their field—medicine, IT, marketing, or education—and use them as a bridge into heavier academic reading later.

All of these fit into a bigger picture of types of reading that includes scanning, skimming, intensive reading and extensive reading. If you’d like a broader map of these modes, the overview article on types of reading is a helpful companion to this page.

In my courses I deliberately let students experience several types of reading: a scanning task one week, a more careful reading task the next, then a longer stretch of extensive reading. Step by step, they realise they can choose the right tool for the right text, rather than using one strategy for everything.

Extensive reading vs intensive reading: partners, not rivals

It’s tempting to see extensive reading and intensive reading as opposites: “fun and shallow” vs “serious and deep”. In reality, confident readers need both. Extensive reading builds fluency and stamina, while intensive reading builds precision and analytical skills.

Sometimes I even announce an “extensive reading intensive week”. Half of the lesson is devoted to free reading: students read books, blog posts, or language text connected to our theme. The other half is classic intensive reading with close analysis of one short passage. Students see that extensive and intensive work support each other; neither is “better”, but together they make the reading process complete.

• Extensive reading = quantity, ease, enjoyment, global meaning.
• Intensive reading = small chunks, complex language, detailed understanding.
• Combined, they create an effective extensive reading approach that respects time pressure and curriculum demands.

If you want to go deeper into the intensive side—how to guide learners through complex texts, highlight features, and build analytical tasks—the dedicated page on intensive reading is a natural next step after this article.

Combining Skimming, Scanning, Extensive and Intensive Reading

Skimming and scanning reading are essential skills that strengthen both extensive and intensive reading practices. While extensive reading encourages learners to read large amounts of accessible text for general understanding and fluency, skimming reading helps them quickly identify the main ideas, and scanning enables them to locate specific information efficiently. Intensive reading, on the other hand, focuses on careful, detailed analysis of shorter texts, and skimming or scanning can be used as pre-reading or while-reading strategies to guide learners’ attention. When combined, these approaches allow students to develop both speed and accuracy in reading, making their overall comprehension more effective and balanced.

Extensive reading skills: what actually grows

Over the years, I’ve noticed that when an extensive reading program is in place, lots of extensive reading skills grow quietly in the background. You won’t always see dramatic changes after one book, but over a semester the shift is obvious.

• Reading speed. Even hesitant readers begin to move through pages faster without losing understanding. Their reading speed on other tasks also improves.
• Global reading comprehension. Learners become better at getting the main idea and following arguments without needing every word.
• Vocabulary depth. High‑frequency words show up again and again. Instead of memorising them in isolation, students meet them across many texts, which strengthens language skills in a natural way.
• Grammar intuition. Without explicit explanation, students internalise patterns they see in repeated structures across reading material.
• Reading confidence and habits. Perhaps the most important: learners start seeing themselves as people who can read books in English, not just as exam takers.

For you as a teacher, this means that extensive reading can quietly support writing, speaking and even grammar work. You are not adding “one more thing” to your overloaded syllabus—you are building a foundation that makes everything else easier.

Extensive reading strategies: before, during and after reading

Leaving students alone with a book is rarely enough. We need simple, sustainable extensive reading strategies that support them before, during and after reading without turning the process into constant testing.

Before reading: setting learners up for success

• Choosing the right level. I teach the “five‑finger rule”: if learners hold up a finger for every unknown word on a page and end up with more than four or five, the book is not suitable for extensive reading activities.
• Making quick predictions. Students look at the cover, blurb and first paragraph and quickly share what they expect from the story or text.
• Setting a personal reading goal. For example, “read 10 pages three times a week” or “finish one graded reading book in three weeks”.

During reading: keep reading, don’t obsess over every word

• “Guess and move on.” If the overall message is clear, they are encouraged not to stop for every unknown word.
• Light annotation. Students use tiny marks in the margin—an exclamation mark, a question mark, a heart—to mark moments they want to discuss later.
• Sustained silent reading. Regular short SSR slots in the classroom show that reading is part of our language work, not just homework.

After reading: turning experience into language

• Reading journal. A classic: a few lines about what happened, how the learner felt and what they learned. This turns reading into a reflection tool.
• Book talks. Short, informal presentations where students recommend their book to a partner or small group.
• Creative tasks. Changing the ending, writing a letter from one character to another, or scripting a “movie trailer” for the book.

These extensive reading practice ideas are light enough not to kill enjoyment but structured enough to help learners process what they read and build stronger reading strategies for future texts.

Extensive reading plan: building a sustainable program for your course

A solid extensive reading plan looks beyond a single lesson. It ties into your course themes, learning outcomes and assessment. Here is a simple eight‑week outline you can adapt for your own context.

• Week 1. Introduce extensive vs intensive reading, share one or two effective extensive reading examples, and help students choose their first book.
• Week 2–3. Establish a routine of silent reading in class plus at‑home reading, launch reading journals, and check in on book choices.
• Week 4–5. Add pair and group book talks, integrate some content extensive reading connected to your current course unit.
• Week 6–7. Let learners switch to a new book or higher level, introduce slightly more demanding extensive reading tasks for those who are ready.
• Week 8. Run a mini “reading festival”: posters, short presentations, or a shared reading list of favourites for the next group.

In my own courses, an extensive reading program like this quietly becomes part of the class identity. Students talk about “our books” the same way they talk about projects or exams. The reading process is no longer a separate monster—they see it as just another normal part of learning English.

If you’d like more support in designing such a program, it can be helpful to revisit formal training. On the TEFL/TESOL 120‑hour online course you can rebuild your understanding of reading instruction and then plug extensive reading straight into your refreshed teaching toolkit.

Extensive reading tasks and activities for different groups

Good extensive reading tasks respect the spirit of the approach: they are light, meaningful and do not turn reading into constant testing. At the same time, they help you see progress and keep students accountable. Here are some extensive reading activities I return to again and again.

• A2–B1 general ESL classes. Short reading comprehension questions, ordering events, drawing simple story maps. The goal is basic understanding, not academic reading.
• B1–B2 adults and professionals. “Why did the character do this?” discussions, linking story decisions to their real‑life work situations, or writing short email‑style summaries.
• B2–C1 academic and exam groups. Extensive reading research style tasks: summarising chapters, extracting arguments, and connecting book ideas to wider reading.
• Mixed‑level groups. Same book in different graded versions, or different books around the same theme, with common discussion questions in class.

One of my favourite setups is an ESL reading class that acts like a book club: part of the time is for reading, part for conversation. You can keep tasks simple and still build a powerful language reading instruction routine.

Extensive reading examples from my TEFL/TESOL practice

To make all this less abstract, let me share two extensive reading examples from my own teaching: one with teens, one with adults changing careers.

Example 1: teens discovering they can finish a whole book. My 14–15‑year‑olds were used to careful reading of textbook texts but had never finished a same book in English together. We chose a short mystery graded reading and agreed on three chapters per week. The first lesson, one student whispered, “There’s no way I can read this much.” Four weeks later, the same learner proudly told me, “I read ahead because I wanted to know who did it.” That shift—from resistance to curiosity—is the heart of extensive reading.

Example 2: exhausted professionals and online articles. In another course, my learners were IT specialists and doctors who honestly said, “We will never read a novel, York.” So our extensive reading foundation was long, well‑written online articles in their fields. We built a simple reading list, and each week they brought one article to discuss. Over time, they reported that reading documentation in English and following international reading association journals felt much easier. The language classroom suddenly felt connected to their daily work.

Why extensive reading belongs in every TEFL/TESOL teacher’s toolkit

I didn’t fall in love with extensive reading on day one of my career. For years I ran very classic, intensive‑heavy courses. It was only after my TEFL/TESOL certification and many conversations with other teachers that I realised how powerful an extensive reading course can be for language learners at all levels.

• It strengthens your professional Prole. Being able to design and run an extensive reading program is a real asset on a teacher CV.
• It adds depth to your classes. Lessons based on books, not just single texts, create richer discussions and writing tasks.
• It supports long‑term growth. A thoughtfully planned combination of extensive reading and intensive reading builds both fluency and accuracy.

For me, extensive reading is no longer an optional “extra” if there is time. It’s part of how I define myself as a teacher: someone who helps learners not just pass exams, but actually live in a new language. 💡

Conclusion: extensive reading as a calm path to fluent reading

Looking back at my early years in the classroom, I remember how hard I tried to find “the perfect text” for each lesson and squeeze every last grammar point out of it. Now my thinking has flipped. I start by asking, “How can I build an effective extensive reading program for this group?” and only then decide which careful reading or intensive tasks to layer on top.

You don’t have to start with something huge. Maybe your next step is one graded reading book as class reading, ten minutes of silent reading per week, or a very simple reading journal. Watch what happens to your learners’ confidence when they finish their first book in English or realise they can read work‑related content without constant translation. That quiet pride is exactly why extensive reading is worth the time. 🚀