The effect of extensive reading on improving learners' vocabulary knowledge in terms of size and academic words

Abstract

Many studies have investigated the effect of extensive reading on language learners’ vocabulary acquisition with using various kinds of language texts and assessments and the focus was mainly on the receptive vocabulary. However, the purpose of the current study is to investigate the effect of extensive reading on improving language learners’ vocabulary knowledge in terms of size and academic words in addition to promoting learners’ reading motivation among international ESL (English as a second language) and EFL (English as a foreign language) students. in order to conduct this study, twenty language learners from among the intermediate level students in IEC (Intensive English Course) classes in UTM (University Technology Malaysia) have written a pre-writing essay and a post-writing essay in the beginning and at end of experiment (during one month). Then, they answered some interview questions. The findings revealed a relationship between extensive reading and vocabulary improvement in terms of size, while extensive reading did not have a significant effect on improving the learners’ academic vocabulary. In addition, extensive reading improved the learners’ motivation to read and increased their vocabulary knowledge.