The time has come to establish a new system for teaching the necessary

1. Students read as much as possible, perhaps in and definitely out of the classroom. 
2. A variety of materials on a wide range of topics is available so as to encourage 
reading for different reasons and in different ways. 
3. Students select what they want to read and have the freedom to stop reading 
material that fails to interest them. 
4. The purposes of reading are usually related to pleasure, information and general 
understanding. These purposes are determined by the nature of the material and the 
interests of the student. 
5. Reading is its own reward. There are few or no follow-up exercises to be 
completed after reading. 
6. Reading materials are well within the linguistic competence of the students in 
terms of vocabulary and grammar. Dictionaries are rarely used while reading because 
the constant stopping to look up words makes fluent reading difficult. 
7. Reading is individual and silent, at the student's own pace, and, outside class, 
done when and where the student chooses. 
8. Reading speed is usually faster rather than slower as students read books and 
other material that they find easily understandable. 
9. Teachers orient students to the goals of the program, explain the methodology, 
keep track of what each student reads, and guide students in getting the most out of 
the program. 
10. The teacher is a role model of a reader for students -- an active member of the 
classroom reading community, demonstrating what it means to be a reader and the 
rewards of being a reader.
9
9
Bamford, J., & Day, R. R. Extensive reading: What is it? Why bother? Journal of The Language Teacher, vol. 
21. 1997

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15 
Kelly (1969) claimed that Harold Palmer was the first to use the term extensive 
reading in foreign language (FL) teaching. In Palmer‘s view of ER, students read a 
great deal and read quickly. He believed that in ER, books were read for both 
language study and real-world experiences (i.e., pleasure and information). Another 
ER pioneer was Michael West. Day and Bamford (1998, p. 6) credited West with 
developing ER methodology. His term for ER was ―supplementary‖ reading (1955, p. 
26).It is important to note the use of the terms reading a great deal, reading quickly, 
and real-world experiences in these early conceptions of extensive reading. These 
original aspects of ER continued to be recognized and utilized since the early days of 
ER.Day and Bamford (1998) attempted to determine the nature of successful ER 
programs. After their study of ER programs, they claimed that successful ER 
programs had 10 characteristics (pp. 7–8). Influenced by Williams‘s 1986 article 
about the top 10 principles for teaching intensive reading, Day and Bamford 
developed their original characteristics as ER principles. They wrote:These are what 
we believe are the basic ingredients of extensive reading. We encourage teachers to 
use them as a way to examine their beliefs about reading in general and extensive 
reading in particular, and the ways they teach foreign language reading. We posit 
these ten principles in the hopes that others will consider them and react to them. 
(2002, pp. 136–137). 
Their top 10 principles were: 
1. The reading material is easy.
2. A variety of reading material on a wide range of topics is available.
3. Learners choose what they want to read.
4. Learners read as much as possible. 
5. The purpose of reading is usually related to pleasure, information and general 
understanding. 
6. Reading is its own reward. 

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16 
7. Reading speed is usually faster rather than slower. 
8. Reading is individual and silent. 
9. Teachers orient and guide their students. 
10. The teacher is a role model of a reader.
10