The Impact of Extensive Reading on Learning and Increasing Vocabulary at Elementary Level

It is an utter necessity to become fluent, self-sufficient and independent English readers with highly skilled reading comprehension abilities. There is no point to doubt that extensive reading can be the best strategy to attain this. This research is about the impact of extensive reading on elementary level school students which helps in the enhancement of global language skills especially their vocabulary. As extensive reading is not a regular part of any curriculum in any educational institute, this research is a little step in the realization of its importance in language learning mainly focused on vocabulary. Tests and observations were the methods used to collect the data. On the basis of analysis and interpretation of the collected data, it was clear that there was improvement in students’ vocabulary.


Objectives of the Study
The objectives of the present study are: a) To gauge the enhancement of vocabulary by comparing participants' writing before and after extensive reading at an elementary level.
b) To find out the retention of vocabulary after extensive reading through testing.

c)
To explore participants' enjoyment and curiosity about extensive reading through observation.

Research Questions
This study has following questions of research: a) How extensive reading helps participants in learning and enhancing new vocabulary words in an interesting way? b) Do participants retain vocabulary words and use them in their writings as a result of extensive reading?

Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were made for this research which may be found correct or incorrect. a) Extensive reading does not help participants in learning and enhancing their vocabulary.

b)
Extensive reading does help participants in learning and enhancing their vocabulary.

Significance of the Study
Although there is a great need to become fluent English readers, students do not automatically want to read in English. In short, the relevant literature and this research is important because extensive reading in a foreign language has high outcomes not only from a linguistic standpoint, but from a psychological and educational point of view as well. For that reason, extensive reading should take place in the ESL/EFL classrooms more often than it does currently.

Limitations of the Study
a) The data for the study was collected from sixth grade students at an elementary level.

b)
This study was limited to assess only the vocabulary of the students in the sixth grade. c) The sample was taken from one private English school in Bahawalpur, Pakistan.

Justification of the Study
Word knowledge plays an important role in comprehension. Many studies have also found a strong relationship between vocabulary size and reading comprehension. This study observed how students enhanced their vocabulary by reading extensively and participating in different activities willingly after reading. There are many approaches to teach vocabulary which may help increase student reading comprehension but few strategies are very effective.

Literature Review
It was believed during the mid-10-80s that reading skills and vocabulary develop when learners are exposed to enormous amount of comprehensible input which in turn causes language acquisition. Krashen (1989) suggests that the learners can acquire new vocabulary and develop their spelling ability through maximum exposure of "comprehensible input" through extensive reading. Additionally, Krashen (1993) also explains that ER is the most efficient way through which a learner can learn new vocabulary.

Extensive Reading Researches and Krashen Theory
Krashen (2003) declared that in language education, free voluntary reading is the most powerful learning tool. It helps to improve language skills and enhances vocabulary size. Reading advocates such as Nutall (1996) stated that extensive reading programs were the most effective method of enhancing vocabulary size, improving reading skills and expanding overall language ability. Many studies found that extensive reading worked efficiently and it was compared with and associated well with achievement in reading comprehension. For example, Robb and Susser (1989)

Extensive Reading
Extensive reading is a language teaching process where learners are exposed to a variety of reading materials to gain a global understanding although may read for pleasure (Day & Bamford, 2004).
Students choose books of their own choice to read independently and it should not be followed up by any task related to the reading material. If they do not feel any interest in the chosen material or find the content hard to understand, they can leave it there and start off with the new book or text. Students of any age and level can benefit from this extensive reading but at least they should have basic skills to read it (Day & Bamford, 2004). According to Krashen (2004), extensive reading is also like free the voluntary reading approach, sustained silent reading and independent voluntary reading.

The Benefits of Extensive Reading
Many researchers have proved that there are many benefits of extensive reading. Bamford has stated that extensive reading not only enhance knowledge and confidence of the reader but also improve their speaking, listening, reading and writing skills along with vocabulary expansion Bamford (1987) admires the positive characteristics of extensive reading by looking at the basic benefits in developing positive attitudes toward the target language and in addition to this students will be motivated to read more.


Extensive reading fixes many problems to bridge the gaps. It can help to improve reading fluency, comprehensibility and strengthen vocabulary in a natural way.
 Students are independent in learning and feel encouraged to do self reading in English either at home or in a reading class.
 All classes have students with different reading ability level s and extensive reading provides graded books to cater to these different levels. They not only choose books on their own but read entirely at their own pace and level.
 By maximizing the reading ability of the student it will help them increase that ability in their future offspring.

Input Frequency and Vocabulary Learning
Many studies have been conducted to find out the relationship between frequency of word occurrence in the input and its long term memory retention. The results were as expected that the more exposure the participant had to the word meant longer term word retention. In one study of begin ESL students in Bahawalpur, Palmberg (1987) found out that learners seemed to remember words from text books which occur frequently or were repeated in the text.
In the "book flood" study by Elley and Mangubai (1983) and Elley (1991) in elementary school's determined there was a high correlation between maximum input vocabulary and vocabulary gain. In a review of recent trends in teaching second language vocabulary, Sokmen (1997) emphasizes that the more contact with words will result in learning those words. Another study conducted by Kachroo (1962) on the same relationship found out that when the word is repeated number of times in a text is most likely learned by the students while less frequent words are learned less or unknown by the learners. Saragi, Nation and Meister (1978), found in another study that if words are repeated more than six times then those words will be learnt by 93% of the students. On the contrary, Nation and Wang (1999) found that a word 10 times to help in its acquisition but still it is not certain that word will definitely be learned. In a review of several such studies Zahar, Cobb and Spada (2001) suggested that extensive reading is inefficient for vocabulary acquisition because learner are unable to identify more than 1/14 words tested. They further argue that it depends on the learners' level, low ability students need more contact with words for long term memory retention.

Research Design
The purpose of this study was to find out the impact of extensive reading on learning and enhancing vocabulary at an elementary level. The main objective was to find out the enhancement of vocabulary after extensive reading by comparing the tests results before and after extensive reading. This was a mixed methods approach where data was analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Population
There were twelve registered private English schools in Bahawalpur where the population of grade six of elementary school was approximately 1040 students and 66 English language teachers. In this study, participants consisted of both females and males. Their ages ranged from 12-15 years.

Sample
First, the schools were selected according to convenient sampling and then the students of the study were selected randomly. The sample was specifically grade six elementary students. The participants were studying General English as a compulsory subject and received instructions in English language in the classroom. Out of population only 50 students were selected where 25 boys and 25 girls took part. 20 teachers and 4 head teachers were also part of this research.

Data Collection Method
This sort of research requires detail which is why tests were given to the participants to measure data quantitatively and observations were taken by the English teacher during extensive reading sessions to collect qualitative data to supplement. to facilitate the need of the participants to avoid any sort of uneasiness and discomfort.

Observations
Another instrument was observation to record the participants' involvement and learning during the extensive reading programs in class, participants' need for support, and teachers' remarks on the extensive reading program each week. It was a qualitative observation where instructors were observed without telling that they were being observed. This activity was also helpful to get some knowledge of teachers' observations and perspectives over the extensive reading programs for possible ideas for improvement in the program. In addition, teacher could write things observed during lesson and suggestions could be noted down.

Data Analysis of Teachers' Observation Log
Teachers' observation logs showed that most of the participants were engaged during reading time and few were found distracted because they might have chosen a book to hard for this level and felt difficulty in reading. Teachers approached those participants and helped them find the right book for them and explained what kind of story it might be so that they could make an informed decision.
Teachers' observations showed that few participants observations showed that a few participants were reluctant to speak in English as either their spoken English was not good or they were too shy to speak in front of everyone. Majority of the participants took turns and spoke to others about the story they had read. According to them, activities were making positive changes in the participants but their lifelong habits of not reading or only reading a little bit would change only when they practiced regularly.

Vocabulary Test Analysis
To examine the amount of vocabulary knowledge, both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics for three measures were used. In short, the results of the tests were compared and analyzed in terms of comparing the mean (X) and Standard Deviation (SD) by conducting One Way Repeated Measures ANOVA using the Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) software. Tables and charts were used to illustrate the trends and relationships in the data.

Findings
The results of the pre-and post-tests show a difference of 18.5% in marks which indicates that there was improvement in the vocabulary of the participants and they were able to use the maximum number of words in context. Though this twelve week program was insufficient to help the participants in memorizing or retaining of all words present in the graded readers it was evident that if students read extensively, it can make positive changes in their learning. Brown and Hirst (1983) have stated that understanding is affected if the process of taking in the information is long but as graded readers repeat words, it help readers to infer meaning and retain them for long term. So, according to these results, the researcher has achieved the first objective of the research and found the answer of first question as affirmative. Retention of vocabulary words is very important in extensive reading. For this reason, many researchers have recommended graded reader to encourage extensive reading as vocabulary words are repeated at every level and maximum exposure of words lead to permanent retention in the minds of the learners. The results of the tests were proof that the maximum number of participants were able to retain new vocabulary and could use them in sentences as well. Participants were observed by their teachers over the period and according to those observations it was clear that due to the congenial environment, colorful books and stress free atmosphere that the learning enhanced. Krashen (1981) was cited by Harmer who states that students can acquire language on their own if they get sufficient exposure to comprehensible language in a calm and tension-free environment. Extensive reading involves reading a variety of comparatively easy material and with less or no testing or follow-up work.

Discussion
According to the findings of the present research, the overall effect of extensive reading on vocabulary development to students in grade six was positive. The results indicate that extensive reading is beneficial and the selection of reading material for the students does have different effects on their language development. An interesting finding was the prominent improvement in the retention of the new vocabulary. This serves to indicate the success of the use of graded readers in word repetition for language acquisition. There is a causal relationship between extensive reading and vocabulary enhancement so it is concluded that extensive reading is a good approach to teach not only for vocabulary enhancement but for all language skills indirectly.
The results of the current study indicate that participants have gained knowledge of the new words from extensive reading which corroborates with previous studies including those by Day et al. (1991), Hulstijn (1992, and Brown et al. (2008). Findings from descriptive statistics carried out show that extensive reading adds to the vocabulary knowledge of grade six students. The findings of this study signify that extensive reading does have a positive effect on vocabulary development of students. This finding supports Krashen's (1989) comprehensible Input Hypothesis that second language vocabulary is acquired through input which is comprehensible. This study also corroborates Pigada and Schmitt's (2006) finding that vocabulary knowledge can be greatly enhanced during reading even from a small number of texts and their conclusion is that more vocabulary acquisition is possible from extensive reading than previous studies have suggested. Thus, it was concluded that, in this study, vocabulary was incidentally learned through extensive reading of graded readers. This study also supports the findings of a more recent study conducted by Brown et al. (2008) Vol. 5, No. 3, 2017 488 Published by SCHOLINK INC.

Recommendations
On the basis of this research, practical conditions and findings, the researcher tries to make some practical suggestions as follows: Flash cards of vocabulary should be available in the language class and they should include the meanings of words to help students understand them on the spot so the students do not have to consult dictionaries for every word. There should be one suggestion box in each class so that those queries and suggestions which students cannot ask directly due to shyness or lack of time can be put in the box and teacher can check it later to try answer the queries. Parents need to be aware of the change in the teaching and learning styles so that they can cooperate with their children and their teachers. Proper monitoring of child progress in both formal and informal tests should be kept under scrutiny to further help and guide the students to improve in their weak areas. Teacher should be a good role model and motivate students so that they learn by following their footsteps. Students should be given incentives like stars, stickers or positive remarks that can really boost up the energy of the students. A large range of activities, such as role play, pair work, group discussion, debates related to the reading materials can be conducted to help grow students' understanding of the material and additionally promote their willingness to keep reading in future. Finally, English language teaching, is presently facing a period of expected change. It is therefore an ideal time for schools to initiate extensive reading programs permanently in their curriculum.

a)
In theoretical terms, this research supports Krashen's Input Hypothesis, indicating that extensive second language (L2) input in a tension-free environment can contribute to the enhancement of learners' language skills significantly.
b) It will help learners to understand that extensive reading is really a pleasurable activity and it brings not only joy in reading good material but learning a lot of language skills and general knowledge.
c) It will bring a realization on the part of the teacher to create a love for reading in students so that instead of running away from books, they prefer to spend their leisure time in reading good books.
d) It will also provide help to researchers who want to conduct research on extensive reading. They can also use these findings for the future research.

Conclusion
This study has indicated vocabulary increase from extensive reading at an elementary level. More practice and reading is required so that students can increase their word knowledge at different levels.
More contacts with words and greater amounts of exposure to the graded readers are needed for more knowledge gain as the study of Nation and Wang (1999) recommends that the use of a book per week at coverage of 95% and above (Brown et al., 2008)  that a large amount of comprehensible input is necessary for significant language acquisition and ER with graded readers can be a pleasurable, inspiring source of such input, contributing to a vocabulary enhancement and general language competence. Adding up all these results together, the more of these conditions are met in an extensive reading program, the more students are likely to gain a love of reading and attain lifelong healthy reading habits.

Multiple Choice Recognition test
Circle the words you think nearest to these words.