"Substantial Reading" and its 7 Benefits For language Learners.

I love to read, whether it is a good fiction novel, a biography/autobiography, newspapers or academic books, it's always the perfect way for me to spend my spare moments. Reading can teach you important lessons in life, it can enhance your imagination, reinforce your language skills, transport you to exotic locations all around the world or just be the perfect form of stress relief.

While most learners want to focus primarily on improving their spoken English, the other skills, such as reading should never be ignored if you want to become a fluent all-around user of the language. 

The benefits of reading.

First and foremost, reading is one of the best ways to increase vocabulary and to consolidate your understanding of grammar. Not only will you come across many new words and phrases in context, you’ll also see grammatical structures laid out on the page that you may have heard in conversation but not quite yet worked out. With repeated exposure to the same vocabulary and language patterns, you’ll find they begin to make their way into your spoken English as well. In this way, reading helps speed up the normal language learning process that sees passive comprehension become active knowledge. 

One of the main benefits of reading in English if you’re learning the language is that there’s absolutely no shortage of material to choose from, especially online. Whatever your interests or hobbies, whichever sports team, band, or celebrity you may be following, you’re bound to find something about them. Plus, reading is autonomous; in a way, you get to decide your own subjects and curriculum, one based not on textbooks but on authentic material that specifically interests you.

What’s more, you can read at your own pace. If a passage is puzzling or full of unfamiliar language, you’re under no pressure to read it quickly and move on. You can simply go over it until you’re satisfied that you understand. Of course, it’s important not to get bogged down in the nitty-gritty of a text; quite often it doesn’t matter if you only have a general understanding of a passage, and many new words can be skipped over if the meaning is not clear from the context. The more you read, the better you’ll become at working out when it’s important to reach for the dictionary or not.

What is Substantial Reading?

Substantial Reading is reading as many books as possible for pleasure and can be contrasted with intensive reading which is a slow, careful reading of a short, difficult text. 

1. 1. Students read a great deal, quite quickly, and almost daily. 
2. 2. The reading material is relatively easy for the level of the students. 
3. 3. Too much unknown language prevents students from reading quickly and fluently.
4. 4. It is the student, not the teacher, who chooses what to read.
5. 5. Students have a wide variety of genres and topics to choose from.
6. 6. Students read for pleasure, information, or general understanding.
7. 7. Reading is individual and silent.

What are the benefits of Substantial Reading?

1. Students become a better reader

It is widely accepted that people become good readers through reading and that learning how to read should mean a primary focus of attention on the meaning rather than the language of the text. It is pretty obvious that extensive reading helps students become better readers. The more language students read, the better readers they become. An integral part of this is learning new vocabulary.

2. Students learn more vocabulary

Probably the most cited benefit of Substantial Reading is that it can extend and sustain students’ vocabulary growth. It is said that students need to encounter a word or phrase in different contexts between 15 and 20 times to have a high possibility of learning them. Students are highly unlikely to encounter vocabulary a sufficient amount of time solely within the classroom to learn it. However, if they read extensively they are much more likely to get multiple encounters with words and phrases in a variety of contexts.

3. Students improve writing

Students who read extensively also make gains in writing proficiency. This is probably because as students encounter more language, more frequently, through extensive reading, their language acquisition mechanism is primed to produce it in writing.

4. Students improve overall language competence

In addition to gains in reading and writing proficiency, students increase their competence in both listening and speaking abilities through reading extensively. So Substantial Reading would seem to benefit all language skills, not just reading and writing.

5. Students become more motivated to read

It is highly motivating for students to discover that they can read in English and that they enjoy it. For this reason, it is essential that the books are interesting to students and at a level appropriate to their reading ability. If students find the books compelling and interesting and can understand them, they may become more eager readers. This can also help to boost their confidence and self-esteem as language learners.

6. Students develop learner autonomy.

Students can read anywhere, at any time, and reading extensively helps them become more autonomous learners. To promote learner autonomy extensive reading should be a student-managed activity. That is to say that students should decide what, when, where, and how often they read.

7. Students become more empathic

Studies have shown that people who read fiction extensively are more empathic. People who read novels about other people who are very different from themselves and their backgrounds are particularly empathic.

Well, I hope that this article has been of assistance to you, and that you now understand the many benefits of substantial reading.

Good luck and good learning.