Extensive Reading: A Stimulant to Improve Vocabulary Knowledge

Extensive reading, ER, can be considered as a good learning technique to improve learners' vocabulary knowledge. Bell (2001) states that ER is a type of reading instruction program used in ESL or EFL settings, as an effective means of vocabulary development. The subjects participated in this study were 40 upper-intermediate and 40 lower-intermediate learners drawn from a population through a proficiency test to see if ER helps them improve their vocabulary knowledge at the above-stated levels. To this end, at each level an experimental and a control group (EG and CG) were formed each of which comprised 20 subjects randomly selected and assigned. All the conditions especially teaching materials were kept equal and fixed at each level, except for the EG the subjects were given five extra short stories to read outside for ten weeks. The results showed that EG at both levels indicated improvement in their vocabulary learning after the experiment. Key words: Extensive Reading; Reading; Vocabulary improvemen