In short
- Teachers mostly believe in extensive reading; studies of why they do not use it point to time, books, record keeping and test-driven curricula.
- In a survey of 119 teachers in Asia, the most common problems were students' lack of interest and the difficulty of checking that reading happened.
- Most obstacles have practical fixes: start with a small library, fix the reading time, keep a simple record and lower the level.
- Explain the method to pupils, parents and colleagues early, because easy reading looks like lower standards until results appear.
Extensive reading is easy to describe and hard to keep going. Pupils need books at the right level, time to read them, and a reason to keep reading when nobody is checking. Teachers need to believe that easy books are worth the time. This article takes the six obstacles schools meet most often and gives a practical response to each. It starts with what research says about why teachers who believe in extensive reading still do not use it.
What are the main challenges of extensive reading?
The main challenges are too few books, pupils choosing books that are too hard, no time in the timetable, no way to check that reading happened, exam pressure, and doubt among teachers. None of them means the method has failed. Each one cuts the amount pupils read, and each has a practical fix.
| Challenge | What you see | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Too few books | Empty shelves at popular levels; pupils rereading the same few titles | Start small, rotate book boxes between classes, buy more at the levels that run out |
| Books that are too hard | Pupils stuck on one page, or reaching for the dictionary | Lower the level, teach the one-page test, let pupils stop a book |
| No time | Home reading that never happens | A fixed slot of 10 to 15 minutes in class, then home reading |
| Checking that reading happened | Blank or invented reading records | A one-line record, a short conversation, a brief check per book |
| Exam pressure | Pupils and parents asking why pupils read 'easy' books | Explain the purpose; let the reading count towards the course |
| Teacher doubts | Colleagues treating reading time as lost teaching time | Start with one class and let others see the results |
Why don't more teachers use extensive reading?
Most teachers do not doubt that extensive reading works. Their problem is putting it into practice. Macalister (2010) interviewed 36 teachers on university preparation courses in New Zealand. They held positive beliefs about extensive reading, but those beliefs did not generally lead them to include it in class. He suggested the wider educational context might explain the gap.
Chang and Renandya (2017) surveyed 119 language teachers across Asia, about three quarters of them at university. Most (82.4%) said they used extensive reading because it improves overall language competence. Yet half said they often or always had difficulty getting students to read. The problems they reported most were these:
- Students are not interested in reading (60.5%).
- It is difficult to monitor whether students actually read (48.7%).
- Reading independently is difficult for students (44.5%).
- It is difficult to make students read material that will not be assessed (40.3%).
- Students have no time for extra reading (29.4%).
- The school has few books (21.8%), or the curriculum has a fixed schedule (18.5%).
Robb and Kano (2013) name similar barriers: getting and managing books, student motivation and record keeping. Most teachers, they write, lack the free time or the stamina to run a program alone. Jeon and Day (2016) add that money and time keep extensive reading from being widely practised, particularly in foreign language settings.
These studies come mostly from universities, so apply them to schools with care. Robb and Ewert (2024) review recent classroom research and the obstacles to extensive reading in school contexts. They conclude that without considerable teacher guidance, students are unlikely to become independent, self-motivated readers.
Too few books
A large library is expensive, but it is not a precondition. In the meta-analysis by Jeon and Day (2016), library size made no significant difference to the effect of extensive reading. They suggest teachers can start small in their own classrooms. Stories read on screen showed a higher average effect than paper books, but from far fewer studies (10 against 41).
The Extensive Reading Foundation (2011) offers practical ways to stretch a small stock:
- Split the books into boxes and swap boxes between classes every few weeks.
- Buy most books at the level of your average pupil, with fewer above and below.
- Keep part of the budget back until you know which levels run out.
- Expect losses. Keep extra copies of popular titles and put out a drop box where books can come back without questions.
For the arithmetic of how many books a launch needs, see How to Start an Extensive Reading Program in Your School.
Pupils choose books that are too hard
Pupils used to textbooks often pick books that look impressive. Day and Bamford (2002) name the maxim that holds them back: no reading pain, no reading gain. For beginners, they suggest that more than one or two unknown words on a page may make a book too difficult.
The signs are easy to see. The pupil stays on one page, looks words up often, or cannot say what happened. The Extensive Reading Foundation (2011) treats frequent dictionary use as a sign that the book is probably too hard.
Teach the one-page test and make swapping books normal. Day and Bamford (2002) encourage learners to stop reading anything too difficult or not interesting. The guide allows one exception: a pupil who knows the topic and is enjoying a harder book can carry on. How to Match Students to the Right Graded Readers covers placement in detail.
No time in the timetable
Reading left for home competes with everything else in a pupil's evening. Robb and Kano (2013) quote the common complaint that there is not enough class time for all that reading. Their answer was required reading outside class, counted in the course grade. Macalister (2010), as they report, argued for giving at least some class time to reading for pleasure.
Jeon and Day (2016) found the highest average effect where extensive reading was part of the curriculum (d = 0.91), though they urge caution in reading that comparison. Their advice is to build reading into the school curriculum, so that it is not limited to class hours.
In practice, protect 10 to 15 minutes in two lessons a week, then add home reading. A short slot that always happens beats a long one that is often cancelled.
Checking that reading happened
Monitoring was the second most common problem in Chang and Renandya's (2017) survey. Teachers who cannot see the reading tend to add tests, and tests turn reading into study.
Robb and Kano (2013) set two conditions for a school-wide check. It must hold students accountable without adding to teachers' workloads, and final assessment must be easy for teachers. Even with online quizzes, only about 70% of their students took a quiz on at least one book.
The Extensive Reading Foundation (2011) suggests watching pupils during silent reading. Do they turn pages often? Do they smile at the funny parts? Do they look as if they understand? Add a one-line reading record and a two-minute conversation about each finished book. 15 Extensive Reading Activities for the EFL Classroom has more checks of this kind.
Exam pressure and pupils who doubt easy books
Pupils, parents and colleagues may see easy books as wasted time before an exam. Jeon and Day (2016) found the smallest effect for adolescents (d = 0.35). They suggest a test-centred curriculum as one possible reason: reading that does not affect grades holds little interest.
Day and Bamford (2002) ask teachers to orient pupils first. Explain that extensive reading brings gains in reading and in language overall, that general understanding is enough, and that no test follows each book.
The Extensive Reading Foundation (2011) makes the exam case directly. Many students do poorly on standardised tests, it says, partly because they cannot read fast enough to finish. Treat that as the guide's argument, not a tested result for your exam. Making the reading count also helps. In Robb and Kano's (2013) program, it could move the course grade up or down by five points.
Teacher doubts
Doubt among staff sits behind the other obstacles. Jeon and Day (2016) argue that teachers, administrators and policy makers need to know the evidence. They add that the benefits take time to appear, so a program should not be dropped quickly. Macalister (2010) proposed teacher education, changes in course design, awareness among managers and better resources.
Seeing results persuades people. Robb and Kano (2013) report that many of their teachers became converts after watching the effect on their own students. So start with one class and make its records easy to show.
Classroom example (invented for illustration)
An English coordinator finds that home reading records in Year 8 have gone blank since half-term.
She checks the six obstacles in turn. Books: enough. Level: three pupils per class are on books that are too hard. Time: the class reading slot was dropped for test practice.
She restores ten minutes of class reading twice a week and moves the struggling readers down a level.
Within a month, most records are moving again. She shares them at the next department meeting.
Some pupils resist reading for reasons of their own. Extensive Reading for Reluctant & Struggling Readers covers how to adapt the program for them.
How iRead handles this
In iRead, global packs are ready to teach for A1 to C2, with levelled stories, word lists, the four games and quizzes shipped together. Many stories have an audio read-along synced to the text. Attendance at sessions is recorded automatically, and teachers see retention per word, per game and per class. School leaders see levels reached, words retained and stories completed by class, grade and term.
The pattern behind most stalls: Every common obstacle cuts the amount pupils read. Diagnose a stalled program by asking where the reading stopped, then fix that first.
See it in iRead: iRead's global packs are ready to teach for A1 to C2, with levelled stories, word lists, the four games and quizzes shipped together. Attendance at sessions is recorded automatically.
See the iRead programKey takeaway
Most extensive reading programs stall for ordinary reasons: books, level, time, checking, exams and doubt. Fix the one that stops the reading, and start small enough to show results.
Frequently asked questions
What are the main problems with extensive reading?
In Chang and Renandya's (2017) survey of 119 teachers in Asia, the most common were students' lack of interest, the difficulty of checking that students read, and students' difficulty reading independently. A shortage of books and a fixed curriculum were reported less often.
Why don't more teachers use extensive reading?
Not because they doubt it. Macalister (2010) found that teachers believed in extensive reading but generally did not include it in class. Robb and Kano (2013) point to the work of managing books, motivating students and keeping records, which most teachers lack the time for.
How do you know pupils have really read the book?
Combine three light checks. Watch pupils during silent reading, keep a one-line reading record, and have a short conversation about each finished book. The Extensive Reading Foundation (2011) suggests asking who the main characters are and how the story ended.
Can a school run extensive reading with only a few books?
Yes. Jeon and Day (2016) found that library size made no significant difference to the effect of extensive reading. Start with one class, rotate book boxes between classes, and spend the rest of the budget on the levels that run out.
Does extensive reading help with exams?
Probably, through speed. Jeon and Day (2016) found its largest average effect on reading rate, and faster readers finish timed papers more easily. No study cited here tested school exams directly, so keep exam practice alongside extensive reading.
Sources
- Chang, A. C.-S., & Renandya, W. A. (2017). Current practice of extensive reading in Asia: Teachers' perceptions. The Reading Matrix, 17(1), 40-58. www.readingmatrix.com/files/16-4vj138u3.pdf
- Macalister, J. (2010). Investigating teacher attitudes to extensive reading practices in higher education: Why isn't everyone doing it?. RELC Journal, 41(1), 59-75. doi.org/10.1177/0033688210362609
- Robb, T., & Kano, M. (2013). Effective extensive reading outside the classroom: A large-scale experiment. Reading in a Foreign Language, 25(2), 234-247. doi.org/10.64152/10125/66870
- Jeon, E.-Y., & Day, R. R. (2016). The effectiveness of ER on reading proficiency: A meta-analysis. Reading in a Foreign Language, 28(2), 246-265. doi.org/10.64152/10125/66901
- Day, R. R., & Bamford, J. (2002). Top ten principles for teaching extensive reading. Reading in a Foreign Language, 14(2), 136-141. doi.org/10.64152/10125/66761
- Extensive Reading Foundation (2011). The Extensive Reading Foundation's Guide to Extensive Reading. Extensive Reading Foundation. erfoundation.org/guide/ERF_Guide.pdf
- Robb, T. N., & Ewert, D. (2024). Classroom-based extensive reading: A review of recent research. Language Teaching, 57(3), 295-324. doi.org/10.1017/S0261444823000319