The Five-Finger Rule is a widely recommended strategy for selecting appropriate reading materials in Extensive Reading (ER) programs, particularly for language learners using graded readers. This study investigates how Thai university students apply and perceive the rule, and how they implement it, using an online survey to collect data from 64 students participating in an ER program. Data on the number of books they assessed, the number of difficult words they encountered, and their reasons for choosing a particular book were gathered. The findings revealed that most students (53.8%) selected books that fell within the recommended difficulty range, aligning with their goal of a moderate challenge that still allows for comprehension. Interestingly, 13.8% of students intentionally chose books at a higher difficulty level, motivated by a desire to expand their vocabulary. These findings suggest that students adapt the Five-Finger Rule based on personal reading goals and language learning strategies.

Incidental vocabulary learning through ER has been examined for the uptake rate of new words learned, but ER also provides an opportunity to deepen knowledge of high-frequency words. This study examines the productive knowledge of high-frequency English vocabulary of Japanese university students of similar English proficiencies between those who have read over 430,000 tokens of ER and those with little or no ER experience. Subjects were tested on receptive and productive knowledge of the 2000 most frequent words of the NGSL (New General Service List) utilizing the testing application VocabLevelTest (McLean & Raine, 2019). ANOVA results showed a significant main effect of ER on productive vocabulary (p < .001, η² = .32), with similar effects observed for both NGSL 1-1000 and NGSL 1001-2000 word bands. These results suggest that ER contributes to strengthening productive knowledge of high-frequency words through repeated encounters in meaningful contexts, additional justification for curriculum integration of ER.

Since 2023, I have implemented an extensive reading program for newly enrolled sixth - graders. A year later, Shanghai began its new curriculum reform. This presentation highlights a personally - devised 10 - Tier Reading System in a Chinese public school, where the students are aged 11 - 12. The system started with the traditional Chinese comic story Journey to the West (Lexile ~ 350L) and advanced to novels such as Frindle. After one year, it has yielded significant outcomes: an average reading volume of 200,000 words per year (with the word count recorded in their reading logs) and a 38% growth in vocabulary knowledge (measured by a vocabulary test app). Combined with ER and the newly-reformed text books, this system has effectively transformed some struggling readers into more confident ones.

Extensive reading (ER) floods learners with meaningful language, but how do we ensure it sticks? This session introduces ULTRA—a Unified Linguistic Theory of Real Acquisition—a comprehensive, research-informed framework for how language enters brains and becomes fluent output. ULTRA identifies 16 core elements, including input, story-logic, addictive learning, output, fluency, elaboration, and more. After briefly overviewing ULTRA’s core, we will explore key elements that help teachers strengthen and vary their ER practice. We will examine prompts that help learners retell stories out loud (retrieval) and write short reactions or personal connections to what they read (elaboration). We will also consider gamification tools for tracking progress and recognizing achievements (addictive learning). Educators across levels will find actionable ways to lift ER’s impact—practical shifts, not grand fixes. Leave with a clear framework and effective strategies to help learners retain and enjoy ER more—ready to tweak your classroom tomorrow.

A well-established body of research supports extensive reading (ER) as a crucial component of language programs, yet its implementation in schools remains limited and challenging. This study examines key barriers to establishing ER programs in a private language school in Vietnam, drawing insights from program developers, teachers, and learners through a qualitative approach. Preliminary findings confirm that commonly cited challenges such as time constraints, limited resources, rigid curricula, and exam-oriented instruction contribute to these difficulties. However, two primary factors that emerge as critical determinants of success include teachers' awareness and beliefs about shifting from form-focused to meaning-focused instruction, and the school’s vision and commitment to implementing ER initiatives. The study further discusses solutions from multiple perspectives to enhance the feasibility and effectiveness of ER programs in similar educational contexts.

We welcome anyone currently involved, or who wants to become involved in extensive reading journals and newsletters to join this meeting. The roles and support for reviewers, editors, copy editors, layout editors, and website managers will be outlined at the meeting. We will also discuss the plans for the Proceedings for the Extensive Reading World Congress.

This presentation details the steps taken for implementation of a digital extensive reading programme at a private middle school in Beijing. In the school’s A1 cohort, one class took part in an ER trial for one semester, while others received traditional reading instruction only. The extensive reading group significantly outperformed comparison groups on internal reading examinations, and the programme was subsequently greenlit for 273 A1-B2 students. A student opinion questionnaire administered after one semester of whole-school ER showed strongly positive responses from the student base. Firsthand experiences including logistical and financial considerations are shared. The results showcase the viability of teacher-led ER programme pitches in large for-profit institutions.

Over the past five years, the importance of extensive reading (ER) has grown significantly in China. However, while many schools understand the benefits of ER, they often face challenges like lack of support from parents, students' busy schedules, and limited time, making it difficult to sustain these programs. In this session, I will share 3 models that how Chinese teachers implement ER for children aged from 5-12. The three models are Offline Home-Based Model, Offline Center-Based Model and Online Reading Camp. In each model, I will share one or two case studies.These cases will provide training school teachers who want to start ER good examples. They can learn how to integrate ER into their own courses, how to encourage parents to join in ER and how to set the goal for ER and so on.

Using Extensive Reading (ER) for language teaching to ESL/EFL was propounded by Michael West in Bengal (undivided India) in the 1920s. He opined that reading vocabulary-controlled interesting texts was more effective than the existing methods to teach English to Bengali children who could access English only inside the school. In spite of its well-established benefits for developing proficiency, ER practices have steadily changed in the Indian context. This ongoing study reports on the current trends prevalent in India. Secondary data has been collected from research carried out in the Indian contexts over the years. Primary data has been collected by interviewing teachers and students about trends observed and problems faced. The information so far shows that ER continues to be used in India, and exists in the form of graded readers. However, the transition into online ER practices has not been reached, books are the preferred mode.

This presentation first examines the current state of reading and especially extensive reading in the university context in Vietnam. This review shows that EFL reading classes in Vietnam almost exclusively teach reading intensively with little to no effort made to engage the students in systematic ER programs. We will then discuss the potential solutions to more smoothly implement an ER program in Vietnam by providing an example of one such ER program at our university. The particulars of our ERF supported ER program will then be explained followed by a review of its goals and achievements. In closing, we will propose some future steps we plan to take to not only embed ER more deeply into our curriculum, but mention ways to expand this model to other universities and schools in the region.

This research aims to provide educational suggestions by analyzing extensive reading strategy preferences of Japanese university students. Extensive reading was incorporated in an English class to enhance their English proficiency. The students read books from the library for the first 20 minutes of every 90-minute class. Subsequently, a questionnaire was conducted with 16 students, employing a five-point Likert scale. The questionnaire was based on the top 10 principles proposed by Day & Bamford (2002), which were originally written for teachers but were modified in terms of students. As a result, the most favored principles were reading easy materials, choosing what they want to read and reading for general understanding. Although modeling is generally considered an effective learning strategy, the teacher as a role model of a reader was the second least favored principle. Finally, teachers should introduce those preferred principles earlier in class, creating a learning environment to realize them.

The benefits of Extensive Reading (ER) for vocabulary development are well established in theory and research (Boutorwick et al, 2019; Suk, 2017; Webb and Change, 2015a and 2015b). ER is fundamentally an implicit approach to increasing reading rate, reading comprehension, and vocabulary size. As such its impact is not easily measured over short periods of time or without considering the role of many others types of L2 input for the learners. Vocabulary, on the other hand, can also be taught explicitly and measured for at least some forms of acquisition, quickly and easily. This presentation provides a model for combining both explicit and implicit methods of vocabulary learning, including use of the New General Service List, Vocabprofiler and diagnostic tests from Lextutor.ca, flash cards, structured review, and individualized quizzes to target high frequency vocabulary learning.