What’s the secret? Working harder? Or working smarter? Research studies suggest that reading is both effective (it causes the desired result) and efficient (doesn’t waste time, energy, or money) for language development.
Surprising facts
Here are some facts about reading and English-learning – from scientific research – that might surprise you:
After studying English for 5 or 6 years, students who study English in a country where English isn’t spoken will know about 3,000 words. That’s about 600-720 hours in class (Dr. Paul Nation, Victoria University Wellington, New Zealand)
If you read interesting, easy-to-understand English for about 245 hours, you will acquire (pick up or absorb) about 5,000 words. You can do that by reading 20 minutes a day for 2 years (Dr. Jeff McQuillan, Center for Educational Development, and Dr. Stephen Krashen, University of Southern California)
Students who did only free reading (the reader chooses what to read) improved just as much on a TOEFL exam as students who spent approximately 390 hours studying for the TOEFL in a 13-week intensive (involving a lot of work in a short period of time) English class (Dr. Beniko Mason, Shitennoji International Buddhist University, Osaka, Japan).
Compare the numbers
Vocabulary development:
- Spend 600-720 hours (five or six years) in class to learn about 3,000 words.
- Spend about 245 hours doing free reading to acquire about 5,000 words.
TOEFL preparation:
- Take a 13-week intensive English class to add 45-50 points to your TOEFL score.
- Add 45-50 points to your TOEFL with recreational reading.
Which would you rather do? Classes can be helpful, especially if reading is an important part of the class. But if you want to successfully acquire and use English, you should make recreational reading a permanent part of your life.
Warren Ediger
warren [at} successfulenglish [dot] com
(Information sources are available upon request.)
