Discussion

The clear gains made by the experimental group are quite consistent with previous reports of the positive effect of extensive reading on second language acquirers. Taken in isolation, however, these results of this study are, at best, suggestive. It is a study of only two classrooms, only one measure was used, and one of the experimenters taught both sections. One could also argue that this study should not be compared to studies of sustained silent reading, as several of the conditions of SSR were not met: In "classical" SSR, reading is voluntary and incentives, positive or negative, are not used. In addition, there is no accountability for what is read (Pilgreen, in press). Our subjects were required to read, and had incentives (course credit and grades). In addition, they were asked to report on what they read, and had a fairly limited selection of texts to choose from. They had, however, some choice in what they read, choice in the order in which they read it, and accountability was minimal. Our results thus suggest that the positive effects of SSR can be maintained even when some of the conditions are slightly weakened.

There appears to be a limit on just how far one can go, however. Carver and Liebert (1995) reported no gain in vocabulary knowledge for elementary school students after a six week (24 hour) extensive reading program. Carver and Liebert clearly departed from SSR too much; there was heavy use of extrinsic motivators, their subjects were restricted to "easy" books, at or below their reading level, and had to take multiple choice tests on the books they read. In addition, reading time was heavily concentrated, with students reading in two hour blocks, with breaks, a procedure that also departs from usual SSR practice (Pilgreen, in press).

If our subjects had continued with the traditional class, it is doubtful that they would have made such impressive gains, and it is also doubtful that they would have expressed such positive feelings for reading at the end of the semester. On the basis on this study, as well as other research on free voluntary reading, it is reasonable to hypothesize that extensive reading for pleasure is effective for reluctant students of English as a foreign language.

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