In the teaching of foreign language reading, there have been at least three distinctive approaches for communicative competence: grammar translation method, comprehension-questions approach with an emphasis on reading skills and strategies, and extensive reading approach. This paper surveys a selection of recent studies that address important…

This study is a quasi-experimental, longitudinal investigation into the role that extensive reading and reading strategies play in the cultivation of reading self-efficacy. Conducted over the course of one academic year, how changes in reading self-efficacy translate into changes in reading comprehension was examined. In addition, the…

The population of English as a Second Language (ESL) learners has increased significantly in higher education settings in the United States today. It has been reported that Japanese ESL students are generally unsuccessful when studying in English speaking countries. The typical way of reading in English for Japanese students is the…

Four approaches to the teaching of second language (L2) reading are described (grammar-translation, comprehension questions/exercises, skills and strategies, and extensive reading) and their status in the reading classroom is examined, and important issues in L2 reading are then discussed, including word recognition, affective and sociocultural…