commit to user
5. Extensive and Intensive Reading
There are two kinds of reading performance that are well-known seen from the teacher’s role in choosing the reading text namely extensive
and intensive reading. According to Harmer 2002: 210 extensive reading means teacher encourages students to select for themselves whatever
reading materials to choose in the purpose of pleasure and language improvement while intensive reading means teacher selects the reading
material in the purpose of developing specific receptive skills. Likewise, the same opinion is emphasized by Brown 2001: 312. He
emphasizes that intensive reading is the classroom activity which focuses on the “surface structure details text”, while extensive reading is the outside-
classroom activity which attempts to achieve a “general understanding of a longer text book”. Recently, Richards and Schmidt says “extensive reading
means reading in quantity and in order to gain a general understanding of what is read” inYamashita, availableat
http:nflrc.Yamashita.html .
According to Waring as cited in Jarrel 2003: 200 “[intensive reading]……to learn new vocabulary, to look at text organization, to help
learners discover and develop reading skills, and so on”. Then, he reveals Nation’s opinion:
…….the procedures involved in Intensive Reading direct a lot of attention to the vocabulary, grammar and discourse of the text. This
deliberate attention to language features means that intensive reading fits within the strand of language-focused learning”
2003: 201.
On the other hand, extensive reading “…………is generally associated with reading large amounts of text with the aim of getting an
commit to user overall understanding of the material” Bamford Day, as cited in Jarrel,
2003: 201. Furthermore, Jarrel’s research shows that extensive reading appears
to be more effective than intensive reading of turning a weak reader into a good reader. Jarrel’s says that extensive reading emphasizes on
“motivation,” “comprehensible input,” and ‘building confidence” that can help the weak reader to improve reading speed and deepen understanding of
what is read. To conclude, the activity done by both teacher and students in the
classroom holds on intensive reading, vice versa, the activeness of students to improve their skills outside school time holds on extensive reading. In
intensive reading programs, students are expected not only to read a text but also demonstrate understanding to a degree as detailed as possible which is
usually concerned with vocabulary, text organization, and overall, improve reading skills, while in extensive reading students read relatively large
amount of the text with the purpose of getting general understanding of what is being read.
Provided that one reads outside school time simultaneously, from time to time, one can develop hisher reading habit. In other words, one is
considered as high reading habits-person if heshe always reads the books, and other reading materials such as magazines, newspapers, etc. wherever
heshe is, the reading activity is involved. It is stated by Richards and Schmidt, 2002: 193-194 as cited in Yamashita http:nfyamasita.html.
commit to user “[extensive reading] is intended to develop good reading habits, to build up
knowledge of vocabulary and structure, and to encourage a liking for reading”.
6. Strategies for Reading Comprehension
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