Junko Yamashita’s discussion on In search of the nature of extensive reading in L2: Cognitive, affective, and pedagogical perspectives

Extensive reading (ER) has been implemented under a wide variety of names, such as (uninterrupted) sustained silent reading, free voluntary reading, pleasure reading, book flood, independent reading, and Drop Everything And Read (DEAR); its various names emphasize different aspects of the same/similar kind of reading. Since a series of pioneering publications by Elley and his colleagues demonstrated ER’s positive impacts on second language (L2) learning in various countries (e.g., Elley, 1991, 2000; Elley & Mangubhai, 1983), ER has received attention as a possible and promising way of improving L2 abilities.