ABSTRACT
Learners of English as a foreign language can differ widely in their enthusiasm for reading English. M. Tabata-Sandom found that learners of Japanese as a foreign language enjoyed pleasure reading and saw that it had positive effects on their proficiency. The research shows the values of extensive reading for developing the reading skill, for receptive vocabulary growth, and for benefitting a range of other language-related factors. The chapter looks at a variety of ways of motivating learners to do extensive reading. The feeling of success is its own reward which makes it a kind of intrinsic motivation. Being in control of what we are doing without the need of support from others gives a feeling of independence and control. P. Judge found that several of the learners he interviewed expressed a feeling of satisfaction with being able to do this. He called it the ‘lure of autonomy’. The difference, lies in the longer-term nature of the satisfaction of obvious progress.
