Reading beyond the textbook

"As in all discussions of literacy, mention is often made of the importance of extensive or free voluntary reading in second and foreign language teaching. This method focuses on teaching readers rather than on teaching texts (Haas and Flower 1988, 169). Since we learn to read by actually reading, the aim of these methods is to build learners' reading skill by encouraging them to read more. This is a supplement to intensive reading methods, in which the learners work with activities related to set texts. Textbooks are a good example of intensive reading, providing short texts and supplementary activities which allow learners to practice vocabulary and grammatical structures, develop various language skills and check their reading comprehension. Thus, intensive reading tends to focus on details and to serve functions that reach far beyond the apparent purpose of reading." (from the text Reading beyond the Textbook: Why is extensive reading important? by Barbara Blair)