This involves reading long texts, usually ones chosen by students themselves. It is an important topic and has a whole section devoted to it (section 7.7).

One of the major concerns for any HE language teacher today must be the amount of reading in L2 that the average undergraduate engages in. There is abundant anecdotal evidence to suggest that reading has become the poor relation of HE language study. Many students, especially those on ab initio programmes, find the prospect of reading anything more than a few pages in the foreign language too daunting to contemplate. The reasons for this are varied: we are generally a society much less orientated to the written word; well-intentioned changes in public examinations have meant secondary curricula now place less emphasis on the study of lengthy texts; and, perhaps most significantly, the undergraduate curriculum has changed, with the growth of modular degrees and of options open to both linguists and non-linguists.

However, reading remains a key source of rich exposure to L2, and one of the goals of every undergraduate language programme must be for students to become fluent readers across a range of text-types and topics. As teachers, we need to think about ways of providing a supportive environment for this and must encourage students at every opportunity to read outside the curriculum and beyond the prescribed minima.

Although section 7.7 has been designated extension material for this module, the topic should not be thought to be of less significance than other forms of L2 reading. Indeed, the section might serve as background reading for a departmental workshop on ways to encourage students to embrace the principle of extensive reading.

Reflective task 8