Paper Title
The Effects Of Extensive Reading On Overall Language Achievement In The Foreign Language Classroom

Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of in-class extensive reading on the foreing language achievement level of the learners at a private university preparatory school of English in Istanbul, Turkey. An in-class extensive reading program was conducted with 37 participants aiming to examine if extensive reading performed within the class hours would make any impacts on students’ foreign language achievement. The treatment group (n=18) received extensive reading sessions where they were required to pick readers of their own level of language proficiency and interest from a set of readers of different levels and genres and just read without any pre-, while, or post reading activities-to minimize stress and make reading more enjoyable- for about 30 minutes every school day for a period of 7 weeks. The post test results indicated that, although there had to be some devotion in terms of covering the school syllabus in the extensive reading class, there were significant gains in overall language achievement, especially in reading comprehension and grammar skills of the extensive reading group compared to the control group (n=19). Index Terms - extensive reading, foreign language learning, foreing language achievement, graded readers