2. Extensive reading in EFL Getting students to read extensively is the simplest and most effective way to improve their reading skills. It is much easier to teach people to read better if they learn in a supportive climate, where reading is valued not only as an educational tool, but as a source of entertainment.Nuttall, 20052.1 Definition of Extensive ReadingAs suggested in the previous subchapter paragraph, extensive reading differs considerably from the intensive one. Bamford and Day (2004) define the term extensive reading as an approach to language teaching in which students read a lot of easy material in the new language for general enjoyment and understanding. Unlike intensive reading, students must focus on meaning since studying the language is not the goal. Reading is individualized, which means that students choose books based on their interest and language level, read without dictionaries and independently of the teacher, with minimal post-reading tasks (Bamford and Welch, 2000). Additionally, they are encouraged to stop reading whenever they feel the material is uninteresting or too difficult. As Day and Bamford (ibidem) have pointed out, the aim of extensive reading in language teaching is to "get students to read in the second language and to enjoy it". Extensive reading can be introduced into any type of EFL lesson whatever the content, intensity, age of the lesson. students or their language level are. The only condition is that students already have a basic knowledge of the foreign language and are literate in it (Bamford and Day, ibidem).2.2 Basic principles of extensive reading In relation to the aspects of extensive reading mentioned above, there is a series of specific principles and particular i......middle of paper......, but also interest and content. The number of graded readers has increased in recent times, so there is an opportunity to select the right ones that meet students' needs (Hedge, 2000). To conclude, well-selected simplified materials can be used as a means to improve students' skills. reading proficiency, enable them to read entire books without difficulty, and gradually gain the self-confidence to move on to authentic materials. According to Grabe (2009), "there is little evidence that extensive reading with 'authentic' texts would lead to improvements over extensive reading with series of graded readers." Day and Bamford (2004) add that “simplification is nothing more than a term […] to refer to writing for language learners; and that any simplicity noted in such writing is not something acquired at the expense of authenticity but is the very expression of authenticity itself'.