The effectiveness of sustained silent reading in the EFL classroom

Abstract

Reading is one of the most important skills students need in order to succeed in school and in life. A shared hypothesis about reading is that students improve their reading competence by reading in great amounts. The present study is a research synthesis, which reviews recent research into the overall effectiveness of an in-class extensive reading program known as Sustained Silent Reading in the English as a Foreign Language context. The study includes experimental and quasi-experimental studies conducted in diverse educational institutions around the world where English is taught as a foreign language among students whose ages ranged from 13 to adulthood. After a thorough literature search and by defining an inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total number of 15 primary studies (one PhD dissertation and 14 research articles) from 2000 to 2018 involving a total of 1,264 participants were gathered. The research synthesis aimed to explore whether sustained silent reading was effective in improving students’ cognitive skills such as reading comprehension. It also explored the affective benefits on students such as shifting their attitude towards reading. Findings revealed that (1) sustained silent reading plays a significant role on improving EFL students’ reading comprehension, and (2) sustained silent reading has a substantial effect in increasing EFL students’ reading attitudes. At the end of this synthesis, the results and conclusions in the current research are discussed and the possible recommendations are suggested.