Incorporating task-based learning in an extensive reading programme

This article reports on an EFL reading programme that integrated extensive reading with task-based learning to promote L2 learners' language development, increase their motivation in reading, and help them build reading habits. In this programme, students took an active role in selecting graded reading material relevant to their interests and participated in reasoning-gap, information-gap, opinion-exchange, and decision-making tasks in the classroom. Data were collected through interviews with students, classroom observation, students' reading logs, and reflective journals. The results indicated that the combination of interesting reading materials and meaning f ul tasks created positive experiences in language learning. Comprehensible input from extensive reading and productive output in the follow-up tasks proved to be effective in facilitating language development. Most importantly, students reported feeling a sense of achievement when sharing what they read with peers and completing the tasks, which then motivated them to read more books and gradually develop reading habits.