Intensive reading versus extensive reading

Academia is in a ‘reading crisis ’, increasingly perplexed by a persistent question: how can students be persuaded to read, including their own textbooks? The common allegations — excessive screen time, dopamine-driven digital addiction, shrinking attention spans, a craving for constant stimulation, complex grammatical structures, and dated linguistic expressions — are unquestioningly valid, but do not show a trajectory for restoring students’ interest in reading.Two approachesDigital natives, paradoxically, read constantly, often, far more than previous generations. From their birth, they are exposed to screens (big and small) that have made reading almost as natural as fish take to water. Digital platforms offer far more convenience, including customisable fonts that reduce visual fatigue and encourage sustained reading; backlit screens enable reading even in darkness; hyperlinks provide instant access to dictionaries, translations, and reference materials; and annotation and highlighting tools make revisions far more efficient. Consequently, students experience reading as an interactive, personalised, and highly responsive activity. They consider reading to be cool.This experience turns topsy-turvy when students enter classrooms with their school bags: traditional textbook- and teacher-centric instruction transports them into an insipid world. The prescribed iconic writers and the iconic pieces, ironically, bear little resemblance to their lived experiences. Pedagogical practices that rely heavily on line-by-line explanation, close textual analysis, and interpretation between and beyond the lines often fail to engage them. An equally heavy emphasis on grammar, vocabulary drills, fragmented language skills, and standardised question-answer formats further distances them from the intrinsic pleasure of reading. Such intensive treatment of texts often results in cognitive fatigue, making meaningful reading a casualty. Incidentally, it is quite contrary to the way grown-ups engage with reading after school.Many learners remark that a dissected approach to texts robs them of the joy of reading. Specialists consider such practices to undermine the fundamental objective of education: nurturing autonomous, lifelong readers. Consequently, they advocate curricula that combine prescribed textbooks with extensive reading. Although the two approaches — intensive and extensive reading — are viewed as contradictory, they are actually complementary.Both are necessaryIntensive reading involves a close examination of a relatively small number of texts, requiring learners to analyse explicit and implicit meanings, figurative language, syntactic features, intra- and inter-textual relationships and varying critical perspectives. It resembles almost a dissection in a biology lab. Undoubtedly cognitively demanding, academia continues to rely heavily on this approach, with literary studies representing its peak.Extensive reading, conversely, is reading whatever one is interested in, obviously varying from person to person, ranging from periodicals (newspapers, magazines, journals) to multiple genres of fiction and non-fiction, such as sci-fi, romance novels, autobiographies, travelogues, and so forth. Reflecting on his childhood, Shashi Tharoor remarked that he read “eclectically and indiscriminately”, ranging from children’s books to classics. Such freedom of choice is sure to cultivate lifelong reading habits among many.The distinctions between the two approaches are self-evident: intensive reading emphasises features such as in-depth analysis, accuracy, limited texts, and detailed comprehension, while extensive reading prioritises fluency, larger volumes of texts, fast reading, and overall understanding. Above all, extensive reading is reading for pleasure, whereas intensive reading is associated with academic obligation. An effective curriculum requires both approaches to work in tandem rather than in competition.Recognising the criticality of extensive reading, countries such as Japan, Indonesia, and Italy have established professional associations dedicated to promoting it. These organisations encourage learners to read widely for pleasure and fluency, and support teachers by publishing journals and organising conferences and workshops that foster a vibrant reading culture. In India, the English Language Teachers’ Association of India (ELTAI) has launched a student-led, pan-India reading movement to cultivate reading for pleasure and nurture lifelong readers.Similarly, the debate between e-reading and print reading (p-reading) should not be considered an either-or choice. Learners, particularly in the foundational years, must become amphibious readers, moving effortlessly between digital platforms and printed books. Such balanced engagement will ensure that the art of reading thrives in the era of AI when the ‘death of reading’ is predicted. Natural intelligence can be developed by reading. A nation that reads is a nation that leads.The writer is a retired Professor of English, Anna University, and Chief Executive Chair of English Language Teachers’ Association of India (ELTAI).