We can find many explanations of extensive reading online. Some are good; some are long; some are hard; and some are wrong. Because there are so many explanations of extensive reading, at ReadOasis we wanted to publish one in English that stands out as unique.

We wrote the clearest, simplest, and easiest explanation of extensive reading in the world.

We compared our “explainer” with 10 of the top online articles that explain extensive reading. We used 6 tests to compare our explainer with others.

• Flesch Reading Ease
• Flesch-Kincaid Grade
• Gunning Fog index
• Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR)
• The Writer’s Diet Test
• British National Corpus Vocabulary Levels

You can see the data comparison below. It shows that our story scored easier, simpler, and clearer on all 6 tests. In fact, the scores were not even close! Our story scores much easier and clearer than all the others. Yay clarity!

At the same time, we provide a simple and substantial answer to the question: What is extensive reading?

Click for data comparison.

At BeeOasis.com, we recently published a short story about Bob Dylan’s song “Knocking on Heaven’s Door.” Dylan wrote the song at a low point in his musical career, but as fate would have it, the song actually marked a turning point for him. Before the song:

By 1970, his career had reached a low. On June 8th, he released the album “Self-Portrait,” and critics hated it. On June 9th, Princeton University gave him an honorary doctorate in music. But some thought he was a musical thing of the past. It looked like it was “song over” for Bob Dylan.

Then after the song came out:

It’s short, only 80 words. (One of Dylan’s songs is over 1,000 words long.) But this little song became one of his biggest hits. It reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Over time, many artists covered the song including, Guns N’ Roses, Eric Clapton, and U2. Today, “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” is listed among the “Top 100 Western Songs” of all time.

Please visit BeeOasis.com to read the whole story, and watch the video to go with it.

Welcome to iLinguist.net, the blog of  Joey Poulshock (aka Dr. Shock), professor, author, photographer, singer-songwriter, and Editor of ReadOasis.com.

With over 20 years experience in language education, Joey is a Professor (of English Linguistics) in the School of International Communication, Department of Intercultural Communication at Senshu University. He also has taught linguistics and language teaching methods in the Teacher Education Program Meiji Gakuin University. Continue reading →