Extensive reading effects are larger when sample members have different first languages¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · quant-synthesis r? · q3 · i3 large
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i3 First language was a significant moderator: interventions in samples with mixed language backgrounds showed larger effects (d = 1.03) than same-language samples (d = 0.33). → Sangers 2025 q3 i3 The mixed-language subgroup comprised only five comparisons, so the estimate rests on little data. → Sangers 2025 (2)

Evidence¶

Sangers 2025¶

Sangers, N. L., van der Sande, L., Welie, C., Dobber, M., & van Steensel, R. (2025). Learning a Language Through Reading: A Meta-analysis of Studies on the Effects of Extensive Reading on Second and Foreign Language Learning. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-025-10068-6

q3 · i3 · quant-synthesis · r?

Sample-characteristics moderator analysis over all effect measures combined (Table 2). The article reports "interventions in which students had mixed language backgrounds showed larger effects"; Table 2 shows d = 1.03 for different-language samples versus d = 0.33 for same-language samples (Q = 6.19*).

"First language was a significant moderator of intervention effects: interventions in which students had mixed language backgrounds showed larger effects."

Sangers 2025 (2)¶

Sangers, N. L., van der Sande, L., Welie, C., Dobber, M., & van Steensel, R. (2025). Learning a Language Through Reading: A Meta-analysis of Studies on the Effects of Extensive Reading on Second and Foreign Language Learning. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-025-10068-6

q3 · i3 · quant-synthesis · r?

Table 2 row for the different-first-language category: k = 5 comparisons, d = 1.03, SE = 0.27, 95% CI [0.50–1.55]. The small number of comparisons in this subgroup limits the robustness of the moderator estimate.

"Different 5 1.03*** 0.27 [0.50–1.55]"

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Reading and Language — moderator: an instructional effect differs with it

Related Claims¶

• Participant background (local vs. immigrant) did not significantly moderate the attitude–proficiency association — related
• Extensive reading has a small, significant positive effect on second and foreign language skills (d = 0.41 across 86 experimental comparisons; d = 0.38 for the 82 immediate-posttest comparisons) — related
• Extensive reading effects are larger when learners' text choice is limited (e.g., by reading level) — related