The effect of reading on general communicative competence remains a focus of second language acquisition research. Extensive reading, in particular, provides rich input and helps learners acquire languages. Research has provided findings that support the value of extensive reading (ER); however, there is scant evidence to date showing the relationship of extensive reading to overall competence and, particularly, writing competence. The present study investigated the relationship of ER to overall English language competence as well as teachers’ and students’ views about its implementation. The participants were 190 Taiwanese university freshmen and their three English instructors. The data includes scores on pre- and post-tests measuring students’ listening, reading, and writing as well as questionnaire responses and interview accounts. The findings of the study indicate that the effectiveness of ER for the student participants is partially supported and, hence, have implications for English teaching and learning in EFL contexts.

Abstract-English has long been widely used as a lingua franca (ELF) for intercultural communication and inevitably evolved into various varieties due to its nativisation and localization in different contexts. Its recognition and acceptance, accordingly, are crucial for successful intercultural communication, a goal of international education in higher educational settings. Much research on ELF or world Englishes has been conducted and has findings related to attitudes toward the sociolinguistic reality due to the use of ELF. However, sporadic studies have been conducted on attitudes towards ELF of the students in settings where international education of different forms are provided, and none has been done to compare impacts of these forms on students' ELF attitudes. Therefore, the study introduced in this paper aimed to investigate ELF attitudes of students studying in two types of programs in the same university, one type (the first type) with English as instructional means for all courses and to local students and their international classmates and the other (the second type) with English used only in the 4-year English classes. Questionnaire data were collected and analyzed statistically. Results of the study show significant differences in attitudes of the two groups and have implications for the international education to students in higher educational settings.