The Role of Reading in Language Learning

This paper discusses the role of reading in language learning, making use of the case of my own and two Indonesian teenagers that manage to pass the TOEFL prediction test above 500—one after finishing the senior high school, the other after junior high school. Since they were toddlers, the two of them were made to learn English without being aware that actually they were “taught” English by exposing them to books, both in Indonesian or English, and films that used English. They never study in English courses and make use of the English lessons at schools to enhance their learning of English. Reading is the two teenagers’ hobby. The cases are explained using the theory of language acquisition.