Reviewing the literature is an important part of academic work, as it helps readers see what has come before, what has and has not worked, and situates the author’s place in the ongoing discussion. Accepting this view, extensive reading literature often points to Day and Bamford (1988) as identifying Kelly (1969) as crediting Palmer (1921) as the first to apply the term extensive reading (ER) in L2 pedagogy. At the time of Day and Bamford and Kelly’s publications, a reference to Palmer was a worthy seminal identification as literature searches were not aided by today’s more powerful electronic databases. Utilizing more modern search tools (Archive.org, Google Books, JSTOR, Project Gutenberg, Google Books) and the archival works they provide, we extend the discussion by offering a more complete history of the term for researchers to draw from. Specifically, we (a) explore early L1 uses of the term and (b) point to three new L2 seminal benchmarks: the earliest (1) use of the term (2) intensive/extensive distinction; and (3) definition found to date. We then (c) continue our discussion up through today’s modern definitions of the term. Directions for future studies are also discussed.

Keywords: Extensive reading, literature review, Day and Bamford, Kelly, Palmer, free reading, love of reading, pleasure reading, silent reading, supplementary reading, voluntary reading, seminal publication, definition of extensive reading