Re: “Better English teaching needed”, Letters, August 15. The Nation is right when it says grammar and repetition are not the ways to improve English, and that a more communicative approach is desirable. But the editorial does not mention the most powerful means of improving English test scores, as well as developing proficiency in general: massive recreational reading. Our own research, as well as the research of others, consistently shows that those who read more for pleasure in English show superior development of reading ability, writing ability, vocabulary, grammar, and spelling. We recommend schools vastly improve their collections of interesting, comprehensible reading material, and provide some time for students to do extensive, self-selected reading.