The purpose of this study is to research middle school students` reading problems and to suggest how to improve their reading competence through the use of the extensive reading. For this study, we proposed two research questions of study as below. First, what difference is there in English competence between experimental group and control group? Second, what difference is there in the English reading competence according to English proficiency? The experimental group had been taught through extensive reading for 10 weeks. The data needed for this study was obtained by the questionnaires with 25 questions about the English reading. The data analyzing method were t-test through statistics program SPSS 12.0. Based on the result of this study, extensive reading was effective in improving the students` reading competence. Studying English reading through extensive reading led the students to be present in classes with interests.