Effects of Technology-Supported Language Experience Approach for English Learners With Exceptional Needs

Abstract

The language experience approach (LEA) to reading instruction uses learner-dictated passages to foster reading development. In this study, researchers explored LEA instruction for English learners with exceptional needs that were supported by voice typing, word prediction, and screen reading tools. A multiple baseline design was used to investigate the effects of technology-supported LEA on the oral reading of three emerging bilingual (Arabic/English) students with developmental delay, speech-language impairment, or at-risk status. All participants demonstrated slight increases in the number of words read correctly per min on reading curriculum-based measures during technology-supported LEA instruction. Similarly, increases occurred in the number of words read correctly from learner-dictated passages while decreases occurred in the percentage of meaning-change miscues made during oral reading. Social validation data indicated high participant satisfaction with technology-supported LEA. Implications relate to the feasibility of implementation and the need for future research.