Fluency Skills Research Articles

Theories and Research on Oral Reading Fluency: What Is Needed?

Oral reading fluency skill is considered to be the bridge to reading comprehension. However, it has been neglected in many English reading programs despite the fact that different theories (including behaviorism, information processing model theory, automaticity theory, and Ehri and McCormick’s word learning theory) have shed light on this skill. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to review theories, studies and practices relevant to this skill. This study has two aims: (1) to identify the theories underpinning oral reading strategies and (2) to identify the gap in research so far conducted on oral reading fluency. Various reading-aloud techniques and assessment methods are presented in this study. Moreover, some factors that affect students’ oral reading fluency are illustrated. Significantly, the practices that this study investigates and presents concerning teaching and assessing oral reading fluency might give an inspiration for the policymakers and curriculum designers to integrate oral reading fluency in their reading programs.

Growth on sublexical fluency progress monitoring measures in early kindergarten and relations to word reading acquisition

Fluency with skills that operate below the word level (i.e., sublexical), such as phonemic awareness and alphabetic knowledge, may ease the acquisition of decoding skills (Ritchey & Speece, 2006). Measures of sublexical fluency such as phoneme segmentation fluency (PSF), letter naming fluency (LNF), and letter sound fluency (LSF) are widely available for monitoring kindergarten reading progress, but less is known about the relative importance of growth in each skill across the early months of formal reading instruction and their relation to subsequent decoding acquisition. With a sample of kindergarten students at risk for reading difficulties, this study investigated the extent to which initial status and growth in PSF, LNF, and LSF, administered on a progress-monitoring basis during the fall of kindergarten, were differentially predictive of word reading fluency skills at mid-year and growth across the second half the school year. We used two different fluency-based progress monitoring measures of word reading across the spring, one consisting entirely of phonetically regular consonant-vowel-consonant words, and the other that included phonetically regular and irregular words that varied in length. Results indicated that although initial status and fall growth in all sublexical fluency measures were positively associated with subsequent word reading, LSF across the fall of kindergarten was the strongest overall predictor of mid-year level and growth on both word reading measures, and unique in its prediction over the effects of LNF and PSF. Results underscore the importance of letter-sound knowledge for word reading development, and provide additional evidence for LSF as a key index of progress for at-risk learners across the early months of formal reading instruction.

Efficacy of Certain Teaching Strategies on Reading Fluency Skills for Students of First Grad in Prep School

This research aimed at the development of reading fluency skills for Students of first grad prep School The research problem was mainly represented in weak reading fluency skills for students of first grad in prep School as well as negligence of modern teaching strategies. in order to find out a solution, the study passed through a set of steps. Most importantly were providing a list of reading fluency skills, suitable for Students of first grad in prep School, selecting three teaching strategies: modeling, collaborative learning and double reading, then, processing five prose texts within the first grad arabic language book using these three strategies one at a time. A manual for teachers was also provided and included performance steps, procedures, activities, means used and correction procedures per strategy. A research measured how far the three strategies were efficient for the development of reading fluency skills of the students. This was made by developing a note card for reading fluency skills as well as a measuring test and selecting three experimental groups, who are to be primarily subject to the test, within the students of first grad in prep School. After application of these three strategies to the groups, the test was subsequently post-applied. The research concluded a set of findings. A prominently important finding is that the three strategies were effective for the development of reading fluency skills for the for students of first grad in prep School. The results further showed that double reading strategy outperformed both modeling and collaborative strategies with regard to the development of the said skills.

برنامج في القراءة السريعة وأثره في تسريع القراءة الإلكترونية وتنمية الطلاقة اللفظية لدى الطلاب الروس بجامعتي داغستان وبيتاجورسك

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to identify the skills of verbal fluency required for Russian-speaking Arabic language learners, and to assess the effect of the program on speed reading in accelerating students' electronic reading and developing their verbal fluency skills. The sample of the study consisted of 12 Russian-speaking Arabic language learners. The following instruments were used in the research: a list of verbal fluency skills required for non-Arabic students, a speed-reading e-program, a speed-reading manual, a reading speed test, and a verbal fluency test. Research findings indicated the effectiveness of the program of speed reading in the acceleration of electronic reading and the development of verbal fluency among Russian-speaking Arabic language learners.

The Use of Educational Drama for Teaching the Arabic language and its Effect on the Development of Literacy Fluency and the Trend Towards Teamwork for Primary School Students

The research aimed to identify the effect of the use of educational drama in teaching the Arabic language on the development of reading fluency skills and the direction towards group work among primary school pupils. The study sample consisted of two experimental groups (33) pupils, and the other control (33) pupils from the fifth primary class In Sidi Abdel Rahim Joint Primary School in Qena Governorate, the study tools consisted of a test of reading fluency skills and a measure of the direction towards university work, and the results of the study resulted in a statistically significant difference between the average scores of students of the experimental and control groups in the application Dimension to test the fluency of literacy skills, as well as there is a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of students of the experimental and control groups in the application dimension to measure the trend towards collective action in favor of the experimental group, the study provided a set of recommendations proposed research.

The Effect of Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) on Developing Secondary Stage Students’ Oral Fluency Skills and Autonomy

The Effect of Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) on Developing Secondary Stage Students’ Oral Fluency Skills and Autonomy

The effects of gender and academic achievement on reading fluency among Year 2 Malaysian school children

ObjectiveLanguage disorders can affect reading skills contributing to poor academic achievements. As such, it is vital for speech language pathologists to identify the potential language-based reading problems among children. To achieve this, specific reading assessments should be developed and studied. Thus, the present study aimed to determine the effects of gender and academic achievement on oral reading fluency (ORF) and silent reading fluency (SRF) among Year 2 Malaysian children. MethodsIn this study that employed a comparative design, fifty-nine typically developing Malaysian children (24 boys, aged from 8 years, 0 months to 8 years, 11 months) were enrolled. They were chosen from three different classrooms (consisting of high achieving, medium achieving and low achieving students, respectively) in a primary school. Their ORF and SRF skills were assessed according to the established methods. ResultsAs revealed by two-way ANOVA results, both ORF and SRF scores were found to be comparable between boys and girls (p > 0.05). In contrast, ORF and SRF results between the three classrooms were significantly different from each other (p < 0.05). ConclusionThe present study provides the first report on oral and silent reading fluency skills among Year 2 Malaysian school children. While the gender effect was insignificant, low achieving students showed poorer reading fluency skills. The preliminary normative data for ORF and SRF provided by the present study are beneficial for future research applications.

The Use of Repeated Reading with Systematic Error Correction for Elementary Students with Mild Intellectual Disability and Other Comorbid Disorders: A Systematic Replication Study

This paper is a systematic replication of a previous study performed by Alber-Morgan et al. (2007) to examine the effects of repeated reading with systematic error correction (SEC) procedures to increase the reading fluency and comprehension skills of three elementary students with mild intellectual disability and other comorbid disorders. A multiple probe across participants design (Horner and Baer 1978) was used to determine the effectiveness of the repeated reading intervention. During the baseline phase, the students read a passage aloud and orally answered comprehension questions. In the intervention phase, the students first read a passage aloud and received SEC, then completed two timed oral readings of the same passage, and answered comprehension questions. Baseline procedures were reintroduced in the maintenance phase. Results indicated that the use of the repeated reading with SEC intervention was effective to increase students’ reading fluency skills; however, no consistent gains were shown that suggested the strategy fostered the students’ comprehension skills. Limitations of the study, implications for the classroom, and future research directions are provided.

استراتيجية قائمة على نظرية الذکاء الناجح لتنمية مهارات الطلاقة اللغوية لدى تلاميذ المرحلة الإعدادية

المستخلـــــص يهدف هذا البحث إلى تنمية مهارات الطلاقة اللغوية لدى تلاميذ الصف الأول الإعدادي؛ من خلال بناء استراتيجية قائمة على نظرية الذکاء الناجح، وقياس مدى فاعليتها في تنمية مهارات الطلاقة اللغوية لدى تلاميذ الصف الأول الإعدادي، وتحددت مشکلة البحث في وجود ضعف في مهارات الطلاقة اللغوية لدى تلاميذ الصف الأول الإعدادي، واعتمد البحث على کل من المنهج الوصفي التحليلي في مسح الدراسات السابقة، وتناول الإطار النظري، وفي إعداد الأدوات، والمنهج شبه التجريبي في إجراء التجربة الميدانية، وقامت الباحثة بإعداد الاستراتيجية القائمة على نظرية الذکاء الناجح، بالإضافة إلى إعداد دليل المعلم، ودليل التلميذ لتنفيذ الاستراتيجية. وتمثلت أدوات البحث في إعداد قائمة بمهارات الطلاقة اللغوية المناسبة لتلاميذ الصف الأول الإعدادي، واختبار مهارات الطلاقة اللغوية لتلاميذ الصف الأول الإعدادي. وتکونت عينة البحث من (60) تلميذة بالصف الأول الإعدادي، وتم تقسيمها إلى مجموعتين؛ إحداهما تجريبية: تکونت من (30) تلميذة، وتم التدريس لها باستخدام الاستراتيجية القائمة على نظرية الذکاء الناجح، والأخرى ضابطة: تکونت من (30) تلميذة، وتم التدريس لها بالطريقة المعتادة، وبعد تطبيق الأدوات وجمع البيانات وتحليلها؛ أسفرت نتائج البحث عن: تفوق تلاميذ المجموعة التجريبية على المجموعة الضابطة؛ مما يشير إلى فاعلية الاستراتيجية القائمة على نظرية الذکاء الناجح في تنمية مهارات الطلاقة اللغوية لدى تلاميذ المرحلة الإعدادية، وقدمت الباحثة في نهاية البحث مجموعة من التوصيات والمقترحات ذات الصلة بنتائج البحث This research aims at developing linguistic fluency skills for first grade preparatory pupils, by building up a strategy based on the Theory of Successful Intelligence and measuring its effectiveness in developing the linguistic fluency skills for first grade preparatory pupils. The research problem was identified as lack of linguistic fluency for first grade preparatory pupils. The research relied on both an analytical descriptive approach to the previous studies, the theoretical framework, and the preparation of the research tools, and an experimental approach to the field-testing. The research uses a number of educational tools and materials, including a list of language fluency skills which are suitable for first grade preparatory pupils and a test of linguistic fluency skills in Arabic language for first grade preparatory pupils. In addition, the strategy based on the theory of successful intelligence, the teacher's guide and the Pupil's guide for the implementation of the strategy was developed. The research sample consisted of (60) pupils of first grade preparatory pupils who were divided into two groups; an experimental group consisting of 30 pupils who were taught using the suggested strategy based on the Successful Intelligence Theory , and a control group consisting of 30 pupils who were taught using the traditional way. After applying the tools, then collecting and analyzing the data, the results came as the following: the pupils of the experimental group outperformed the control group pupils, which indicated the effectiveness of the strategy based on the Successful Intelligence Theory in developing linguistic fluency in Arabic language for preparatory stage pupils. At the end of the research, the researcher made a series of recommendations and proposals relevant to the research results.

Repeated Reading and Error Correction to Improve Fluency Skills for Students with Learning Disabilities

Repeated Reading and Error Correction to Improve Fluency Skills for Students with Learning Disabilities

Using Educational Broadcasting in Improving EFL Preparatory School Students’ Oral Reading Fluency Skills and their Attitudes towards Learning English as a Foreign Language

This study aimed at examining the usage of educational broadcasting in improving EFL oral reading fluency skills for first year preparatory school students and their attitude towards learning English as a foreign language. The participants were thirty five first-year preparatory school students, composing one experimental group. The instruments for data collection were an EFL oral reading fluency test, a questionnaire of attitudes towards learning English as a foreign language. An educational broadcasting based program was designed by the researcher. The experimentation was conducted in the second term of the academic year (2018/2019) and lasted for nine weeks, one session a week. By the end of the experimentation, the test of the oral reading fluency skills and the questionnaire of the attitudes towards learning English as a foreign language were administered to the one experimental group. The test and questionnaire scores were compared and analyzed. The findings revealed that there is a difference in oral reading fluency skills improvement for the post administration of the EFL oral reading fluency test. There was also an evident and positive change in the attitudes of the experimental group members towards English as a foreign language. Some pedagogical implications were stated, as educational broadcasting is a vital tool for enhancing EFL oral reading fluency skills and attitudes towards learning English as a foreign language.

Effects of Explicit Instruction on Reading Fluency Skills of Primary Pupils in Jos East Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria

Effects of Explicit Instruction on Reading Fluency Skills of Primary Pupils in Jos East Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria

Responsive home numeracy as children progress from kindergarten through Grade 1

The aim of the present study was to investigate longitudinal associations between formal home numeracy activities and children’s arithmetic fluency skills. Children were followed during the transition from the end of kindergarten (T1; Mage = 6.87 years) to the beginning of Grade 1 (T2), and again at the end of the Grade 1 (T3). Participants were Lithuanian children (n = 341) and their parents. At each time point, parents reported the frequency of the formal home numeracy activities they engaged in with their children; the children completed addition and subtraction tasks at the same three time points. Using a cross-lagged analysis, we found that parents adjusted the frequency of their home numeracy activities in response to children’s arithmetic performance. The frequency of home numeracy activities, however, did not predict changes in arithmetic skills. Finally, maternal education was found to be related to children’s arithmetic skills rather than to home numeracy activities.

Using Graphic Novels to Engage Students With Learning Disabilities During Fluency Instruction

Strong oral reading fluency skills are an important indication of good reading. In addition, reading engagement is often correlated with reading success. Unfortunately, students with learning disabilities (LD) often struggle to read fluently and engage with text. Incorporating graphic novels as part of a comprehensive reading program may help support student engagement with text during reading fluency instruction. This article outlines how teachers can use graphic novels as part of a comprehensive reading program to help engage students with LD in reading during fluency instruction. A brief summary of the literature surrounding comprehensive fluency instruction and the use of graphic novels is provided. In addition, a scenario is provided to illustrate guidelines for fluency planning and instruction using graphic novels. Finally, conclusions are summarized.

Validação do instrumento “teste seu cérebro” para idosos: versão para Ipad

AIMS: Validate the application for iPad (Apple, California, USA) “Teste seu Cérebro” as well as establish cutoff point between normal seniors and Mild Neurocognitive Impairment.METHODS: In a prospective cross-sectional study, elderly subjects who attended the neuropsychology clinic of a tertiary health hospital in the southern region of Brazil and the community in general underwent cognitive assessment using two instruments: the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (Gold Standard Test) and the “Teste seu Cérebro”. These results served as a parameter to validate the said application from a diagnostic test and to establish the cutoff point between normal elderly and mild cognitive impairment; the following statistical measures were determined: sensitivity and specificity, internal consistency and reliability reached by the McDonald’s Omega coefficient and Pearson’s correlation coefficient, respectively. The average “Teste seu Cérebro” cutoff point to detect cases classified as mild neurocognitive impairment by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment was obtained through the ROC curve. Evaluations include functions such as memory, attention / orientation, fluency, language, and visuospatial skills. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 104 participants with mean age of 70.3 (standard deviation = 6.6), with a minimum age of 60 and a maximum of 87 years. An acceptable reliability was achieved for the “Teste seu Cérebro” application by analyzing the internal consistency. In the comparison between the general scores of the two instruments (Teste seu Cérebro and Montreal Cognitive Assessment), where the result showed a statistically significant correlation, positive and classified as moderate. The cutoff point of the “Teste seu Cérebro” scores that best discriminated patients with mild neurocognitive impairment diagnosed by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment was 89.5%, that is, scores below or equal to that percentage reached higher sensitivity and specificity for the instrument. No influence of sociodemographic variables such as sex, age and schooling were identified on the linearity relationship between the “Teste seu Cérebro” and Montreal Cognitive Assessment instruments. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the “Teste seu Cérebro” instrument can be safely used to identify early and accurately the presence of Mild Neurocognitive Impairment in the elderly population. New studies will be directed to the validation of the instrument “Teste seu Cérebro” in the identification of other types of cognitive disorders, in addition to Mild Neurocognitive Impairment.

Improving Fluency Skill in English Speaking Through Role Playing Learning Strategy at English Study Program, Administration Business Department, State Polytechnic of Madiun

In the preliminary study, the researchers found that the average value of fluency in English speaking is 2.25. This is because of the teacher always uses monotonous, less enjoyable learning strategy and the teacher only focuses on completing the material so that the learning process can only transfer knowledge so that the level of mastery of the material is low which ultimately decreases student achievement. To overcome this problem, researchers propose a strategy in teaching speaking skill, namely role-playing learning strategy. This study is designed to improve fluency in English speaking by using role playing learning strategy. This study aims to explain how role-playing learning strategy can improve fluency in English speaking in the 4th semester, English Study Program, Business Administration Department, State Polytechnic of Madiun. This study uses a Classroom Action Research (CAR) design which is collaborative in nature where researchers and teacher collaborate in carrying out this research. Researcher act as observer while English teacher become collaborator of researcher in implementing role playing learning strategy. This research was carried out in a cycle that refers to procedures for action research, namely planning, implementing, observing, and reflecting. Each cycle in this study consisted of two meetings. The research data was collected through several instruments, namely evaluation of English speaking, questionnaires, and field notes. The subjects of this study were 4th semester of D3 Program students, English Study Program, Business Administration Department, State Polytechnic of Madiun. The results of the overall average score of fluency in English speaking in the first cycle of 2.44, in the second cycle of 2.89, and in the third cycle of 3.19. Classroom action research can be stopped in cycle III because it is in accordance with the average criteria of success is 3.01. The interesting of students towards the implementation of role-playing learning strategy shows that students are happy and interested in implementing role playing learning strategy.

Visual-spatial Attention and Reading Achievement in Hong Kong Chinese Children: Evidence from a One-year Longitudinal Study

ABSTRACTThis study examined whether visual-spatial attention could predict Chinese reading achievement longitudinally beyond some well-established reading precursors. A total of 257 second- and third-grade Hong Kong Chinese-speaking children participated in the study. Visual-spatial attention was measured by visual search tasks, which assessed the skills in highly inefficient and efficient searches. Chinese character reading, word reading fluency and reading comprehension skills were measured 1 year later. Latent variable path analysis showed that the skill in inefficient search uniquely predicted later word reading after the model controlled for phonological awareness, vocabulary knowledge, orthographic awareness, age and nonverbal IQ; while its effect on reading comprehension was completely mediated by word reading. Moreover, the skill in highly efficient search was not a unique predictor of both reading skills. The findings indicated the roles of top-down visual-spatial attention for word- and text-level Chinese reading.

A-36 Cognitive Differences Between Children with New Onset Seizures and Those with Longer Seizure Histories

Abstract Objective Epilepsy is associated with cognitive difficulties including language and memory problems. Studies examining cognitive function in children with new onset seizures have found that they have difficulties when compared to healthy controls, but less is known about how these difficulties compare to cognitive function in children who have had seizures for longer periods. Our study compared semantic memory and verbal fluency skills in a group of pediatric patients with new onset seizures (&lt; 12 months) to a group of presurgical epilepsy patents who had seizures for more than 12 months. Method Participants included 12 new onset seizure patients (age 8–15 years old; M = 12.13 years, SD = 2.4; 58.3% male), and 14 presurgical epilepsy patients (age 8-18 years old; M = 13.26 years, SD = 3.3; 64.3% male) who underwent neuropsychological evaluations as part of their standard of care. All patients were recruited from a regional children’s hospital. Outcome variables included performance on the Boston Naming Test (BNT) and Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System Verbal Fluency test, Letter (LF) and Category (CF) Fluencies. Results Overall intellectual ability did not differ significantly between groups. No significant differences were found between the two groups on the BNT [F (17,2) = 1.012, p = .607], LF [F (8,16) = 1.375, p = .279], or CF [F (7,17) = .544, p = .790]. Conclusions Findings indicating no significant differences on cognitive tasks between the two groups are consistent with previous research indicating that individuals with new onset seizures often exhibit cognitive difficulties at the time their seizures begin.

Literature Circles: Creating an Environment of Fluency and Fun

Literature circles create an opportunity for students to make reading a fun-filled activity and at the same time develop their fluency skills. This action research examined the efficacy of creating literature circles in the classroom as an intervention program to address students’ problems in reading fluency specifically in terms of phrasing and accuracy. Furthermore, it also investigated the attitudes of students’ toward reading before and after they became members of a literature circle. The study was conducted among 30 grade 7 students from the same section who belong to the frustration level during the oral reading assessment done at the beginning of the school year. Results of the study revealed that there was an improvement in the students phrasing in reading after the 10-week intervention period but not significantly enough to improve their fluency. On the other hand, a significant difference was observed on the students’ reading rate after the intervention period. Furthermore, the students’ attitudes toward reading have also positively changed after they became members of the literature circles. The study concluded that the creation of literature circles in the classroom could improve students’ reading fluency.&#x0D;

Thinking about the future: Comparing children’s forced-choice versus “generative” responses in the “spoon test”

One of the most popular methods to assess children’s foresight is to present children with a problem (e.g., locked box with no key) in one room and then later, in another room, give them the opportunity to select the item (e.g., key) that will solve it. Whether or not children choose the correct item to bring back to the first room is the dependent measure of interest in this “spoon test.” Although children as young as 3 or 4 years typically succeed on this test, whether they would pass a more stringent version in which they must verbally generate (vs. select) the correct item in the absence of any cues is unknown. This is an important point given that humans must often make decisions about the future without being explicitly “prompted” by the future-oriented option. In Experiment 1, using an adapted version of the spoon test, we show that as the “generative” requirements of the task increase, 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds’ (N = 99) performance significantly decreases. We replicate this effect in Experiment 2 (N = 48 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds) and also provide preliminary evidence that the capacity to verbally generate the correct item in a spoon test may draw more heavily on children’s category fluency skills than does their capacity to select this item among a set of distracters. Our findings underscore the importance of examining more generative forms of future thought in young children.