This quasi-experimental study traces a 12-week reading fluency training program for elementary-level English as a foreign language (EFL) learners at a Japanese university (N = 56). More specifically, this study examined whether a teaching intervention combining (a) extensive reading and practicing, (b) timed reading, and (c) repeated oral reading…

PIRLS 2016 data from eight education systems were used to examine how teachers from three different language groups differed in their teaching of reading literacy. Teaching reading practices differed substantially between the three linguistic/cultural groups. In English-speaking systems, effective practices for establishing reading literacy seem…

This column explains three ways that teachers can improve reading test performance. Basically, the idea is that instead of teaching students to respond to particular question types as is typical of test preparation despite the ineffectiveness of this practice, it is better to teach students to read the test passages more effectively. Three…

In this study, we intend to determine if reading tests aloud provides a differential boost to youth with elevated symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) relative to same-aged peers. Participants were 36 youth, 44% with or at risk for ADHD, who participated in a week long summer camp. Over the course of the week, youth attended…

This study examines the effectiveness of cooperative reading teaching activities and independent reading activities for English language learner (ELL) students at 4th grade level. Based on simple linear regression and correlational analyses of data collected from two large data bases, PIRLS and NAEP, the study found that cooperative reading…

Reading fluency has been identified as a key component in effective literacy instruction (National Reading Panel, 2000). Instruction in reading fluency has been shown to lead to improvements in reading achievement. Reading fluency instruction is most commonly associated with guided repeated oral reading instruction. In the present retrospective…

The goal of this study was to compare the efficacy of assisted reading with digital audiobooks with the traditional practice of sustained silent reading (SSR) in terms of reading fluency and reading attitude with upper elementary students with reading disabilities. Treatment group participants selected authentic children's literature and engaged…

Alternatives to traditional testing techniques are proposed for use in the adult English as a second language classroom. It is argued that traditional testing does not place responsibility for achievement on the learner as is appropriate with adult students. The suggested alternative methods are: the language experience approach, sustained silent…

With 70 percent of its student body entering school reading below grade level, Blackstone Academy Charter School realized that teachers needed to make literacy a pillar of the school's culture. This 9-12 urban high school administers a reading evaluation developed by the Northwest Evaluation Association each fall and spring to all incoming…

Examines the evolution of reading comprehension in English classrooms and examination rooms and considers active and collaborative approaches to teaching reading comprehension. (HOD)

Extensive reading (ER) programs involve students in silently reading large quantities of materials. These materials are usually at a level that permits students to gain at least a fair understanding of what they are reading without outside help. Such programs' benefits for first- and second-language (L1 and L2) learners are well documented (Coady,…

An experiment was conducted with twenty native French speakers using a set of four reading passages, each followed by five multiple choice comprehension questions. Each subject was tested twice when reading aloud and twice when reading silently. Other test materials included a pre-test designed to check whether certain lexical items from the…

This paper contains descriptions of activities that have proven successful in one middle school's reading program. Each description contains a commentary on the activity, its objective, the skills it reinforces or teaches, and the materials needed. Among the activities presented are a method of teaching vowel sounds; a creative writing activity…

Once a year, all children in grades two through four in the schools of a suburb of Copenhagen, Denmark, are administered silent reading tests. The test scores become the basis for an hour-long dialogue between the respective classroom teacher and a reading specialist. The focus of the dialogue is the improvement of instruction for each child, and…