Reading may be viewed as an invisible skill, and some may even consider it a passive skill. However, reading is an active and complex skill. It requires one to use a wide range of skills simultaneously to achieve fluency. Hence, it is crucial to learn and use strategies to master such a complex skill. Today, research states that fluent reading includes using top-down and bottom-up strategies, or an interactive approach, to truly become a fluent reader. In fact, research has shown the effects that all three models have had on students. More specifically, L1 studies have shown positive effects in using phonics instruction (a type of bottom-up model) on students' reading fluency. Although this is true, there has been little research in L2 settings that investigates the effects that phonics instruction has had on L2 learners. It seems that L2 reading curricula focus on teaching top-down strategies in hopes that students implicitly learn bottom-up strategies. In reality, students may need to experience a transitional phase where they explicitly learn phonics and how to decode words in order to become fluent readers. The current study seeks to explore whether implementing extended explicit systematic phonics instruction in an L2 setting facilitates reading fluency. Thus, the goal of this study was to investigate whether extended explicit systematic phonics instruction would affect L2 students' reading fluency in terms of decoding, reading rate and comprehension. Two groups of students participated in this study; an experimental group who received extended explicit systematic phonics instruction and a control group who did not receive the treatment. Two types of exams were administered. One exam indicated that phonics instruction helped students read words accurately, but the second exam illustrated that phonics instruction did not make a difference in decoding, reading rate and comprehension. These results suggest further exploration on the topic.

Educational and economic developments in the Persian Gulf have increased the need for academic English reading fluency in the rising generation of college-bound students. A discussion of the literature on the linguistic properties of Arabic diglossia and orthography affirms the challenge that Arabs confront in L1 literacy. Because of the difficulties encountered in Arabic literacy, the transfer of L1 skills to L2 emerges as a salient issue for English instruction in the Arab world. The following study of Arab ELLs' academic reading fluency in Arabic and English investigates a hypothesized positive correlation between L1 and L2 reading abilities. Quantitative and qualitative data were obtained through the administration of academic reading fluency instruments in both Arabic and English and a survey of reading habits to a sample of 112 post-secondary Gulf Arab students in an English language program in Doha, Qatar. The analysis of the data reveals a correlation between Arabic and English reading fluency confirming previous research on transfer of reading skills between L1 and L2. The data further suggest the advisability of promoting reading fluency training in L1 as a facilitator of L2 fluency, especially in localities such as the Persian Gulf, where the professional environment requires young graduates to have fluency skills in both languages.

Treatment integrity has always had a presence in research, but now more than ever must become a priority owing to the changes in Special Education Law. The present study intends to explore the relationship between factors of implementation, treatment integrity of intervention implementation, and reading fluency. Participants included students in grades 2 through 5 and their teachers enrolled in an urban elementary school in the southwest area of the United States. Participants were chosen for possible inclusion on the basis of their fall performance relative to oral reading fluency on a universal screening measure used as part of the district's Response to Intervention (RTI) plan. Classroom teachers were observed implementing reading interventions and asked to respond to surveys aimed at summarizing their opinions regarding factors related to choice of intervention and implementation. Path analysis was conducted to explore the relationship between two factors of implementation (intervention complexity and acceptability), treatment integrity (adherence to intervention protocol) and student outcomes (oral reading fluency scores). It was hypothesized that low scores for intervention complexity would be inversely related to levels of treatment integrity, which would subsequently be positively related to reading fluency. Moreover, it was hypothesized that intervention acceptability and treatment integrity would be positively related, which would subsequently be positively related to reading fluency. Lastly, it was hypothesized that there would be an inverse relationship between intervention complexity and reading fluency, and a positive relationship between intervention acceptability and reading fluency. Results indicated an inverse relationship between intervention complexity and treatment integrity, suggesting that when complexity was low, treatment integrity was high. A positive relationship was found between intervention acceptability and treatment integrity, suggesting that when acceptability was high, treatment integrity was high. Furthermore, when treatment integrity was high, reading fluency scores were found to be high. An inverse relationship was found between complexity and reading fluency, suggesting that when complexity was low, reading fluency scores were high. Lastly, a positive relationship was found between acceptability and reading fluency, suggesting that when acceptability was high, reading fluency scores were high.

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English-language learners (ELLs) demonstrate lower levels of English reading proficiency than do native English-speaking students. Oral reading fluency (ORF), the number of words read correctly in 1 min, is one indicator of reading proficiency. Within second language (L2) reading research, there have been few studies of L2 ORF development. The purposes of this study were to: (a) model the trajectory (i.e., initial status and growth) of English ORF in Grades 2 and 3 for Spanish-speaking ELLs in bilingual education programs, and (b) determine the effect of a 4-year structured intervention in English language and reading on L2 ORF development. Data were archived from Project ELLA, a longitudinal, randomized study documenting ELLs' acquisition of English language and reading from kindergarten through third grade. Data included 1,470 observations of English ORF from 283 ELLs at 17 schools. Schools were randomly assigned to the intervention (n=8) or control (n=9) condition. In intervention schools, a one-way dual language program and a comprehensive ESL intervention were implemented. The intervention emphasized L2 oral language development in kindergarten and first grades, basic L2 reading skills in second grade, and content-area reading skills in third grade. In the control schools, the district's typical transitional bilingual education program and ESL curricula were implemented. L2 ORF was measured using DIBELS ORF on six occasions. Piecewise multilevel growth models were used for data analysis. In Grades 2 and 3, ELLs followed a two-stage linear growth trajectory in English ORF, with a large decrease in level between grades. Slope parameters were positive in both grades but decreased slightly in third grade. Participating in Project ELLA added 1.52 wcpm per month to students? ORF scores in Grade 2. Both intervention and control groups improved at the same rate in Grade 3; however, intervention students maintained the higher level of ORF that was attained during second grade. Therefore, the ELLA intervention accelerated L2 ORF growth in second grade, such that intervention students read with greater fluency compared to control students throughout second and third grades.

Thesis (Ed. S.)--Miami University, Dept. of Educational Psychology, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 15-16).

Doctor of Education / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / James Teagarden / This study investigated the effectiveness of an early literacy program for first grade students classified as at-risk for emotional and behavioral disorders, who were nonresponsive to previous schoolwide interventions, and who performed in the bottom one-third of their class on a standardized reading assessment. This study, which consisted of a multiple-probe across intervention groups experimental design aimed to produce literacy and behavior results previously obtained by other well-known researchers. Results indicated growth in oral reading fluency for all five participants, in nonsense word fluency for four out of the five participants, and a decreased display of total disruptive behaviors for all. Findings reaffirm outcomes obtained in previous investigations; specifically, improved early literacy skills are concomitant with ongoing decreases in disruptive classroom behavior. Limitations are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided.