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Developing reading fluency in a first language (L1) is a topic that has received a considerable amount of attention. Developing reading fluency in a second language (L2), however, has received relatively little attention (Grabe, 2009). Anderson (2008) defines reading fluency as "reading at an appropriate rate with adequate comprehension." For adult ESL learners, Anderson suggests a minimum rate of 200 wpm with at least 70% comprehension. Previous studies that have been conducted on L2 reading fluency focus primarily on reading rate development. This study seeks to combine rate development and comprehension development to effectively foster L2 reading fluency. Doing so will provide an answer to the question, what effect does consistent reading fluency instruction have on adult ESL readers in terms of their reading rate and reading comprehension scores? The 362 participants involved in this study are adult ESL students enrolled at the English Language Center at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. At the beginning and the end of each semester of the four semester-long study, each participant's reading rate and reading comprehension were evaluated. Each pretest and posttest used for evaluation included a reading passage and comprehension questions. The reading passages in each test were level appropriate with the posttest always being more difficult than the pretest to account for the natural learning that takes place during the duration of a semester. In between the pretest and posttest assessments, reading teachers were asked to implement one rate development activity or one comprehension development strategy on a daily basis. The results from the McNemar procedure support the hypothesis that consistent reading fluency instruction effectively builds reading fluency by positively influencing rate development and comprehension development (p < .001374). The majority of the participants were not able to attain Anderson's (2008) standard of reading fluency by reading 200 wpm with 70% comprehension. Of the 362 participants that received one semester of treatment, 52 (14.36%) reached Anderson's standard of fluency. Of the 139 participants that received two semesters of treatment, 31 (22.30%) reached Anderson's standard of fluency. An analysis of reading rate and reading comprehension scores shows that the average participant, although still not considered a fluent reader, made notable progress toward fluency. Implications of these results, limitations, and suggestions for future are discussed at the conclusion of this thesis.

The purpose of the study was to examine the efficacy of video self-modeling as a reading fluency intervention for elementary school students. The participants were 10-year-old male students, and they were enrolled in 4th or 5th grade. All of the participants carry disabilities, including Autism Spectrum Disorder or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. 2 participants participated in the study in a clinic setting, and one participant participated in the study in a school setting. Before attending the intervention sessions, the participants attended pre-participation assessment sessions to evaluate if their current reading skills and behavioral repertoire met the purposes of the current study. Following the screening procedures, the participants participated in the baseline measurements, video developments, alternating treatments phase, confirmatory phase, and follow-up phase. The results indicated the stand-alone Video Self-Modeling was efficacious for 2 out of 3 participants, and the Video Self-Modeling as a supplemental intervention component showed its efficacy for 1 participant. The findings showed various practical implications. Limitations and future studies are also discussed.

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No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

An important reading skill that is often overlooked by educators is reading fluency. There is a paucity of studies that have investigated computer programs that address this and other critical reading skills. Reading Assistant™ is a form of computer-assisted instruction that uses speech recognition technology and research supported strategies to target reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of Reading Assistant™ on the oral reading fluency and comprehension skills of second through third grade students considered at-risk for reading failure. A total of eight participants were involved in this study across a 6- to 8-week intervention period. In order to evaluate the impact of Reading Assistant™, a multiple baseline across participants design was used. Multiple sources of data were collected to determine the overall effectiveness of the Reading Assistant™ computer program. Data for reading fluency was collected using AIMSweb reading curriculum based measurement (CBM) probes while data for reading comprehension was collected using AIMSweb maze CBM probes. The effect of the Reading Assistant™ computer program was also evaluated by determining the rate of improvement (ROI) as well as by calculating the percentage of non-overlapping data points (PND). The results of this study suggest that Reading Assistant™ may have been somewhat effective for improving the oral reading fluency and reading comprehension skills, but only for some of the participants. The effect size data do not provide a convincing demonstration that Reading Assistant™ had a substantial impact on the majority of struggling readers involved in this study. Further research is needed to establish the effectiveness of Reading Assistant™ as an intervention for reading fluency.

The purpose of this study was to examine the second language development of a native-speaker of Spanish learning English over a period of 15 months. More specifically, I explored the interaction of complexity (advanced forms of grammar and vocabulary), accuracy (grammatical and semantic), and fluency, commonly referred to as the CAF constructs. While findings in CAF literature tend to focus on one construct using experimental or cross-sectional studies (Bulté & Housen, 2012; Kormos & Dénes, 2004; Vyatkina, 2012), this case study investigated non-linear and interconnected CAF development, periods of fluctuation, and the effects of motivational factors on 14 variables. In order to explore the data as a system developing simultaneously, Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) (Larsen-Freeman, 1997; 2006) was applied as the theoretical framework. Through CDST’s theoretical lens and the tools developed for it (Verspoor, de Bot & Lowie, 2011), I found that knowledge variables (lexical diversity, accuracy, and elaboration) maintained consistent correlations, whereas their relationship with fluency variables (speed, repairs, and pauses) changed based on the cognitive strain the learner was experiencing at the time. I also found that the learner shifted his focus between the knowledge variables and that the complexity and accuracy variable on which he chose to focus appeared to be affected by changing motivational factors. / Applied Linguistics