Reading approaches in Japan and other EFL settings have typically focused on accuracy at the expense of fluency. However, reading rate and fluency are important components of reading that are currently being neglected. A review of the literature reveals growing interest in investigating the effectiveness of reading rate and fluency enhancement approaches such as extensive reading (ER), speed reading, and oral fluency training. Results of previous research indicate the effectiveness of these approaches for increasing reading speed and fluency as well as comprehension, but the overall body of evidence in this area remains weak, particularly in EFL contexts.With these gaps in mind, the purposes of this study were to investigate the effectiveness of the ER approach in developing reading fluency, investigate appropriate ways to measure reading fluency in adult EFL readers, investigate whether reading fluency increases are accompanied by reading comprehension increases, and identify the patterns of reading rate development that occur during an ER course. To this end, a longitudinal quasi-experimental study was conducted with 77 first-year students at a nursing college in Japan, all of whom participated in one 15-week semester of ER with an added fluency training component (ERFT) and one 15-week semester of intensive reading (IR). Silent reading rate, oral reading rate and fluency, reading comprehension, and written receptive vocabulary size were measured at the beginning and end of both semesters. Silent reading rate, oral reading rate, oral reading fluency, and reading comprehension were measured using both simplified and authentic texts. Approximately half of the students took ERFT in the first semester and IR in the second semester, and the other half did the opposite, so analyses were conducted separately for these two groups. Repeated-measures ANOVAs showed that for the IR-before-ERFT group, oral reading rate increase was significantly greater for the ERFT treatment (9.79 wcpm) than the IR treatment (3.05 wcpm) (p < .001) for simplified texts; silent reading rate increase was significantly greater for the IR treatment (8.26 wpm) than the ERFT treatment (-2.86 wpm) (p < .001) for authentic texts; and oral reading rate increase was significantly greater for ERFT (15.18 wcpm) than IR (4.37 wcpm) (p < .001) for authentic texts. For the ERFT-before-IR group, silent reading rate increase was significantly greater for ERFT (19.22 wpm) than IR (-2.50 wpm) (p < .001) for simplified texts; oral reading rate increase was significantly greater for ERFT (12.55 wcpm) than IR (4.81 wcpm) (p < .001) for simplified texts; silent reading rate increase was significantly greater for ERFT (21.86 wpm) than IR (-7.64 wpm) (p < .001) for authentic texts; and oral reading rate increase was significantly greater for IR (13.06 wcpm) than ERFT (6.70 wcpm) (p < .001) for authentic texts. Repeated-measures ANOVAs also showed that for the IR-before-ERFT group, reading comprehension increase for authentic texts was significantly greater for IR (1.00 logits) than ERFT (.17 logits) (p = .010); and vocabulary size increase was significantly greater for IR (.36 logits) than ERFT (-.19 logits) (p = .001). For the ERFT-before-IR group, reading comprehension increase for authentic texts was significantly greater for ERFT (1.05 logits) than IR (.11 logits) (p = .003); and vocabulary size increase was significantly greater for ERFT (.44 logits) than IR (-.07 logits) (p = .001). No significant correlations were found between changes in any of the reading rate and fluency measures (silent reading rate, oral reading rate, and oral reading fluency) and reading comprehension change. For the ERFT-before-IR group, analysis revealed a significant and moderately high negative correlation (r = -.422) between initial silent reading rate and silent reading rate change (on simplified texts) during the ERFT treatment. Analysis of individual students’ silent reading rate change patterns during the ERFT semester revealed a jagged increase to be the most common (22/77; 28.57%) pattern of rate increase. These results add to a growing body of evidence that ERFT yields greater reading fluency gains than IR, suggest that both ERFT and IR contribute to reading comprehension and vocabulary size gains, suggest that ERFT yields greater reading fluency gains among students with initially slower reading rates, and provide insight into how individual’s reading rate changes over the course of a semester of ERFT. / Teaching & Learning

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The Latino population is the largest minority group in the United States, making up 16.3% of the total population. As the Latino population of the US grows, the Latino student population within schools across the nation is also growing, accounting for 10.5% of the student population. While the Latino student population continues to grow, there is evidence that this group is not achieving academically at the same rate as other groups. Latino statistics in Utah showed a similar situation within public schools. Fifty-one percent of Latino fourth graders were reading below the expected levels, compared to 22% for Caucasian students. Latino student dropout rates were higher than other groups at 28%, compared to 13% for African American students and 7% for Caucasian students. Students who fail to learn to read are more likely to fail in school. One reason why Latinos graduate at a lower rate is that Latino literacy rates in the U.S. and Utah are lower than other groups. An effective literacy program was needed to assist Latino elementary school students in literacy. Latinos in Action (LIA), a secondary school tutoring program, trained Latino secondary students as tutors for Latino elementary school students. Students' progress was tracked using the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) measure. LIA tutored ELL students' ORF progress was compared to the ORF scores of ELL students who did not receive LIA tutoring, ELL students in Spanish dual-immersion instruction who did not receive LIA tutoring, and native English speakers who did not receive LIA tutoring or dual-immersion instruction. Results showed that LIA tutoring was not statistically more or less effective that general instruction on dual-immersion instruction for improving ORF scores for ELL students. Larger sample sizes are needed to increase the validity of this study.

Research in dual task performance varies widely in its methodology and results. The present study employed three different types of activity to provide insights into the interference that occurs in dual task performance. Twenty young adults completed a speech task (repeating a sentence), a verbal fluency task (listing words beginning with the same letter), and right- and left-handed motor tasks (placing pegs and washers in a peg board) in isolation and in concurrent conditions. Speech kinematic data revealed that during concurrent performance of manual tasks, lip displacement and peak velocity decreased, while sound pressure level and spatiotemporal variability increased. The impact of manual motor performance on speech differed between the right and left hand. Manual motor scores significantly decreased when concurrently performed with the verbal fluency task. Also, verbal fluency results declined when performed concurrently with left-handed manual motor task. These findings suggest that cortical localization of control may be more complex than is predicted by the functional distance hypothesis.

This thesis study investigates gains in the speaking of China study abroad (SA) students from Brigham Young University. Pre-and post-program Simulated Oral Proficiency Interview (SOPI) tasks were used to generate multiple fluency measures, such as native judges' subjective fluency ratings, word count, number of unique words, number of filler words, mean pause length, tonal accuracy, etc. The study results display significant differences between pre- and post-tests for all fluency measures. In other words, China SA students were perceived to be more fluent in their speech by native judges after SA; their speech samples show more word (token and type) production, and shorter pauses in post-SOPI tasks than in pre-SOPI tasks. Participants used more filler words and had more unfilled pauses in post-measures than in pre-measures and they enhanced their tonal accuracy during the SA. Native judges' perception of task completion was also measured and the students were more capable of completing speech tasks in the post-program measures than in the pre-program measures. The OPI ratings indicate that some students made as much as two sub levels' improvement on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) scale.

The current study examines the effect of repeated reading aloud upon speaking fluency. Because there is little evidence in the literature that the practice of repeated reading aloud can have a positive effect upon speaking fluency, the primary goal of this study was to investigate this relationship further. For the purposes of the study, speaking fluency was defined as fluidity and smoothness of speech with little pausing and hesitation. It is measured by evaluating the following fluency features: speech rate, number of pauses, length of pauses, phonation/time ratio, and articulation rate. The repeated measures experimental design of the study involved current and former Brigham Young University students learning Russian as a foreign language. They were divided into two groups: control and experimental. The participants in the experimental group performed repeated reading aloud activities daily, while those in the control group read the same passages silently. All participants took weekly speaking tests consisting of simple speaking prompts. The final post-test included both reading aloud and speaking tests. The speech samples collected from the tests were evaluated using computer-based analysis as well as scores from three raters who are native speakers of the Russian language. The statistical analysis and comparison of these scores revealed mixed results. The rater scores did not exhibit any statistically significant difference between the groups, which could be attributed to overall low inter-rater reliability and short duration of the experiment. On the other hand, the computer-generated scores for mean length of pauses, phonation/time ratio, and speech rate of the experimental group were better than those of the control group. This difference proved to be statistically significant based on the results of one-way and repeated measures ANOVA analyses. Unfortunately because of the high attrition rate and short duration of the study, these results cannot be generalized. Therefore further research is necessary to confirm or reject these findings

A quasi-experimental study determined the effects on students' spelling accuracy when cross-age tutors focused on fixing spelling in writing with their tutees. Fourth-grade tutors, both trained and untrained, helped second-grade tutees fix spelling mistakes in their writing using two strategies: visual memory and word parts. A control group of second and fourth graders were instructed to independently use these two strategies to fix mistakes in their writing. Second graders overall had significant gain scores on measures of spelling accuracy and writing fluency. Regression analyses showed that these gains were not due to a student's participation in either cross-age tutoring or the control group. No significant gain scores were found for fourth graders. These results seem to indicate that cross-age tutors may not be academically beneficial for either tutors or tutees. However, descriptive statistical analyses and informal observations made during cross-age tutoring sessions imply that cross-age tutors can be a valuable educational tool.

With over 765,000 English-as-a-second-language (ESL) students studying in the United States, a greater understanding of the academic requirements and demands these students face while studying in the US is needed. Some of the biggest challenges they face include the amount of reading required and the various tasks employed with academic reading. University reading tasks require more than an understanding of the text. These tasks place a strong emphasis on text comprehension, summary, synthesis, and critical analysis. This is problematic as students, especially ESL learners, lack experience with academic tasks, and many additionally struggle with low metacognitive awareness, limited or low reading fluency, limited vocabulary, and difficulty understanding text organization. This article will present a research-informed website, A Teacher's Guide to Academic Reading, designed for teachers preparing ESL learners for the demands and difficulties of university reading. A Teacher's Guide to Academic Reading specifically informs teachers of academic reading demands and provides resources to help their learners develop fluent reading skills, critical reading skills, and general academic skills.

Research has explored the impact of various planning types (i.e. different ways to help students prepare for a language task by, for instance, giving them time and/or specific instructions) on the fluency, complexity, and accuracy of second language learners (e.g., Ellis, 2009). However, results have been mixed and studies have never investigated the impact of pre-speaking activities such as those proposed by Thompson (2009), a teacher-led planning focusing on both form and content with students. Previous research suggests that this type of planning could benefit students: Foster & Skehan (1999) believe that teacher-led planning is effective in comparison to other planning types, and Sangarun (2005) demonstrated the benefits of planning involving both content and form instead of planning focusing on content or form only. Moreover, because anxiety negatively impacts the production of second language learners (Horwitz, Horwitz & Cope, 1986), this study also examines whether planning activities can reduce student anxiety during speaking tasks. To this end, the present study examines the impact of three different planning conditions, namely no planning, solitary planning and Thompson's teacher-led planning, or Prelude to Conversation, on the fluency (measured through total duration of the speech sample, words per minute, and pauses per minute), complexity (measured through the words per utterance), accuracy (measured through the percentage of errors), and anxiety level (measured through anxiety scales) of 37 students performing short speaking tasks. Subjects were all enrolled in first semester French classes and were divided into three groups that rotated through the three planning conditions, each group starting with a different planning type in the cycle. Each week, the speaking task was common across all subjects, but depending on the group, the treatment was different. Their performance level during the speaking task and their anxiety level were compared for each treatment. Results show that planning has an impact on the fluency, complexity, and accuracy of the students but not on their anxiety level. Findings also show that pre-speaking has a more positive influence on the quality and the quantity of production of the students than solitary planning and no planning. Task and pre-task anxiety influenced the anxiety level of the students, demonstrating the role that specific tasks can have on student performance no matter how teachers try to prepare them for the tasks. Results also suggest that more personal-oriented tasks, e.g., student schedules, will elicit better responses than more outward-oriented tasks, e.g., school systems, cultural differences. This study also supports previous research that has shown the importance of creating a classroom where the anxiety is low.

One goal of this study was to evaluate the emergence of mands and intraverbals following tact acquisition for individuals with aphasia due to acquired brain injury. A second goal was to evaluate the transfer of shortened latencies as a function of tact training across untrained operants. In Study 1, the dependent measure was accuracy of responding and in Study 2, the dependent measures were rate and latency of responding. Participants for Study 1 were two uninjured adults (pilot) and two adults with brain injury (ABI). Both sets of participants were directly taught to tact up to 6 stimuli. Once tacts were acquired, the response forms were assessed under mand and intraverbal conditions. All pilot participants and one ABI participant showed mand transfer for all stimuli. Tact to intraverbal transfer varied across participants. One adult with brain injury served as a participant for Study 2. Fluency training was used to teach tacts for 15 stimuli. Response latencies were gathered for all operants before and after training. The participant met the designated aim (rate of responding) and showed a decrease in latencies for tacts and untrained intraverbals. Changes in mand latencies varied. Fluency gains showed partial retention. Results from Study 1 provide further evidence for interdependence across operants during rehabilitative training. Results from Study 2 provide preliminary support for the utility of fluency training for verbal behavior after brain injury. Future research should explore the components of fluency training and their effects on the verbal behavior of individuals with ABI.