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CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter aims to present the literature related to the current study. The theoretical and literature background of oral reading fluency, repeated reading, and peer-mediated repeated reading is introduced respectively in the first three sections.
The fourth section focuses on repeated reading research in L2 settings. At last, studies on repeated reading in Taiwan are discussed.
Oral Reading Fluency
Oral reading fluency is an essential part of reading competence. Archer et al.
(2003) provide a clear measurable definition of oral reading fluency: accuracy of word recognition and reading speed. In fact, early in 1974, LaBerge& Samuels pointed out that reading fluency is highly correlated with reading proficiency because the more quickly and accurately the reader decode words, the more energy can be conserved for comprehension. Furthermore, they maintained that ‘automaticity’ is the key to build up reading ability. The automaticity theory is supported by many
researchers. Meyer and Felton (1999) also suggested that fluency is “the ability to read connected text rapidly, smoothly, effortlessly, and automatically with little conscious attention to the mechanics of reading such as decoding (p. 284).” In order to achieve the state of “automaticity,” readers need a lot of deliberate practice. For instance, there are many examples of automatic activities performed in daily lives that require little consciousness, such as driving cars, swimming, or skiing. However, to make those activities an intuitive response requires considerable hours of cumulative
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practice.
While teachers usually employ the prevalent silent reading method in the classroom to build up reading fluency to achieve the state of automaticity, the U. S.
National Reading Panel (2001) found that reading fluency has more to do with the guided, practiced oral reading, rather with the extensive reading (ER) or sustained silent reading (SSR). Repeated reading is a promising guided oral reading method for learners. Moyer (1982) suggested that this practice is able to “facilitate general reading fluency for some unskilled readers, for normal readers given difficult texts, and in regular classroom instruction (p. 620).”
Repeated Reading
Repeated reading (RR) was first introduced by Samuels (1979) and Dahl (1974). Its concept is that the learners repeatedly read out a paragraph of an
appropriate difficulty level until they achieve a required oral reading speed, that is, correct words read per minute. After the speed has been achieved, the readers can move on to another cycle of practice with more challenging materials.
Nowadays, a lot of research shows that the outcome of the assisted RR is more effective than non-assisted RR. Since Chomsky (1976) used the tape as a model for the learners to listen to and repeatedly read out the passage on it, different models of assisted RR have been created. The four main types are tape assisted reading (i.e., listening-while-reading assisted RR), choral reading, student-adult reading, and student-student reading, which is also called peer-mediated RR.
When the learners practice the tape assisted RR, they first listen to the audio source of an article three times, and then they read the text out loud by themselves.
After this, they go back to listen to the taped reading again, and they can replay the part they cannot read well several times and repeated with the recording until they
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can read the part fluently.
Another type of RR which also gives practice in oral reading is choral reading, sometimes called “unison reading.” As part of the classroom activity, teachers can also read to help set the pace and model the proper pronunciation.
Still another type of RR is student-adult reading. The student reads one-on-one with an adult or a more fluent, older reader. For instance, a seventh grader can be paired with a fluent ninth grader. The student can benefit from not only having a fluent model but also getting assistance and encouragement from the older reader.
Furthermore, the more fluent reader can help with error correction. Apparently, it is preferable to have an error correction activity, so that the learner can avoid making the same errors repeatedly without awareness. Therrien (2004) noted that employing error correction in the reading fluency practice brings out better reading
comprehension. There are two types of assisted RR that can offer error correction and feedback to the readers. One is student-teacher reading, and the other is student-student (peer-mediated) repeated reading.
However, in the common language classroom, there is only one teacher giving instructions, so learners usually have little time to get feedback from the teacher. To increase the opportunity of getting feedback and error correction, the latter model, peer-mediated RR would be more practical and feasible in the English classroom.
Peer-Mediated Repeated Reading
Peer-mediated strategies have been used by many researchers to deliver RR instruction (e.g., Fuchs et al., 2001; Fuchs & Fuchs, 2005; Green, Alderman,
&Liechty, 2004; Oddo et al., 2010; Staubitz, Cartledge, Yurick, & Lo, 2005;Yurick et al., 2006). The participants, six urban fifth-grade students, in the study of Staubitz et al.(2005) all read more fluently and with superior comprehension during the
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peer-mediated RR phase of the study than they had during the sustained silent reading condition. Furthermore, Yurick et al.(2006) conducted three experiments to evaluate the effects of peer-mediated RR on the oral reading fluency and comprehension of learners. The results showed that the students who received peer-mediated RR
instruction demonstrated a mean increase of 68 wpm over those students who adopted sustained silent reading.
The positive results, increased reading rate, accuracy and better comprehension, brought by peer-mediated RR is due to the immediate feedback and error corrections, the practice with a more competent reader, and, most importantly, partnership. During the oral reading practice, the proficient readers serve as good models. Rasiniski (2003) maintains that the more fluent reader is able to provide support and adjust the pace and volume to provide maximum assistance (p. 29).Moreover, the benefits gained are reciprocal because the more competent reader also get the confidence from helping his partner and become more motivated to read more.
In the study of Yurick et al. (2006), the partner took turns pointing out the following types of miscues: the omission, insertion, or substitution of words, the reader’s self-corrections, and the incorrect or incomplete pronunciation of words.
Moreover, in this study, when the researchers use peer dyads to provide feedback and error correction, a three step correction procedure is taught to the learners before the implementation of peer-mediated RR. The three steps are: “Stop and sound it out,”
“Say the group of words.”, and “Say the group of three words fast.” or “Say the group of words backward and forward.” The exact phrasing and fixed procedure provide a clear framework for peer-mediated error correction.
While abundant research has been conducted to demonstrate the positive effects of RR in English L1 settings, an increasing number of studies on repeated reading implemented in ESL/ EFL settings also shows that RR could be a promising method
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for building up L2 learners’ reading fluency and comprehension.
L2 Research on Repeated Reading
Though the studies of RR in L2 is relative few comparing with the number of research conducted in L1, RR is getting more attention and being used as a English classroom activity.
Since 1997, Taguchi, Gorsuch, and their research colleagues have started to conducted a serious of experiential research to see if the Automaticity Theory also worked in the L2 settings because the relation between the improved reading fluency and reading comprehension was still not clear. After a series of studies, from
ten-week RR program (Taguchi & Gorsuch, 2002) to an extended 17-week RR treatment period with Japanese colleague students (Taguchi, Takayasu-Massa, Gorsuch, 2004) and with different group L2 learners－low-intermediate Vietnamese English learners (Gorsuch& Taguchi, 2008), the leading researcher found RR practice does increase L2 learners’ reading speed and comprehension.
Among all of the L2 studies on repeated reading, there are only few studies conducted as qualitative studies. In the most recent case study, published in 2012, Taguchi et al. used diary entries to understand the effect of tape assisted RR on the oral reading fluency and comprehension of an advanced-level Japanese EFL reader.
In this study, the researchers pointed out that the studies exploring what is actually happening while participants engage in RR are scarce in L2 settings, while most of the research has used quantitative approaches. In this in-depth case study, it was found that the decision on the number of repetitions should be based on reader’s present level of fluency, instead of the suggested optimal number of times－that is, four repetitions, as suggested by O’Shea et al. (1985). Moreover, the study also found that the slow mean reading rate for this advanced-level reader’s first reading
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was associated with a rate for reading to learn (i.e., about 200 CWPM or less), even when the goal of the reading was not for learning, and the reader was not asked to take a follow-up test. This phenomenon could be confirmed by her refection in several diary entries. The researchers suggested that the L2 readers usually read at a slower rate, comparing with L1 readers, because L2 advanced readers tend to
constantly engaged in questioning semantically and syntactically ambiguous parts of the text in order to obtain a high-level of comprehension.
Studies on Repeated Reading in Taiwan
Repeated reading first appeared in the practice of Readers’ Theater in Taiwan, and it was also applied in elementary school Chinese classroom (Hung, 2008; Peng, 2003; Wang, 2009). It was used as a method to help Taiwanese children’s Chinese character recognition. Besides, RR was also implemented to teach students with special needs Chinese in elementary schools.
It is not until 2009 that some researchers (Chen, 2009; Hung, 2009)
implemented a set of repeated-reading-based pedagogical and learning procedures to teach English in the school settings in Taiwan. The participants are elementary school students and college students respectively. Both of the studies focus on oral reading fluency and comprehension. Gradually, the research on repeated reading in elementary school English classroom has been increasing. For instance, Lin (2011) compared the effects of repeated reading and non-repeated reading on 59 fourth grader' oral reading rate and accuracy rate. Besides, Jan (2011) also compared the effects of extensive reading and repeated reading on EFL sixth graders’ reading speed. Though findings of the studies show that the reading rate of the RR implemented classes did not outperform the classes which received non-repeated reading and extensive reading instructions respectively, Lin (2011) and Jan (2011)
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still suggested that RR can be employed in English teaching because it still promoted students’ reading speed and accuracy. This conclusion is similar to the suggestion of other research conducted in Taiwan, studying the impact of RR on different aspects, such as the effect on the oral reading fluency, reading
comprehension, prosody, English word recognition, and reading speed (Fang, 2012;
Hung, 2012; Liao, 2011; Tsai, 2012).
Based on the literature reviews, reading competence is strongly correlated with oral reading fluency. Furthermore, RR can be an effective method to enhance learners’ reading fluency. However, as the researcher’s best knowledge, this present study is very likely the first study which adopts RR in the junior high school
classroom in Taiwan. This case study provides in-depth insights into what exactly is happening to learners when they are engaged in peer-mediated RR. The affordances and challenges of this method will then be summarized based on the findings.
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CHAPTER 3 METHODS
The study employs the qualitative case study methods to obtain an inside look at the learning process and changes brought by peer-mediated RR through a close observation of three dyads. This chapter first introduces the context and participants, and then the peer-mediated RR program. The third section describes the classroom activities. After that, the research activities of data collection and data analysis are presented in the last two sections.
Context and Participants
This study was conducted in a junior high school located in northern Taiwan.
The school adopted heterogeneous grouping policy; therefore, the students’ English scores for all classes were presented as a bell curve, a normal distribution. The participants were eighth graders in an intact class, consisting of 15 males and 13 females, 28 in total. Their English performance also showed a normal distribution, and the majority was average-achievers. The researcher of the study had been their English teacher for a year in September, 2012. After teaching them for a year, the researcher noticed that as the reading material in the textbook gradually became lengthy, some students started to struggle in comprehending while reading these passages word by word laboriously. To facilitate the learners to have a better reading fluency, the peer-mediated RR program was introduced to the English class in the new school year, starting from September, 2013. The eighth graders had five English classes per week, lasting 45 minutes each period.
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The Peer-mediated RR Program
The program of peer-mediated RR was conducted twice each week, lasting for 12 weeks and containing 24 sessions in total (see Appendix A). It started from the beginning of the school year, September 24th, 2013. Before the session of
peer-mediated RR began, the researcher provided a reviewing session based on what the participants had learned in the seventh grade, including letter-sound
correspondence, stress, intonation, and chunking. Reviewing these features would help learners read the written text orally with more confidence, while the timed reading was also practiced at the same time. The number of words read orally within a minute was measured, and this type of assessment was also used in the pre-test after the one-week reviewing session.
Materials
In this study, two kinds of reading materials were used. One was the “Reading”
section of the school mandated textbook (Book Three, Kang Hsuan Edition, 2012).
The other was the reading passages from a popular English teaching magazine, Let’s Talk in English. The September, October, November, and December issues of the
magazine in 2013 were used as an assigned extra learning material for all the students at the school. Learners were able to assimilate more useful daily words and expressions from the magazine, including topics like using GPS, traveling, or shopping.
Pre-test, Two Mid-Program Check Points, and Post-test
Oral reading fluency was measured by the amount of correct words read per minute (CWPM). This was conducted for all 28 participants who were evaluated pre-test, week 4 test, week 8 test, and post-test. The measurement used to represent fluency showed how they performed before, during and after the RR program.
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Testing materials. In the test, the participants read out loud a short paragraph adapted from a passage of the GEPT (The General English Proficiency Test) oral test item. The passage has a meaningful context of reading about 100 words (see Appendix B). The reading level of the texts used is all at Grade 6, measured with the Fry Graph Readability Formula and its associated Graph, a readability metric for English texts, and it is often used to provide a common standard by which the readability of articles can be measured.
Table 3.1 Difficulty level of testing materials based on Fry Readability Formula Assessment of
oral reading fluency
Reading
passage Difficulty level of the text Word number
Pre-test Text 1 6th-grade level 102
Week 4 test Text 2 6th-grade level 107
Week 8 test Text 3 6th-grade level 105
Post-test Text 4 6th-grade level 103
Scoring system. Oral reading fluency was measured with the form, correct words read per minute (CWPM). Reading errors were recorded through a well-established marking code developed by the Language in the National Curriculum (LINC) team (see Appendix D). The types of miscued words include mispronunciation, repetition, deviation, substitution, etc. Five comprehension questions followed the procedure designed to assess the comprehension level of the readers (see Appendix C). This evaluation aims to prevent the readers from
attempting to speed up their oral reading rate without fully understanding the text.
During the test, they read the text three times, and the reading speed was recorded after each round, in order to compare the differences after repeated reading (see
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Table 3.2 below). This assessment method was adapted from the study of Taguchi et al. (2012).
Student Paring
Student pairing was based on their performance on the oral reading speed (i.e., correct words read per minute) on the pre-test, with slight adjustments made for the learners’ personalities. First of all, the participants were divided into two groups based on the test results, i.e., the 14 learners who got better CWPM scores among all the students were placed in the same group, while the other 14 students were in a different group. Students in both groups were then ranked; the learner who got the highest score was S1, and the one who got the second highest score was S2, and so on. As for the other group, the learner who got the best grade in the group was N1 (whose score was ranked number 15 in the whole class), and the one who got the second highest score was N2, the rest following suit. S1 was paired with N1, and S2 formed a dyad with N2, and so forth (see Table 3.3). This pairing method made each student of the weaker half practice with a more competent reader. Of primary interest to the researcher were how the more fluent readers assisted their partners with the oral reading and how the dyad members with proficiency gaps worked together during the peer-mediated RR program.
Table 3.2 Comprehension and CWPM scores for five timed oral readings pretest, week 4 test, week 8 test, and posttest
correct words read per minute (CWPM) five comprehension questions
1st reading 2nd reading 3rd reading (the number of correct answers )
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Table 3.3 Student pairing Group
number The stronger half The weaker half
1 S1 N1
2 S2 N2
3 S3 N3
4 S4 N4
… … …
14 S14 N14
After all the participants were assigned a partner, they simulated the peer-mediated RR with their partner and were taught what to do during the 24 sessions. They also learned the whole procedure, including how to record their reading speed and miscued words. When practicing repeated reading, students used the coding symbols (see Appendix D) and counted correct word read per minute.
The members of a dyad remained the same throughout the following 12-week peer-mediated RR program.
Selection of Three Focus Dyads
The 28 participants in the class were divided into 14 dyads. Three of these dyads were selected as focus groups. The three targeted dyads, Holly and Lola, Hannah and Lily, and Hank and Lucy (all pseudonyms) were chosen for two reasons:
the 6 members represented three distinct English proficiency levels (i.e., high, middle, and low levels), and they were willing and able to explain their learning
the 6 members represented three distinct English proficiency levels (i.e., high, middle, and low levels), and they were willing and able to explain their learning