DOCSLIB.ORG

Adult ESL Oral Reading Fluency and Silent Reading Comprehension Kristin Lems National Louis University

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Adult ESL Oral Reading Fluency and Silent Reading Comprehension Kristin Lems National Louis University National Louis University Digital Commons@NLU Dissertations 12-2003 Adult ESL Oral Reading Fluency and Silent Reading Comprehension Kristin Lems National Louis University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss Part of the Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Higher Education and Teaching Commons, and the Other Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons Recommended Citation Lems, Kristin, "Adult ESL Oral Reading Fluency and Silent Reading Comprehension" (2003). Dissertations. 132. https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/132 This Dissertation - Public Access is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons@NLU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@NLU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ADULT ESL ORAL READING FLUENCY AND SILENT READING COMPREHENSION Kristin Lems Reading and Language Doctoral Program Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of Doctor of Education in the Foster G. McGaw Graduate School National-Louis University August, 2003 Note: transfer of the files resulted in some repagination which could not be fully corrected in the table of contents ADULT ESL ORAL READING FLUENCY AND SILENT READING COMPREHENSION © 2004 Kristin Lems Abstract A descriptive study of second language adults studying ESL at the beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels in a post-secondary academic program revealed that their oral reading fluency had a significant, low-to-moderate correlation with scores on a measure of silent reading comprehension. The correlation was slightly stronger for measures of accuracy than speed, and strongest for miscue ratio. The correlation increased as proficiency level increased. Among different first language groups, the correlation was highest for Hispanic learners, and lowest for Chinese. Furthermore, all fluency measures correlated better with a listening measure than with the silent reading comprehension measure. When a system of using words correct per minute was contrasted with a fluency rubric using descriptive measures of expressive reading, the correlation with silent reading was found to be almost the same, but the system of words correct per minute had higher reliability. A miscue analysis of seven intermediate learners' oral reading indicated that speed does not necessarily increase as silent reading proficiency increases, but accuracy does; Chinese students do not fit the profile of the other language groups, and the value of miscue analysis with this population is limited because of foreign accent. When regression analyses were run using the reading comprehension measure as the dependent variable, all the models identified the listening comprehension measure as a significant factor, and the fluency variables added little explanatory power, so long as a listening comprehension variable was available. It was also found that the fluency tools mirrored overall progress in proficiency level, and listening comprehension predicted silent reading comprehension better than any fluency measure or combination of measures, with little increase in predictive power by adding fluency measures. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In this twisting and mysterious journey of the mind, I have gotten respite, nourishment, and energy from many sources. At my own university, National-Louis University, I must begin by thanking the members of my committee: Dr. Jan Perney, who never failed to kindly cajole me along to the next level of analysis, and gave me enormous assistance in my understanding of quantitative research; Dr. Peter Fisher, who provided me early on with a set of articles that really launched my exploration; and most of all, my dissertation chair Dr. Camille Blachowicz, who deployed her brilliant intellectual and organizational talents to get me going and keep me on track. Camille always knew when to say, "Interesting, but that's not what you need to do right now!" or "Tighten that up!" Thank you for that, and everything else, Camille. Other faculty at National-Louis were extremely helpful, including Dr. Ken Kantor, who helped me enlarge and then refine my topic; Dr. Ruth Ravid, who helped me use my data to its best effect; and especially Dr. Rebecca Barr, whose brilliant guidance in two doctoral classes showed me the paths to the curriculum-based fluency snapshot, and classroom-based research. Her untimely death in the summer of 2003 was a terrible blow to all of us who loved her and learned from her, and I dedicate this dissertation to her. I also want to honor my classmates in the reading doctoral program: Linda Kateeb, Judy Fiene, Charlene Cobb, and Griselle Gemmati, who were always there (mainly by the medium of email) to keep me laughing and feeling I was not alone. A special thank you goes to Cheryl Wolfel, without whose assistance a portion of the research could not have been done. In my academic department, Po Fan Ng, Administrative Director of the Language Institute at National-Louis University, deserves special thanks for helping with data and statistics on the ESOL program, as well as my colleagues in the Department of Applied Language, and in particular, my department chair, Gale Stam, whose support for and interest in my research were much appreciated for the past several years, in addition to the faculty who gathered the ORF samples, and colleague Cynthia Comstock, who helped me obtain supplementary data on Level 3 students. I extend thanks and gratitude to Leah D. Miller, who wholeheartedly embarked on this research journey with me in its early stages, out of her sheer love of learning. Leah was always there to discuss things with, and our joint presentation on parts of this research at the 2002 American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL) and Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Conference helped convince me it was a worthy dissertation topic. I am fortunate that Leah could continue the journey with me as the committee's Dean's Representative, and look forward to our future collaboration. I am thankful to the many esteemed experts with whom I was able to have e-mail conversations on this topic, including (in alphabetical order) Neil Anderson, Jared Bernstein, David Chard, Stanley Deno, Chad Hamilton, Don Leu, Tim Rasinski, J. Samuels, Mark Shinn and Etsuo Taguchi. All of them offered opinions, encouragement, and helpful leads in tracking down research. Thank you for lighting the way! I also enjoyed correspondence with recent doctoral student Mary Kay Moskal, whose related work on identification of "speed readers" was enlightening, and Cara Cahalan-Laitusis, who has done important work on difficulty level of oral reading passages. On the home front, deep gratitude goes to my beloved children, Karima and Kennan, who endured many long evenings and weekends with their mom buried alive in the disorderly computer room instead of being with them, and the ceaseless accumulation of papers, cassette tapes, books, and totes around the house, which never seemed to get all cleaned up. Over time, they helped out in small ways, and then, began to ask provocative questions. Kennan, 11, after hearing hundreds of taped samples, asked, "Mommy, is it better when they read fast with lots of mistakes, or slow without any?" These kinds of wonderful insights refreshed me. My greatest thanks go to my mother - scholar, writer, musician, and friend Carol Lems-Dworkin. No task, no matter how improbably complex, how hastily demanded, how incoherently expressed, ever fazed her. She helped with the kids' meals, homework detail, orthodontist and doctors' appointments, shuttle service, and much more during the years of my coursework, comprehensive exam and dissertation. She also served as a sounding board as I picked my way through concepts and methods, and responded without sentimentality or bias to help me grow. In the halls of the heroes, she deserves the largest statue. Finally, the librarians and clerks at the National-Louis University libraries deserve special thanks for their professionalism and courtesy, and the many mini-training sessions they conducted to help me get at my data. I'm looking forward to contributing a bound volume with these very words to their collection of doctoral dissertations...... TABLE OF CONTENTS Copyright notice......................................................................................................................ii Abstract...................................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgements.................................................................................................................iv Table of Contents...................................................................................................................vii List of Tables.........................................................................................................................xiv List of Figures........................................................................................................................xvi Chapter One, Introduction.........................................................................................................1 Purpose and Rationale...................................................................................................1 Research Questions.......................................................................................................6
Load more

Recommended publications
  • FAR Interpretive Report Sample
    Interpretive Report by Steven G. Feifer, DEd, Rebecca Gerhardstein Nader, PhD, and PAR Staff Client Information Client name: Sample Client Client ID : LD Test date : 05/12/2017 Date of birth : 11/10/2009 Age : 7:6 Grade/Education: 2nd Gender : Female Examiner : Dr Williams This report is intended for use by qualified professionals only and is not to be shared with the student or any other unqualified persons. Sample Client Page 1 Interpretive Report 05/12/2017 Overview of This Report The Feifer Assessment of Reading (FAR) is an individually administered measure of reading ability normed for students in prekindergarten through college. The FAR contains individual tests of reading skills which are combined to form a Phonological Index (PI), a Fluency Index (FI), and a Comprehension Index (CI). The subtests which compose the PI assess phonological processing and decoding skills of words in isolation as well as in context. The FI is comprised of subtests that assess visual perception and orthographic processing of letters and words, as well as fluidity in pronouncing phonologically-irregular words. The CI contains subtests designed to assess the underlying factors involved in deriving meaning from print. The Mixed Index (MI), calculated by combining the PI and the FI, assesses for deficits in both phonological processing and orthographic processing skills. The FAR Total Index (TI), calculated by combining the PI, FI, and CI subtests, provides the most comprehensive and reliable assessment of overall reading proficiency. Each index score is expressed as a grade-corrected standard score scaled to a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15.
    [Show full text]
  • Subvocalization – Toward Hearing the Inner Thoughts of Developers
    2011 19th IEEE International Conference on Program Comprehension Subvocalization – Toward Hearing the Inner Thoughts of Developers Chris Parnin College of Computing Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, Georgia USA [email protected] Abstract—Some of the most fascinating feats of cognition any significant effects hoping to be found when evaluating are never witnessed or heard by others, yet they occur daily a new tool. With instrumentation data, experimenters have in the minds of software developers practicing their craft. recorded actions, but little context and must substitute cog- Researchers have desperately tried to glimpse inside, but with limited tools, the view into a developer’s internal mental pro- nitive measures such as cognitive effort or memory retention cesses has been dim. One available tool, so far overlooked but with metrics such as ratio of document navigations to edits widely used, has demonstrated the ability to measure the phys- or frequency of revisiting a method. Talk-aloud protocols, iological correlates of cognition. When people perform complex like surveys, rely on self-reporting and require considerable tasks, sub-vocal utterances (electrical signals sent to the tongue, manual transcription and analysis that garner valuable but lips, or vocal cords) can be detected. This phenomenon has long intrigued researchers, some likening sub-vocal signals to indefinite and inconsistent insight. the conduits of our thoughts. Recently, researchers have even Within the past few decades, modern research disci- been able to decode these signals into words. In this paper, plines, such as psychology and cognitive neuroscience, have we explore the feasibility of using this approach and report collectively embraced methods that measure physiological our early results and experiences in recording electromyogram correlates of cognition as a standard practice.
    [Show full text]
  • The Readability of Reading Passages in Prescribed English Textbooks and Thai National English Tests
    THE READABILITY OF READING PASSAGES IN PRESCRIBED ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS AND THAI NATIONAL ENGLISH TESTS BY MISS THANAPORN SRISUNAKRUA A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING LANGUAGE INSTITUTE THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY ACADEMIC YEAR 2018 COPYRIGHT OF THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY Ref. code: 25615621320109NCD THE READABILITY OF READING PASSAGES IN PRESCRIBED ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS AND THAI NATIONAL ENGLISH TESTS BY MISS THANAPORN SRISUNAKRUA A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING LANGUAGE INSTITUTE THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY ACADEMIC YEAR 2018 COPYRIGHT OF THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY Ref. code: 25615621320109NCD (1) Thesis Title THE READABILITY OF READING PASSAGES IN PRESCRIBED ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS AND THAI NATIONAL ENGLISH TESTS Author Ms. Thanaporn Srisunakrua Degree Doctor of Philosophy Major Field/Faculty/University English Language Teaching Language institute Thammasat University Thesis Advisor Associate Professor Tipamas Chumworatayee, Ph. D. Academic Year 2018 ABSTRACT Readability has long been regarded as a significant aspect in English language teaching as it provides the overall picture of a text’s difficulty level, especially in the context of teaching and testing. Readability is a practical consideration when making decisions on materials to match a text with target readers’ proficiency. A suitable difficulty level will ensure that students receive the most benefit from the materials. However, few studies have compared the readability levels of teaching and testing materials in terms of the difficulty of passages. The present study, therefore, aims to explore the readability of reading passages in English textbooks and Thai national English tests based on three aspects: readability level, linguistic characteristics, and topic areas.
    [Show full text]
  • 5. RHF Assumptions 041713A.Pptx
    Scholarship Policy Initiatives: The Case of the Common Core State Standards Elfrieda H. Hiebert TextProject & University of California, Santa Cruz Acknowledgments: ¡ Hiebert, E.H., & Van Sluys, K. (in press). Standard 10 of the Common Core State Standards: Examining three assumptions about text complexity. In K. Goodman, R.C. Calfee, & Y. Goodman (Eds.), Whose Knowledge Counts in Government Literacy Policies? New York, NY: Routledge. 2 Elfrieda H. Hiebert www.textproject.org Fundamental Premises ¡ An emphasis on increasing students’ capacity with increasingly more complex text across their school careers is one of the goals of reading instruction. Attention to this goal is long overdue. The students who most depend on schools for academic learning can and should be reading much more complex texts. ¡ AND….Whenever a new set of mandates is enacted quickly, especially when the scholarship for an area is scant (and the developers of the mandates do not have grounding in the existing scholarship), potential for misinterpretation can be great. 3 Elfrieda H. Hiebert www.textproject.org Three Assumptions on Text Complexity 1. Readability formulas provide sufficiently valid information to guide selections for instruction and assessment. 2. Text levels need to be accelerated at all levels to ensure college/career readiness. 3. Students at all levels can be rapidly stretched to read harder texts. 4 Elfrieda H. Hiebert www.textproject.org Assumption 1: Readability formulas provide sufficiently valid assessments of text complexity that they can be used as a guide for selections in instruction and assessment. ¡ “quantitative measures should identify the college- and career-ready reading level as one endpoint of the scale.
    [Show full text]
  • About This Program
    1 ABOUT THIS PROGRAM A child listens to a direction, a lecture, a conversation, or a story, yet does not completely understand what is heard. Bits and pieces are recalled-maybe the first thing that was said, maybe the last. At times, the information is remembered, but misconstrued.Inc. The speech sig~ nal may not have been heard clearly. Perhaps the temporal concepts are confusing to the child. The child's reading, spelling, and writing skills may be weak. After a while, the child may "tune out" when people are talking. These are the hallmark behaviors of a child with an auditory processing disorder. While the evaluation process affords the clinician the opportunityPRO-ED, to quantify the child's present level of performance on a variety of standardized tasks, it also should provide the cli~ nician a window into how the child is approaching auditoryby tasks. After studying available re~ search and years of carefully comparing the testing behaviors of children with above average L auditory skills with those of children scoring poorly on auditory tests, I have compiled a list of behavioral differences in the way these two groups of children approach challenging auditory l testing tasks (see Table 1). Examples of challengingmaterial listening tasks include following complex oral directions and listening to orally presented passages and then answering comprehension L questions. As noted in Table 1, children with good auditory processing skills seem to naturally use strategies such as controlling their body, paraphrasing, subvocalizing, visualizing, and request~ l ing clarification during demanding auditory tasks, whereas children with poor auditory processing skills often docopyrighted not.
    [Show full text]
  • The Effectiveness of Using Inner Speech and Communicative Speech in Reading Literacy Development: a Synthesis of Research
    International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, Vol. 5, No. 8, August 2015 The Effectiveness of Using Inner Speech and Communicative Speech in Reading Literacy Development: A Synthesis of Research Yuan-Hsuan Lee rehearsal, and gave examples that suggest inner speech can Abstract—This paper provides a theoretical understanding of improve reading ability. inner speech and communicative speech and their impact on the process of reading literacy. The aim of this paper is to probe into questions, such as what the characteristics of inner speech II. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK are, what the relationship between inner speech and subvocalization is, what inner speech can do to help reading, and what technology can do to help practice of inner speech and A. Huey’s Inner Speech literacy development. Review of literature has suggested that (1) Huey held that inner speech is part of the ordinary reading inner speech are abbreviated form of easily stored meaning [5]. Huey conducted experiments in which unrelated words units; (2) inner speech as a form of subvocal rehearsal can were exposed four seconds each and the readers are required retrieve information in the working memory and help solve to state what they saw [5]. He found that "the inner reading problems; (3) inner speech is a mechanism that put chunks of text into compact meaning units and that elicits pronunciation of these words and of the suggested phrases meanings when reading cognition becomes problematic; (4) constituted much of the most prominent part of the reader's technology can help literacy development but more emphasis consciousness of them." (p.
    [Show full text]
  • Reading: a Study Guide
    t DOCUMENT RESUME ED 075 811 CS 000 534 AUTHOR Laughter, Mabel Y. TITLE Introduction to Reading: A Study Guide. PUB DATE 72 NOTE 349p.; Unpublished study t EDRS PRICE MF-$0.65 HC-$13.16 DESCRIPTORS *Annotated Bibliographies; College Students; Content t Reading; Developmental Reading; Grouping (Instructional Purposes); *Literature Reviews; *Reading; Reading Development; *Reading Itruction; Reading Materials; Reading Processes; Rea( tig Research; Reading Skills; *Reference Materials; Remedial Reading; Teacher Education ABSTRACT Intended as an aid to college students in reading, this reference guide is composed of eight major topics for the study of reading instruction: overview of the reading process, prerequisites for success in reading, development of reading power and efficiency, reading in the content fields, grouping for instruction, teaching methodology and materials, appraisal of reading development, and readers with special needs. An additional category is provided for those research summaries and bibliographies which apply to reading instruction in general. Each major topic is subdivided into its component elements with further division when necessary for, understanding. TI" reference entries for each subtopic are catalogued according to the type of literature available--reviews and summaries of research and bibliographies, research studies, and theoretical discussions. A bibliographic author index is also included in the documeAt. (Author /TO) U 5 OEPARTMENT OF HEALTH EOU:ATION WELF ARE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EOUCATION DOCQh.+E%- AS BEEN REPRO D.JCE0 EXAC'LY A$ ECE ivED .ROM ,HE PEPSON OPGAN,ZA.ON OR.GtN T pC,,T,T$OF OPiN ON5 40-NECESSAR,LY REPRE STATED DO OF SENT OF F,C,AL NATIONAL EOJCATiON POST.O% ORPO,;C, FILMED FROM BEST AVAILABLE COPY INTRODUCTION TO READING: A STUDY GUIDE Mabel Y.
    [Show full text]
  • Republic of Turkey Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University Institute of Social Sciences Department of English Language Teaching an I
    REPUBLIC OF TURKEY ÇANAKKALE ONSEKİZ MART UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE IMPACT OF CULTURAL SCHEMA AND READING ACTIVITIES ON READING COMPREHENSION MA THESIS Supervisor Asst. Prof. Dr. İsmail Hakkı ERTEN Submitted by Salim RAZI Çanakkale-2004 Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Müdürlüğüne Salim RAZI’ya ait ‘An investigation into the impact of cultural schema and reading activities on reading comprehension’ Adlı çalışma, jürimiz tarafından Yabancı Diller Eğitimi Anabilim Dalı İngilizce Öğretmenliği Programında YÜKSEK LİSANS TEZİ olarak kabul edilmiştir. Başkan Doç. Dr. Dinçay KÖKSAL Akademik Ünvanı, Adı Soyadı Üye Yrd. Doç. Dr. İsmail Hakkı ERTEN Akademik Ünvanı, Adı Soyadı (Danışman) Üye Yrd. Doç. Dr. Mehmet Ali YAVUZ Akademik Ünvanı, Adı Soyadı Üye Yrd. Doç. Dr. Hidayet TUNCAY Akademik Ünvanı, Adı Soyadı Üye Yrd. Doç. Dr. Ece ZEHİR TOPKAYA Akademik Ünvanı, Adı Soyadı i ABSTRACT This study was carried out to investigate the influence of cultural schema and reading activities on reading comprehension. The impact of cultural schema was tested nativizing short stories to make them culturally more familiar. The study was carried out at Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University with 3rd grade students at the department of English Language Teaching through a 2X2 true- experimental research design where the participants were homogenously placed in different groups according to their Grade Point Averages (GPAs). The first group were given the original short story while the second group were given the nativized (Turkified) one. To find out the effect of reading activities on the comprehension of nativized and original short stories, the third group read the original short story with reading activities while the fourth group read the nativized short story with the same reading activities.
    [Show full text]
  • Reading and Assistive Technology: Why the Reader's Profile Matters
    Reading and Assistive Technology: Why the Reader’s Profile Matters by Karen Erickson ssistive technology (AT) can take many forms; however, as dyslexia is limited, and research to guide the selection of spe- Aa support for reading, electronic text is a core feature of AT. cific supports to meet individual student needs is even more Anderson-Inman and Horney offer a typology that describes limited. Yet, understanding the possible impact of AT on the the types of resources that can be used to vary the supportive- reading skills of students with dyslexia requires that we move ness of electronic text (Anderson-Inman & Horney, 1998; beyond questions regarding the use of AT generally or electron- Horney & Anderson-Inman, 1999). The typology focuses on ic texts specifically and focus on the impact that AT supports the function that each of the resources plays in the supported have on students with varying profiles of strength and weakness reading process (e.g., translational, explanatory, and illustra- in reading. tive) and is intended to serve as a conceptual framework that guides the selection of appropriate AT for students who struggle AT, Reading, and Dyslexia with reading. Table 1 shows a recent version of this typology as It is well understood that dyslexia is a specific learning dis- presented by Anderson-Inman and Horney (2007). ability that is neurological in origin and characterized by While the typography does fairly represent the range of sup- difficulties with accurate and fluent word recognition and ports that are possible given today’s technologies, there is little decoding abilities. AT, specifically text-to-speech with elec- research to guide its use with students with dyslexia.
    [Show full text]
  • Subvocalization in Reading L1japanese Texts and L2 English Texts
    Subvocalization in Reading L1Japanese Texts and L2 English Texts Takue OHNO ([email protected]) Jun-ichi ABE ([email protected]) Department of Psychology, Hokkaido University N10 W7, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-0810, JAPAN ‘Subvocalization’ means a subjective experience that is felt Discussion while reading silently by a reader as if he/she were hearing a The results suggested that both in L1 Japanese and L2 voice reading the text inside his/her head. As this English readings, subvocalization occurred, but that its psychological phenomenon is difficult to verify directly, degree in two languages could be different, implying that many of the studies start with the assumption that subvocalization would not necessarily occur in L2 English subvocalization does occur in reading, and then, by giving reading compared to L1Japanese reading. concurrent articulatory suppression tasks, they try to examine its occurrence (e.g. Levy, 1977). Following the Experiment 2 same line, this study aimed at reexamining psychological Method reality of subvocalization in reading. Moreover, this was Participants. Sixty-five Japanese high school students done with a comparison between L1 Japanese reading and aged 16 to 17 participated. L2 English reading, the latter of which will not be Materials. 12 Japanese texts and 12 English texts, and developed with as much phonological necessity as the their tests were newly prepared. The concept of the former. Two experiments were conducted, with the second materials was the same as in Experiment 1, but two more one modified, considering the participants’ tiredness and the texts and tests in each language were added for checking cognitive load on a part of the task in the first one.
    [Show full text]
  • The Principles of Readability
    The Principles of Readability By William H. DuBay Impact Information, 126 E. 18th Street, #C204, Costa Mesa, CA 92627, (949) 631-3309 Copyright The Principles of Readability 25 August 2004 2004 William H. DuBay. All Rights Reserved. Abstract The Principles of Readability gives a short history of literacy studies in the U.S. and a short history of research in readability and the readability formulas. Readers' Comments Please send all comments and suggestions regarding this document to: William DuBay Impact Information 126 E. 18th Street, #C204 Costa Mesa, CA 92627 Phone: (949) 631-3309 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.impact-information.com Copyright © 2004 William H. DuBay Page ii Contents Introduction ..........................................................................................................1 Guidelines For Readability..........................................................................2 The readability formulas..............................................................................2 Are the readability formulas a problem? .....................................................2 What is readability?.....................................................................................3 Content ........................................................................................................3 The Adult Literacy Studies...................................................................................4 Grading the reading skills of students..........................................................4
    [Show full text]
  • Exploring a Model of Reading Proficiency. 24P
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 400 508 CS 012 618 AUTHOR Bloodgood, Janet W. TITLE Exploring a Model of Reading Proficiency. PUB DATE Nov 95 NOTE 24p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Reading Conference (New Orleans, LA, November 29-December 2, 1995). PUB TYPE Viewpoints (Opinion/Position Papers, Essays, etc.) (120) Reports Research/Technical (143) EDRS PRICE MFO1 /PCO1 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Beginning Reading; Elementary Education; *Emergent Literacy; Language Acquisition; Models; Prior Learning; *Reading Ability; Reading Comprehension; *Reading Processes IDENTIFIERS Text Factors ABSTRACT In attempts to understand the process of literacy acquisition, many researchers have devised models of reading. The basic elements of most reading acquisition models include word, or print knowledge and comprehension. The inadequacy and global nature of the conversational model of language proficiency provide impetus for C.E. Snow's development of a multidimensional model. Logical parallels exist between Snow's model of oral language proficiency and a model for reading acquisition and proficiency. Word knowledge takes the place of Snow's information load dimension, background knowledge retains much the same meaning and import, while "support" is substituted for the audience parameter, and "voice" serves as the fourth dimension. The word knowledge component consists of decoding, automaticity, and vocabulary, and there are at least two factors at work within the realm of background knowledge--reader experience and text factors. The support dimension encompasses an interaction of three factors--reader, text, and instructor. Voice, the fourth dimension, consists of self awareness and a transition from self to other. There is considerable interaction among the factors in this model, and in many cases, reciprocal relationships are apparent.
    [Show full text]