Neil J. Anderson, professor of Linguistics and English Language at Brigham Young University, recently presented at the Reading Horizons distributor seminar in Salt Lake City, Utah. He shared some interesting information about how English Language Learners (ELLs) benefit from systematic phonics instruction. Two of the reasons he cited include the following:

1) reading fluency increases as students learn to decode words; and

2) oral reading improves when students can decode words correctly.

Reading fluency, as defined by Neil Anderson, is "reading at an appropriate rate with adequate comprehension" (Anderson, 2008, p. 3). This definition of reading fluency is important as teachers consider what an "appropriate reading rate" is for their students. Remember that reading at a quick pace (an "appropriate rate") without comprehending what is being read is not fluent reading. Additionally, reading super slowly and understanding everything being read ("adequate comprehension") likewise is not fluent reading. The balance between the two--reading rate and comprehension--is important to fluency.

So what constitutes an "appropriate rate"? During the presentation, Anderson referenced national averages for optimal silent and oral reading rates by grade level (Hasbrouck & Tindal, 2006). Since several distributors were interested in having access to this information, I thought I would include the information in this blog post below:

Silent Reading Rates

1st grade: 80 wpm

2nd grade: 115 wpm

3rd grade: 138 wpm

4th grade: 158 wpm

5th grade: 173 wpm

6th grade: 185 wpm

7th grade: 195 wpm

8th grade: 204 wpm

9th grade: 214 wpm

10th grade: 224 wpm

11th grade: 237 wpm

12th grade: 250 wpm

College or University: 280 wpm


Oral Reading Rates

1st grade: 53 wpm

2nd grade: 89 wpm

3rd grade: 107 wpm

4th grade: 123 wpm

5th grade: 139 wpm

6th grade: 150 wpm

7th grade: 150 wpm

8th grade: 151 wpm

Notice that oral reading rates beyond the 8th grade level are not listed. This is due to the fact that when we read aloud, we generally do not read faster than what we can read at an 8th grade reading level.

These silent and oral reading rates can be used as a guideline when discerning appropriate reading rates for students. Adjustments to these reading rates could be made to accommodate English Language Learners and students with reading difficulties.

References:

Anderson, N. J. (2008). Practical English language teaching: Reading. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Hasbrouck, J., & Tindal, G. A. (2006). Oral reading fluency norms: A valuable assessment tool for teaching teachers. The Reading Teacher, 59, 636-644.

We have enjoyed seeing the response to the new Reading Horizons v5 reading program! We are excited to see it implemented into an increasing amount of schools and institutions and to watch the positive impact it will have on the lives of many students ages 10 to adult. We recently completed this overview video highlighting Reading Horizons v5:



I am convinced that learning to read and using that skill throughout one’s life is capable of being one of the most impactful skills one ever learns. Reading opens knowledge to countless skills, information, and continuous learning. On top of that, it can be used by anyone who knows how to read. There are a lot of skills that are productive but reading is productive and useful for everyone. When someone learns to read it truly does change their life! Reading is one of the most useful skills one can obtain.

A few days ago we received a success story from an adult reading center called Reading Works in Modesto, California. One of the volunteer tutor’s wrote to us explaining his experiences in teaching reading to adults. In his own words:

When I first started with the program I came in full of excitement, enthusiasm and zero knowledge of how to teach reading. Having been an avid reader since I was a child, I was sure that I would have no difficulty teaching someone else how to read. How wrong I was. For over a year I struggled. While my students did make progress, there were too many times when they would ask me questions about why certain words sounded like they did and I didn't have the answer. We seemed to reach a plateau where we were at a roadblock. My students were frustrated and so was I.

Then I discovered Reading Horizons on the internet. What a "eureka" moment. At last I could answer those questions about phonics rules that I didn't understand before. I was able to obtain a laptop and the software from the Reading Works coordinator, and in January We started the program. I took my students back to the basics as I felt it was important to lay a good foundation. The results are impressive. Significant improvements in both reading and spelling were realized. I am now a confirmed disciple of Reading Horizons and I preach its benefits to as many of our tutors as I can reach. They too are telling me of struggling to overcome the same obstacles I ran into.

I know those lives were changed by gaining reading skills! It’s easy to underestimate the impact the ability to read has on our lives when we learned to read as a child and have enjoyed the skill the majority of lives, but it’s always interesting to hear the success stories of adults and how much they value their new skill. 

Today EdNET posted our Reading Horizons v5 press release! Read it here: "Reading Horizons Sprints Miles Ahead by Releasing Reading Horizons v5"

To see how Reading Horizons v5 reading program for help teaching reading to students learning to read sign up for a FREE 30-day trial at: http://www.ReadingHorizons.com/solutions/free-trial.aspx

With the right reading instruction it is possible for almost anyone to learn to read- regardless of age. These 3 stories reveal it is possible for adults to learn to read despite past experiences and background.

Story #1: Jahara

Earlier this week the New York Times published an article about the adult reading program at the New York Public Library. The article highlighted one adult’s journey of learning to read as an adult immigrant to New York City from his farming village in Gambia, Africa. Jahara came to America and as he gradually built a new life for himself, his reading difficulties continued to get in the way. He finally decided he needed to change his potential and started participating in the New York Public Library’s where a volunteer tutor helped him improve his reading skills. 

This article easily caught the attention of Reading Horizons, which supplies the adult reading program used at the New York Public Library. Reading Horizons products help teach reading to adults like the one in this article nationwide and worldwide. It’s exciting to read about someone’s life that has been dramatically improved by the reading program Reading Horizons works to develop and perfect.

Story #2: Tina

Tina moved to Canada in May of 2007, she was a single mom of 3 children and was struggling to afford a place to live and lacked literacy skills. She enrolled in an ESL reading program the following September and tells of her experience:

“…I started attending the ESL program at Northern Lakes College in La Crete. I completed the ESL program in January, and [will complete additional] courses in June.

I feel that I have learned many new things. I [had] never attended English classes before I came to Canada. In the Reading Horizons program, I tested [at] grade 11.3 after five weeks of [taking] the lessons, and I am very proud of myself.

Everyone has been very helpful here, including my teachers. I want to continue my education [next] September.”

Story #3: Larry

To read and view additional stories of adults that successfully learned to read click here.

Today I read an article about this years Educational Testing Service’s symposium titled “Advancing Learning for Our Diverse Adult Population.”   I’m always excited to see articles that discuss the problems I see everyday because I hope the awareness of these problems will increase.  The article discussed the current literacy problems in American Adults by explaining that a recent study of American adult literacy from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that “about half of adults performed below the level needed to navigate today’s complex society.”  The article discussed the problems this condition presents to the economy and how to improve adult education. 

A lot of the article focused on Adult’s going back to college or why they choose not to do so.  I thought it was interesting because the article discussed the benefits of developing a different model for obtaining college degrees for adult learners.  Dr. Thomas Bailey of Columbia University discussed the problems Adults face when going back to college by saying: “The traditional associate’s degree doesn’t fit very well for adult students because many enter with weak academic skills, have less time and incentive to invest in general education courses, have difficulties adjusting to traditional schedules, and state funding policies can work against them since it’s often influenced by the traditional college student model.” Bailey offered this solution for Adult education: “Educational programs must be tailored to the specific needs of working adults but have not been in the past… At community colleges, adults can acquire the skills and credentials they need for the workforce and new jobs, so we need to change how adults get their credentials outside the traditional model… Adult education programs need to be flexible and training-focused and include certificates as well as non-credit instruction.”  I think this is a good idea.  If I was trying to go back to school as an adult with children and was trying to provide for that family as well I would be frustrated taking General Education classes that didn’t directly apply to what I was trying to accomplish by attending college.  Adults usually have a better idea of what they want to do with their life and career then young adults, thus the necessity to explore many fields of knowledge may be extraneous.  I think it would be beneficial to create a program for adult’s that is more specific and training based. 

But there are also needs to make improvements in Adult Literacy for the 50% of adults that struggle with literacy in order for them to succeed in obtaining college degree’s regardless of the requirements.  I’m always impressed by the people who call in wanting to open an Adult Literacy Center.  I also realized the need for a quality adult reading program the other day when reading the comments on this blog titled, The Best Websites to Help Beginning Readers. There were multiple comments on this blog post from readers who wanted a list more catered to adult reading programs.  I added a comment with a link to our website but its disheartening to know there are so many people who could benefit from our program if they only knew about it.  The other day our ESL specialist was reading a forum on reading programs and was frustrated that people weren’t talking about us.  She couldn’t join the conversation because her comments were declined since she was writing about the company she works for but out of frustration she said: “I don’t even want to talk about us because of business; I just want people to know about us because we could help them!”  It’s hard to know you could be helping so many people.  If they only knew…  If you are passionate about literacy, pass this article along or link to it.

Watch this video of one Adult who learned to read with our program:

I am SO excited for the Olympics! I try not to invest too much time into watching TV but I’ve already accepted that I’ll be watching a lot over the next 2 weeks.  It’s amazing how interesting some of the obscure events that I know nothing about can be to watch.  I love the competition and the stories and seeing how proud people are to represent their country.  I still haven’t forgotten the men’s swimming relay in the last Summer Olympics when the USA team came from being way behind to win the gold medal.  Those are always the most exciting competitions- the one’s where the race appears to be already won and then someone finds extra drive and comes out of nowhere to win.  It’s empowering to see people push themselves just a little harder and to see people not give up and still try when they are at a disadvantage.  That’s how I feel when I see or hear the success stories of our customers.  My two favorite stories have been about men over 40 that finally learned to read.  I’m excited for any child to learn how to read- but to see someone who has dealt with a disadvantage their entire life and then finally overcome that struggle and succeed at their goal is always amazing to me.  Watch this success story from one of our customers that provides the same sense of satisfaction the Olympics provide when someone overcomes an obstacle or challenge. 

Larry McKall: