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.

As the number of English language learners (ELL) increase in areas across the United States, it is important for these students to receive adequate reading instruction. Helping ELL’s improve literacy skills helps enhance their individual lives, as well as their contributions to society as a whole. 

Earlier this week, It’s Your World Blog discussed this issue in its post: “Support for those Learning English.” The article stressed the importance of teaching both English language learner students and their parents. This is because parents are “the children’s first and life-long teachers.” If adult English language learners do not have adequate reading abilities they cannot help their kids improve their own literacy skills.

Read the full Article--> “Support for Those Learning English”

Another interesting article on English language learners was from Colorin Colorado, which provides resources and information for ELL families and educators. The article discussed how Response to Intervention (RTI) programs can be effectively used to teach ELL students. The article was introduced with the following statement:

A considerable amount of evidence suggests that approaches involving early intervention, ongoing progress monitoring, and effective classroom instruction consistent with Response to Intervention (RTI) are associated with improved outcomes for the majority of students in early reading and math. Considerably less information exists, however, about the effectiveness of these approaches with a growing population of students, English language learners (ELLs) at risk for reading problems. We also have considerably less information about the types of interventions that are effective for students who do not adequately respond to the interventions that typically are effective. Such students are likely to be identified as having learning disabilities.

Read the full article--> “Response to Intervention in Reading for English Language Learners”

Here is a fun interactive resource for teaching ELL classes: “Learn English with Songs”

Learn more about how Reading Horizons can meet the need of quality reading instruction for ELL students--> ELL reading program

Earlier this week National Public Radio (NPR) did a broadcast highlighting the current state of the English language. The broadcast highlighted linguistic expert, David Crystal, and his recent book: “A Little Book of Language.” Crystal discussed the rapid change of language due to modern technologies and the different versions of English that each person uses in their daily life. 

Listen to the entire broadcast:

Crystal clearly explained that every language evolves, but he pointed out that the English language is currently changing at a revolutionary speed. The source of the accelerated change: the internet. One way this is evident is through the use of hyperlinks. It was interesting to listen to Crystal explain that never before has there been a component of language like the hyperlink- never before has someone been able to instantly connect to a entirely different piece of information simply by clicking on a word. 

The internet and technology also accelerate the change of language through the ever-growing use of social networks, text messaging, chat rooms, blogs, etc… most of which didn’t appear until the last 5-10 years. Never before has a technology promoted as large of a language revolution as the internet has. Crystal explained the internet changes language rapidly because each social network presents its own, unique variation of the English language.

Not only does each channel of communication adapt the English language, but every company, organization, and activity creates its own variation of English. This further progresses the change of English. Throughout the show callers mentioned the different variations of the English language they have found in their own life. It’s interesting to think about the different terms we use in each of the different things we do in our lives.

Crystal used an interesting analogy of a closet to describe the many different forms of English we each use. When we enter a closet we can choose which outfit best fits the situation is being used for. The same concept applies to language. Depending on our current situation, we can choose which variation of the English language is best suited.

In correlation to that idea, Crystal explained he wrote his book to help teens understand the importance of enlarging their range of the English language. The internet has created more and more informal variations of the language- but very few formal variations. Children are becoming more and more informal in their communication and he wants to stress the importance of being able to communicate on a formal level. Although there are more arenas that support informal communication- to become successful formal language is still needed in various arenas.

Share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Written by guest blogger, Dorit Sasson.

 

There are few things more challenging than motivating a student who doesn’t want to learn. But as all good teachers know, no such student really exists.

After working with remedial learners in the ESL program at my junior high school, I truly experienced the struggle to motivate those borderline students who seemed to be constantly exposed to failure. I also experienced the success that is possible if you put in the extra effort with those students. It was only after experimenting with different learning techniques and personalizing the curriculum to suit my students that I found the key to reaching these reluctant readers.

Roadblocks for Reluctant Readers 

Many of these readers have poor reading strategies; others are discouraged by varying degrees of failure; some are too scared to even look at a text. Many of my students became passive when faced with a reading text. Initially, I tried to simplify their exercises, provided easier language input, gave them a choice in their graded assignments, but to no avail. None of these techniques helped me with motivating them to read even a simple text.

My first roadblock with these reluctant readers was my textbook. Many schoolbooks have far more texts than are needed or texts that may not be suitable in one way or another. Some teachers assign supplemental reading materials to make up shortcomings in the textbook, but those extra assignments can further intimate readers. Because of these shortcomings, I look for ways to motivate my ninth grade students beyond the framework of the text.

It became clear to me that creativity and the choice of text would be the key to success with these students. I have experimented with multiple teaching strategies that have reading and language implications in an attempt to engage students in my ESL classroom.

Here are the 5 foolproof tips I discovered to motivate even the most reluctant student.

Tip 1:  Teach Topics that are Motivating

Interest and topic are key. As Richard Day points out in “Selecting a Passage for the Reading Class,” relating to student interests has serious implications for facilitating second-language acquisition. Most topics in my students standard reading books were culturally and socially removed from their world.

Part of getting students interested in reading is to expand the students’ knowledge on topics they enjoy. After surveying students, music prevailed as a topic that all the students were interested in. After presenting the students with a new, shorter text I had written on Oriental and Middle Eastern Music singers, they were more motivated to read. The students also had sufficient background knowledge on at least one of the themes.

Now that you have wisely chosen a reading assignment, how will you explore the text? What is your reading plan?

Tip 2:  Create Step-by-Step Lessons

Start small by using bits of text such as word clues, titles and subtitles. Important vocabulary used in a pre-reading activity can serve as a lead-in to the topic. Keep the number of unknown vocabulary items for each text to a minimum, allowing you and the students to focus on the goals of the reading course. Those goals are digesting the text and understanding its deeper meanings. Make sure there are enough warm up and pre-reading activities. Encourage predictions whenever possible. Keep reading passages short and visually-appealing.

Richard Day points out that appearance of the reading passage (layout, print and type size) affects readability. Keep the lines short. This will enhance reading speed. Having a short text increases the students’ focus and the text’s readability. Paragraphs in each text should be clearly defined. Make sure the font is clear and attractive. Length is likely a major factor in the frustration in reluctant readers.

Tip 3:  Choose Your Text Carefully

Look at the texts from the perspective of your students. Do your reading objectives match the objectives of the unit? Not all texts are exploitable due to their thematic, lexical, syntactic and structural appropriateness.

Here are some questions to consider:

1.Lexical exploitability:Do the texts offer an opportunity to acquire some new vocabulary? 
2. Structural exploitability: Can students explore text meanings through the structure 
and text conventions? 
3. Thematic exploitability:Does the text have potential to 
aid in the understanding of moral issues through discussion? 
4. Syntactic constructions:Have you seen that structure before? Syntactic constructions in a passage affect its readability. If the texts have structures that have not yet been covered in class, it might be wise to pre-teach the structure or choose a text with fewer new grammatical structures.

If a text is exploited well, it will match up with the objectives of the unit and allow the teacher to accomplish the objectives of the reading lesson.

Tip 4:  Identify and Hone Phonic and Phonemic Skills

In many of my classes, reluctant learners are also remedial learners who have experienced very little success in the reading classroom.

To develop a successful reading program design, you can follow steps to identify and hone phonic and phonemic skills:

1. Take ‘inventory’ and give mini-diagnostic tests at the beginning of the school year. 
2. Design questions based on letter and word levels that give you a clear indication of the student’s decoding abilities. 

3. Target and preteach those sound blends, vowel sounds, and letter sounds that appear throughout my chosen text. Phonemic awareness activities constitute a big part of the lessons for those lower level students who have yet to master basic reading skills. 
4. Word and letter recognition is the foundation for future comprehension. (Purcell-Gates). Once students can decode the words, introduce those words to the students, and then only in short passages. This builds up their confidence and gives them a reason to continue reading. 
5. Finally, present the students with a story that includes as many words from the targeted cluster as possible in a logical context and have them answer questions about the text.

Hopefully, they will be able to decode the appropriate phones and extract the correct meaning in its embedded context. By the end of the unit, the students will have achieved phonemic awareness of this specific phoneme.

Tip 5:  Emphasize Authentic and Meaningful Language Communication

Students remember the targeted words and chunks of language when they are taught in a meaningful way. More often than not, this involves doing something with the language beyond simply digesting it.

Theoretical Underpinnings: 
1. Reading strategies cannot be taught in isolation. 
2. Reading is comprehension. 
3. Comprehension involves the construction of individual meanings. 
4. Learners need to acquire a certain threshold in order to deeper process language. 
5. Meaningful communication is the goal. 

6. Learners need language input from all four modes: listening, speaking, reading and writing recycled and in a variety of methods.

“This teaching first involves students in purposeful (to the student) reading and writing, then pulls out some skills—ranging from decoding to text structure and comprehension—for focused work.” (Pursell-Gates)

Final Note:

Your number one goal should always be creating a meaningful learning experience for students. If you focus on meaningful communication rather than technical, simple reading that only leads to a ‘shallow,’ minimal understanding, you will create that learning experience. Hopefully, you will find that this program is designed to provide students with tools for learning independence and making them less reliant on teachers.

Works Cited:
Day, Richard R. “Selecting a Passage for the EFL Reading Class” ERIC Digests, 1994. 
LaBerge, D & Samuels, S.J. (1974). “Towards a theory of automatic information processing in reading.” Cognitive Psychology, 6, 293-323. 
Purcell-Gates, Victoria. (1997). “There’s Reading…and Then There’s Reading: Process Models and Instruction.” NCSALL, 2, Issue A.

This article was originally published on TeachHUB.com - an online resource center for educators with news, recommendations and resources BY teachers FOR teachers. For daily education articles, lessons, teaching tips and much more, visit http://www.TeachHUB.com today!

The poster session was a success!  This is my colleague, Amie Casper, and I posing with our poster at the TESOL Conference in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 27, 2010. We presented on assessing reading rate and fluency using technology--a feature of the new Reading Horizons v5 software.

The topic generated quite a bit of interest!

Me presenting at TESOL on Decoding Strategies for Literacy Development--another topic of great interest.