Susan McShane, M.S.
Reading Initiative Specialist
National Center for Family Literacy
Louisville, KY

Many teachers and tutors working with adult literacy learners are unaware of the importance of developing reading fluency. In fact, in many adult learning settings oral reading is not assessed, so learners' fluency deficiencies may go unnoticed. Adult educators have long believed that asking learners to read aloud in group settings is a bad idea—that adults with poor reading skills may be frightened away from programs if they have to put their reading deficiencies on public display.

However, recent research summaries indicate that improving fluency may make a significant difference in literacy development. The National Reading Panel (2000) identified fluency development as one of five major components of reading instruction, and the Reading Research Working Group reinforced this finding in their review of the adult education research (Kruidenier, 2002).

Of course, literacy tutors frequently have opportunities to listen to a learner's oral reading and may find it appropriate and natural to incorporate fluency practice in tutoring sessions. As you read consider how this information may apply to your work with learners.

What is reading fluency?
Fluent reading is rapid, efficient, and largely free of errors in word identification. But fluency is more than speedy, accurate word reading; a fluent reader also uses appropriate phrasing and expression. A fluent reader knows how to group words into phrases, where to pause, and what to emphasize. In other words, fluent reading sounds like speech.

Why is fluency important?
Comprehension is the goal of reading, and fluency is required for comprehension (National Reading Panel, 2000, p.3-1). At a minimum, accurate and efficient word reading is necessary. Comprehension suffers when poor readers must focus on "getting the words off the page" and therefore areble to give much attention to the meaning of what they are reading. In contrast, fluent readers are able to focus on meaning because for them, decoding is automatic and effortless.

In addition, fluency is part of the process of comprehension because fluent reading involves interpretation: grouping words into phrases and using word knowledge and punctuation to determine pacing, pauses, intonation, and expression. Most texts provide clues to such interpretations: punctuation, bold print, descriptive words, and signal words (first, finally, therefore, on the other hand, etc.). Fluent readers notice these clues and achieve a richer understanding as a result.

Who needs fluency development?
Most adult beginning readers need work on fluency because fluency depends on rapid, accurate word reading, and beginners are, by definition, struggling to read words. However, even those with better skills may need work on fluency and the underlying decoding skills and knowledge, if they are to progress beyond their current levels of reading achievement (Kruidenier, 2002, Principle 8).

What kind of fluency instruction is most effective?
Research suggests that guided repeated oral reading may improve one or more aspects of fluency as well as comprehension (Kruidenier, 2002, Principles 9 & 10 and Ideas 14 & 17).

Guided repeated oral reading
The learner reads a passage several times, with guidance, until an acceptable level of fluency is reached, at which point he/she begins work on another passage at the same or a slightly higher level of difficulty.

Guidance may involve

• modeling—teacher or audiotape-assisted,
• simultaneous reading,
• assistance and correction, and
• combinations of these options.

No one approach or technique has been demonstrated by research to be more effective than others. Several are described below.

(1) Reading to the teacher or tutor
The learner reads a brief passage aloud, and the teacher or tutor provides help as needed, to identify problem words. The tutor may also ask a couple of recall questions after the reading. Then the learner reads the passage aloud again one or more times, continuing until he/she can read it comfortably with few errors and can recall facts and details accurately. By engaging the reader in discussion and asking comprehension questions after each reading, the tutor maintains a focus on meaning and demonstrates to the learner that re-reading not only increases accuracy, but also results in better understanding. When fluency is achieved with one passage, the learner begins working on another one. In a slight variation on this approach, the tutor begins the session by reading the passage aloud before asking the learner to read.

(2) Echo reading
The teacher or tutor reads a sentence aloud and the learner reads the same sentence immediately afterward, imitating the first reader's phrasing. They proceed through the text this way. Then the learner may attempt re-reading the text aloud independently.

(3) Dyad or choral reading
The teacher or tutor and learner read a passage or story in unison. At any point, the learner may offer to read alone or the tutor may simply stop reading. If the learner begins to struggle or miscalls one or more words that have significance for the meaning of the passage, the tutor resumes reading. In choral reading a group of learners reads aloud in unison.

(4) Paired or partner reading
Pairs of learners take turns reading and re-reading the same passage to each other, or they read aloud together as in dyad reading above.

(5) Tape-assisted reading Using taped readings, a learner is able to work more independently, reading along while listening to the passage on tape. The tutor might use commercial books on tape or make recordings of texts or real-life materials.

(6) Performance reading
A group of learners prepares a performance of a poem, play, or story. They divide up sections or roles and practice reading their parts aloud to each other and the tutor. They may also tape their readings so each reader can assess her/his delivery and make improvements. This approach gives learners a real reason to re-read text.

As a variation on performance reading, learners who are parents of young children might prepare to read to their children by re-reading stories with a tutor's assistance. (This activity is most suitable for parents who find reading age-appropriate children's books sufficiently challenging to benefit from fluency practice. If they have very young children, appropriate stories may be too easy.)

Phonics instruction and decoding practice
If word identification is part of the fluency problem, phonics instruction may make a difference. The teacher or tutor uses assessments to identify learners' specific decoding problems, and then provides focused, systematic instruction in phonics and/or sight word recognition (Kruidenier, 2002, Idea 16).

What else is important in planning for fluency practice? Several issues may arise when planning instruction.

Appropriate difficulty level of materials
When choosing reading materials for fluency practice, how do you decide on the difficulty level? For fluency practice aimed at building speed and improving phrasing and expression, some authors suggest using material at the learner’s independent reading level, to minimize word recognition problems. If, however, you want to work on all aspects of fluency, you may want a passage that is somewhat difficult—at the instructional reading level--so the learner gets decoding practice as well as work on the other aspects of fluency.

Text readability
You can calculate the reading grade level of any passage using a readability formula. (See http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/fry/fry.html for a copy of the Fry readability graph or check to see if your word processing program evaluates text for readability.) You may also use commercial textbooks written to grade-level specifications as a source for oral reading passages.

Assessing oral reading levels
The learner's oral reading (grade equivalent) level may be assessed with an informal reading inventory (IRI) like the LVA READ Test. Alternatively, if you are using passages from graded textbooks for fluency practice, you may simply have the learner try one or more sample passages and determine reading level based on word-reading accuracy. Definitions of reading level vary. A conservative estimate would judge text to be at the learner's independent reading level if he/she is able to read it with 98-99% accuracy, or no more than two errors in 100 words. Instructional reading level may be defined as approximately 95-97% accuracy, or no more than five errors in 100 words. Then, depending on the focus of your practice activity, you may choose an independent- or instructional-level passage.

Type and length of passage
Considering learners' abilities and goals, it makes sense to provide practice with various types of texts: literature, workbook samples and other instructional materials, as well as real-life materials adults need to read. There are no generally accepted guidelines for length, but it is usually recommended that fluency practice should occupy only a small portion (a few minutes) of each reading lesson. Passages should be short enough to be read several times.

Audiotapes If you use commercial books-on-tape, you may find the reader reads more quickly than an adult learner can follow. Tape players with variable speed playback may solve this problem. Another option is to create your own tapes of selected passages. You can read slowly (while still modeling phrasing and expression) and signal at the end of a section or page.

Tutor assistance
How much help should you provide? When and how should you correct errors? One guideline is to refrain from stepping in unless the reader makes an error that affects meaning. It's also a good idea to allow the reader a few seconds to identify the word or correct a mistake. Then you may provide the word—or a phonic cue if you think the learner should be able to figure it out. You probably should not choose this moment to teach or review a phonics rule.

Silent reading
Most people perform better in oral reading when they read silently first. You may want to encourage learners to read a passage silently before reading it aloud.

Fluency standards
You may ask, "How long does one continue to re-read a passage? How fluent is fluent enough?" There seem to be no generally acceptable standards for adults. If you have chosen a difficult passage to build decoding skills, you might use independent reading level as your target, so that reading with 98-99% accuracy is the aim. You may also consider timing the readings to assess improvement in reading rate, and, of course you may note the reader's use of phrasing and expression. This is not a high-stakes decision, so perhaps tutor and learner judgment will suffice: if you and the learner are comfortable with the progress made, you might try the next level.

Practice means progress
Improvements in reading speed, accuracy, and expression are concrete outcomes of instruction, and improved fluency may lead to improved comprehension. Both you and the learner may find fluency practice to be rewarding and motivating.

References

Kruidenier, J. (2002). Research-based principles for adult basic education reading instruction. Washington, DC: National Institute for Literacy.

National Reading Panel. (2000). Report of the national reading panel: Teaching children to read - Reports of the subgroups. Washington, DC: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

This article is reprinted with permission from Literacy New York, 777 Maryvale DR, Buffalo, NY, 14225. The article appeared in Literacy Practitioner, a publication of Literacy New York, in Vol. 8, No. 2, October, 2004.