The Role of Oral Reading Fluency in ESL Reading Comprehension among Learners of Different First Language Backgrounds

Autor/in	Jiang, Xiangying
Titel	The Role of Oral Reading Fluency in ESL Reading Comprehension among Learners of Different First Language Backgrounds
Quelle	In: Reading Matrix: An International Online Journal, 16 (2016) 2, S.227-242 (16 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1533-242X
Schlagwörter	Oral Reading; Reading Fluency; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Native Language; Reading Comprehension; Chinese; Japanese; Predictor Variables; Semitic Languages; Correlation; Regression (Statistics); Language Tests; Intonation; Suprasegmentals; Spanish; Accuracy; Written Language; Contrastive Linguistics; Word Recognition; Graduate Students; Undergraduate Students; Scoring; Test of English as a Foreign Language + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Oral work; Reading; Mündliche Übung; Leseprozess; Lesen; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Leseverstehen; China; Chinesen; Japaner; Japanisch; Prädiktor; Arabisch; Hebräisch; Korrelation; Regression; Regressionsanalyse; Language test; Sprachtest; Spanisch; Geschriebene Sprache; Linguistics; Kontrastive Linguistik; Worterkennung; Graduate Study; Student; Students; Aufbaustudium; Graduiertenstudium; Hauptstudium; Studentin; Bewertung
Abstract	This study discusses the construct of oral reading fluency and examines its relationship to reading comprehension among adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners of four first language (L1) backgrounds. One hundred and forty-nine adult learners of English with Arabic, Japanese, Spanish and Chinese language backgrounds participated in this study. The participants read a short passage aloud and completed the reading comprehension section of the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). Oral reading fluency was measured through four componential elements: oral reading rate (word per minute/wpm), accuracy (word correct/wc), efficiency (word correct per minute/wcpm), and prosody. Stepwise regression analyses showed variations across language groups regarding the role of oral reading fluency in ESL reading comprehension. For participants of Chinese and Japanese L1 backgrounds, prosody was the only significant predictor of English reading comprehension, which accounted for 18% and 32% of its variance respectively. Oral reading efficiency (wcpm) was the only significant predictor for Arabic ESL learners, which accounted for about 46% of variance in English reading comprehension. For participants of Spanish background, both accuracy (wc) and rate (wpm) were significant predictors and together they accounted for a total of 65% of the variance in English reading comprehension. The results are discussed in relation to the orthographic depth hypothesis and orthographic distance between first language and English. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01