Fluency is a necessary component in the reading classroom. However, it does not always receive sufficient attention in the classroom or in curricula. In regards to the need for reading fluency, Grabe (2009) advocates that “fluency practice cannot be an afterthought in instructional planning; rather, it needs to become an equal partner with comprehension practice in reading instruction” (p. 105). Creating a curriculum and developing lessons that incorporate reading fluency as an equal partner can often be challenging.

There are two elements that compose reading fluency: the ability to decode and the ability to comprehend (Samuels, 2012). Samuels (2012) explains that the human mind has a limited capacity, and, if students struggle with decoding words, they will struggle comprehending texts. Thus, one of the ultimate aims of fluency practice is to promote and improve students’ ability to automatically decode text so that more mental capacity can be given to the comprehension of the text. Therefore, as automatic word recognition improves, it is hoped that comprehension will also improve.

Both Anderson (2014) and Grabe and Stoller (2014) advocate using rapid word-recognition activities to develop reading fluency. A typical word-recognition activity features a list of target vocabulary, or keywords, on the far left side of a paper with the several structurally similar words and the target word to the right of each keyword (see Figure 1). The students are instructed to identify which of the words to the right of the target word is identical to the target word by drawing a line through it. Students try to correctly identify as many words as they can within a certain time limit.

Figure 1. This is an example of a rapid word recognition activity. Students draw a line through the word that exactly matches the target word on the left.

Similar activities stem from rapid word recognition activities: phrase recognition, semantic-connection or synonym recognition (see Figure 2), and lexical access or definition recognition (see Figure 3).

Figure 2. This is an example of a rapid synonym recognition activity. Students draw a line through the synonym that corresponds with the target word on the left.

Figure 3. This is an example of a rapid definition recognition activity. Students draw a line through the definition that corresponds with the target word on the left.

Grabe and Stoller (2011) call for action research to be done with regard to these recognition activities. Specifically, they suggest that in order to gain insights, the focus of such action research should be on the activities’ procedural aspects (e.g., presentation, implementation, pacing, feedback). They hope that, after self-reflection, teachers will be able to identify features that worked well and areas that need to be improved.

Application

Preparation

Grabe and Stoller (2014) instruct teachers to select words for these activities that are both useful for a particular reading and beyond that reading. Furthermore, words from academic vocabulary lists can be selected as well (i.e., Academic Vocabulary List or Academic Word List). Once the words are determined, a rapid recognition sheet can be generated using a simple word processing program. The target word appears on the left side of the page and possible answers follow it on the right. For rapid word recognition, I chose distractors that have a similar form to the target word; for rapid synonym it is helpful to use antonyms as distractors; for rapid definition recognition, using definitions of other words on the list as distractors can be helpful (see Figures 1–3). The end product is a two-sided page. The order of the target words on the front side is different than the order of the target words on the backside. Likewise, the order in which the distractors appear after a given target word are also in varied order.

Presentation and Implementation

From my experience, I have identified two ways to effectively present the new vocabulary items. The first way is to explicitly expose learners to the new words with a simple definition and/or list of synonyms before any rapid recognition activity is done. This provides students the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the target words and their meanings. The second way to present the new words is to do so through implicit instruction by giving the students the rapid recognition sheet without any prior explicit instruction. Instead of being timed, the students discover and learn the words at their own pace by individually completing the sheet. For example, while students complete the sheet, they could use dictionaries, ask the teacher questions, or collaborate with classmates. In this second example, the rapid recognition sheet is used to instruct rather than to practice rapid recognition.

Pacing

After students have become familiar with the words, either through direct instruction or inductive learning, they attempt to accurately recognize either the word, synonym, or definition while under a time restraint. Time restriction is an important element to develop fluency, but determining the amount of time given can be rather arbitrary. Based on my experience, I try to avoid arbitrary time limits by creating circumstances in which students compete against themselves during the activity. For example, with a stopwatch running, students complete one side of the sheet and write down their time. In like manner, students then complete the backside of the sheet striving to beat their previous time. Thus, students are motivated to go faster. It has been my experience that students are intrinsically motivated to go as fast as they can when a stopwatch is present.

It is important to note that multiple iterations of this process can be done during the same class period if necessary. Also, these iterations could be spread out over a week of instruction. In later iterations, the rapid recognition activity could serve more as a review element. As noted previously, creating other versions that are not identical can be used in the later iterations.

Follow-up

Once the timed element is over, students can review their own papers or the teacher can lead a class review. This can help clear up any lingering questions, allow students to solidify learning, and inform the teacher as to the level of understanding of the students.

Washback

Students like these activities so much that they tend to request them. They particularly enjoy the competitive excitement that comes from the timed element. Also, the rapid recognition sheets allow students to have the words right in front of them in a tangible form. Finally, with rapid word recognition and rapid synonym recognition, students are exposed to more words than just the focus words, which further enlarges their vocabulary.

Conclusion

Fluency consists of both decoding and comprehending a text. As readers increase their ability to automatically decode, they can devote more cognitive attention to comprehending the text. Rapid word, synonym, and definition recognition activities help promote automatic decoding. Based on personal experience with these activities, when you implement them in your own classroom it is important to vary the order of the words and distractors, allow students to become familiar with the words either through explicit or implicit instruction, time the students so they strive to beat their previous rate, and conduct a review after the activities. By consistently engaging my students in such activities, I hope that they will become more fluent and more proficient readers.

References

Anderson, N. J. (2014). Developing engaged L2 readers. In M. Celce-Murcia, D. Brinton, & M. Snow (Eds.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language (4th ed., pp. 170–188). Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning.

Grabe, W. (2009). Reading in a second language: Moving from theory to practice. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Grabe, W., & Stoller, F. (2011). Teaching and researching reading (2nd ed.). Harlow, UK: Pearson Education Limited.

Grabe, W., & Stoller, F. (2014). Teaching reading for academic purposes. In M. Celce-Murcia, D. Brinton, & M. Snow (Eds.). Teaching English as a second or foreign language (4th ed., pp. 189–205). Boston, MA: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning.

Samuels, S. J. (2012). Reading fluency: Its past, present, and future. In T. Rasinski, C. Blachowicz, & K. Lems (Eds.). Fluency instruction: Research-based best practices (2nd ed., pp. 3–16). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Ethan Lynn is an English language instructor and tutor at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.