The relationship between reading fluency and other aspects of language proficiency: A look from a speed reading course

The relationship between reading fluency and other aspects of language proficiency: A look from a speed reading course

Tran Thi Ngoc Yen yenttn@vinhuni.edu.vn Vinh University
Summary: 
Past research has reported that training on other aspects affected the learner’s language complexity but did not substantially promote accuracy or the results were too ambiguous to determine if accuracy was also improved (Ellis, 1987; Crookes, 1989; Wigglesworth, 1997). This study set out to determine if this is also the case for speed reading courses, in which EFL learners are trained to improve their reading fluency. An experiment was conducted on university students in order to see if their language knowledge accuracy would improve when their reading fluency developed. During the experiment, two treatment groups and two control groups were following an English program at university while the treatment groups also followed a speed reading course, which lasted two months. A set of language memory span tests were given before and after the treatment. The results indicated that although improvement in reading fluency facilitates language complexity, it does not assist language accuracy development to a remarkable degree.
Keywords: 
Reading fluency
language complexity
language accuracy
speed reading courses
language memory span tests
Refers: 

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