| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,200,000)
Fiscal Year 2006: ¥900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000)
Fiscal Year 2005: ¥1,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000)
Fiscal Year 2004: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000)
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| Research Abstract |
In the period given, the project attempted to achieve the clarification of the concept of reading fluency and to obtain insights into educational practices (instruction ＆ evaluation) for improving reading fluency. The research, both theoretical and empirical, has been accomplished as planned (main contributions are listed below). However, the concept of reading fluency was found to be broader and more complex than expected, and we need further research on this topic by focusing on each construct of reading fluency.
1 The project clarified the concept of reading fluency based on L1 and L2 reading studies and summarized broadly accepted methods for fluency assessment and training.
2 Extensive reading, a method that may improve reading fluency, has been adopted in English classes at a university, and its effect on L2 readers' development was examined using EPER tests. As expected, the effect of extensive reading appeared more quickly on reading fluency than on general English language profi
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ciency. Internal consistency and interrater scoring reliability of the EPER tests were confirmed.
3 As for lexical processing (a component of reading fluency), the project found that intermediate learners rely on the L1 mediation route when they access meanings from English words, which resulted in their slower speed in lexical processing compared with advanced learners. Direct connections between form and meaning are necessary to achieve fluency, and the result showed that form-meaning connections are strengthened at a high level of L2 proficiency.
4 As for syntactic processing (a component of reading fluency), the project examined the effect of chunking. It was found that intermediate learners cannot understand texts well if sentences are not chunked properly. However, there was no effect of chunking on reading speed and the intermediate learners were slower than advanced learners in any of the conditions included in the study. Their slow reading speed may be attributed to lexical processing rather than syntactic processing.
5 Thanks to the collaborators, the project introduced a computer software program for reading fluency training, a result of a study on L2 learners' phoneme awareness, and a L2 literacy project in Holland (NELSON project). Less
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