Fluency and English Language Learners

Fluency: Challenges and Strategies

What: The ability to read a text accurately and quickly.

Why it matters: Fluency is important because it provides a bridge between word recognition and comprehension.

Challenges for ELLs

Inaccurate indicator of ELLs' comprehension

It is not unusual for an ELL student to read a passage beautifully and then not be able answer more than a couple of comprehension questions correctly. Decoding skills (sounding out words) and comprehending the text are two different skills.

Limited benefit from hearing texts read aloud

Native speakers who are not strong decoders can often comprehend text that is read to them better than text that they read themselves. That's because when someone else is doing the reading, they can focus on meaning without having to struggle to get the words off the page.

With ELLs, however, comprehension problems tend to be associated with limited vocabulary and limited background knowledge. Thus, listening to text read by someone else won't enhance comprehension.

Strategies for ELLs

Balance fluency andcomprehension

For ELLs, try not to provide instruction in fluency that focuses primarily on developing students' reading rates at the expense of reading with expression, meaning, and comprehension.

Students may read fast, but with insufficient comprehension. Fluency without comprehension will require instructional intervention in vocabulary and comprehension skills.

Give students a chance to practice reading out loud

In order to improve fluency in English, provide independent level texts that students can practice again and again, or read a short passage and then have the student immediately read it back to you.

Have the student practice reading a passage with a certain emotion or to emphasize expression, intonation, and inflection based on punctuation.

Allow students to practice reading along with taped text

This is an excellent way for them to learn appropriate pronunciation and phrasing.

Comprehension: Challenges and Strategies

What:Understanding the meaning of the text.

Why it matters: Comprehension is the reason for reading. Readers who have strong comprehension are able to draw conclusions about what they read.

Challenges for ELLs

Limited ability to read for meaning

ELLs who struggle with comprehension may read more slowly, have a hard time following a text or story, have a hard time picking out important events, and feel frustrated. They may also have problems mastering new concepts in their content-area classes or completing assignments and assessments because they cannot comprehend the texts and tests for these subjects.

Strategies for ELLs

Build background knowledge

One way to build background knowledge is through a book, unit or chapter "walk-through." ELLs can preview the information in the text and begin tomake connections with the knowledge they have.

If the text is about a fair, the student may note that the pictures are similar to fairs they have attended in the past and they can think of the kinds of experiences a person has in that environment.

If it is a science textbook the student may see visuals of animals or processes that remind them of concepts they may have learned or are somewhat familiar with.

Check comprehension frequently

As students read, ask them open-ended questions about what they are reading, and informally test students' ability to sequence material from sentences or a story by printing sentences from a section of the story on paper strips, mixing the strips or word order, and having students put them in order.

Use questions after reading

After the ELLs and/or whole class have completed the reading, you can test their comprehension with carefully crafted questions, taking care to use simple sentences and key vocabulary from the text they just read.

These questions can be at the:

• Literal level (Why do the leaves turn red and yellow in the fall?)

• Interpretive level (Why do you think it needs water?)

• Applied level (How much water are you going to give it? Why?)