The impact of phrase reading on bentre college english majored students l2 oral reading fluency and reading comprehension submitted to the faculty of english linguistics lite

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HOCHIMINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE    THE IMPACT OF PHRASE READING ON BENTRE COLLE

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HOCHIMINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE

  

THE IMPACT OF PHRASE READING ON BENTRE COLLEGE ENGLISH-MAJORED STUDENTS’ L2 ORAL READING FLUENCY AND READING

COMPREHENSION

Submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature

in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL

By

LE HUNG VU

Supervised by NGUYEN THU HUONG, PhD

HO CHI MINH CITY, OCTOBER 2012

i

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HOCHIMINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE

THE IMPACT OF PHRASE READING ON BENTRE COLLEGE ENGLISH-MAJORED STUDENTS’ L2 ORAL READING FLUENCY AND READING

COMPREHENSION

Submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature

in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL

By

LE HUNG VU

Supervised by NGUYEN THU HUONG, PhD

HO CHI MINH CITY, OCTOBER 2012

Secondly, I would like to thank all of my students, who took part in this research, for their great efforts to complete various tests and questionnaires This thesis would not have been completed without their outstanding cooperation

I also would like to acknowledge my colleagues and friends who directly or indirectly contributed to my thesis My deep gratitude goes to Le Huu Ly and Cu Nhut Suong for their invaluable support, resources, and professional editing for my thesis I owe my thanks to Solis Montufar Adelina and Jefferson Day, two Fulbright English Teaching Assistants at Ben Tre College, who helped me with designing, recording, grading oral reading fluency tests, and proofreading the thesis My appreciation also extended to Mr Le Van Hoang and Ms Tran Thi Thu, for their support in grading the tests and revising the English and Vietnamese versions of the questionnaire

Finally, I wish to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to my mum, dad, family members whose prayers, love and best wishes were a source of inspiration, encouragement and motivation for me as I was successfully completing this study

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STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY

I certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled:

THE IMPACT OF PHRASE READING ON BEN TRE COLLEGE ENGLISH-MAJORED STUDENTS’ L2 ORAL READING FLUENCY AND

READING COMPREHENSION

in terms of the statement of the Requirements for the Theses in Master’s Program issued by the Higher Degree Committee This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institutions

Ho Chi Minh City, October 2012

LE HUNG VU

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, LE HUNG VU, being the candidate for the degree of Master of Arts in TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s theses deposited in the Library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited

in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan

or reproduction of the thesis

Ho Chi Minh City, October 2012

LE HUNG VU

v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY iii

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS v

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS X LIST OF TABLES Xi LIST OF FIGURES Xiii LIST OF CHARTS Xiii ABSTRACT XIv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Aims of the study 4

1.3 Research questions 4

1.4 Research hypotheses 4

1.5 Significance of the study 5

1.6 Organization of the thesis 5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 7

2.1 Theoretical concepts 7

2.1.1 Phrase reading 7

2.1.2 Reading fluency 10

2.1.3 Oral reading fluency 11

2.1.4 Reading comprehension 13

2.2 Empirical research 18

2.2.1 Studies on the impact of phrase or chunk reading on reading fluency and

reading comprehension 18

2.2.2 Studies on the relationship between reading fluency and reading

Comprehension 20

2.3 Conceptual framework 23

2.4 Chapter summary 24

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 26

3.1 Study setting 26

3.2 Participants 26

3.2.1 The control group 27

3.2.2 The experimental group 28

3.3 Design of the study 28

3.4 Instruments 29

3.4.1 Tests 29

3.4.1.1 Proficiency test 29

3.4.1.2 Oral reading fluency test 30

3.4.1.3 Silent reading fluency test 31

3.4.1.4 Reading comprehension test 32

3.4.2 Questionnaires 34

3.4.3 Reliability of the questionnaire 36

3.5 Procedures 36

3.5.1 Pre-treatment stage 37

3.5.2 Treatment stage 37

3.5.3 Post-treatment stage 39

3.5.4 Data collection 39

3.6 Methods of analysis 39

3.6.1 T-test 39

3.6.2 Bivariate correlation 40

3.6.3 Frequency count and percentage 40

3.6.4 Scoring criteria 40

3.6.4.1 Scoring criteria for the OPT 40

vii

3.6.4.2 Scoring criteria for the ORF test 41

3.6.4.3 Scoring criteria for the SRF test 42

3.6.4.4 Scoring criteria for the reading comprehension test 43

3.7 Chapter summary 44

CHAPTER 4 : RESULTS 45

4.1 Statistical analysis of test results on reading speed 45

4.1.1 Statistical analysis of test results on ORF 45

4.1.2 Statistical analysis of test results on SRF 46

4.2 Statistical analysis of test results on reading comprehension 47

4.2.1 Statistical analysis on comprehension of main ideas 49

4.2.2 Statistical analysis on comprehension of details 50

4.2.3 Statistical analysis on word choice performance. 51

4.3 Statistical analysis of test results on the relationship between language proficiency and reading comprehension 53

4.4 Statistical analysis of test results on the relationship between ORF and reading comprehension 54

4.5 Statistical analysis of questionnaire results of students’ views on phrase reading 56

4.5.1 Statistical analysis of students’ problems with phrase reading 56

4.5.1.1Statistical analysis of students’ problems of phrase identification………… 56

4.5.1.2 Statistical analysis of students’ problems of eye fixations 57

4.5.2 Statistical analysis of students’ positive attitudes towards phrase-reading instruction 58

4.5.2.1 Statistical analysis of students’ positive attitudes on the application of PR.58 4.5.2.1.1 Statistical analysis of students’ positive attitudes on the application of PR on reading speed and reading comprehension 58

4.5.2.1.2 Statistical analysis of students’ positive attitudes on the usefulness of PR……… 59

4.5.2.2 Statistical analysis of students’ positive attitudes on the impact of PR 60

4.5.2.2.1 Statistical analysis of students’ positive attitudes on the impact of PR

on reading speed and reading comprehension 60

4.5.2.2.2 Statistical analysis of students’ positive attitudes on the impact of PR on future career 61

4.5.2.2.3 Statistical analysis of students’ positive attitudes on the impact of PR on the creation of motivation 61

4.5.2.3 Statistical analysis of students’ positive attitudes on the possibility of the application of PR 62

4.5.3 Statistical analysis of students’ views on the conditions for successful use of PR……… 63

4.6 Chapter summary 64

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS 65

5.1 Research question 1 65

5.1.1 Significance of eye fixation 65

5.1.2 Comprehension 66

5.2 Research question 2 67

5.3 Research question 3 78

5.4 Research question 4 69

5.5 Chapter summary 69

CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 70

6.1 Summary of key findings 70

6.2 Implications 71

6.3 Limitations 72

6.4 Recommendations for further research 73

6.5 Chapter Summary 74

REFERENCES 75

ix

APPENDIX 1: PROFICIENCY TEST 81

APPENDIX 2A: ORAL READING FLUENCY PRETEST 86

APPENDIX 2B: ORAL READING FLUENCY POSTTEST 86

APPENDIX 3A: SILENT READING FLUENCY PRETEST 87

APPENDIX 3B: SILENT READING FLUENCY POSTTEST 89

APPENDIX 4A:READING COMPREHENSION PRETEST 92

APPENDIX 4B:READING COMPREHENSION POSTTEST 101

APPENDIX 5A: QUESTIONNAIRE (ENGLISH VERSION) 110

APPENDIX 5B: QUESTIONNAIRE (VIETNAMESE VERSION) 114

APPENDIX 6: LESSON PLAN (EXPERIMENTAL GROUP) 118

APPENDIX 7: INDEPENDENT SAMPLE T-TEST 120

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CUP : Cambridge University Press COD : Comprehension of details COM : Comprehension of main ideas EFL : English as a Foreign Language ESL : English as a Second Language L1 : Mother tongue

L2 : Second language

M : Mean ORF : Oral reading fluency OUP : Oxford University Press

p : significance (two-tailed) PET : Preliminary English Test PostT : Posttest

PR : Phrase reading PreT : Pretest

r : Pearson Correlation Coefficient

SD : Standard Deviation Sig (2-tailed): significance (two-tailed) SRF : Silent reading fluency SPSS : Statistics Package for the Social Sciences WCP : Word choice performance

X : Mean Score

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.2.1 The description of the control group……… ……27

Table 3.2.2 The description of the Experimental Group……… ……… 28

Table 3.4.1.4 The reading component of the PET……… ……….33

Table 3.4.2 Structure and Aims of the Questionnaire ……… ……….35

Table 3.4.3 Description of reliability statistics of the questionnaire………… ……….36

Table 3.5.2 Teaching procedures for the experimental group in the treatment stage 37

Table 4.1.1.a Summary of the T-Test result for ORF PostT……… …….46

Table 4.1.1.b Summary of the T-Test result for ORF PreT……… ………… 46

Table 4.1.2.a Summary of the T-Test result for SRF PostT……… ………….46

Table 4.1.2.b Summary of the T-Test result for SRF PreT……… ……… 47

Table 4.2.a Summary of the T-Test Result for reading comprehension PostT ……….48

Table 4.2.b Summary of the T-Test Result for RCPreT……… ………48

Table 4.2.1.a Summary of the T-Test Result for reading comprehension PostT on main idea questions ……… …….49

Table 4.2.1.b Summary of the T-Test result for reading comprehension PreT on main idea questions ……… …….50

Table 4.2.2.a Summary of the T-Test result for reading comprehension PostT on detail questions……… …… 50

Table 4.2.2.b Summary of the T-Test result for reading comprehension PreT on detail questions……… ……… 51

Table 4.2.3.a Summary of the T-Test result for word choice performance in the reading comprehension PostT ……… ……….51

Table 4.2.3.b Summary of the T-Test tesult for word choice performance in the reading

comprehension PreT ……… ………… 52

Table 4.3a Correlation results between proficiency and speed……… ………… 53

Table 4.3b Correlation results between proficiency and comprehension… ………….54

Table 4.4 Correlation results between ORF and comprehension ……… ……….55

Table 4.5.1.1 Students’ problems of phrase identification……… …… 57

Table 4.5.1.2 Students’ problems of eye fixations……… ……….57

Table 4.5.2 Students’ attitudes towards the treatment……… ……….58

Table 4.5.2.1.1 Students’ positive attitudes on the application of PR on reading speed and reading comprehension……… ……… 59

Table 4.5.2.1.2 Students’ positive attitudes on the usefulness of PR…… ………60

Table 4.5.2.2.1 Students’ positive attitudes on the impact of PR on reading speed and reading comprehension……… ………….61

Table 4.5.2.2.2 Students’ positive attitudes on the impact of PR on future career … 61

Table 4.5.2.2.3 Students’ positive attitudes on the impact of PR on the creation of motivation……… …….62

Table 4.5.2.3 Students’ positive attitudes on the possibility of the application of PR .63

Table 4.5.3 Students’ views on the conditions for successful use of PR……… …64

xiii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1.1a Demonstration of phrase reading……… ………….9 Figure 2.1.1b Demonstration of word-by-word reading……… ………9 Figure 2.1.4a A Heuristic for Thinking About Reading Comprehension…… ……….14 Figure 2.1.4b The components of reading comprehension from identifying words to

comprehending texts……… …….16 Figure 2.1.4c Levels of processing in reading comprehension ……… …… 17 Figure 2.3 Conceptual framework ……… …… 24 Figure 4.4 Scattergram showing relationships between ORF and reading

comprehension……… ……….55

LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 4.1 ORF and SRF test scores between two groups …… ………… ………… 47 Chart 4.2a Reading comprehension test scores between two groups …… ………… 49 Chart 4.2b Comprehension of main ideas, comprehension of details, and word choice performance between two groups …… ……… …… 52 Chart 4.5.2 Students’ positive attitudes towards the application of phrase reading in the future……… …… ……… …… 63

Statistical results revealed that students in the group treated with phrase reading instruction significantly outperformed those in the control group in terms of reading speed and comprehension Also, a correlation was found between oral reading fluency

and reading comprehension Moreover, the data obtained from the questionnaire

indicated that the experimental students had positive attitudes towards phrase-reading instruction

The results from the study provide grounds for some implications to be drawn in terms of both reading instruction and strategies for improving EFL reading skills

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

Reading is an essential skill for students of English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and it does not limit to any groups of age The subject of reading plays a crucial role in the training curriculum

in any colleges or universities because of its importance for students not only in the classroom setting but also in real life Reading provides a good input for those who want to improve their minds or to become good speakers or writers (Byrne,1988) This subject is taught as part of the language skills for students in their first four or five semesters at college or university Once students reach their follow-up semesters, reading will serve as a foundation skill for acquiring content knowledge of specialized areas As such reading is quite important However, to the researcher’s observation, students, namely those at the college of Ben Tre still encounter problems related to reading comprehension although they have been presented with many reading strategies This is the reason that has incited the researcher to get involved in this study

1.1 Background of the study

Reading strategies proposed by theorists & practitioners

One of the main aims of teaching reading skills is to provide students with reading strategies which help to improve their comprehension In language learning, strategies are very important for learners According to Oxford (1990, p.1), “language learning strategies are especially important for language learning because they are tools for active, self-directed movement, which is essential for developing communicative competence” In the reading context, reading strategies are the comprehension processes that readers use in order to make sense of what they read (Brantmeier, 2002) They are considered to be plans or ways that enable readers to construct meaning from the printed page most effectively In class, reading techniques and strategies are crucial to help students read English texts

efficiently “Students will never read efficiently unless they can adapt their reading speed and techniques to their aim when reading (Grellet, 1981, p 17)

There have been numerous reading strategies introduced so far Brown (1990, as cited in Nguyen, 2009), for instance, introduced previewing, predicting, skimming, scanning, guessing, and paraphrasing as effective strategies for different reading purposes Brantmeier (2002, p.1) also, besides those strategies concerning the level of comprehending the main ideas, focused much on those strategies that improve learners’ comprehension at the word level (e.g recognizing cognates and word families) Anderson (1999, p.4) brought up six strategies for teachers to consider when teaching reading through the acronym: ACTIVE, which

is described below

A: Activate prior knowledge

C: Cultivate vocabulary

T: Teach for comprehension

I: Increase reading rate

V: Verify reading strategies

E: Evaluate progress

What is worth mentioning concerning ACTIVE is its introduction of the initial I (increase reading rate) This is the idea that has incited the researcher to think of the relationship between reading fluency and reading comprehension since

it is also treated in the Interactions Reading series, which is described below concerning the reading curriculum in such institutions as Ben Tre College

Reading Curriculum at Ben Tre College

Ben Tre College is located in the city of Ben Tre, to the south of Ho Chi Minh city It is the only higher education institution in the province One of its functions is to train students to become English language teachers for primary and junior high schools in the province The reading curriculum at Ben Tre college comprises 225 periods divided into 15 credits This subject is taught weekly, during the first two years and the first semester of the third year Each semester, students’ reading comprehension performance is assessed through two tests and one final exam on the three main contents – comprehension of main ideas, comprehension of details, and word choice performance

Although the reading curriculum is prescribed by the Ministry of Education

& Training (MOET), the selection of textbooks lies in each institution Therefore, the textbooks used to train students’ English reading skills at Ben Tre college is Interactions Reading 1 and Interactions Reading 2 (silver edition) Given the reading strategies described earlier, the Interactions reading have covered most of the strategies mentioned above And what has interested the researcher is the phrase reading strategy provided in Interactions 2 Reading However, the authors

of textbook focused much on the role of phrase in learning new words rather than

on achieving the target of comprehending texts which have been discussed largely

in recent literature as described in detail in chapter 2

Some authors have raised the importance of fluency in reading (e.g reading

in phrases) because it is one of several critical factors making up reading comprehension It is also considered to be a bridge between the two major components of reading – word decoding and comprehension (Rasinski, 2004) When teaching reading at Ben Tre College for years, the researcher has applied the strategies introduced above But, to his observation, these strategies still could not improve his students’ reading fluency after they finished their third year In order

to investigate the reasons affecting students’ reading fluency, he made a survey The main problem emerging from the survey results was that they often read the text by using the word-by-word technique This gave him some questions to ponder:

1 What is the use of skimming? If skimming is proposed as a way of reading fast, then the question that entails is that how does one read fast? The Interactions Reading series haven’t provided the answer

2 What is the use of learning words in phrases? If it helps in memorizing through context, does it help in acquiring meaning from context if it is used as a way of improving the reading rate?

3 There are some theorists who suggest that reading in phrases can improve comprehension, but there are also those who have been against this idea by claiming that reading intensively does improve comprehension Given these contrasting ideas, one might ask: which side is correct?

4 Do different types of phrases present different types of difficulties for EFL students?

These questions did create a foundation for shaping the aim of the study and research questions as described below

1.2 Aims of the study

This MA thesis aims at (1) investigating the effectiveness of phrase-reading strategy on Ben Tre College English-majored students’ oral reading fluency and reading comprehension performance and (2) suggesting applications of phrase reading that help Ben Tre College teachers teach reading comprehension more effectively

1.3 Research questions

The thesis seeks the answers to the following questions:

1 Do students in the group treated with phrase-reading strategy significantly outperform the control group in terms of:

(a) Speed as measured by the Oral Reading Fluency and Silent Reading Fluency Tests?

(b) Comprehension of informational meaning and grammatical meaning

as measured by the PET?

2 Is there any relationship between language proficiency and (1) reading speed, and (2) reading comprehension?

3 Is there a positive relationship between EFL oral reading fluency and EFL reading comprehension?

4 What are students’ views on phrase-reading instructions in terms of:

(a) To what extent do they have problems with phrase reading?

(b) To what extent do they have positive attitudes towards reading instructions?

phrase-(c) What are their views on the conditions for successful use of phrase reading?

1.4 Research hypotheses

On the basis of the research questions the four hypotheses are formulated:

1 Students in the group treated with phrase-reading strategy will perform significantly better than those in the control group in reading fluency and reading comprehension

2 High proficient students will significantly outperform low proficient students in reading speed and comprehension

3 There will be a positive relationship between students’ oral reading fluency and comprehension

4 Students find it more challenging in identifying noun phrase with pre- and post-modifications than other grammatical phrases

1.5 Significance of the study

As reading plays a crucial role in this information era, students’ ability to read English efficiently not only enable them to get information and achieve good academic results, but also update themselves with the latest developments in business, science and technology

This thesis is significant in the way it contributes to improving Ben Tre College students’ reading ability in learning English in general and reading comprehension in particular, and to enhancing teacher’s methods of teaching reading at school Moreover, findings of the study are expected to help raise teachers’ awareness about the importance of reading fluency in aiding comprehension

Finally, some implications drawn from the results of the study will be a reminder to teachers of English at Ben Tre College and other schools that they should be flexible, creative and audacious in applying reading in phrases in teaching reading comprehension

1.6 Organization of the thesis

The present study consists of 6 chapters Chapter 1 presents the introduction, which introduces the background of the problem, aim of the study, research questions, hypotheses, significance of the study, and organization of the thesis Chapter 2 gives a scholarly discussion of issues relevant to the thesis by theoretical concepts and empirical studies Also, a conceptual framework

formulated for the study is introduced in this chapter Chapter 3 presents the research design and methodology employed in the study The issues covered in this chapter are described in terms of study setting, participants, research design, instruments, procedures of the study, and methods of analysis Chapter 4 reports on the findings from the data collected from proficiency, oral reading fluency, silent reading fluency, comprehension test and questionnaires Chapter 5 is confined within the discussions of the findings of the study Chapter 6 presents the conclusions, implications, and recommendations for further research together with some limitations of the study

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Concerns about whether or not phrase reading can improve reading comprehension and fluency have recently sparked off heated debates among linguists and pedagogists because “reading fluency - what good readers do on a continual basis with most reading material that they encounter - is an essential component of efficient reading-comprehension abilities” (Grabe, 2009, p.289) Given the importance of fluency to reading outcomes, different strategies for the improvement of reading fluency have been examined The key objective of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of phrase-reading strategy for the development of reading fluency, resulting in reading comprehension Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to review the theories and previous research studies related to phrase-reading strategy, reading fluency, reading comprehension, relationship among them, as well as discussions of the reviewed studies This review of literature is categorized in two main parts Part one presents the theoretical concepts, and part two summarizes the review of empirical research related to the above issues

2.1 Theoretical concepts

The theoretical concepts are presented in terms of definitions and explanations of the issues related to the study such as phrase reading, reading fluency, and reading comprehension

2.1.1 Phrase reading (PR)

According to Henk (1986, as cited in Nichols et al., 2009), “phrase reading

is an excellent strategy for promoting students’ ability to read in syntactically appropriate and meaningful idea units or phrases, in order to understand what they read, and to increase automaticity in word recognition and enhanced comprehension” (p.7) Smith (1978) also suggested that readers need to chunk words into larger, meaningful units in order to facilitate better comprehension

This author referred to phrases as “the process of storing the largest meaningful unit of information in short term memory” (p.49) Kuhn and Stahl (2003) shared smith’s idea, maintaining that a reader’s comprehension might be specified whenever his or her proper competence of chunking word bundles into phrases and meaningful units is ascertained Reading authorities argued that the reader’s ability

to read in phrase is necessary for fluent, proficient reading (Allington, 1983) The National Reading Panel Report (2000) indicated that reading fluency typically include the element of grouping or chunking words into appropriate phrases This idea was further developed by Allington (2006) who contended “fluency is reading

in phrases, with appropriate intonation and prosody - fluency is reading with expression” (p.94)

It can accordingly be asserted that phrase reading can help readers speed up their reading This is because they can read a phrase at a time So, it helps them reduce eye fixations and pause in reading a sentence Many researchers who were interested in improving students’ reading abilities conducted experiments to see precisely what happened in their reading process They discovered eye fixations and effects on reading speed Sutz (2009) asserted that “the fewer eye fixations you have when reading, the faster you read” (p.36) This is undoubtedly worth noticing

Nichols et al (2009) argued that “phrase reading is helpful in reducing by-word reading, which is a major roadblock to successful fluent reading and freeing capacity for higher-level comprehension” (p.7) In other words, word-by-word reading is a barrier which can negatively affect fluent reading and higher-level interpretation stage in the comprehension process In fact, when reading with phrase reading, the reader’s eyes fixed on phrases, they did not process a text word

word-by word, but rather phrases word-by phrases They expanded the fixation zone, reduced the fixation time, then, improved the reading speed The fixation time during which the eye is focused at a given fixation zone, is also very important, as the shorter fixation time, the more reading speed will improve Hence, phrase reading can help readers improve their reading fluency This will be proved by the Figure 2.1.1 below

Figure 2.1.1a Demonstration of phrase reading

As can be apparently seen from the figure, the reader’s eyes move across the

sentence from left to right in stops and starts called eye fixations, and with each

fixation, he or she settles on one phrase after another The eyes are focused on the

fixation point in each fixation zone - visual span In the figure, the reader is reading

the noun phrase “The willow”, the verb phrase “grows in temperate regions” and the

prepositional phrase “of the Northern Hemisphere” respectively in three eye

fixations If the reader reads the sentence word by word, he or she will have more

fixations The following figure gives a demonstration of word-by-word reading

The / willow / grows / in / temperate / regions / of / the / Northern / Hemisphere.

         

Figure 2.1.1b Demonstration of word-by-word reading

Figure 2.1.1b shows that there will be more stops when a reader reads a

sentence with word-by-word reading manner This results in taking more time in

reading So, readers who often read in single word manner are slower and less accurate than fluent readers With phrase reading, readers can reduce time for reading and can improve their reading speed – an important component of reading fluency

In addition to improving reading fluency, phrase reading can also help readers gain better reading achievement (Rasinki, 2003) When learners read by jumping from phrases to phrases rather than from word to word, one phrase will provide meaning to the next phrase They will comprehend better because the context and meaning of each sentence is more apparent when they read words in phrases (Sutz, 2009, p 119) In other words, they can get the meaning of the following phrase based on the previous phrase The previous phrase will create a context for understanding the following one

Reading in phrases is similar to reading in chunks (or chunking) because of the partial similarity between “phrase” and “chunk” While chunking segments a sentence into a sequence of syntactic constituents, phrase is one of the syntactic constituents of a sentence itself One who reads in phrases is one who chunks text into meaningfully syntactical phrases There have been numerous studies on the impact of phrase or chunk reading on reading fluency and comprehension which are reported in section 2.2.1

As presented above, phrase reading can help readers improve their reading fluency which is one of the important components of comprehension and is mentioned in the following section

2.1.2 Reading fluency

Reading fluency has been a major concern in reading research and English language teaching for the past three decades as reading fluency forms a bridge from decoding to comprehension (Rasinski, 2004) Comprehension is the goal of reading, and fluency is required for comprehension (NICHD, 2000, p.3-1) Despite its immense importance in boosting reading, fluency instruction was referred to as

“a neglected reading goal” (Allington, 1983 & National Reading Panel, 2000)

There have been numerous confounding definitions about this concept Over the years, reading fluency has been differently defined through different

stages in the study of reading This study focused mainly on the fresh definitions recently proposed by researchers The National Reading Panel Report (2000) formulated reading fluency as “the ability to read text with speed, accuracy, and proper expression” (p.31) Grabe (2004) pointed out that reading fluency is also thought to consist of both accuracy and automaticity in word recognition as well as the appropriate use of prosodic and syntactic knowledge for better comprehension

of text Blevins (2005) noted that a fluent reader is the one who can read rapidly, recognize words automatically, and interpret phrases correctly (p.13)

Rasinski (2004) argued that there are three dimensions in reading fluency: accuracy in word decoding, automatic processing, and prosodic reading That is, fluent readers decode words precisely and spontaneously, without (or with minimal) use of their limited attention or conscious cognitive resources This author explained that this aspect of fluency is initially shaped with the notion that readers have limited attentional resources If readers have to use a sizable portion

of resources for word decoding, those resources will not be available for use in comprehension It means that fluent readers read words accurately with expression

at a speed that is conducive for comprehension That is, when readers are able to recognize words accurately and rapidly, they have far greater capacity for attention leading to comprehending a text

In dealing with components of reading fluency, Reutzel (2006) stated that major elements of fluency are speed or rate of reading, accuracy, and proper expressions Penner (2008) shared Reutzel’s ideas when summarizing three foundation skills or indicators of reading fluency: (1) accuracy of decoding, the ability to correctly generate a phonological representation of each word, (2) automaticity of word recognition, the ability to quickly recognize words, with little cognitive effort or attention, and (3) prosody of oral text reading, the ability

of an individual to read while providing the appropriate expression implied by the text

2.1.3 Oral reading fluency (ORF)

In regards to reading fluency, oral reading fluency is defined as “the speed with which text is reproduced into spoken language” (Fuchs et al., 2001) Speece

and Ritchey (2005) also noted oral reading fluency as “translating written text into

an oral output with speed and accuracy” According to Shanahan (2005), “oral reading fluency is the ability to read text aloud with accuracy, speed, and proper expression” (p.18) Most measures of ORF, therefore, contain two important components of reading fluency: accuracy and automaticity

Fuchs, Fuchs, Hosp, & Jenkins (2001) have argued that ORF is an important indicator of overall reading competence, which includes reading comprehension (p.239) This argument is based on the fact that reading is a complex multicomponent process that requires accessing stored mental orthographic images and lexical meanings, making connections between sentences, relating current text information to previous information, and making inferences (Wise et al., 2010)

The automaticity model of reading by LaBerge and Samuels (1974) is one

of the most frequently cited frameworks for conceptualizing ORF as an index of overall reading competence According to this theory, two steps are involved to get meaning from printed words: decoding and comprehension In reading, decoding is

a process wherein printed words are translated into spoken words (Samuels, 1994)

It is believed to play a principle role in the reading process since rapid and accurate decoding of words is undoubtedly crucial to any kind of reading, especially L2 reading The theory of automatic information processing specifically focuses on the importance of automaticity for fluent reading In other words, automaticity is referred to as the ability to identify words with minimal conscious attention

In connection to fluent reading, the principles of automaticity enable students to read in a fairly effortless or automatic manner That specified ease in recognizing words, combined with the ability to group or “chunk” words into meaningful phrases and clauses, allows one to rapidly attune mental processes to obtain meaning from a certain text That is, readers who have not yet achieved automaticity in word recognition (fluency) must apply a significant amount of their finite cognitive energies to consciously decode the words they encounter while reading This causes a negative effect on a more important task namely comprehending the text because the cognitive attention or energies for

comprehension is applied for lower-level decoding task Thus, comprehension is negatively affected by a reader’s lack of fluency (Rasinki, 2005) And when the capacity of attention is used for word identification, the execution of high-level processes such as reading comprehension is impossible Therefore, less skilled readers who fall at the hurdle of reading text effortlessly and automatically might not possess enough attentional capacity for reading comprehension because the attentional resources these readers use to decode words are unavailable for higher-level thinking in terms of reading comprehension Current researchers believe that lack of automaticity in lower-level processing might lead to poor-skilled reading (Alyousef, 2005)

Furthermore, according to Castles (2006, as cited in Wise et al., 2010), reading comprehension is accomplished through two separate paths: the lexical route and the nonlexical route The lexical route involves accessing stored mental orthographic images; the non-lexical route involves decoding graphemes into the phonemes of oral language Thus, when learners read orally more fluently and automatically, the processing capacity for comprehending a text will be improved

In short, reading fluency in general and ORF in particular are crucial components in the process of reading comprehension which is defined and described in details in the following section

2.1.4 Reading comprehension

Snow (2002) defines reading comprehension “as the process of simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning through interaction and involvement with written language” (p.xiii) According to this author, comprehension entails three elements: (1) The reader who is doing the comprehending; (2) the text that is to be comprehended; and (3) the activity in which comprehension is a part

First, in considering the reader, Snow includes all the capacities, abilities (e.g., attention, memory, critical analytic ability, inferencing, visualization ability), their motivation (a purpose for reading, an interest in the content being read, self-efficacy as a reader), various types of knowledge (vocabulary, domain and topic knowledge, linguistic and discourse knowledge, knowledge of specific comprehension strategies), and experiences that a readers bring to the act of reading

Reader’s fluency can be conceptualized as both an antecedent to and a

consequence of comprehension (Snow, 2002, p.13) Some aspects of fluent,

expressive reading may depend on a thorough understanding of a text However,

some components of fluency - quick and efficient recognition of words and at least

some aspects of syntactic parsing - appear to be prerequisites for comprehension

Second, text, according to her, includes printed text or electronic one The

features of any given text have a large impact on comprehension While reading, the

reader constructs various representations of the text that are important for

comprehension

Finally, regarding activity, she includes the purposes, processes, and

consequences associated with the act of reading And all of these occur within some

specific context These three dimensions define a phenomenon that occurs within a

larger sociocultural context that shapes and is shaped by the reader and that interacts

with each of the three elements Snow (2002) describes the interaction of the three

dimensions in the following figure

Figure 2.1.4a A heuristic for thinking about reading comprehension

(from Snow,2002)

The reader, the text, and the activity are all influenced by the sociocultural context The sociocultural context mediates students’ experiences, just as students’ experiences influence the context Reader, text, and activity are also interrelated in dynamic ways that vary across pre-reading, reading, and post-reading Among the three dimensions, the reader is the one who determines his or her comprehension

To comprehend, a reader must have a wide range of capacities and abilities These include cognitive capacities, motivation, and knowledge Of course, the specific cognitive, motivational, and linguistic capacities and the knowledge base called on

in any act of reading comprehension depend on the texts in use and the specific activity in which one is engaged

Snow, Sweet, Alvermann, Kamil, and Stricland (2002) suggest that reading comprehension is made up of nine cognitive components: fluency, vocabulary, world knowledge, discourse knowledge, linguistic knowledge, motivation, purposes and goals, cognitive and meta-cognitive strategies, and integrating non-print information with text They are used when a reader aims to create comprehension of the text They also asserted that good comprehenders are fluent readers Non-fluent reading demands mental capacity that would be needed for comprehension process Fluent readers read with ease and expression Fluency involves accuracy and automatic word identification, decoding with facility, and expressiveness in reading

It demands exact word identification and decoding ability

Shanahan (2005) defines reading comprehension as “the act of understanding

and interpreting the information within a text” (p.28) Comprehension is about the construction of meaning more than about passive memorizing It is a form of active and dynamic thinking and includes interpreting information through the filter of one’s own knowledge and beliefs, using the author's organizational plan to think about information (or imposing one’s own structure on the ideas), inferring what the author does not tell explicitly as well as many other cognitive actions Successful comprehension requires the thoughtful interaction of a reader with a text

Perfetti et al (2005) presented a framework for comprehension to help acknowledge some complexities about the concept of reading comprehension According to these authors, comprehension occurs as the reader builds a mental

representation of a text message The comprehension processes occur at multiple levels across units of language: word level, (lexical processes), sentence level (syntactic processes), and text level Across these levels, processes of word identification, parsing, referential mapping, and a variety of inference processes all contribute, interacting with the reader’s conceptual knowledge, to produce a mental model of the text

Figure 2.1.4b The components of reading comprehension from identifying

words to comprehending texts (from Perfetti et al., 2005)

As seen from Figure 2.1.5b, there are two major classes of processing events: (1) the identification of words, and (2) the engagement of language processing mechanisms that assemble these words into messages These processes provide contextually appropriate word meanings, parse word strings into constituents, and provide inferential integration of sentence information into more complete representations of extended text These representations are not the result

of exclusively linguistic processes, but are critically enhanced by other knowledge

sources Reading comprehension is a complex process in itself It consists of lower-level word recognition and higher-level syntactic and semantic processes Efficient lower-level word recognition processes will facilitate higher-level syntactic and semantic processes, resulting in effective reading comprehension

Kirby (2007) considers reading comprehension as “the ability to understand written text; It involves interpreting meaning from text by decoding words, understanding vocabulary, and creating connections between these and the reader’s prior knowledge and experience” (p.1) This author presents two levels of processing in reading comprehension (see Figure 2.1.5c)

Figure 2.1.4c Levels of processing in reading comprehension (from Kirby, 2007)

The figure above demonstrates two types of processing: "bottom-up" and

"top-down" In bottom-up processing, words are formed into phrases, and phrases are formed into more abstract units called ideas Then, comprehension at the phrase or idea level results in a relatively shallow understanding of what the text stated directly, often termed literal comprehension Further processing of these ideas either selects particular ones as main ideas, or constructs main ideas from them, and then thematic generalizations or abstractions out of the main ideas Top-down processing occurs when higher-level information, just as knowledge of the general topic of the text, helps the reader identify lower-level information

It is important to recognize that both bottom-up and top-down processing often occur in reading comprehension This is called interactive processing The higher levels of processing require prior knowledge to help decide what is

important, and especially to see the deeper implications of the text This study does not dignify the lower-level processing (bottom-up processing) or higher-level processing (top-down processing) in reading It just puts a stress on the strategy of improving fluency in word recognition stage to make a great contribution to comprehension because successful word recognition is a prerequisite for the higher-levels of comprehension (Kirby, 2007)

2.2 Empirical research

Previous studies related to the present study are reviewed and classified into two categories: (1) studies that explored the impact of phrase reading on ORF and reading comprehension and (2) studies that investigated the relationship between

reading fluency and reading comprehension

2.2.1 Studies on the impact of phrase or chunk reading on reading fluency and reading comprehension

The impact of phrase reading on reading fluency and reading comprehension has been recognized significantly by many educational researchers

O’Shea and Sindelar (1983) examined the efficacy of segmenting written discourse into meaningful phrases to improve comprehension scores on a maze task The participants were 83 first- through third-grade students randomly selected from elementary schools in a small city school district in central Pennsylvania They were categorized as low or high performance based on measures of reading speed and accuracy The children were asked to complete two maze tasks at the third-grade reading level - one segmented and one standard typographic passage The results indicated that segmenting sentences into meaningful units aids both high- and low-performance readers Correlation analysis showed that the effect of segmenting text was especially pronounced for slow but accurate readers However, the subjects of O’Shea and Sindelar’ s study were elementary students;

to examine the effectiveness of this strategy accurately, there should be studies on older subjects The next study would carry out this mission

Casteel (1990) conducted a study to examine whether text-material presented in "chunks" or phrases would significantly improve the reading

comprehension of 50 eighth-grade students (32 females and 18 males) from a public middle school within Jefferson Parish, Louisiana The participants were divided into two reading-ability groups The performance of each group, one high- and low-ability, was compared to determine if they differ in ability to comprehend text-material presented in “chunked” style Test results revealed that low-ability readers' scores were significantly affected by “chunked" style material On the other hand, high ability readers showed marginal or no gain on test scores These results indicate “chunking" sentences into meaningful unit of thought aids low-ability readers more than high-ability readers The results of this study indicated the strengths of the strategy, but the participants of this study were only tested silently This was actually hard to assert that participants fully applied the strategy introduced into reading This gap would be fulfilled in the study below

LeVasseur et al (2006) conducted two experiments aiming at investigating the effects of syntactically segmented text on ORF in developing readers The participants for the first experiment were 35 children of second- and third-grade classes from two urban elementary schools in Rhode Island, U.S and 26 children attending two third-grade classes from a suburban public school in southeastern Massachusetts, U.S The participants were required to read aloud passages under two text format conditions In the structure-preserving condition, the ends of lines coincided with ends of clauses; in the phrase-disrupting condition, line breaks always interrupted a phrasal unit The results of experiment 1 showed that ORF, as indexed by skill in phrasal reading, was rated higher when children were reading in the structure-preserving condition In addition, the structure-preserving condition resulted in significantly fewer false starts at the beginning of lines following a return sweep Experiment 2, in which texts of varying levels of difficulty were read

by slightly older readers, confirmed both findings

All of the three previous studies were conducted in L1 setting So, Yamashita and Ichikawa (2010) carried out a study with the purpose of investigating the relationship between chunking and L2 reading fluency and comprehension The participants were 48 intermediate and advanced level Japanese EFL learners A self-paced reading task in a moving-window condition was used for exploring the effects

of text segmentation on rate and comprehension in L2 reading Four text modes were

used: the Whole-Text, Single Words (word-by-word), Meaningful Chunks chunk), and Fragmented Word-groups (fragment-by-fragment) The results of the study showed that the difficulty of chunking a text negatively affected comprehension and smoothness for the intermediate learners while the advanced learners were able to overcome chunking difficulty In this study, although the negative effects of chunking difficulty were observed, the positive effects of assisting chunking were not clearly detected, which was interpreted as suggesting that the relationship between chunking and reading needs to be considered in light of the complex interplay between text difficulty and different aspects of reading

2.2.2 Studies on the relationship between reading fluency and reading Comprehension

There are numerous studies examining the relation between reading fluency and reading comprehension

Rasinski et al (2005) conducted a study that assessed the decoding accuracy and fluency levels of 303 ninth-grade students from a moderate-sized urban district in the U.S Midwest The students were asked to sit for an oral test The researcher used

a one minute reading probe, also known as Curriculum-Based Measurement in reading or ORF Assessment The students were individually tested, reading a ninth-grade level for one minute Then, the researchers obtained students’ performance scores on the state high school graduation test, a silent reading comprehension test, for investigating the relation between students’ reading fluency and comprehension In this study, fluency was defined as students' reading rate The findings suggested that lack of reading fluency may be one chief cause for reading comprehension difficulties among secondary school students Some attention to fluency for those students who are not fluent readers offers prospects of significant improvements in reading comprehension and overall academic performance across the content areas However, that ORF and reading comprehension assessments were not carried out simultaneously could cause inappropriateness in assessment

Talada (2007) filled the gaps of the above research by carrying out a quantitative study to investigate the relationship between ORF and comprehension The participants were 68 second and third grade students at a private Catholic

elementary school in Elmira, New York Fluency scores were generated for each student using the ORF testing component of Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) The ORF subtest of the DIBELS assessment was a test produced by the University of Oregon and was given individually to students The students’ comprehension abilities were metered using the TerraNova assessment generated by McGraw-Hill Publishing Company The TerraNova Basic Multiple Assessment is a standardized test produced by the McGraw-Hill publisher to offer a variety of batteries to cohesively assess reading, specifically reading comprehension These scores were then statistically compared to determine the relationship between ORF and comprehension The results revealed that a reciprocal relationship existed between ORF and comprehension, which showed that as one reads more fluently, his or her ability to comprehend also improves However, the plain fact that the various levels of fluency (within which reading fluency manifests itself differently) were neglected by Talada did call for further research

Klauda and Guthrie (2008), hence, examined the relationships of three levels of reading fluency- the individual word, the syntactic unit, and the whole passage - to reading comprehension among 278 fifth graders from thirteen classrooms in a small city in a mid-Atlantic state of America Three measures of fluency and single measures of reading comprehension, inferences, and background knowledge were employed in this study The statistical results revealed that reading fluency at each level correlated with performance on a standardized reading comprehension test in a model including inferencing skill and background knowledge The study supported an automaticity effect for word recognition speed and an automaticity-like effect related to syntactic processing skill In addition, hierarchical regressions using longitudinal data suggested that fluency and reading comprehension have a bidirectional relationship

Wise et al (2010) also conducted a study to examine whether different measures of oral reading fluency relate differentially to reading comprehension performance Participants were 1095 second-grade students who were recruited for participation in different reading intervention studies The research pool were divided into two samples: (a) students who evidenced difficulties with nonsense-word oral reading fluency, real-word oral reading fluency, and oral reading fluency of connected

text (ORFD, n = 146), and (b) students who evidenced difficulties only with oral reading fluency of connected text (CTD, n = 949) Data analyzed were from measures

of nonsense-word oral reading fluency, real-word oral reading fluency, oral reading fluency of connected text, and reading comprehension that were collected at the pre-intervention time point Correlational and path analyses indicated that real-word oral reading fluency was the strongest predictor of reading comprehension performance in both samples and across average and poor reading comprehension abilities

In general, the previous studies yielded some benefits which effectively contribute to the teaching of reading Firstly, it can be seen that grouping or

“chunking” words into syntactically meaningful phrases is one of the most significant strategies that students can utilize to read effectively Specifically, segmenting written discourse into meaningful phrases can aid both high- and low-performance readers (O’Shea & Sindelar, 1983) Also, chunking text into meaningful segments has proven useful for some readers, particularly the weaker readers who may lack this skill (Casteel, 1990) Another significant contribution from the previous studies is that reading fluency, especially ORF, was clearly attested a positive factor contributing comprehension (Talada, 2007; Klauda and Guthrie, 2008; Wise et al., 2010)

Although the reviewed studies indicate considerable strong points that should

be drawn for language learning and teaching, there are still some inadequacies First, most of the studies were carried out for young learners like primary and secondary students (O’Shea and Sindelar,1983; Casteel, 1990; Rasinski et al., 2005; LeVasseur

et al., 2006; Talada, 2007; etc,…) Therefore, they might not be highly effective for examining adult subjects This is because age factor can affect learners’ language acquisition Second, these studies were aimed to investigate the effect of phrase or chunk reading on reading comprehension in general The researchers somehow overlooked the impact of this strategy on different types of comprehension (e.g., comprehension of informational meaning, comprehension of grammatical meaning, etc,…) Third, how to identify meaningfully grammatical units or phrases was not found in the reviewed studies

In conclusion, the preceding studies yielded both merits and defects Most

of the studies show that phrase reading is an important factor positively affecting reading fluency which has a positive relation to reading comprehension Simultaneously, some research gaps were also drawn from these studies All of the above theoretical concepts and empirical research has helped the researcher a clear understanding of the related literature and provide him a base for the conceptual framework for the current study

2.3 Conceptual framework

The previous section has outlined a brief of the relevant theoretical aspects, including both shared and contradictory ideas as well as the available empirical validations for them The fact that those findings failed to provide a satisfactory answer to the reading paradigm has supposedly paved the way for this research In

an attempt to mitigate any potential issues that might arise in the study, a conceptual framework is carefully shaped to guide the researcher through each step

of the whole investigation procedure, concerning a number of core facets

Firstly, there was a long-held consensus among researchers in the field claiming that phrase reading is highly effective in boosting reading comprehension, with Nichols and Rasinki’s proposition being the most intriguing The succession of the studies carried out by O’Shea and Sindelar (1983), Casteel (1990) and Yamashita & Ichikawa (2010) also reaffirmed the effectiveness of this strategy via the conformity they came up with Yet, it may be worth noticing that all of these studies tapped on a merely peripheral realm of reading comprehension without further probing the integral constituents which tacitly comprises the term comprehension itself Therefore, the present study strives for a more rigorous analysis by reformulating the conventional conceptual framework for reading comprehension, taking two aspects namely grammatical meaning and informational meaning into consideration Those are the two dimensions proposed

by Cohen (1994) in the book entitled Assessing Language Ability in the Classroom, discerning the syntactic patterns and ideas units as well as the relationship among them in the target reading text Phrase reading is operationalized through oral reading and silent reading, so these two forms are

used to measure the impact of phrase reading on reading fluency and comprehension

In addition, despite the fact that reading fluency as a prime target and the route leading to it tend to be envisaged in a rather informative and concise way, readers’ age range and proficiency level and the thought-provoking issue of whether and to which extent they may affect reading comprehension has not been thoroughly addressed in the existing literature That is to say, priorly conducted research was either too favorable towards a pre-defined subject (e.g the low age group) or prone to the lack of careful consideration for the correlation among those variables It is hence credible to believe that the readers’ age factor and proficiency should always pertain to the exploration performed in this study Moreover, when reading in phrases, students may find it challenging in phrase identification These problems, thus, are examined through the questionnaire

Figure 2.3 Conceptual framework

In short, on the theoretical grounds provided, the course of actions devised for this study will strictly follow the aforementioned framework in order for the research aims founded to be satisfactorily fulfilled

2.4 Chapter summary

This chapter has reviewed the theoretical concepts and empirical research related to the present study Respectively, definitions of phrase reading, reading

fluency, ORF, and reading comprehension were reviewed Also, assessment of reading fluency was mentioned Moreover, previous studies have been classified, compared, and analyzed These studies have proved that there was a bidirectional relationship between reading fluency and reading comprehension; and chunking text into syntactically meaningful units could improve both reading fluency and reading comprehension The literature reviewed in this chapter supports the theoretical framework for the present study In the following chapter, the research

methodology employed will be presented