Abstract
While fluent reading is recognized as a primary goal of educational instruction, the methods that best promote the development of fluency remain unclear. Two experiments are reported that examined increases in reading fluency of a novel passage following two types of training. In the context training condition, children learned to read a set of target words in a story context, while in the isolated word training condition, fluency with a target word set was gained from a computerized word naming game. Transfer of fluency to reading these words in a new context was then measured by gains in reading speed, accuracy, and comprehension of a novel story. Results indicated that young readers showed speed benefits on transfer stories following both context and isolated word training, but the increases were larger following context training.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
J.C. Alexander (1998) ArticleTitleReading skill and context facilitation: A classic study revisited The Journal of Educational Research 9 314–318
R.L. Allington (1978) ArticleTitleEffects of contextual constraints upon rate and accuracy Perceptual and Motor Skills 48 1318
N. Archer P. Bryant (2001) ArticleTitleInvestigating the role of content in learning to read: A direct test of Goodman’s model British Journal of Psychology 92 579–591 Occurrence Handle10.1348/000712601162356 Occurrence Handle11762862
D. Bourassa B.A. Levy S. Dowin A. Casey (1998) ArticleTitleTransfer effects across contextual and linguistic boundaries: Evidence from poor readers Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 71 45–61 Occurrence Handle10.1006/jecp.1998.2459 Occurrence Handle9742185
Z. Breznitz (1997) ArticleTitleEffects of accelerated reading rate on memory for text among dyslexic readers Journal of Educational Psychology 89 289–297 Occurrence Handle10.1037//0022-0663.89.2.289
Z. Breznitz (2001) The determinants of reading fluency: A comparison of dyslexic and average readers M. Wolf (Eds) Dyslexia, fluency, and the brain York Press Timonium, MD 245–276
Z. Breznitz L. Berman (2003) ArticleTitleThe underlying factors of word reading rate Educational Psychology Review 15 247–265 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1024696101081
Z. Breznitz D. Share (1992) ArticleTitleEffects of accelerated reading rate on memory for text Journal of Educational Psychology 84 193–199 Occurrence Handle10.1037//0022-0663.84.2.193
F.I.M. Craik R.S. Lockhart (1972) ArticleTitleLevels of processing: A framework for memory research Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior 11 671–684
P.R. Dahl (1979) An experimental program for teaching high speed word recognition and comprehension skills J.E. Button T.C. Lovitt T.D. Rowland (Eds) Communications research in learning disabilities and mental retardation University Park Press Baltimore, MD 33–65
S.L. Dowhower (1987) ArticleTitleEffects of repeated reading on second-grade transitional reader’s fluency and comprehension Reading Research Quarterly 22 389–406
H.J. Faulkner B.A. Levy (1994) ArticleTitleHow text difficulty and reader skill interact to produce differential reliance on word and content overlap in reading transfer Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 58 1–24 Occurrence Handle10.1006/jecp.1994.1023 Occurrence Handle8064215
H.J. Faulkner B.A. Levy (1999) ArticleTitleFluent and nonfluent forms of transfer in reading: Words and their message Psychonomic Bulletin and Review 6 111–116 Occurrence Handle12199304
L.S. Fleisher J.R. Jenkins D. Pany (1979) ArticleTitleEffects on poor readers’ comprehension of training in rapid decoding Reading Research Quarterly 15 30–48
K.S. Goodman (1965) ArticleTitleA linguistic study of cues and miscues in reading Elementary English 42 639–643
K.S. Goodman (1967) ArticleTitleReading: A psychological guessing game Journal of the Reading Specialist 6 126–135
F.R. Johnston (2000) ArticleTitleWord learning in predictable text Journal of Educational Psychology 92 248–255 Occurrence Handle10.1037//0022-0663.92.2.248
Y.H. Kim E.T. Goetz (1994) ArticleTitleContext effects on word recognition and reading comprehension of poor and good readers: A test of the interaction-compensatory hypothesis Reading Research Quarterly 29 178–188
M.R. Kuhn S.A. Stahl (2003) ArticleTitleFluency: A review of developmental and remedial practices Journal of Educational Psychology 95 3–21 Occurrence Handle10.1037//0022-0663.95.1.3
D. LaBerge S.J. Samuels (1974) ArticleTitleToward a theory of automatic information processing in reading Cognitive Psychology 6 293–323 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0010-0285(74)90015-2
B.A. Levy (2001) Moving the bottom M. Wolf (Eds) Dyslexia, fluency, and the brain York Press Timonium, MD 357–379
B.A. Levy B. Abello L. Lysynchuk (1997) ArticleTitleTransfer from word training to reading in context: Gains in reading fluency and comprehension Learning Disability Quarterly 20 173–188
M.A. Markell S.L. Deno (1997) ArticleTitleEffects of increasing oral reading: Generalization across reading tasks The Journal of Special Education 31 233–250
K. Nation M.J. Snowling (1998) ArticleTitleIndividual differences in contextual facilitation: Evidence from dyslexia and poor reading comprehension Child Development 69 996–1101 Occurrence Handle9768483
T. Nicholson (1991) ArticleTitleDo children read words better in context or lists? A classic study revisited Journal of Educational Psychology 83 444–450 Occurrence Handle10.1037//0022-0663.83.4.444
T. Nicholson J. Bailey J. McArthur (1991) ArticleTitleContext cues in reading: The gap between research and popular opinion Reading, Writing, and Learning Disabilities 7 33–41
R. Oaken M. Wiener W. Cromer (1971) ArticleTitleIdentification, organization, and reading comprehension for good and poor readers Journal of Educational Psychology 62 71–78 Occurrence Handle5100137
D.P. Pearson (1978) ArticleTitleOn bridging gaps and spinning chasms Curriculum Inquiry 8 353–363
C.A. Perfetti (1992) The representation problem in reading acquisition P. Gough L. Ehri R. Trieman (Eds) Reading acquisition lawrence Erlbaum Associates Hillsdale, NJ 147–174
C.A. Perfetti S.F. Roth (1981) Some of the interactive processes in reading and their role in reading skill A.M. Lesgold C.A. Perfetti (Eds) Interactive processing in reading lawrence Erlbaum Associates Hillsdale, NJ 269–297
S. Rajaram K. Srinivas H.L. Roediger (1998) ArticleTitleA transfer-appropriate processing account of context effects in word-fragment completion, Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning, Memory, and Cognition 24 993–1004
C.A. Rashotte J.K. Torgesen (1985) ArticleTitleRepeated reading and reading fluency in learning disabled children Reading Research Quarterly 20 180–202 Occurrence Handle10.1598/RRQ.20.2.4
D. Share (1995) ArticleTitlePhonological recoding and self-teaching: sine qua non of reading acquisition Cognition 55 151–218 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0010-0277(94)00645-2 Occurrence Handle7789090
J.E. Spector (1995) ArticleTitlePhonemic awareness training: Application of principles of direct instruction Reading and Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties 11 37–51
K.E. Stanovich (1980) ArticleTitleToward an interactive-compensatory model of individual differences in the development of reading fluency Reading Research Quarterly 16 32–71
K.E. Stanovich (1986) ArticleTitleMatthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy Reading Research Quarterly 21 360–407 Occurrence Handle10.1598/RRQ.21.4.1
K.E. Stanovich (1994) ArticleTitleRomance and reality The Reading Teacher 47 280–291
W.E. Tunmer J.W. Chapman (1995) ArticleTitleContext use in early reading development: Premature exclusion of a source of individual differences? Issues in Education 1 97–100
G.S. Wilkinson (1993) The wide range achievement test Wide Range Inc Wilmington, DE
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Martin-Chang, S.L., Levy, B.A. Fluency Transfer: Differential Gains in Reading Speed and Accuracy Following Isolated Word and Context Training. Read Writ 18, 343–376 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-005-0668-x
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-005-0668-x