Effects of Two Implementations of Cross-Age Repeated Reading Treatments

Abstract

Learning sight words enables learners to decode unfamiliar words by sight, thus learners can read words in text more efficiently. Penner-Wilger (2008) asserted that when achieving oral reading fluency (ORF) learners would have no problem identifying letters, syllables, and high frequency words. Preliminary finding showed integration of ABRACADABRA (ABRA) online activities into EFL classroom beneficial to young learners’ sight word reading. Since Marcia (2006) proposed cross-age repeated reading as an effective strategy, this study compared effects of two implementations of ABRA activities on improving learners’ decoding ability and ORF. 20 students were randomly as-signed to receive teacher-directed or learner-controlled cross-age repeated reading treatments. Forty three sight words and one reading article were practiced over a 6-week period by pairing a fourth grader and a fifth grader. With respective reliability coefficients of .869, .978, and .870 for decoding test, ORF test, and questionnaire, descriptive statistics showed teacher-directed group had higher gain scores than learner-controlled group in both decoding and ORF performance. With an average positive attitude of 84% for teacher-directed group and 77% for learner-controlled group, results revealed significant differences in: (1) teacher-directed group was highly positive toward using ABRA story to facilitate their ORF; (2) tutees in teacher-directed group highly agreed tutors’ explicit recording of their decoding errors was useful in improving tutors’ ORF; (3) teacher-directed group considered ABRA story useful in enhancing their reading comprehension. It is likely unfamiliarity with ABRA activities and learners’ low English proficiency resulting in learners’ heavy reliance on teacher’s guidance during cross-age repeated training.

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Author Information
Yun Chu Ko, National Changhua University of Education, Taiwan
Ting Hsuan Tsai, National Changhua University of Education, Taiwan
Feng-lan Kuo, National Changhua University of Education, Taiwan
Midori Inaba, Aichi University of Education, Japan
Wan-ting Weng, National Changhua University of Education, Taiwan

• Category: Languages education and applied linguistics (ESL/TESL/TEFL)

Posted by James Alexander Gordon

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