Improving reading rates and comprehension through timed repeated reading

Abstract

Thirteen English as a foreign language students read 26 passages during a 13-week period. Each passage was read five times, and students answered comprehension questions after the first and the fifth reading. Another 13 students read the same number of passages but without repetition and only answered the comprehension questions once. All students were tested based on two practiced texts and one unpracticed text before and after the intervention. The results of reading rates showed that the repeated reading students increased 47 words and 45 words per minute in the practiced and unpracticed texts respectively, but the non-repeated students increased 13 and 7 words only. The comprehension levels of the repeated reading students improved 19% and 17% for the practiced and unpracticed texts, but this was 5% and 3% for the non-repeated reading students. Possible reasons for the higher gains compared to previous studies are discussed.