The effect of a timed reading activity on EFL learners: Speed, comprehension, and perceptions

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2010-10

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University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center
Center for Language & Technology

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22

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2

Starting Page

284

Ending Page

303

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Abstract

To develop reading fluency, a 13-week timed reading activity was integrated into a normal curriculum with the aim of improving students’ reading rates. Participants were 84 college students divided into an experimental and a control group. The test instruments involved pretests and posttests on reading speed and comprehension. Students’ perceptions were based on a final written report toward the end of the course activity. Results show that students doing the timed reading activity increased their reading speed on average by 29 words per minute (25%) and comprehension by .63 (4%). The differences across two time periods for the experimental group were statistically significant but not so for the control group. Students who did the timed reading activity became more confident in their reading and were impressed with the amount of the reading they had done without the teachers’ guidance. Limitations and factors contributing to the outcome are discussed.

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reading rate, reading fluency, reading speed, timed reading, reading perceptions

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