Reading Prosody

This study compares the quantitative and qualitative assessment of teachers and teacher candidates with the "Prosodic Reading Scale" each other and with the assessment based on acoustic parameters. Sixty-four teacher candidates and 26 teachers participated in the research, where we used the convergent parallel designs from the mixed method. This study is based on the "Prosodic Reading Scale" scores, which the assessors created by listening to 10 different levels of reading aloud and their simultaneous qualitative evaluations. Results were analyzed in terms of standardized Z score, frequency, percentage, arithmetic mean, maximum and minimum scores, and t-test. To compare the assessors' evaluations, this study used the reading-aloud recordings acoustically in terms of intonation, focus and pause using the customized version of the PRAAT 6.0.37 phonetic analysis program. We compared the scaled results of the assessors with the data obtained from the acoustic measurements. In the study, we concluded that the evaluations of teachers and teacher candidates with the scale showed a normal distribution and were inconsistent with measures based on acoustic parameters. We also found that their qualitative assessments needed to be more consistent with the assessment based on quantitative data and acoustic parameters. The findings of this research provided evidence that the subjective assessment of reading prosody does not provide reliability.

The present study aimed to explore the relation between students' oral reading efficacy, reading comprehension, and academic performance on a nationwide high school placement exam (TEOG). The students were selected from a public middle school. The students' oral reading efficacy, comprehension, and TEOG achievement scores were obtained to figure out the relations between them. The students' TEOG results were obtained from the school administration. The findings revealed that there were statistically significant relations between oral reading efficacy, reading comprehension and TEOG

This study compares the quantitative and qualitative assessment of teachers and teacher candidates with the "Prosodic Reading Scale" each other and with the assessment based on acoustic parameters. Sixty-four teacher candidates and 26 teachers participated in the research, where we used the convergent parallel designs from the mixed method. This study is based on the "Prosodic Reading Scale" scores, which the assessors created by listening to 10 different levels of reading aloud and their simultaneous qualitative evaluations. Results were analyzed in terms of standardized Z score, frequency, percentage, arithmetic mean, maximum and minimum scores, and t-test. To compare the assessors' evaluations, this study used the reading-aloud recordings acoustically in terms of intonation, focus and pause using the customized version of the PRAAT 6.0.37 phonetic analysis program. We compared the scaled results of the assessors with the data obtained from the acoustic measurements. In the study, we concluded that the evaluations of teachers and teacher candidates with the scale showed a normal distribution and were inconsistent with measures based on acoustic parameters. We also found that their qualitative assessments needed to be more consistent with the assessment based on quantitative data and acoustic parameters. The findings of this research provided evidence that the subjective assessment of reading prosody does not provide reliability.

This study aims to determine how listening comprehension levels of students are affected by listening to prosodic and non-prosodic readings vocalized by a computer and human. Third-grade students of four different classes at a primary school were randomly selected in a city center in the Western Black Sea Region of Turkey to participate in the study (n=91). Four equivalent classes formed the listening groups of the research in listening comprehension. The groups were (1) the group listening to the model prosodic reading, (2) the group listening to the computer prosodic reading, (3) the group listening to the model non-prosodic reading, and (4) the group listening to the computer non-prosodic reading. Two stories were used in the measurement of listening comprehension, and comprehension skills were measured with open-ended questions. The data obtained were analyzed with the Kruskal Wallis and Conover–Iman tests. Logistic Regression Analysis (LRA) was performed to reinforce the result...

Although accuracy and automaticity are part of fluent reading, they are not the whole picture. Instead, we argue that a fluent reader is one who uses appropriate prosody as well. Prosody, when considered in connected text, incorporates multiple elements, including stress, pitch, and appropriate phrasing (Kuhn & Stahl,

This study compares the quantitative and qualitative assessment of teachers and teacher candidates with the "Prosodic Reading Scale" each other and with the assessment based on acoustic parameters. Sixty-four teacher candidates and 26 teachers participated in the research, where we used the convergent parallel designs from the mixed method. This study is based on the "Prosodic Reading Scale" scores, which the assessors created by listening to 10 different levels of reading aloud and their simultaneous qualitative evaluations. Results were analyzed in terms of standardized Z score, frequency, percentage, arithmetic mean, maximum and minimum scores, and t-test. To compare the assessors' evaluations, this study used the reading-aloud recordings acoustically in terms of intonation, focus and pause using the customized version of the PRAAT 6.0.37 phonetic analysis program. We compared the scaled results of the assessors with the data obtained from the acoustic measurements. In the study, we concluded that the evaluations of teachers and teacher candidates with the scale showed a normal distribution and were inconsistent with measures based on acoustic parameters. We also found that their qualitative assessments needed to be more consistent with the assessment based on quantitative data and acoustic parameters. The findings of this research provided evidence that the subjective assessment of reading prosody does not provide reliability.

Prosody is evaluated as an important factor in fluent reading and in literature it is expressed as a significant reading skill that affects comprehension. Prosody -described as a fluent reading ability of a reader with suitable sentences and expressions- includes stress, intonation, duration (time passed on voicing a word) and pausing properties that contribute to effective reading of a text. First grade students are supposed to have fluent reading abilities at the end of the year and they are expected to develop effective prosodic reading. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine first grade students’ oral reading performances in terms of prosodic competences. Study sample in this study which has been conducted using descriptive survey model consists of 49 first grade students who participated in the study voluntarily in four different classes in a primary school in the city centre of Bartin in Turkey. For the evaluation of the reading prosodies of the students, their oral re...

The aim of this study was to examine fifth grade elementary school students' listening and reading comprehension levels with regard to text types. This study was conducted on 180 fifth grade elementary school students in Sincan-Ankara in the spring semester of the academic year ...

Over the past two decades, reading fluency has been increasingly recognized as an important instructional variable for success in reading. Yet, this has not always been the case. This article presents a historical review of the nature and role of fluency instruction in the United States. The roots of oral reading fluency began in an age when texts and other forms of entertainment and information were limited. Historically, in America, oral reading was the predominant means for conveying ideas and passing the time at home with the family. In the 1800s, American education’s primary method of instruction emphasized the need for being able to read aloud with expression and fluency, in order to hold the listeners’ attention and convey information. As texts and other forms of information became more available, oral reading became deemphasized, and silent reading was viewed as a better approach to developing readers’ comprehension at the cost of fluency development. With continued research...

Poor reading achievement of children in elementary schools has been one of the major concerns in education. The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of a child-centered reading intervention in eliminating the reading problems of a student with poor reading achievement. The research was conducted with a student having difficulty in reading. A reading intervention was designed that targeted multiple areas of reading and aimed to improve reading skills through the use of multiple strategies. This intervention is child-centered and includes visual aids, talking, dictating, reading and writing stages. The study was performed in 35 sessions consisting of stages of a single sentence (5 sessions), two sentences (5 sessions), three sentences (20 sessions) and the text stage (5 sessions). The intervention sessions were audio-taped. These recordings and the written responses to the reading comprehension questions provided the data for analysis. The findings on the reading interven...

Over the past two decades, reading fluency has been increasingly recognized as an important instructional variable for success in reading. Yet, this has not always been the case. This article presents a historical review of the nature and role of fluency instruction in the United States. The roots of oral reading fluency began in an age when texts and other forms of entertainment and information were limited. Historically, in America, oral reading was the predominant means for conveying ideas and passing the time at home with the family. In the 1800s, American education’s primary method of instruction emphasized the need for being able to read aloud with expression and fluency, in order to hold the listeners’ attention and convey information. As texts and other forms of information became more available, oral reading became deemphasized, and silent reading was viewed as a better approach to developing readers’ comprehension at the cost of fluency development. With continued research...

This study examined the oral reading fluency of 4 th graders with respect to prosodic characteristics. Seventy 4 th graders participated in the study. They were initially asked to read a grade-level passage and their reading was video recorded. Their reading errors were identified and their word correct per minute (WCPM) was determined. Their oral reading skills were also evaluated with respect to prosodic characteristics by using the Multidimensional Fluency Scale criteria. The results showed that their WCPM was close to the norms of the 4 th grade. However, a significant part of students (40%) were noted to have problems with prosodic reading skills. Further, a positive and meaningful relationship was observed between WCPM and prosodic reading skills. It was concluded that activities and studies promoting prosodic reading skills should be given more emphasis in primary schools.

Over the past two decades, reading fluency has been increasingly recognized as an important instructional variable for success in reading. Yet, this has not always been the case. This article presents a historical review of the nature and role of fluency instruction in the United States. The roots of oral reading fluency began in an age when texts and other forms of entertainment and information were limited. Historically, in America, oral reading was the predominant means for conveying ideas and passing the time at home with the family. In the 1800s, American education’s primary method of instruction emphasized the need for being able to read aloud with expression and fluency, in order to hold the listeners’ attention and convey information. As texts and other forms of information became more available, oral reading became deemphasized, and silent reading was viewed as a better approach to developing readers’ comprehension at the cost of fluency development. With continued research...

Reading fluency is one of the underlying factors of successful language curricula and it is also one of the defining characteristics of good readers. A lack of fluency is a common characteristic of struggling readers. There is a growing body of research that demonstrates proficiency in reading fluency is important for success in learning to read English. While the role of reading fluency is increasingly recognized as important for literacy acquisition in English, less is known about the role that fluency plays in literacy acquisition in other languages. The present manuscript aims to shed light on the impact of reading fluency in the Turkish language context, and also to provide some practical implications for Turkish stakeholders in education system to improve Turkish children`s reading fluency and thereby also improve Turkish children's overall reading proficiency.

Although identified as a critical component of proficient reading in the primary grades, reading fluency (word recognition accuracy, automaticity, and prosody) is often viewed as less important beyond the early stages of reading acquisition. In the present study, 108 ninth-grade students were assessed to explore the relationships among word recognition accuracy, automaticity, prosody, and vocabulary with silent reading comprehension. Results found large correlations among the variables while regression analysis revealed that accuracy, prosody, and vocabulary explained from 50.1% to 52.7% of the variance in silent reading comprehension. Of note were the findings that word recognition automaticity did not contribute to silent reading comprehension although prosody was found to act as a partial mediator between automaticity and comprehension. Accuracy, automaticity, and prosody were found to form a highly reliable scale reflecting oral reading fluency. These findings contribute to the ...

* This article was derived from Zeynep Yılmaz-Alkan's master's thesis, titled "The effect of nursery rhymes on improving reading fluency of fourth-grade students in primary schools", which was conducted under the supervision of Keziban Tekşan.

Although identified as a critical component of proficient reading in the primary grades, reading fluency (word recognition accuracy, automaticity, and prosody) is often viewed as less important beyond the early stages of reading acquisition. In the present study, 108 ninth-grade students were assessed to explore the relationships among word recognition accuracy, automaticity, prosody, and vocabulary with silent reading comprehension. Results found large correlations among the variables while regression analysis revealed that accuracy, prosody, and vocabulary explained from 50.1% to 52.7% of the variance in silent reading comprehension. Of note were the findings that word recognition automaticity did not contribute to silent reading comprehension although prosody was found to act as a partial mediator between automaticity and comprehension. Accuracy, automaticity, and prosody were found to form a highly reliable scale reflecting oral reading fluency. These findings contribute to the ...

Over the past two decades, reading fluency has been increasingly recognized as an important instructional variable for success in reading. Yet, this has not always been the case. This article presents a historical review of the nature and role of fluency instruction in the United States. The roots of oral reading fluency began in an age when texts and other forms of entertainment and information were limited. Historically, in America, oral reading was the predominant means for conveying ideas and passing the time at home with the family. In the 1800s, American education’s primary method of instruction emphasized the need for being able to read aloud with expression and fluency, in order to hold the listeners’ attention and convey information. As texts and other forms of information became more available, oral reading became deemphasized, and silent reading was viewed as a better approach to developing readers’ comprehension at the cost of fluency development. With continued research...

Over the past two decades, reading fluency has been increasingly recognized as an important instructional variable for success in reading. Yet, this has not always been the case. This article presents a historical review of the nature and role of fluency instruction in the United States. The roots of oral reading fluency began in an age when texts and other forms of entertainment and information were limited. Historically, in America, oral reading was the predominant means for conveying ideas and passing the time at home with the family. In the 1800s, American education’s primary method of instruction emphasized the need for being able to read aloud with expression and fluency, in order to hold the listeners’ attention and convey information. As texts and other forms of information became more available, oral reading became deemphasized, and silent reading was viewed as a better approach to developing readers’ comprehension at the cost of fluency development. With continued research...

Over the past two decades, reading fluency has been increasingly recognized as an important instructional variable for success in reading. Yet, this has not always been the case. This article presents a historical review of the nature and role of fluency instruction in the United States. The roots of oral reading fluency began in an age when texts and other forms of entertainment and information were limited. Historically, in America, oral reading was the predominant means for conveying ideas and passing the time at home with the family. In the 1800s, American education’s primary method of instruction emphasized the need for being able to read aloud with expression and fluency, in order to hold the listeners’ attention and convey information. As texts and other forms of information became more available, oral reading became deemphasized, and silent reading was viewed as a better approach to developing readers’ comprehension at the cost of fluency development. With continued research...

Reading is an essential skill that students need to develop. However, readers may experience anxiety in reading materials in English. This study determined the level of English reading anxiety in relation to the oral reading fluency of the 163 Grade 11 students of Ozamiz City National High School, Ozamiz City. A descriptive-correlational design was used in the study. Adopted English Reading Anxiety Questionnaire and a Multidimensional Fluency Scale for Oral Reading Fluency were used in gathering the data. Mean, Standard Deviation, and Regression Analysis were the statistical tools used in analyzing the data gathered. Results revealed that the level of English reading anxiety of the respondents was high, and their level of oral reading fluency was instructional. There was a highly significant relationship between the English reading anxiety and the oral reading fluency of the students. Anxiety affects how well students read materials in English.

Over the past two decades, reading fluency has been increasingly recognized as an important instructional variable for success in reading. Yet, this has not always been the case. This article presents a historical review of the nature and role of fluency instruction in the United States. The roots of oral reading fluency began in an age when texts and other forms of entertainment and information were limited. Historically, in America, oral reading was the predominant means for conveying ideas and passing the time at home with the family. In the 1800s, American education's primary method of instruction emphasized the need for being able to read aloud with expression and fluency, in order to hold the listeners' attention and convey information. As texts and other forms of information became more available, oral reading became deemphasized, and silent reading was viewed as a better approach to developing readers' comprehension at the cost of fluency development. With continued research and national reports that indicate the significant contributions of oral reading fluency to reading comprehension and academic proficiency, it is clear that the roots of oral reading run deep, and that fluent reading development is important to learners' academic achievement and reading comprehension.

This study aimed to examine the relationship between fourth-graders' reading fluency, reading comprehension and attention. It was conducted using the relational screening model and included 132 fourth-graders with grade level adequate reading skills. The study results showed that good readers' attention had significant effects on reading speed, prosody, word recognition and comprehension, respectively. There is also a higher level of relationship between attention, reading speed and prosody. To improve good readers' prosodic reading skills and increase their reading speeds, attention-enhancing activities are needed.

In today's world, the rapid spread of technology affects educational life. It has become common place in many countries to read digital texts on tablet computers, preferred for their portability, and long charging times; projects are done to improve educational quality in many countries. However, research is limited about how reading digital texts affects reading skills of primary students. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of digital text readings on reading comprehension, reading fluency, and reading attitude of 4th grade students. Research Methods: The mixed method, in which quantitative and qualitative research methods are used together, has been employed in the research. The reading levels of 75 students attending 4th grade in four primary schools were determined by pre-test, and the 30 students with the lowest scores were selected. An experimental and a control group were formed by randomly assigning the students to one of the two groups. Each group contained 15 students. Findings: The quantitative findings showed that the use of digital texts had influence on improving fluency and reducing reading mistakes, while it did not affect students' reading attitudes and its effect on comprehension lasted a short time. According to qualitative findings, students were eager and excited. Implication for Research and Practice: If educational environments are inevitably influenced by technological devices, it becomes crucial to use technological devices in a planned and appropriate manner. We suggest that teachers also apply reading activities with digital texts to improve the reading achievement of primary students.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of feedback on Turkish fourth-grade students’ fluent writing skills. The subjects, which were 42 fourth-grade students (21 in the control group, 21 in the experimental group) from a public elementary school in Turkey’s Ankara province, were enrolled in the present study. The Fluent Writing Evaluation Rubric, story writing topics, and a feedback form were used as data collection tools. The study was carried out in three stages and lasted eight weeks. Analysis of covariance was conducted to analyze the data obtained from the students. Posttest scores of the experimental and control groups were compared. The results revealed that the experimental groups’ posttest scores were significantly higher. Suggestions are offered for implementation and further research based on the results.

It was observed in this research how endurance status of fluent readers and poor readers changed as the text became longer. 40 students of the primary school 4th-grade, 20 were fluent readers and other 20 were poor readers, participated in the research. A narrative text was utilised in the data collection process. Students' oral readings were recorded with a voice recorder, and their cores of reading rates and reading accuracy percentages were obtained by listening to the readings. The scores were analysed with the Friedman and Nemenyi tests. At the end of the analysis, it was seen that fluent readers' reading rates did not differ significantly from the beginning to end of the text, whereas poor readers' reading rates differed in favour of the first parts of the text. Accordingly, the fluent readers read the text at the same rate all the way, while the poor readers' reading rates significantly dropped from the beginning towards the end of the text. Furthermore, fluent readers' reading accuracy percentages differed significantly from the beginning towards the end of the text in favour of the last parts, while poor readers' reading accuracy percentages differed in favour of the first parts. As per the findings, fluent readers' reading accuracy percentages gradually increased, whereas poor readers' percentages gradually dropped. In other words, as the reading time and volume increased, poor readers' reading errors were also increased. These results were discussed in the light of the literature.

Interpretive reading as an approach in teaching reading enhances the fluency and comprehension through using of expression, phrasing, reading rate and smoothness. Learners in Kisumu County have reflected incompetence in reading skills resulting in below average performance in English language examinations. This study sought to examine effect of interpretive reading on achievement in reading skills of secondary school learners. Using social constructivist theory, the study adopted quasi experimental pretest posttest design. To obtain the data, participants in experimental groups(n=205) and control groups(n=221) were administered a pretest and posttest, while 19 teachers were interviewed. Questionnaires were also administered and lessons observed. Multiple linear regression and T-test were used to analyse data. The study revealed a positive and statistically significant relationship between interpretive reading and achievement in reading skills. However, reading rate with p=0.86 was found not a significant predictor on its own. The post test results revealed statistically significant differences at significance level (α = 0.05) due to intervention of interpretive reading which favoured the experimental groups' achievement in reading skills. In the light of the results, the study has implications on both teachers and learner's engagement in interpretive reading during reading skills instruction.

We witness astounding developments in this age of information and communication. Technology has influenced all the aspects of our lives by causing inevitable changes and improvements in every field. Naturally, the world of science has greatly benefited from this change and development. In consequence, the rapid circulation of information and technology in the scientific world has increased the cooperation among scientists. This cooperation highly contributes to researches and studies in the fields of language, history, literature, education, economy, social and cultural life, politics, sports, tourism, and media and communication along with many other areas. Thus, this book contains new horizons in Educational Sciences in parallel with the improvements in the world of science.

The relevance of reading prosody on reading comprehension has been theoretically proposed and empirically recognised. The present study aimed to investigate longitudinal and concurrent relationships between reading prosody and reading comprehension processes, beyond decoding and word reading efficiency. Two cohorts of Portuguese children, ranging different grade levels (grades 2 to 3 and 4 to 5), were tested. Reading prosody was assessed through a rating scale, and text reading comprehension and context fluency effect were used to measure effortful and effortless reading comprehension processes, respectively. Results showed no bidirectional longitudinal effects between reading prosody and reading comprehension processes. In contrast, they revealed a concurrent contribution of reading prosody to the measure that mainly captures the effortless processes of reading comprehension from grades 2 to 5 but not for effortful ones. Results also highlighted the key role of decoding and word reading efficiency in the relationship between reading prosody and reading comprehension.

It was aimed in this study to compare students' reading comprehension levels with respect to the variables of text type, grade level and test type. To this aim, the research was carried out in the scanning model. A total of 1028 4th and 5th grade students participated in the research. In assessing reading comprehension skills; open-ended, multiple choice and cloze tests, which were developed based on narrative and informative texts found in course books for students' respective grade levels, were used. T-tests and variance analysis were employed in analyzing the data. It was observed at the end of the research that students' reading comprehension skills did not statistically differ. On the other hand, reading comprehension skills did differ significantly with respect to text type in the favor of narrative texts. That is, students are more successful in comprehending narrative texts compared to informative ones. Another finding is that students' reading comprehension skills significantly differed with respect to test type in the favor of multiple-choice tests. That is, students scored higher in multiple-choice tests than in open-ended and cloze tests. The research findings were discussed in relation to the relevant literature.

Prosody is evaluated as an important factor in fluent reading and in literature it is expressed as a significant reading skill that affects comprehension. Prosody-described as a fluent reading ability of a reader with suitable sentences and expressions-includes stress, intonation, duration (time passed on voicing a word) and pausing properties that contribute to effective reading of a text. First grade students are supposed to have fluent reading abilities at the end of the year and they are expected to develop effective prosodic reading. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine first grade students " oral reading performances in terms of prosodic competences. Study sample in this study which has been conducted using descriptive survey model consists of 49 first grade students who participated in the study voluntarily in four different classes in a primary school in the city centre of Bartin in Turkey. For the evaluation of the reading prosodies of the students, their oral reading performances of a narrative and an expository text are recorded for one minute with a video camera and these records are evaluated with reading prosody rubric. As a result of the analysis, it is observed that students " reading prosody score means are low in both narrative and expository texts. According to reading prosody scale, it appears that 59% of the students are at low level in narrative text and 41% of the students are at low level in expository text. Additionally, as a result of Mann-Whitney U test it appears that gender of the students does not make a significant difference in oral reading prosodies of the students in both narrative and expository texts.

Prosody is an important but not fully understood component of reading. In this longitudinal study with
a sample of 98 Portuguese elementary school children, a multilevel growth model with four repeated
measures over time showed steady progress in participants’ reading prosody from the middle of 2nd
to the end of 3rd grade. However, children’s growth in this area varied across time points. Results also
showed that individual differences in prosody’s scores at baseline affect the performance of most but
not of all students. Simple linear regressions showed that the prosody dimension “phrasing/expression”
significantly predicted reading comprehension at all time points. Partial correlation analysis showed
that when reading rate was accounted for, the unique contribution of prosody to reading comprehension
was marginal, except at the third measurement