Abstract of

The Effects of Listening While Reading and Repeated Reading on the Reading Fluency of Adult Learners

Beth D. Winn

Christopher H. Skinner

Renee Oliver

Andrea D. Hale

Mary Ziegler

Much research has validated procedures to enhance reading fluency in children and adolescents, but more is needed to determine whether such procedures work with adults who have deficits in reading skills. A within-subjects design was used to evaluate and compare the effects of listening while reading (LWR) and repeated readings (RR) on reading fluency in adults reading at about fourth- or fifth-grade level. Results confirmed previous studies with children and adolescents that showed LWR and RR did increase reading fluency, but neither was more effective than the other. This study suggests that the opportunity to read with LWR caused the adult participants' increases in rereading fluency. Although adults and adolescents had similar responses to LWR and RR interventions, the adults' reading fluency appeared to increase more. This finding supports the need for more studies on whether strategies that have been empirically validated with children produce similar effects in adults.

Abstract from Winn, B.D., Skinner, C.H., Oliver, R., Hale, A.D., & Ziegler, M. (2006, November). The Effects of Listening While Reading and Repeated Reading on the Reading Fluency of Adult Learners. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 50(3), 196–205. doi: 10.1598/JAAL.50.3.4