Repeated reading as a method to improve reading fluency for struggling adolescent readers

This paper examines the implications of a seven-week programme of repeated readings on the fluency levels of three struggling adolescent readers. The study focused from a broad conceptualization of fluency which recognizes that practice and assessment should address all components of fluency, i.e., prosody and comprehension, as well as rate and accuracy. In keeping with this broad understanding of fluency, the methodology used included multiple assessment measures and a range of qualitative data gathered from the three adolescent participants throughout the seven-week programme. The limitations of fluency practice which fails to address a complex definition of fluency emerge as significant. The findings indicate that success also lies in the potential of instructional programmes to enable students to uncover meaning in text by becoming more strategic when reading, both orally and silently, through increased levels of self-directed learning.