Good Readers Are Fluent Readers: Giving Reading Fluency the Attention It Deserves

Presenter: Fredricka L. Stoller

Sadly, the second language (L2) learners in our classrooms, at most levels of instruction, typically read too slowly to be good readers. Research has demonstrated that fluency contributes to students’ reading-comprehension abilities, but fluency training is often neglected in our classrooms. Some teachers believe that they do not have class time to devote to fluency training; others assume that students will develop fluency on their own, over time; and many are simply unaware of the many activities that can be easily integrated into their classes to promote reading fluency. In this presentation, participants will be introduced to the key elements of reading fluency (e.g., automaticity, accuracy, reading rate, word- and passage-reading fluency) and then explore various ways in which reading fluency can be addressed in L2 classrooms—with existing reading materials, with students of all age groups, and for students at all proficiency levels.

When: Friday, October 24, 5:00-6:30PM

Fredricka L. Stoller is a Professor of English at Northern Arizona University, where she teaches in the MA-TESL and Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics programs. She is co-author of Teaching and Researching Reading (2nd ed., 2011, with W. Grabe, Routledge); co-editor of A Handbook for Language Program Administrators (2nd ed., 2012, with M.A. Christison, Alta Book Center Publishers); and co-author of Write Like a Chemist (2008, with M. Robinson et al., Oxford University Press). Her professional areas of interest include L2 reading, project-based learning, disciplinary writing, content-based instruction, language teaching methodology, and curriculum design.