Over the past decade, fluent reading has come to be seen as a central component of skilled reading and a driving force in the literacy curriculum. However, much of this focus has centered on a relatively narrow definition of reading fluency, one that emphasizes automatic word recognition. This article attempts to expand this understanding by synthesizing several key aspects of research on reading fluency, including theoretical perspectives surrounding automaticity and prosody. It examines four major definitions of reading fluency and their relationship to accuracy, automaticity, and prosody. A proposed definition is presented. Finally, the implications of these definitions for current assessment and instruction are considered along with suggestions for reenvisioning fluency's role within literacy curriculum. عبر العقد الماضي أصبحت مرونة القراءة عنصراً محورياً لمهارة القراءة والقوة القائدة في المنهاج الدراسي المتعلق بمعرفة القراءة والكتابة. ومع ذلك تمحور كثيراً من هذا التركيز على تعريف ضيق نسبياً لدى المرونة القرائية وهو الذي يشدد على التعريف التلقائي على الكلمة. لذا تحاول هذه المقالة إلى توسيع هذا الفهم من خلال تضافر بضعة مظاهر رئيسية من الأبحاث المتعلقة بمرونة القراءة بما فيها أبعاد نظرية حول التلقائية والنثرية. وتفحص المقالة أربعة تعاريف رئيسية لمرونة القراءة وعلاقتها بالدقة والتلقائية والنثرية. ولقد تم تقديم تعريف محتمل وأخيراً يتم الأخذ بعين الاعتبار عواقب هذه التعاريف للتقييم والتعليم بالإضافة إلى إعادة النظر في دور المرونة في منهاج معرفة القراءة والكتابة الدراسي. 在过去十年期间，阅读流畅已被视为熟练阅读的主要部分，亦是读写能力课程的一种驱动力。然而，这种看法大部分聚焦于一个较为狭隘的阅读流畅定义上，只强调自动化识别单字。本文尝试综合处理有关阅读流畅研究的几个主要方面，包括与自动化程度及音韵表达相关的理论观点，藉以增加对阅读流畅的认识。本文检视四个主要的阅读流畅定义，及其与准确性、自动化程度、音韵表达之间的关系，并提出一个较为广阔的阅读流畅定义。最后，本文考量这些定义给目前的评估与教学带来的启示，以及建议重新展望阅读流畅在读写课程中所扮演的角色。 Au cours des dix dernières années, la lecture courante est devenue une composante centrale du savoir lire et une locomotive dans les programmes de littératie. Cependant, une large part de cet intérêt s'est centré sur une définition relativement étroite de la lecture courante, celle qui met l'accent sur la reconnaissance automatique des mots. Cet article se propose d'élargir cette compréhension en faisant la synthèse d'aspects majeurs des recherches relatifs à la lecture courante, notamment des perspectives théoriques concernant l'automaticité, et de la prosodie. Nous proposons une définition alternative. Nous considérons enfin les implications de ces définitions pour l'enseignement et l'évaluation actuels ainsi que des suggestions en vue d'un réexamen du rôle de la lecture courante dans les programmes de littératie. За последнее десятилетие беглость стала основным критерием качества чтения и краеугольным камнем учебных программ по становлению грамотности. Однако само представление о беглости зачастую выглядит достаточно однобоко: упор делается исключительно на автоматическое опознавание слов. Авторы статьи пытаются расширить это представление, синтезировав ключевые аспекты беглости, фигурирующие в различных исследованиях и теоретических работах. Авторы рассматривают четыре существующих определения ...

Three experiments were performed to test contrasting predictions of a dual-representation theory and a context availability model of concreteness effects in verbal processing. In one experiment, abstract and concrete sentences were presented with and without a paragraph context. Without context, subjects took longer to read abstract sentences than concrete sentences. With context, the reading times did not differ. A similar result was observed in a second experiment in which lexical decision times were measured for abstract and concrete words. In the absence of context, lexical decision times for abstract words were longer than for concrete words. With a sentence context, however, the lexical decision times for these two word types were equivalent. A subsequent rating experiment indicated that rated context availability was a good predictor of reaction time in both experiments. The results were discussed as providing support for the context availability model.Differences in the accessibility of the meaning of abstract and concrete verbal materials are extremely well documented.

Prosodic reading, or reading with expression, is considered one of the hallmarks of fluent reading. The major purpose of the study was to learn how reading prosody is related to decoding and reading comprehension skills. Suprasegmental features of oral reading were measured in 2nd-and 3rd-grade children (N = 123) and 24 adults. Reading comprehension and word decoding skills were assessed. Children with faster decoding speed made shorter and less variable intersentential pauses, shorter intrasentential pauses, larger sentence-final fundamental frequency (F 0 ) declinations, and better matched the adult prosodic F 0 profile. Two structural equation models found evidence of a relationship between decoding speed and reading prosody as well as decoding speed and comprehension. There was only minimal evidence that prosodic reading was an important mediator of reading comprehension skill.Prosodic reading, or reading with expression, is widely considered to be one of the hallmarks of the achievement of reading fluency. When a child is reading prosodically, oral reading sounds much like speech with appropriate phrasing, pause structures, stress, rise and fall patterns, and general expressiveness. However, exactly where does the development of prosodic reading or "making it sound like language" (Stahl & Kuhn, 2002, p. 582) fit in our conceptions of developing reading skill? The purpose of the current study was to determine how individual differences in developing reading skill are related to prosodic reading in order to better place prosodic reading in the process of learning to read fluently. Gough and Tumner's (1986) "simple view of reading" proposed that reading comprehension could be described in terms of two factors-language comprehension and word decoding. In this model, both language comprehension and decoding are seen as limiting factors in reading comprehension. If the child's decoding is less than fully automatic, his or her comprehension will suffer. As decoding moves toward full automaticity, reading comprehension skill should equal comprehension of oral language (Carver, 1993(Carver, , 2000Hoover & Gough, 1990). OthersCorrespondence concerning this article should be addressed to Paula J. Schwanenflugel, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Georgia, 323E Aderhold Hall, Athens, GA 30602. E-mail: pschwane@coe.uga.edu. NIH Public Access NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript (e.g., Kuhn & Stahl, 2003; National Reading Panel, 2000) suggested that more than automaticity of individual word decoding is necessary for comprehension to be enhanced. Instead, they suggested that fluency, defined as not only accuracy and automaticity of individual word reading, but also prosodic rendering of the text, is needed for children to adequately comprehend. What Is Reading Prosody?Despite its presumed status as the hallmark of fluent reading, we currently know little about the nature of reading prosody per se. To read prosodically, children must be able to do more than de...

Prosodic, or expressive, reading is considered to be one of the essential features of the achievement of reading fluency. The purpose of this study was to determine (a) the degree to which the prosody of syntactically complex sentences varied as a function of reading speed and accuracy and (b) the role that reading prosody might play in mediating individual differences in comprehension. Spectrographic analysis of 80 third graders' and 29 adults' reading of a syntactically complex text was carried out. Oral reading skill was measured through standardized assessments. Pitch changes (changes in fundamental frequency) and pause duration were measured for sentence-final words of basic declarative sentences, basic declarative quotatives, wh questions, and yes-no questions; words preceding commas in complex adjectival phrases; and words preceding phrase-final commas. Children who had quick and accurate oral reading had shorter and more adultlike pause structures, larger pitch declinations at the end of basic declarative sentences, and larger pitch rises at the end of yes-no questions. Furthermore, children who showed larger basic declarative sentence declinations and larger pitch rises following yes-no questions tended to demonstrate greater reading comprehension skills. Keywordsprosody; comprehension; oral reading; fluency; punctuation Over the past 3 decades, our understanding of what constitutes fluent reading has expanded considerably. What once was characterized solely by fast and accurate word recognition has grown to include a number of component skills. Although differing definitions are available, there is general agreement as to the elements of fluent reading. Fluent reading is typically defined as reading text with speed, accuracy, and proper expression (National Reading Panel, 2000). Moreover, Rasinski (2004) referred to reading fluency as the reader's ability to develop control over surface-level text processing, so that he or she can focus on understanding the deeper levels of meaning embedded in the text. Thus, fluency is not considered an end in itself but rather is seen as a crucial bridge to comprehension (Fuchs, Fuchs, Hosp, & Jenkins, 2001;Prescott-Griffin & Witherell, 2004).Although most would concur that the definition of fluent reading should include expressiveness as well as quick and accurate reading, expressiveness is rarely defined. Dowhower (1991) described the expressiveness aspect of fluency as synonymous with prosody (a term that refers to appropriate phrasing, pause structures, stress, and rise and fall patterns) and emphasized the syntactically linked nature of prosody. Cowie, Douglas-Cowie, and Wichmann (2002), however, made a distinction among prosody, fluency, and expressiveness. In their research, Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Paula J. Schwanenflugel, Department of Educational Psychology, 325 Aderhold Hall, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602. E-mail: pschwan@uga.edu. NIH Public Access NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript ...

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Four experiments were performed to determine whether linearly separable categories are easier to learn than categories that are not linearly separable. Linearly separable categories are categories that can be perfectly partitioned on the basis of a weighted, additive combination of component information. Independent cue models (e.g., prototype theories) predict that, with average between-category similarity held constant, linearly separable categories will be easier to master. Relational coding models (e.g., the context model) do not share this prediction but rather imply that individual cases of high similarity of exemplars to exemplars in contrasting categories is the major determinant of task difficulty. Different experiments varied stimulus type (geometric shapes or photographs of faces), category size (small or infinitely large), and instructions. With average similarity controlled, instances of high similarity of exemplars to exemplars influenced performance, but there was no. evidence that linearly separable categories were learned more readily than categories that were not linearly separable. This suggests that linear separability is not a major constraint on human classification performance.

The purpose of this study was to examine the development of reading prosody and its impact on later reading skills. Suprasegmental features of oral reading were measured for 92 children at the end of grades 1 and 2 and oral reading fluency and reading comprehension assessments at the end of the third-grade school year. Tests were carried out to determine (a) the manner in which the key features of oral reading prosody unfold with development and (b) the extent to which the development of reading prosody is predictive of later oral reading fluency and comprehension outcomes beyond word reading skills alone. Path model tests found a relationship between the presence of fewer pausal intrusions during oral reading in first grade and subsequent development of an adult-like intonation contour in second grade. Outcome model tests indicated that the intonation contour was a significant predictor of later fluency once word reading skills were taken into account. Decreases in the number of pausal intrusions between the first and second grades and early acquisition of an adult-like intonation contour predicted better comprehension later. Thus, prosodic oral reading might signal that children have achieved fluency and are more capable of understanding what they read. Results of this study support the inclusion of prosody in formal definitions of oral reading fluency.

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