Does Reading Acceleration Program Improve Reading Fluency and Comprehension in Bilingual Children?

• In Event: Understanding the Reading Development of Bilingual Students

Abstract

The Reading Acceleration Program (RAP) in which speed of reading is trained has been suggested to improve reading fluency. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of the RAP in Chinese L1-English L2 students to understand whether the RAP interventions in Chinese and English have effects on both offline and online reading measures in typically developing and at-risk students. The participants were 97 Grade 5 students (63 typically developing and 34 at risk). Measures included offline reading and reading-related measures in both Chinese and English. The findings showed that cross-linguistic transfer was found from L1 RAP training to L2 oral reading fluency. Compared to typically developing students, at-risk students benefitted more from the RAP program on online reading speed.

Authors

• Miao Li, University of Houston
  Presenting Author

• Esther Geva, OISE/University of Toronto
  Presenting Author

• Yueming Xi, University of Alberta
  Presenting Author