LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 22:3 March 2022
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

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Enhancing Reading Fluency during the Pandemic

Dr. Melissa G. Wallang & Dr. Basansy Kharlukhi

Abstract

The pandemic situation that we are facing today has been a major challenge for teachers particularly in the context of English medium schools in multi-lingual settings. Most children lack any opportunity to read and learn together, and interaction with teachers and peers is almost non-existent. This paper focuses on the importance of reading fluency and its relation to comprehension and suggests readers’ theatre as an instructional strategy to encourage and strengthen reading and promote oral reading skills. It highlights the development of a virtual readers’ theatre that schoolteachers can take up to bring children together during the Covid-19 lockdown. Although, inaccessibility is a major concern for most children particularly in the rural sectors, we cannot help but continue to encourage teachers to adopt strategies that create virtual reading platforms for students.

Keywords: pandemic period, readers theatre, reading fluency, comprehension

1. Introduction

During the Covid-19 lockdown period, many parents complained about their children’s lack of reading, particularly, with young learners. A vast majority of students especially at the primary level are still unable to read simple text and sentences. Teachers faced various issues in promoting reading skills due to students’ lack of comprehension and lack of motivation to read which may be related to the nature of online classroom transactions and the curricular materials. A major reason for learners’ reluctance to read is that the content of the prescribed materials are drawn from unfamiliar contexts which alienates them. Perhaps textbooks should portray the personal situations of the children at home during the pandemic. The lack of a ‘normal’ schooling system has hampered not only the motivation to read but also fluency, particularly in those who have just started a few years of schooling. Many teachers reported the need to restart the development of reading skills from the most basic level. Several media reports have shown a decline in enrollment and even decline in reading skills in the Indian school education during the pandemic (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-58281442)

Before discussing the term ‘fluency in reading’, it must be noted that studies have been conducted on aspects of fluency, literacy and reading achievements. ‘Fluency’ is generally concerned with speed and accuracy rather than comprehension. Several researchers have shown that oral reading fluency correlates to comprehension and reading competence. Research conducted by Cotter (2012) reveals that fluency is an important aspect of reading comprehension. Practice with fluency along with direct instruction and modeling allow students to be more fluent readers and have more overall success in reading. This entails that incorporating fluency strategies and activities into the daily curriculum is necessary to increase students’ overall reading fluency. While working on reading fluency, students are also increasing their overall reading comprehension because they are unlikely to focus only on reading the words, but they are also able to find meaning from the text. In order for students to make sense of the text, they need to reach a level of fluency that allows them to read with ease. According to Laberge and Samuels (1974), automaticity of reading words allows the reader to spend less effort decoding and allows for comprehension processes to occur (p.48). The true meaning of fluency is often misunderstood, thereby affecting both the teaching, and learning of reading. Fluency has evolved to be known as speed reading by many teachers and students, which is not the true intent of fluency (Marcell, 2011). Samuels (2007) made the case that fluency involves simultaneous decoding and comprehending (qtd in Marcell, 2011). Rasinski and Hamman (2010) defined fluency as “reading at an appropriate rate in meaningful phrases, with prosody and comprehension” (p. 26). Both definitions highlight the synergistic means by which the facets of fluency interact. (Marcell, 2011, p.6).

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Dr. Melissa G. Wallang & Dr. Basansy Kharlukhi
Associate Profesors, NERIE-NCERT
melissancert@gmail.com
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