Speed Reading for Students of English as a Second Language

By Magda Santos

A Middle School Reading Pilot Program

Imagine you can read but it's such a struggle you loose the
meaning of the words. Then imagine after reading for over 30
minutes you just don't understand what you read. The students we
just finished working with at a Florida middle school didn't
need to imagine. They were struggling with every page they read.

The question on our minds was, "Can children needing
remedial reading benefit from a speed reading program.
After all, the students in question were considered "slow." They
were stuck and their teachers frustrated.

We wanted to give this new idea a try. It took several attempts
to create a schedule that allowed students to use the speed
reading program at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes.

We knew the pilot program would not last long and
negotiated 12 sessions each for each child. The sessions were
sporadic but the students seemed to enjoy reading the stories
and taking the test on the computer.

We just finished the speed reading pilot program. The program
focused on students with difficulty reading and comprehending.
The students were also second language speakers. In most cases
English is not their first language.

The students were children of migrant farm workers. What that
means is that they move around the country going from school to
school while their parents pick fruit to make a living.

The sample of students we worked with was small. The results
however were eye opening.

Here are the highlights of the pilot study:

 = 5 migrant students reading at a remedial level (remedial is
100 words per minute or less/the average reading speed is
250-300 words per minute)

 = Each student increased their reading speed by 25 to 30 wpm in
12 sessions

 = Comprehension remained at 75% (the average person's level of
comprehension is 75%)


How did they do it? The five students used a speed reading
computer software program called AceReader. After using the
program 12 times they increased their reading speed and in some
cases their comprehension.
The speed reading program paced them. It began by
starting the students at their remedial level then slowly moving
them forward at a comfortable pace.

As their reading speed increased they were quizzed on the
material they were reading.

This last step is crucial. Speed Reading is worth nothing if the
level of comprehension does not keep up with the speed.

In this case speed and comprehension were both either
maintained or increased.
After working with these students it became clear to me that if
they could make such remarkable progress in 12 sessions
almost anyone out there that has fewer challenges to reading
better and faster should be able to move themselves forward with
even greater results.

There is of course a need to continue the research but
these findings do point to a promising method of increasing
fluency.

Fluency is the term used by reading specialist to
determine a student's ability to read at an average rate of
speed and comprehend.