Repeated Reading with and without Vocabulary Instruction: Outcomes for English Language Learners

Abstract

This study compares a repeated reading intervention with and without vocabulary instruction on the reading fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary knowledge of English Language Learners (ELLs). Third-grade ELLs (N=31) who were performing below grade level in reading completed one session of repeated reading (RR) and one session of repeated reading with vocabulary instruction (RRV). Using a within-subjects design, condition and passage order were counterbalanced across participants. Dependent measures included Curriculum-based Measures of Oral Reading (CBM-R), researcher-developed literal and inferential comprehension questions, and the Two-Questions Vocabulary Measure (TQVM; Kearns & Biemiller, 2011). Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed statistically significant main effects of instruction for RRV with large effect sizes for comprehension (p < .001, g = .73) and vocabulary knowledge (p < .001, g = .98) but no statistically-significant differences for reading fluency or vocabulary word-reading accuracy. Results suggest RRV may be an effective intervention worth examining for longer durations and with larger samples of ELLs.