The Use of Technology to Enhance Comprehension and
Fluency of ESL Students in the Elementary School
Classroom
Julie Sullivan
May 15, 2007
Dr. Tae Chang
California State University, Northridge
Learning to read well is one of the most important tasks children will undertake. It
is necessary for every academic content area children will participate in; science,
mathematics, social studies, and every other class children will be involved in throughout
their school years. Reading well involves mastering a combination of fluency,
comprehension, and accuracy.
Students below grade level in reading upon completion of first grade are likely to
be poor readers in third grade and students who leave third grade as poor readers have
little chance of catching up to peers without long term remediation (Torgesen, 1998). In
order for students to be highly proficient readers they must read fluently and comprehend
what they are reading. Reading comprehension includes getting the gist of the author’s
intended meaning and interpreting the text by relating it to other ideas. Comprehension is
an active process in which meaning is constructed through the interaction between the
reader and the author. Reading fluency means reading at a smooth comfortable pace that
is nearly the same speed of speech when reading aloud and faster than speech when
reading silently. Fluent readers read without hesitation, read accurately, and use proper
expression.
Schools in large metropolitan areas are experiencing a substantial increase in the
number of students who are second language learners. Within the Los Angeles Unified
School District 80 different languages and dialects are represented. Many second
language learners have difficulty participating in school activities, especially those
related to literacy.
One difficulty facing some primary school teachers is the reading program they
must use to teach their English language learning students. The Open Court program is a
scripted reading program that is heavily based in phonics instruction. Less emphasis is
placed on the actual meaning of the text. Open Court does have its merits, but a limitation
of this program is that it equates “reading” with being able to pronounce a word
regardless of whether or not the reader understands the meaning of the word. This type of
program focuses on the question, “What is that word?” rather than the question, “What
does that say?” Even if second language learners may be proficient in reading in their
native language, they can resort to poor reading strategies such as sounding out words, a
laborious process that can make reading exhausting and retaining meaning very difficult
(Law & Eckes, 1990). English language learners need to build meaning in order to
become highly proficient in mastering their second language.
A growing concern is the widening gap in academic achievement between
English as a Second Language (ESL) students and Native English speaking students.
Excellent reading skills are essential for ESL students to eradicate this gap in
achievement. Children who read well early in school continue to do well in school.
Children who fall behind in reading early on continue to fall behind in academic
performance. In terms of academic achievement, the rich get richer. Many schools have
mandated reading programs set in the classroom that do not address the specific needs of
English language learners, it is therefore necessary for teachers to find another way to
supplement reading instruction to respond to the growing needs of educating primary
school students who are second language learners.
Echevarria,Vogt, and Short (2000) write, “ Students who are not members of the
dominant community often are at risk when the social and cultural fabric of their
classroom learning interactions are foreign, uncomfortable, or confusing.” Given the ever
increasing number of second language learners in elementary schools today and the
difficulty they are having with mastering literacy skills, schools and educators need to
provide rich experiences that focus on development and practice of proven methods that
support the needs of English language learners.
Students in today’s classrooms are not only racially and ethnically diverse, but
also academically diverse. The academic abilities of students in a given classroom may
vary by several grade levels. Students require varying instructional time and intensity to
master appropriate reading skills. In the classroom setting, the larger and more diverse
the population the fewer opportunities all students have to develop their reading skills
(Law & Eckes, 1990). Integrating technology into classrooms is one way to meet the
varied needs of a diverse population of learners.
In a study of extensive online reading Sun (2003) found that Taiwanese students
learning to speak English were able to individually tailor their reading levels through use
of technology. Students were able to search for articles that were at their appropriate
reading level and also pertained to areas of personal interest. Both of these factors
contribute to greater reading comprehension. The amount of choice available to students
online is much greater than can be found in most classrooms. The students involved in
this study reported that the use of technology for learning English helped increase their
motivation and they perceived that they were making academic progress.
Schmar-Dobler (2003) writes, “New forms of literacy call upon students to know
how to read and write not only in the print world but also in the digital world.” English
only students and ESL students need to be taught how to read text that is found on the
internet. Text on the internet can have busy graphics, bold backgrounds, and other
distracting features. All students need to be taught that reading might look different
depending on the medium but the basic skills remain the same. Skills such as
comprehension and fluency will help the reader to follow text more easily whether the
reading is done on line or in a text book.
Reading skills that are practiced in the primary language will also help with
reading skills in the second language. In a study conducted in a Texas elementary school
(1998), the Accelerated Reader program was used to test its effectiveness with bi-lingual
students. Students were able to read in both Spanish and English with this computer
based reading program. Students were also able to take tests in both Spanish and English.
After using the program, 76% of the sixth grade students were able to pass the Texas
state standards test compared to only 50% passing prior to the use of the Accelerated
Reader program.
One advantage to adding computer based reading to help ESL students in the
classroom is that a computer program allows for non-evaluative, non-judgemental, and
accurate reading practice that is independent of teacher time restraints (Lewandowski,
Begeny, & Rogers, 2006). Computer based reading programs also contribute to student
involvement, immediate feedback, and motivation (Butzin, 2001). Students also identify
with computer based programs and can see them as “fun” and note as the standard
textbook learning (Borja, 2006). These are rather important factors given today’s large
class size and demands to meet the needs of diverse students. Any system that can allow
for extra reading practice and can contribute to improved reading skills and student
involvement and increased motivation should be a welcome addition to the classroom
setting.
While it is important to utilize technology with all of our students to provide the
greatest academic input throughout the school day, it is also important to know that
computer programs are best when used in addition to classroom based programs. There
are supporters and detractors that can be found for many computer based reading
programs. Studies are contradictory and inconclusive. (Grenawalt, 2004). Mc Cullough
(1995) suggests that many different elements must be necessary for a computer based
reading system to be successful: teacher involvement, integration of curriculum, adequate
time with the program, and staff development. Just as there is an on-going debate
between phonics instruction and more comprehension based learning programs, careful
consideration needs to be given to any program that is to be used in the classroom.
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