Some words seem so easy and yet, when one starts probing, it becomes evident that they are in fact minefields of contradiction and misunderstanding. 
 

This is what a group of literacy experts found when they asked teachers to define the apparently simple word ‘fluency’. In fact, almost every teacher came up with a different answer, and some even refused to answer the question, instead wanting to know what other teachers were saying.

The problem is that, at its simplest, fluency is seen as a measurement of the accuracy of a child reading aloud. In this definition, the speed of word recognition (which is not so easily measured as accuracy) is given a much lower importance and is sometimes almost ignored.

And yet, what we do know is that speed of word recognition is vital for comprehension and to promote an interest in reading for enjoyment and information.*

The fact is that when one is reading aloud ‘fluently’ what one is actually doing is reading ahead quickly and silently to extract the meaning, then reading it aloud slowly with expression to enhance that meaning.

Research has shown that the use of flashcards can be important in developing this broader approach to fluency. The ability to take in a number of words at one pass can be enhanced by certain expanded flashcard activities.

Today we no longer have to rely on the physical flashcard, as computer programs can generate flashcards and take into account the individual child’s speed and accuracy of response.

One such program decreases the flash time for words and phrases as pupils begin to take in more visual information at a glance. It has been found that the program itself pushes pupils further forward and motivates them to reach their time target.

This leads to a new model for progress: an approach based on the traditional flashcard that encourages an increasingly fast recognition of words and then phrases. This is the key to easy comprehension.

There is a demonstration of the program that develops this approach at http://game.getfluent.com/?licence=-1&webPage=1

Meanwhile, research in the field is still ongoing. The publishers of the GetFluent program are interested in conducting more research. If you have any comments on our approach, we would love to hear from you. You are invited to send in your thoughts to info@maia.co.uk .

* The research that led us to our conclusions is written up in:

 ·         Survey of teachers conducted by Hamilton House – July 2011

·         Klauda and Guthrie (2008). “Relationships of Three Components of Reading Fluency to Reading Comprehension”, Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 100, No. 2, 310–321.

·        Pikulsky and Chard (2005). “Fluency: Bridge between decoding and reading comprehension”, The Reading Teacher, Vol. 58, No. 6, 510–519.

·         Rayner, K. (1998). “Eye movements in reading and information processing: 20 years of research.” Psychological Bulletin, 124, 372-422.

·     Tan, A., & Nicholson, T. (1997). “Flashcards revisited: Training poor readers to read words faster improves their comprehension of text”, Journal of Educational Psychology, 59, 276–288.