Word Reading Efficiency, Text Reading Fluency, and Reading Comprehension Among Chinese Learners of English

Abstract

This study examined the relationship among word reading efficiency, text reading fluency, and reading comprehension for adult English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Data from 185 adult Chinese EFL learners preparing to take the Test-of-English-as-a-Foreign-Language™ (TOEFL®) were analyzed in this study. The participants completed a computer-based test battery of word reading efficiency and text reading fluency in addition to TOEFL iBT (Internet-Based Test) reading comprehension. The findings showed a stronger relationship between text oral reading fluency and reading comprehension than between word reading efficiency and reading comprehension. The authors recommended that attention be paid to text oral reading fluency in adult EFL reading research and instruction.

Acknowledgments

This article was initiated while the first author was a summer intern at Educational Testing Service. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) held April 9–13, 2007, in Chicago, Illinois.