Fluency Transfer: Differential Gains in Reading Speed and Accuracy Following Isolated Word and Context Training

While fluent reading is recognized as a primary goal of educational instruction, the methods that best promote the development of fluency remain unclear. Two experiments are reported that examined increases in reading fluency of a novel passage following two types of training. In the context training condition, children learned to read a set of target words in a story context, while in the isolated word training condition, fluency with a target word set was gained from a computerized word naming game. Transfer of fluency to reading these words in a new context was then measured by gains in reading speed, accuracy, and comprehension of a novel story. Results indicated that young readers showed speed benefits on transfer stories following both context and isolated word training, but the increases were larger following context training.