Incorporating Vocabulary Instruction in Individual Reading Fluency Interventions With English Language Learners

The purpose of this preliminary study was to determine whether incorporating vocabulary instruction in individual reading fluency interventions for English Language Learners (ELLs) would improve reading comprehension. Two vocabulary instructional procedures were contrasted with a fluency-building only condition in an alternating-treatments design with four ELL students in Grades 3 and 5. Results indicated that the two vocabulary instructional procedures, on average, did not affect reading comprehension. Despite no consistent overall effects, one student had better comprehension of passages used in fluency-building activities when definitions of key target words were taught, and two students demonstrated better comprehension of untaught passages following vocabulary instruction that included processing questions; however, all effects were of small magnitude. Reducing instructional time spent on fluency-building activities to incorporate the vocabulary activities did not attenuate intervention effects on reading fluency. Practical recommendations and future directions for incorporating vocabulary instruction in individual reading interventions are discussed.