In the past, tests for fluency in oral language often had individuals say as many words as they could in a specified period of time, such as one minute. Sometimes a certain category was given and the person had to say as many words as he or she could in that time. These tests never made much sense to me because in real life we must talk in phrases and sentences, not in lists of words.

More recently, fluency refers to reading automatically. Children and adults with dyslexia at first decode sound by sound or syllable by syllable. After a certain amount of instruction and internalization of rules, they can slowly decode words. But often this is quite a slow process. They must consciously think of how to read each word. The words do not go immediately to speech to be read aloud or to the mind to be associated with meaning. These individuals do not have automaticity in their reading; they lack fluency.

They may read word by word "without expression." Reading with expression is not important in real life unless one is a radio or television personality. But reading with some expression often provides an indication that the reader understands what he or she reads.

After children can decode words, it is important that they learn to read the words to the level of automaticity, or to have fluency. They look at a word and know it immediately. The words that are decoded are read automatically--easily and quickly. The words are read fluently or with fluency. The words can be read in isolation or in context.

• It is important to practice new words decoded until they can be read automatically as sight words.
• Word lists should be practiced.
• The words should also be embedded in phrases for reading practice such as:
       old magnet
       broken magnet
       new magnet
       strong magnet
       horseshoe magnet
• Practice should be given with text divided into phrases to improve fluency such as:


The old magnet •  was broken. •  It needed •
to be replaced. •  Jim and his sister •  went to the mall •
to look for a place •  that sold magnets. •   They found •
such a store. •  They were pleased • with their new magnet.•
Now they could •   complete some experiments.

 

• Then the paragraph can be presented without the phrase breaks and read aloud again.

  The old magnet was broken. It needed to be replaced. Jim and his sister went to the mall to look for a place that sold magnets. They found such a store. They were pleased with their new magnet. Now they could complete some experiments.

• Practice should be given in reading aloud the same material until it can be read fluently. Sometimes children object to this, but with discussion understand the purpose.
• Reading in unison with another is sometimes useful.
• Reading easy text is important. It is only by reading that reading fluency improves. Many good readers read just about anything in print, but they have be come good readers by reading loads of easy books such as mysteries or romances.

These suggestions are for remediation or practice only, not to be used at other times when reading. However, practice in reading text in phrases should be practiced. The goal is to improve fluency along with decoding, not to engender hate for reading.