Effects of Readers’ Theater on EFL Elementary SchoolLearning Disabled Students’ Oral Reading Fluency

• Main Authors: Chiang, Ching-Hui, 江靚慧
• Other Authors: Shyh-Chyi Wey
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2016
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/25334900939464588937

碩士 === 國立雲林科技大學 === 應用外語系 === 104 === The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of Readers’ Theater (RT) on learning disabled students to improve their oral reading fluency through the instruction of Readers’ Theater and to understand students’ perspectives on the RT instruction. Participants involved five learning disabled students at a primary school in the central Taiwan. In this study, the participants received two 40-minute English classes per week for ten weeks at school. In order to examine the effect of RT on oral reading fluency, an oral reading fluency was administered before and after the experiment. Student reflection logs were also applied in this study to record participants’ progress during the intervention. To understand how they perceived the RT instruction, a survey in terms of an open-ended questionnaire and interview was conducted. The finding revealed that (1) RT has a significant effect on oral reading fluency; (2) RT helped the LD leaners improved their word recognition and enhanced their confidence; and (3) students showed positive attitude on the RT and interest in learning English. Based on the findings, some implications are also proposed to be of help to English educators in primary schools.