The Development of L2 Reading Skills: A Case Study from an Eight-Week Intensive English Program Course

Authors

  • Rachel Elizabeth Kraut Rice University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30617/dialogues1.1.4

Keywords:

intensive English programs, reading, program development and administration, curriculum

Abstract

The present study explores the development of L2 reading skills over the course of an immersive eight-week session in an intensive English program. Data was collected from an intermediate- level reading skills class (N=16) at multiple points throughout the course to measure growth in vocabulary knowledge, lexical inferencing abilities, reading speed, reading comprehension, and attitudes towards reading. Subjects also submitted a weekly log of minutes read at home. During the short two-month period, significant growth was observed in a number of reading skills. Moreover, total number of minutes read independently by each student was associated with growth across several reading skills, as tested by Pearson correlations. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for language teaching and language program curriculum.

Author Biography

Rachel Elizabeth Kraut, Rice University

Dr. Rachel Kraut is the Associate Director of Language Programs in the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies at Rice University. There, she helps oversee the intensive English program, ESL communication program, and all foreign language programs in addition to building new language programs online. She also serves as a site reviewer for the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation.

Beyond language program management, Rachel has also worked as a consultant in language teacher professional development for public school districts, a content developer, and a teacher trainer.

Her research interests lie in two camps: language program administration and L2 applied psycholinguistics. More specifically, Rachel has published and presented papers on ESL teacher training and pedagogy, the development and effectiveness of L2 extensive reading programs, L2 lexical storage and access, and the processing of L2 morphology.

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Published

2017-02-09

How to Cite

Kraut, R. E. (2017). The Development of L2 Reading Skills: A Case Study from an Eight-Week Intensive English Program Course. Dialogues: An Interdisciplinary Journal of English Language Teaching and Research, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.30617/dialogues1.1.4

Issue

Dialogues, Inaugural Issue (2017)

Section

Articles

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