A reading instruction intervention program for English-language learners who are struggling readers.

We used a multiple baseline across students design to evaluate the effects of an intervention program consisting of vocabulary instruction, error correction, and fluency building on oral reading rate and comprehension of five English-language learners who were struggling readers in a primary school. During the first intervention condition (new passage each session), the first author (a) explained the meanings of new vocabulary words from the session's passage, used each vocabulary word in a sentence, and asked the learner to use each word in a sentence; (b) corrected oral reading errors during the learner's initial oral reading of the passage; (c) asked the learner to read the passage as fast as she or he could for three consecutive trials; and (d) asked five literal comprehension questions about the passage. The same procedures were used during the second intervention condition (same passage to criterion), except the same passage was used across sessions until the learner reached a predetermined number of words read correctly per minute. During the new passage each session condition, the oral reading rate of all five learners showed marked improvements over their performance during baseline. During the same passage to criterion condition, four of five learners reached the predetermined fluency criterion of 100 correct words per minute. The mean number of comprehension questions answered correctly per session was notably higher during both intervention conditions than during baseline.

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Among those overrepresented in special education programs, culturally and linguistically diverse, at-risk children, in particular, are in "quadruple jeopardy" (Utley, 1995). Most notably, multiple compounding factors, such as poverty, language, culture, and a disabling condition, significantly diminish opportunities for success in mainstream classrooms and increase the likelihood of placement in a special education program. Minority English-language learners, particularly those with disabilities, face the compounding challenges of learning a new language while simultaneously mastering subject matter and coping with attendant learning problems imposed by their disabilities (Correa & Heward, 2000; Gersten & Jimenez, 1998).

Most recent views of language-minority learners, particularly in the area of reading, are shaped by research on learners of English as a first language (e.g., Fitzgerald, 1995; Grabe, 1991). Based on her review of research on reading instruction for learners of English as a second language (ESL), Fitzgerald reported that instructional strategies found effective for teaching native English speakers were also found effective for teaching ESL learners. Fitzgerald further suggested that teachers could base second-language reading instruction on research conducted with native English speakers acquiring literacy skills. Sound practices for teaching native English-speaking students also tend to be sound practices for students who are learning English, although those practices may require modifications (Fitzgerald, 1995; Gersten & Jimenez, 1994; Hague, 1987).

For students with learning disabilities (LD), current research has focused primarily on improving basic reading skills and strategic reading behaviors (Graham & Johnson, 1989). Although direct instruction and mastery learning are recommended approaches for poor readers (e.g., Guthrie & Tyler, 1978), less is known about the instructional components most critical to the development of reading skills among English-language learners (Linan-Thompson, Vaughn, Hickman-Davis, & Kouzekanani, 2003). In fact, Figueroa, Fradd, and Correa (1989) highlight the absence of a "substantial body of empirical data on actual, well-controlled interventions. Bilingual special education does not yet have this body of knowledge" (p. 178). Although this situation has improved somewhat, empirical data in the research literature on effective instructional practices for English-language learners remains limited (Gersten & Baker, 2000).