Integrating Computer Assisted Language Learning into Out-of-Class Extended Learning: The Impact of iPod Touch-Supported Repeated Reading on the Oral Reading Fluency of English for Specific Academic Purposes Students

Abstract

By using the formative experiment, this study investigated how an instructional intervention, consisting of a Repeated Reading (RR) technique and an iPod Touch, helped achieve a valued pedagogical goal, that of enhancing the Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) of sixteen English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) first-year university students. Students used iPod software such as a Voice Memo and DropVox to access reading material, practise RR and upload their recorded repeated readings. Curriculum-Based Measurement (Rasinski, 2004) was used to measure students' automaticity (speed and accuracy) and an adapted version of Zutell and Rasinski's (1991) Multidimensional Fluency Scale to measure their prosody; an online questionnaire was also used to establish the learners' feelings regarding the whole experience. Data analysis revealed that the iPod-supported RR activity helped students increase their automaticity and improve their ORF prosodic features. It also revealed that students appreciated the use of an iPod in the development of their ORF, pronunciation and listening comprehension and their ability to use new technologies.