USING AUDIOTAPED BOOKS TO EXTEND CLASSROOM LITERACY INSTRUCTION INTO THE HOMES OF 2ND-LANGUAGE LEARNERS

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether home-based repeat ed reading with an audio model is a significant supplement to the lite racy instructional program of second-language learners. It was hypothe sized that beginning first-grade readers who spoke English as a second language would benefit from having dairy access to repeated reading i n their home environment. To provide this access, books that had been shared in school were given to students for daily home use. After home rereading routines were established, students were then given a tape recorder and audiotapes to accompany these books. This enabled student s to hear the English storybook as they followed along looking at the printed text. Of specific interest in this study was the effect of rep eated reading with an auditory model on first-grade students' reading fluency and self-monitoring behavior. Also of interest was the effect of this school/home reading activity on student reading motivation and behavior. This 19-week study employed a single-subject reversal desig n (ABA) with multiple baselines across individuals. Home-based repeate d reading of books (A/Baseline) was compared to the home reading of bo oks with audiotapes (B/Intervention). The study involved a single subj ect and four replications. Results from this study indicate that all f ive participating second-language learners received substantial benefi t from the opportunity to practice reading books with audiotapes at ho me. It appears that the support provided by the audiotapes enabled stu dents to fluently read increasingly more difficult texts.