Implementing a Classroom Oral Reading Platform for Primary EFL Students´ Oral Reading Rate

The importance of oral reading rate has been increasingly emphasized in language learning. In the EFL (English as a foreign language) context, coral reading is the most authentic use to enhance oral reading rate. However, EFL students have two problems in choral reading. First, students are too shy to read aloud and ask questions. Second, students cannot control their learning process in the teacher-centered context. Hence, this study proposed a Classroom Oral Reading Platform so that students can independently listen to model fluent reading, record and listen to their narration with their learning paces. A 12-week experimental study was performed with 96 EFL learners in Taiwan. The study aims to evaluate whether students´ oral reading rate and their motivation toward the oral reading practice can be improved. The findings could serve as some general principles for researchers and educators who would like to improve EFL students´ oral reading rate in similar contexts.