This is a PDF file for my presentation at JALT Kyoto Member Spotlight in August 2020.

1. Were external “Timed Reading”
effectively done or overwhelmed tasks in
EFL reading and writing classes during
the COVID-19 pandemic period?
Kazunori Nozawa
Ritsumeikan University, Japan
nozawa@is.ritsumei.ac.jp
JALT Kyoto Member Spotlight, August 29, 2020

2. Outline
▸ Brief Self-Introduction
▸ EGAP (English for General Academic Puposes) at
College of Information Science and Engineering,
Ritsumeikan University
▸ E103 (Reading and Writing) classes for Spring
Semester 2020
▸ Case Study: External Timed Reading Assignments and
Comrehension Quizzes on QuizStar
▸ Students’ Responses of the Post-Course Questionnaire
▸ Review of Literature on Timed Reading
▸ Q & A
2

3. I am Kazunori Nozawa.
Specially Appointed Professor & Professor Emeritus
Ritsumeikan University, Japan
JALT CALL Co-founder and CALL-EJ Editor-in-Chief
You can find me more at
http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/is/~nozawa/index.html
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Kaz’s Golden Pot

4. EGAP (English for General Academic Puposes)
1

5. E103 (Reading and Writing) classes
for Spring Semester 2020
▸ English 103 (CEFR A2) - Beginners
(TOEIC 400-450)
▸ QG (28/31 REGD) ; RG (23/27 REGD)
▸ de Chazal, E. & Hughes, J. (2015) .
Oxford EAP A course in English for
Academic Purposes Elementary / A2.
OUP
▸ Units 1-10: B (Reading) & C (Writing)
5

6. E103 (Reading and Writing) classes
for Spring Semester 2020
▸ 12 online classes with Zoom and Manaba+R (WK2-4 cancelled)
▸ Natural Reader (https://www.naturalreaders.com/online/) for “listening &
reading” the texts
▸ 2 Quizzes (WK9 & WK15) + 2 Writing Projects (WK8-9 & WK13-14)
▸ 10 Timed Readings (pdf) + Comprehension Questions on QuizStar
▸ Post-Questionnaire with Google Form
6

7. “
Cloud-based Educational Service
System with LMS and Portfolio
7
A downloadable
TR file (pdf)
became available
weekly.

8. Timed Reading
▸ TR1 (WK 5) - The Artist in You (295 words)
▸ TR2 (WK 6) - Leonardo da Vinci (289 words)
▸ TR3 (WK 7) - Marketing（297 words）
▸ TR4 (WK 8) - Currency (310 words)
▸ TR5 (WK 9) - Sending Messages (303 words)
▸ TR6 (WK 10) - Body Language (298 words)
▸ TR7 (WK 11) - We All Need Exercise (294 words)
▸ TR8 (WK 12) - The Secrets to a Long Life (301 words)
▸ TR9 (WK 13) - Space Rubbish (297 words)
▸ TR10 (WK 14) - Jewel of the Earth (296 words)
8
10 out of 32 TR materials
by the E103-104 level
coordinator were chosen
and given as a pdf weekly
via Manaba+R

9. “
Cloud-based Educational Service
System with LMS and Portfolio
9
The Excel file of
the TR records
were submitted.

10. ▸ QuizStar is a Web-based quiz maker that enables
you to create, administer and automatically grade
your quizzes online!
▸ Created on November 1, 2009 as a grant-funded,
free online tool
▸ free of charge for all educators via 4Teachers.org
(http://quizstar.4teachers.org/indexi.jsp)
QuizStar
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Mainly multiple-choice questions

11. Overview of QuizStar Quizzes
Quiz Repository
E103 QG E103 RE
11
Fully
Completed
21 72.41%
Incomplete 8 27.59%
Fully
Completed
19 82.61%
Incomplete 4 17.39%

12. Post-TR Questionnaire Summary
QG (n=20)
12
RG (n=14)
21/29
(72.41%)
19/23
（82.61％）

13. Post-TR Questionnaire Summary
QG (n=20)
13
RG (n=14)

14. Post-TR Questionnaire Summary
QG (n=20)
14
RG (n=14)

15. Post-TR Questionnaire Summary
QG (n=20)
15
RG (n=14)

16. Comprehension Quizzes Summary
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▸ In both classes there were 1-5 students who have done TR quizzes
without participating in real-time Zoom classes.

17. Post-TR Questionnaire Summary
QG (n=20)
17
RG (n=14)

18. Post-TR Questionnaire Summary
QG (n=20)
18
RG (n=14)

19. Post-TR Questionnaire Summary
QG (n=20)
19
RG (n=14)

20. Post-TR Questionnaire Summary
QG (n=20)
20
RG (n=14)

21. Post-TR Questionnaire Summary
QG (n=20)
21
RG (n=14)

22. Post-TR Questionnaire Summary
QG (n=20)
22
RG (n=14)

23. Grab you cup of coffee or
any drink to relax!
23

24. Reading
24
Reported
Rading (RR)
Extensive
Reading (ER)
Widely used in ESL
and EFL contexts
Timed Reading (TR)
Not widely used, but has an important
role to play in L2 reading

25. Literature review
Browning (2003) explores the
importance of gaining faster
reading skills through TR and
emphasizes the importance of
reading strategies for success.
Crawford (2008) shows that
TR can be effective for increasing
both fast and slow leaners’ reading
rates in his limited experimental
study.
Atkins (2010, 2011) examines if
regular TR leads and amounts of ER to
gain in reading fluency using graded
readers (GR) in intermediate- and low-
level students. There was no
significant statistical relationship
between improvement in reading.
25
Chang (2010) investigates that
students with TR increased their
reading speed and became more
confident in their reading without
the teachers’ guidance.
Chang (2012) reports that the
TR group improved reading rates
and comprehension while
increasing the reading rate for the
repeated oral reading group that
did not have a negative impact on
reading comprehension.
Rosszell (2014) provides a
rationale for and description of TR
and a review of the L1 and L2
research to view that TR is a
promising but under-researched
technique (especially in L2
contexts) for developing reading
fluency.
Shimono (2018) compares three
groups (one for TR and repeated oral
reading training with chunking, one for
TR only and one for oral communication
training). Both treatment groups
outperformed the comparison group in
terms of rate and comprehension.
Shimono (2019) examines the effects of repeated oral reading and
timed reading on L2 oral reading fluency and provides empirical
evidence of the benefits of repeated oral reading and timed reading on
the development of L2 oral reading fluency.

26. l Timed Reading was
required (20% of the
final grade) but as an
out-of-class activity.
l Except the drop-outs
almost all the enrolled
students completed and
felt positive as an
assignment. 26

27. 27
Topics and limited
numbers of words for
materials of Timed
Reading can be
controlled and provided
for low-level students,
but for other levels they
can be freely chosen and
done.
.

28. 28
Timed Reading
can be effectively done
with any available
digital device at
students’ side and their
performances can be
checked using a free app
like QuizStar.

29. 29
Timed Reading

30. References
Atkins, A. (2010). Timed reading: Increasing reading speed and fluency, In A. M. Stoke (Ed.), JALT2009 Conference Proceedings. Tokyo:
JALT. https://jalt-publications.org/archive/proceedings/2009/E099.pdf
Atkins, A. & Cole, S. (2011). The development of an online timed reading program, in P. Lewis et al. (eds). CALL: What's Your Motivation?
JALT CALL SIG, 1-7. https://jalt-publications.org/archive/proceedings/2009/E099.pdf
Browning, J. (2003). Why Teachers Should Use Timed Reading in ESL. The Internet TESL Journal, 9(6). http://iteslj.org/Articles/
Browning-TimedReading.html
Chang, A. C-S. (2012). Improving reading rate activities for EFL students: Timed reading and repeated oral reading. Reading in a Foreign
Language, 24(1), 56-83. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ974104.pdf
Chang, A. C-S. (2010). The Effect of a Timed Reading Activity on EFL Learners: Speed, Comprehension, and Perceptions, Reading in a
Foreign Language, 22(2), 284-303. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ901548.pdf
Chang, A. C-S. & Millett, S. (2013). Improving reading rates and comprehension through timed repeated reading, Reading in a Foreign
Language, 25(2), 126-148. https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/66864/25_2_10125_66864_chang.pdf
Crawford, T. R. (2008). Increasing reading rate with timed reading, The Language Teacher, 32(2), 3-8. https://www.researchgate.net/
profile/Howard_Brown5/publication/236165730_The_reduction_of_extra_syllables_in_Japanese_EFL_learners'_pronunciation_through
_haiku_ writing_practice/links/00b7d516ba5cec4448000000.pdf#page=4'_pronunciation_through_haiku_writing_practice/links/
00b7d516ba5cec4448000000.pdf#page=4'_pronunciation_through_haiku_writing_practice/links/00b7d516ba5cec4448000000.
pdf#page=4
Rosszell, R. H. (2014). Paths to Reading Fluency - Part 2: A Review of the Effectiveness of Timed Reading, Meiji University Academic
Repository, 7(1), 13-28. https://m-repo.lib.meiji.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/10291/17397/1/kokusainihongaku_7_1_13.pdf
Shimono, T. R. (2019). The Effects of Repeated Oral Reading and Timed Reading on L2 Oral Reading Fluency, The Reading Matrix: An
International Online Journal, 19(1), 139-153. http://mail.readingmatrix.com/files/20-0207e343.pdf
Shimono, T. R. (2018). L2 reading fluency progression using timed reading and repeated oral reading. Reading in a Foreign Language,
30(1), 152-179. https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/66743/30_1_10125_66743_shimono.pdf

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Any questions?
You can contact me at:
▸ nozawa @is.ritsumei.ac.jp