Effects of digital literacies on English reading fluency for undergraduate students

Abstract

This mixed-methods study aimed to 1) examine the effects of Digital Literacies on reading fluency in terms of reading rate and reading comprehension, 2) investigate the uses of Digital Literacies. Participants comprised 60 third-year undergraduate students from a public university in Thailand (N = 60), the Faculty of Architecture, during a 10-week intervention. The independent variable was Digital Literacies, while the dependent variable was reading fluency. The instruments used to collect data were the Online English Reading Fluency Test, Reading Fluency Practice: Reading Rate Chart, and Learning Logs. Quantitative data were analyzed through students’ Online English Reading Fluency Test using Pair Sample t-test, while qualitative data were obtained through students’ Reading Fluency Practice: Reading Rate Chart and Learning Logs were analyzed through coding analysis. The results from the Pair Sample t-test revealed that students significantly increased their reading fluency in both rate and comprehension. Students’ posttest scores from reading rate were higher than the pretest scores at a significant level (p<.05) with a medium effect size of .71, while students’ reading comprehension with a small effect size of .40. After the intervention. They reported positively upon four elements of Digital Literacies, including (1) Communication, (2) Information, (3) Collaboration, and (4) (Re-) Design. The study explained how each element enhanced reading fluency. Implications offered guidelines to integrate Digital Literacies into English reading instruction.