One of the main barriers to students’ progress as readers is fluency. If you have ever taught a class in which some students finish a reading selection at lightning speed while others labor along sounding out the text word by word, you have experienced the fluency gap. The comprehension of students who read slowly and laboriously often suffers. These students are putting so much effort into decoding the words, they cannot focus on the overall “message” of the text.

There are a number of ways for students to work towards reading fluency. Repeated reading is one of the classic methods; students read the same text out loud two or more times, noting their speed each time. Reading along with a tape or audiobook is another great way to build reading fluency. This is where the site called ESL-Bits comes in.

With a rich menu of readings for both intermediate and advanced ESOL students, this website has something for both ESL students who wish to practice their reading and listening skills, and BE/pre-HSE students who want to build reading fluency. There are two listening speeds so students can follow along at a pace that works for them, and the selection of readings is phenomenal–novels, novellas, short stories and articles on topics that any adult would want to read about, including political topics as well as more personal ones. (Try Signs of a Toxic Friendship, or Don’t Believe Everything You Think).

(By the way, for a great resource on reading fluency for ESL students created by two teachers from Long Island, Lisa Wright and Susan Giuliano, see the Career Posts on this website. )