Effects of Dyad Reading Instruction on the Reading Achievement of Hispanic Third-Grade English Language Learners

This study investigated the effects of a cooperative peer-assisted reading strategy, dyad reading instruction, on the reading achievement of Hispanic third-grade English language learners (ELLs). Specifically, dyad reading is unison reading of a “lead reader,” who reads well, and an “assisted reader,” who does not read well, simultaneously reading aloud at a normal rate (Eldredge, 1995). The participants in this study came from colonias, which are characterized as poverty-stricken semi-rural areas where people settle and live (Sharp, 1998). The participants were 80 third-grade ELLs with 40 in the experimental group and 40 in the control group. A quasi-experimental nonrandomized pretest-posttest control group research design was employed. An analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data obtained. The results yielded by two portions of the instrument were statistically significant on reading fluency and reading comprehension; however, the third portion of the instrument did not yield statistically significant results for reading comprehension. It is suggested that through a cooperative peer-assisted reading strategy such as dyad reading, students will learn from one another in this social context of reading.