Prosodic Characteristics of Skilled Reading: Fluency and Expressiveness in 8—10-year-old Readers

Abstract

Statistical methods of describing prosody were used to study fluency, expressiveness and their relationship among 8—10-year-old readers. 67 children were rated on fluency and expressiveness. The two were partially independent in the full sample: expressiveness rarely occurred without fluency, but fluency occurred without expressiveness. A balanced subsample of 24 was selected for closer instrumental and statistical analysis. There were robust relationships between expressiveness and variables associated with pitch mobility; and between fluency and measures associated with temporal organization. Interactions indicated that the relationships were not simple. Differences between groups depended on sentence content and position —expressive readers distinguished sentences more sharply according to content, and the groups diverged on some measures as the passage progressed. Also, measures associated primarily with either fluency or expression often showed secondary sensitivity to the other: temporal organization was associated with fluency, but worsened over time among inexpressive readers; and readers who were both fluent and expressive were distinctive in several respects. Some measures offer a basis for rules aimed at assigning individuals to skill categories, particularly the magnitude of pitch movements and reading time per syllable. The rules distinguish well among readers who were either at one of the extremes of skill, or fluent but inexpressive; it is harder to discriminate among the other readers (who have mixed skill patterns). The effects suggest psychological hypotheses about the underlying mechanisms.