Reading fluency is a topic explored within reading research and is specifically related to acquiring initial reading competence. The importance of fluency in L1 reading has been confirmed by many researchers, yet there has been little research on fluency in reading in a foreign language, since it is assumed that this will develop in parallel (and automatically) with general foreign language reading skills. Several researchers have presented research results that confirm that fluency in reading is a reliable and valid way to monitor the reading progress of a student. Little is known about any potential relationships between the sixth graders' reading fluency in English as L2 in Slovenia and the factors such as the onset of formal learning in English, foreign language exposure, reading volume in general, self-assessment of reading and propensity to read in Slovene and English, frequency of reading by parents and the final grade in English in the 5th grade of primary school. In the theoretical part the fluency of reading, the differences between reading in L1 and in L2 and their interaction have been discussed. We have also studied several selected external factors that may affect reading fluency and/or how these could be related with each other. Finally, Running Records method which measures reading fluency was presented. In the empirical part of the research, a sample of 121 students from two different primary schools were selected to determine how fluently Slovene sixth-graders read in English as a foreign language and whether the above factors affect reading fluency in English as a foreign language.
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