Digital reading aloud protocols and its effects on EFL fluency

Language learning technologies for reading skills provide focused, structured, independent practice with integrated feedback and assessment, potentially reducing time and effort for both students and instructors compared to integrating similar in-class activities. Many platforms are designed for L1 English-speaking K-12 students but are less tailored for adult L2 learners in ESL/EFL contexts. While effective in L1 settings, their impact on L2 learners remains underexplored. This study addresses this gap by examining the use of the instructional reading platform Read Naturally within an EFL framework. Using a quantitative ex-post-facto design, we assess the program's effects on two key aspects of reading fluency: (1) oral reading rate and accuracy, measured through words correct per minute, (wcpm) and (2) prosody, assessed through instructors' ratings of expression on a 1–4 scale. Fluency improvements were analyzed using digital read-aloud protocols (DRAPs) with 88 adult EFL learners across three proficiency levels: beginner (n = 21), intermediate (n = 42), and upper-intermediate (n = 25). Results showed significant improvements in wcpm for beginner and upper-intermediate students, but no gains for the intermediate group. However, consistent improvement in expression scores was observed at all proficiency levels.