When a reader is struggling, creating better connections between the spoken word and the printed text helps her to create the comprehension skills she needs to improve her reading abilities. A tutor that reads aloud to the student while she works on her reading skills achieves this. In situations in which that is not possible, taped material, audiobooks or speaking software programs also help create the connections between verbal and printed words.
When students read more slowly than their classmates, it causes embarrassment when it becomes obvious how much they are struggling. A pilot project in Wisconsin utilized Amazon Kindles to provide children with a way to read at their own speed, so students around them couldn't see how many pages they had read or what they were reading. Teresa Langlois, the teacher in the program, estimated that students were reading 50 percent more as a result of the new program.
Instruction in phonics is something not delved into in the greatest depth in most classrooms. However, additional instruction in phonics or specialized phonics classes helps struggling readers overcome their difficulties. Brain imaging studies have shown that phonics study actually helps to correct the pathways in the brain that struggling readers use to process words. Phonics programs and phonics tutoring are very effective tools to help make literacy a reality for all students, regardless of natural learning ability.
Computers, and the endless amount of software designed for them, represent perhaps the greatest collection of tools that help slow learners become better readers. Many programs exist that combine audio, video, phonics, games and other features to provide students with a selection of programs that, with regular use, make them better readers. Schools or their special education departments should have lists of recommended programs for teachers, tutors or parents to use when instructing struggling readers.