It was the purpose of this study to examine the use of the natural language of the five subjects identified as having low reading self-concept as the basis for reading instruction, and to analyze, before and after the treatment period, the miscues of the subjects to determine if the use of the language experience lesson strategies had any effect on the quality or the quantity of the subjects' miscues. Further, the reading self-concepts of the subjects were analyzed before and after the treatment period to determine if there was a change.

The data for this research were obtained by analyzing the oral reading miscues of the five subjects using the Reading Miscue Inventory (RMI) (Goodman and Burke, 1972). A miscue is a deviation between the reader's oral response and the printed material. In analyzing a reader's miscues it is possible to measure the variables surrounding the miscues both quantitatively and qualitatively.

A review of the literature provided background into the area of the self, self-concept and overall achievement, self-concept and reading, language experience approach to reading and the Reading Miscue Inventory.

Upon completion of the treatment period and the analysis of the pre- and post-RMIs, it was found that the five subjects had made gains in their ability to utilize the three cueing systems facilitating an increase in the quality of miscues, and decreasing the quantity of miscues. Concomitantly, the data reflected an increase in the subjects' reading self-concept, especially with respect to reading in the presence of and for others.

It was concluded that the study provides an alternative approach to reading instruction that utilizes the inherent language of the subject and that reading programs for the upper elementary student with a poor reading self-concept need not be presented as a skill-oriented process along, but dealt with as a meaning-based, interactive language and thought process. The study also provided evidence that the reading self-concept semantic differential scale created for this study can be utilized as an effective tool in classrooms to measure children's reading self-concept as a tool in program assessment from the affective standpoint.

It is recommended that this study, using the RMI as a diagnostic reading instrument and the reading self-concept semantic differential scale might be extended, using different locale, socioeconomic and grade-level populations. It is recommended that the study be carried out in an experimental design.