The effect of interactive reading on the reading comprehension skills of middle school students with reading difficulties

This study aims to examine the effect of the interactive reading method on improving reading comprehension skills of 7th grade middle school students experiencing reading difficulties. The study group consisted of five students identified through criterion sampling who were enrolled in the 7th grade of a public school in Kovancılar district, Elazığ province, during the spring semester of the 2023–2024 academic year. The research was designed in accordance with the explanatory sequential design of the mixed method, which incorporates both quantitative and qualitative data collection processes. For this purpose, both quantitative and qualitative data collection tools were used. The quantitative data were obtained using the "Reading Comprehension Test" developed by the researcher and the "Error Analysis Inventory" adapted by Akyol (2016) from the work of Ekwall and Shanker (1988). Qualitative data were collected through "audio recordings", a "Personal Information Form", and a "Semi-Structured Interview Form". For the analysis of quantitative data, the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test was used, while the qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. At the beginning of the research process, students' reading comprehension levels were determined using a pre-test version of the reading comprehension achievement test, and their oral reading levels were measured using the error analysis inventory. The evaluations indicated that the students were at the frustration level. Subsequently, interactive reading practices were carried out over eight weeks. During this process, texts selected from 6th grade Turkish textbooks were used. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were conducted to determine the students' opinions on the interactive reading process. The quantitative findings revealed that interactive reading reduced students' reading errors, partially improved their word recognition skills, and led to a statistically significant improvement in reading comprehension in favor of the post-test. The qualitative findings showed that students adopted the interactive reading method and developed a more positive attitude toward reading.