Remediation of reading disabilities of primary school students by learning styles

In this study, the effect of learning styles in correcting primary 4 And 5 Grade students' errors that occur while reading aloud and in developing their reading comprehension skills were investigated. The research was carried out with four students selected in accordance with the purpose of the study from Kışla Mahmut Likoğlu and Mehmet Akif Ersoy Primary Schools in Ereğli district of Zonguldak province. The students selected are those with reading disabilities despite having no mental, auditory or visual problems. The research was conducted for 32-hours with each student in the sample, in total of 128 hours in eight weeks. Approved by the Board of Education and Training, the primers and exercise books at 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th elementary levels were used in the study. The students' learning styles and preferences were identified by applying Marmara Learning Styles Scale to the selected four students. Three of the four students preferred auditory learning style and one preferred visual learning style. Sound recordings were created from the texts determined for 3 students that preferred auditory learning style at an appropriate speed and stress to their reading levels The students followed the texts while listening to the sound recordings with the help of headphones simultaneously. They were given the opportunity to listen to twice long texts. They were asked to read aloud after they were made to take off their headphones. If the student read the text at a lower level than the previous reading of the text, the student was made to listen to the text with headphones once more and to read aloud again. In addition, the errors made by the students during reading were identified by using the word box strategy and they were made to correct those errors. The instruction for the student who preferred visual learning style was carried out through the texts supplemented with pictures and including words, syllables and sentences underlined and highlighted with colourful letters and through the texts underlined by the student with colourful pencils when needed by himself/herself. Moreover the errors made by the student during reading were identified by using the word box strategy and he/she was made to correct those errors. According to the results obtained from the study, after the final reading, the student with visual learning style B.C. had ninety per cent level of concern, the students B.G. and K.D. with auditory learning style were at instructional level and the student M.Ş. with auditory learning style reached the level of free reading. According to findings of the research, reading and comprehension activities organized in accordance with the learning styles and applied to students were found to be effective in eliminating the reading disabilities of primary school students.