The impact of the neurological impress method on the reading anxieties, reading comprehension and fluent reading skills of secondary school students'

In this research, the impact of the neurological impress method on secondary school students' reading comprehension skills, fluent reading skills, and reading anxieties are to be examined. The study has been conducted with a total of four students, two girls and two boys, who are in the fifth grade at a public school in the Tarsus district of Mersin province during the 2022-2023 academic year. The research has been designed prior to mixed-method approach, combining quantitative and qualitative research techniques. One student could not continue her reading studies due to health problems. The study has been completed in 15 sessions with three students. To reflect the time-dependent changes in the reading comprehension and fluent reading skills of the students participating in the study over the 15 sessions, a longitudinal scanning method has also been used. To determine the changes in the students' reading anxieties, a pre-test-post-test research model with a single group has been used. To assess the student's reading comprehension skills, simple and/or deep comprehension questions related to the texts have been asked to the students after reading each text. Additionally, the students' reading errors have been categorized according to their types. For measuring the students' fluent reading skills, the Prozodic Reading Scale has been utilized. The students' oral reading performances have been recorded with the permission of their families voluntarily using a voice recording device. The students' voice recordings have been scored by two scorers while tracking the text, and the average of the scores they received from both scorers has been used to determine their fluent reading scores for each session. For the analysis of the data related to students' reading anxieties, a paired samples t-test has been performed using the SPSS 27 statistical package program. To reflect the students' views on the research, a three-question semi-structured interviewing form has been used, which was created within the scope of the research. As a result of the study, it has been revealed that the Neurological Impress Method improved students' reading comprehension skills and fluent reading skills, while also reducing their reading anxieties. The responses of the three students who completed the study's semi-structured interview form also support this conclusion. Keywords: Neurological Impress Method, Fluent Reading Skills, Reading Comprehension Skills, Reading Anxiety.