The effect of fluent reading strategies on studentswith reading difficulties

In this study, it was aimed to examine the effect of fluent reading strategies on students with reading difficulties. In parallel with the purpose of the study, word repetition technique, listening to the paragraph beforehand and repeated reading strategies were used together. The study was conducted at a primary school located in Sultanbeyli district of Istanbul province. The study was carried out in accordance with the multiple probe design model which is one of the single subject research methods. The study group of the research consists of four 4th-grade primary school students who are diagnosed with the specific learning difficulty and have difficulty in reading. The fact that students have a diagnosis of special learning disability and the fluent reading and comprehension levels of them are at the level of anxiety has been determined as criteria in this study. In order to determine fluent reading and comprehension levels of the students, preliminary evaluation, mid-evaluation and final evaluation were carried out respectively before, during and at the end of the study. Error Analysis Inventory was used in determination of fluent reading and comprehension skills of the students who participated in the research. As a result of the preliminary evaluation carried out before the study, it was determined that reading levels of all 4 students were below 90% and comprehension levels were below 50%, and the students' fluent reading and comprehension levels were at level of anxiety. The application performed lasted 50 hours in total. After 25 hours of the application, the mid-evaluation was carried out; even though there was an improvement in the students' reading levels, 1 (one) student's reading level advanced from level of anxiety to level of instruction, while others' reading level remained at the level of anxiety. Likewise, although there was an improvement in the students' reading comprehension levels, their comprehension levels remained at the level of anxiety. According to the data of the final evaluation carried out at the end of the application, it was determined that students' reading levels and comprehension levels increased from level of anxiety to level of instruction. As a result of the study; it was determined that listening to the paragraph beforehand, word repetition technique and repeated reading strategies have a positive effect on developing fluent reading and comprehension skills of students with reading difficulties.