the effect of adapted texts on reading comprehension achievement in teaching Turkish as a foreing language

This study examines both the lack of supportive reading texts adapted to the levels to be used in teaching Turkish as a foreign language and the effect of those supportive reading texts on the students' reading comprehension. At this point, the study was primarily conducted as a literature review, and reading comprehension in foreign language teaching, the selection of texts, and text adaptation to be used in foreign language teaching topics were particularly emphasized. After that, three short story were adopted to the B1 level based on the "medium-size authenticity and structural approach" principles. Simplification and elaboration are used as text adaptation forms. In order to measure the reading comprehension, a post- test has been prepared from the adapted texts. In the implementation part of the study, the adapted text, "Hayat Güzeldir" (Life is Beautiful), was applied to 100 students at B1 level at the Turkish Teaching and Application Center of Kastamonu University. The research group was divided by two; one read the original story of Life is Beautiful as a control group while the other one read the adapted version pf the story. Both groups have not used the dictionary while reading the texts under the same conditions in the same classroom atmosphere and then, they responded to the final test. In the findings and results part of the study, the data collected via post-test control group model, which was one of the quantitative research methods, were presented and interpreted. According to the findings, significant differences were observed in favor of the learners who read the adapted text. This situation resembles with Krashen's The Input Theory, which is also the basis of the adaptation phase. In the light of the findings, it was concluded that it is necessary to use adapted text to increase the students' perception of self-efficacy and interest in the language via meaningful reading comprehension up to B1 level which is considered as critical threshold in language teaching.