The effect of reading strategies on reading comprehension in teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language

Abstract

Fatma BÖLÜKBAŞ

The purpose of this study is to determine which reading strategies students use while learning Turkish as a foreign language and investigate the effects of these strategies on reading comprehension skill. Conducted in compliance with “pretest-posttest control group model” as the experimental design, this research involved totally 36 students who were learning Turkish as a foreign language at Istanbul University Language Center; the experimental group and the control group both consisted of 18 students who were at B2 level in accordance with the Common European Framework. While the experimental group was subjected to activities involving the usage and instruction of the strategies, the control group received education through the traditional model. The data were collected through the “Reading Comprehension Achievement Test” developed by the researcher and the “Metacognitive Awareness Inventory of Reading Strategies” developed by Karatay; the data obtained were later anlaysed in SPSS. The results of the study revealed that students use reading and pre-reading strategies the most, whereas they use post-reading strategies the least. It was also discovered in the research that in parallel with the increase in the students’ level of reading strategy use, their comprehension achievement increased as well.