An Action Research Aiming to Reveal the Effects of Paired Reading on Eliminating Reading Difficulties

Abstract

The effects of paired reading on developing reading skill of a student who had difficulty in reading were researched in the study. The study designed as an action research was carried out with one 5th grader having reading difficulty and studying at Bartın Gazi Secondary School in the second term of 2016-2017 academic year. First, the student was asked to read two informative reading texts – Trash (Çöpler) and Recycling (Geri Dönüşüm) – in the 5th grade Turkish coursebook , and his reading was recorded in order to determine his reading level. His reading level was scored based on the error analysis inventory. It was found that his reading level was at anxiety level. Next, the student was asked to read an informative text entitled “Traveler Turtle is in Denizli (Gezgin Kaplumbağa Denizli’de)” in the 4th grade Turkish coursebook. It was seen that the student was still at anxiety level. Then, he was asked to read an informative text entitled “Traffic Rules (Trafik Kuralları)” in the 3rd grade Turkish course book. The instruction period was 30 hours in total – 5 hours a week. At the end of the reading instruction period, the student was asked to read a text entitled “Domestic Goods (Yerli Malı)” selected from the 3rd grade Turkish course book. It was revealed that the student’s reading level reached independent level.