In teaching Turkish as a foreign language, reading is one of the receptive language skills and a learning area that an individual uses throughout his/her life. Fluent reading, which consists of prosody, speed and accuracy components, is a higher level of reading and is one of the basic indicators of understanding what is read. As a matter of fact, individuals who cannot read fluently fail to make sense of what they read. In this study, the effects of fluent reading strategies on the reading comprehension skills and reading anxiety of students at B1 level in teaching Turkish as a foreign language were investigated. The explanatory sequential mixed method, in which quantitative and qualitative approaches were used together, was adopted in the research. The participants of the study consisted of 60 foreign students (30 in the experimental and 30 in the control group) learning Turkish as a foreign language at Gazi University TÖMER. In the study, the reading anxiety scale developed for B level students learning Turkish as a foreign language, the reading comprehension achievement test and the semi-structured interview form were used as data collection tools. In the implementation process of this study, fluent reading strategies were applied to the experimental group in reading lessons for three lesson hours for six weeks. The current program was applied to the control group. Descriptive statistics, dependent and independent groups t-test and chi-square test were used in the analysis of quantitative data obtained in the study. Descriptive analysis and content analysis were used in the analysis of qualitative data obtained from the semi-structured interview form. As a result of the study, it was determined that fluent reading strategies had a positive effect on reading comprehension skills and reading anxiety. It was also determined that the students in the experimental group had positive views on fluent reading strategies.
Fluency reading, reading anxiety, reading comprehension, reading strategies, teaching Turkish as a foreign language.