The Effect Of Interactive Read-Aloud Instruction On Fluent Reading And Reading Comprehension Skills Among International Students Learning Turkish

Interactive Reading Aloud is a method that combines guided discussions and reflective thinking to actively engage learners in strategic listening, speaking, reading, and writing tasks related to a text. This study investigates how Interactive Reading Aloud affects reading comprehension and fluency among international students learning Turkish as a foreign language. Conducted during the 2024–2025 academic year with 43 B2-level students at a state university, the study assigned the experimental group to six weeks of reading instruction using Interactive Reading Aloud for five hours daily, while the control group followed the standard Turkish curriculum. An embedded mixed-methods design was used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data, including the Reading Comprehension Achievement Test, Reading Prosody Rubric, semi-structured Interview Form, and Reflective Journals. Quantitative analyses included the Shapiro–Wilk test, t-test, Mann–Whitney U test, and ANCOVA, while qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis. Results showed that Interactive Reading Aloud notably enhanced learners’ reading comprehension and fluency compared to traditional methods. Qualitative feedback indicated that students viewed the approach as beneficial for their understanding, pronunciation, prosody, vocabulary growth, and overall confidence in reading Turkish. These findings suggest that Interactive Reading Aloud is an effective strategy for improving the reading skills of international Turkish learners. Future research should explore its effectiveness across different proficiency levels and varied educational settings.