RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ELEMENTS OF READING LITERACY IN STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DIFFICULTIES

Abstract

The ultimate criterion of reading literacy is reading comprehension. In order for the reader to comprehend what he or she is reading, the reader must have a positive attitude toward reading. The reader must understand the content of the text and the reading process itself. Reading technique must be automated, and the reader must understand and use various reading strategies. In this paper, we present the relationship between reading fluency, reading anxiety, reading comprehension, and reading learning strategies before and after the implementation of the metacognitive reading strategies instructional program. The program involved 9 students with learning difficulties from 5th grade elementary school. We find a statistically significant negative correlation between reading fluency and reading comprehension before the implementation of the program. There is also a tendency for positive correlation between knowledge of metacognitive reading strategies and reading comprehension, but due to the insufficient number of students involved, we were unable to prove statistical significance. The correlations of other elements of reading literacy differ from what would be expected based on the results of previous research with neurotypical students, so we emphasize the importance of reading literacy research with students with learning difficulties.

Keywords

• learning difficulties
• reading anxiety
• reading comprehension
• reading fluency