MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVE ON READING STRATEGIES IN IMPROVING READING FLUENCY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30998/inference.v9i2.4173Keywords:
Reading Strategies, Reading Fluency, Middle School Students, Student Perspectives, English as a Foreign Language (EFL)Abstract
Reading fluency presents a significant challenge for EFL students, who often struggle with unfamiliar vocabulary and pronunciation. This study investigated how Indonesian middle school students perceived seven reading strategies aimed at improving fluency. Using a mixed-methods design, survey data (Likert-scale and open-ended questions) were collected from 20 seventh-grade EFL students. The findings revealed that teacher-led and audio-assisted methods helped students pronounce unfamiliar words and recognize text pacing. Students also preferred collaborative activities because reading with peers reduced their anxiety and increased their willingness to read aloud. Additionally, repeated reading helped students become more comfortable with difficult vocabulary. Overall, the findings indicate that students viewed reading fluency as requiring both decoding support and peer collaboration. Based on these findings, teachers should integrate shared and collaborative reading tasks to build learner confidence. Future research should pair student perception data with longitudinal measures of reading rate and accuracy.
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