Research Title: The Poor Reading Comprehension of Grade 7 students in Tugbo Integrated School
(School Year 2022-2023)
I.
INTRODUCTION:(1.) Reading is the mother of all study skills. It is one of the most valuable skills
a person can acquire. Reading is a complex process. Thus, it cannot be taught in isolation.
Moreover reading is not merely an ability to recognize written or printed words, but it also refers
to putting meaning to what you read and drawing a unified thought of what is read.
Reading Comprehension is the ability to understand what we read where words have context
and texts have meaning. Reading Comprehension skills allow people to read proficiently learn
effectively, problem -solve, strategize , conceptualize and succeed in life. Without reading
comprehension skills many students are left behind. Reading Comprehension is the heart and
goal of reading since the reading purpose all reading is to gather meaning from the printed
page. It involves critical thinking and deductive reasoning to make meaning of an entire piece of
writing.
(2.) So that the issue with poor reading comprehension of Grade 7 students in Tugbo Integrated
School occur when it struggles to understand the meaning behind the words, phrases, and other
texts signs that many indicate a reading comprehension difficulty include are trouble with
letter and word recognition, difficulty understand words and ideas.
II. AIMS OF STUDY:
Regarding from this group this study determined the factors that affect poor reading
comprehension of Grade ( 7) students in Tugbo Integrated School for School Year ( 20222023).
OBJECTIVES:
1. Why importance the reading comprehension to students?
2.What are the factors that affect the students poor reading comprehension?
3. What are the things or best way to improve reading comprehension of students?
III. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE:
1. (3) The importance of Reading Comprehension:
According to McKee (2012) reading is vital to an individual's personal and pedagogical growth.
It is the concept of understanding that can be even more important. Reading in itself is not
enough an individual must be able to analyze and recognize ideas and information. One person
needs the ability to understand what the writer tries to communicate. Reading Comprehension
is a complex multiple task capacity. These processes were divided onto two main types equally
difficult; processes at a lower level and higher level (Stroller, 2022).The lower level includes the
detection of words, graphopones and others, while the skills at a higher level included
syntactically, semantic and others. Students need reading comprehension skills to succeed
both in academic and personal life. In the academic life of students , reading is the basis for
understanding all academic content, (Clark et, al,. 2011). Reading Comprehension is also an
an essential skills that individual need in order to be successful in their personal lives ( Blair et,.
al , 2007).For instance to be successful individual's need to understand the basic text that
appears in utility bills, housing contracts, career applications and newsletter ( Hoch, 2015).
In addition individuals needs reading comprehension skills in order to be able to have and
maintain a job and successfully engage in different daily activities. In addition, individuals who
can recognize what they are reading , can safely live their lives, and continue to gain socially
and intellectually ( Hoch et,. 2015).
2. (4.) Factors affecting students with poor reading comprehension:
According to Richek (1996) children who lack reading ability tend to have low self esteem
which will affect their opportunities in future job searches. Reading is one of the language
learning skills, especially for foreign languages, which is often a problem for most learner.
In Thailand, English is considered one of the important foreign languages and is widely used to
communicate with foreigner each year. (5)Reading Comprehension is a complex process
where in readers must be able to understand the process in order to grasp and create meaning
of the written symbols. ( Sadeghi, 2007). This part presents the insights and information on the
factors affecting the poor reading comprehension of students. These are presented through
descriptions and narration which are sequentially arranged to answer the problem sought by the
study. Recurring themes emerged from the narratives of the participants. The themes in the
factors affecting the poor reading comprehension of students are the following:
1.Lack of reading materials for students.
2.Teachers do not conduct monitoring and home visitation.
3.Reading difficulties experienced by students.
There are several factors that influence poor reading comprehension of students. (Nell.,
Duke(2003), emphasizes that the use information books are essential for students , particularly
very young students to add to their background knowledge. Likewise, teachers must also
support students acquisition of background knowledge by establishing a print rich environment,
full of texts that will provide opportunities for students to learn content in a wide variety of
topics.
2a.Lack of reading materials for students:
One of the factors that affect the students reading comprehension is the lack of reading
materials. This is evident in the statement given by the students of Grade 7.
"One of the participants noted that, " Wara man po kami library ." ( Our school did not library)
" Also one added, "Dili man po ako Ma'am natutukduan ni Mama magbasa Lalo na sa iba na
libro".(None , Ma'am sometimes my mother will not help me read especially others books).
Exposing students to varied reading materials can help them build their own vocabulary and
improve their understanding which is vital as they start to read. Giving reading materials in
context helps students become better readers. Reading materials must be motivating and raise
learners interest. This means that even at home they must be exposed to reading materials so
that they will be encouraged to read. Likewise, teachers should provide them with authentic
reading materials. Using inappropriate teaching materials make learners face difficulties in
reading. Learners need to be motivated to succeed in learning any language.
According to Guariento and Morely (2002) Authentic materials are helpful especially in
motivating learners to learn the language by letting them experience that they are learning the
"real" language. This is also reinforced by Hyland ( 2003 ) when he states that using authentic
materials can increase the learners motivation and shows a positive result on the learning
process. In addition, Dreher (2003) states that, since struggling readers normally avoid reading,
they usually have a little practice in it, as a result they fall far behind other students.
2b. Teachers do not conduct monitoring and home visitation:
Another factors which affects the students poor reading comprehension is that teachers
we're not able to monitor and home visit students especially those who need reading
remediation . These are true to the statements of the students.
One of the participants stated. "Dili man nakabisita sa amon balay kay hirayo"
(Our teacher did not visit my home because it so far) Through regular monitoring, teachers can
determine if there's is progress on their reading performance. Moreover, so home visitation
would allow them to build relationship with the parents so that they can work together for the
progress of the learners.This means that once teachers and the family of their students has
done the home visit, they are mutually supportive and accountable to each other. The study can
also support the child's reading progress and teachers can ask their assistance to help them
learn to read. The involvement of the parents or other family members can encourage the
students in improving their reading level . Furthermore, the monitoring and conduct of home
visitations show that teachers really care for their learners. That they want them to succeed and
help them progress in reading. Home visitation are used by many schools as a means of
building good relationships with the parents in order to increase parents involvement and
students and achievements as well. Present research has found programs such as home
visitation relevant in motivating students academic success and in encouraging parents
involvement in school.Thus, studies noted the role of teacher home visit activities in improving
student's behavior in the classroom (Lin and Bale's ; (2010); Meyer and Mann, (2006); Meyer.,
Mann and Becker, (2011); Simington ., (2003); stetson, stet- son, Sinclair and Nix, (2012).
2c. Reading difficulties experienced by students:
Reading difficulties vary, this means that there are students who experience difficulties in
reading . There are students who are identified with reading disability and there are students
who are not identified with reading disability who still need intervention. These are evident in the
statements given by the students.
One of the participants noted, " Dili ko po sir nasasabutan an binabasa tanl pano English"
( I don't understand the text because it is English )
Another one added " Pag English po ma'am an ginabasa ko nahihirapan po ako mag intindi Kay
haralaba ang words"( Sometimes I find it difficult to understand because the words are long ).
Reading is a language based activity. It does not develop naturally, and for many children,
specific decoding, word recognition, and reading comprehension skills, it can be gleaned that
they have difficulty in reading because of several factors. Most of them found it hard to
pronounce words in English since they are not exposed to reading materials. In this study
conducted by Rivera and Aggabao(2020) on the reading difficulties of Grade 5 pupils in English
it there were difficulties on word recognition and reading comprehension among grade 5 pupils.
Accordingly , pupils mispronounce English words and it greatly affects their reading
performance . Thus, the study suggested that teachers may conduct drills and activities in order
to monitor the progress of students on areas that require improvement.
3. (6)The things or best way to improve the reading comprehension of students.
There are several reading strategies that you can begin implementing to improve the
reading comprehension skills.The more you practice, the better you will become at
understanding what you are reading. The following are strategies that can use to work the
reading comprehension skills.
Improve your vocabulary :
Knowing what the words you are reading mean can improve your ability to comprehend
the meaning of the text. To improve your vocabulary , you can ;
* Take an online vocabulary quiz to assess your current level of vocabulary understanding.
* Use flashcards to quiz yourself on words you don't know once on twice a week.
* Make a point to use newly learned words in verbal and written communication.
Come up with questions about the text you are reading :
Asking questions about what you are reading can help improve your reading comprehension by
allowing to become invested in the text. It can also broaden your overall understanding of what
you are reading by enabling you to explore themes, motifs and other components ot texts that
you otherwise wouldn't inquire about.
Use context clues :
Using context clues is a great way to understand what you are reading even if you don't know
all the vocabulary being used. Context clues can be found in the words and sentences
sorrounding the word that you aren't familiar with. To use context clues, you can focus on the
key phrases or ideas in a sentence deduce the main idea of a sentence or paragraph based on
this information .
Re- read text to ensure understanding :
If you finish a sentence bor paragraph and realize that you don't understand what it was
trying to convey, take the time to re - read it until you do. Try to read more slowly the second
time around and look up definitions for any words you don't know the meaning of ;
Write a summary of what you read:
A great way to increase your knowledge of what you read is to write a summary.
Summarizing requires you to decide what is important in the text and then put it in your own
words. Summarizing allows to determine if you truly understand what you have read and better
remember what you have read in the long term.
Look for the main idea:
Identifying the main idea of a paragraph or article can help you determine the importance
of the article. Understanding why what you're reading is important can give you a better
comprehension of what the author is trying to convey. When reading , pause every few
paragraphs and see if you can decipher what the main idea is then, try to put the main idea in
your own words for even further understanding.
References:
(1.) Copyright 2023 Iris reading, LLC.
(2.) Victoria state government.
(3.) Baker, L. B Slyno, G. A and Scher D. (2002) Beginning readers motivation for reading in
relation to parantal beliefs, and more experiences.
Reading Psychology 23 (4)p239-269.
(4.)Alderson. 5(2000) Assessing Reading New York: Cambridge University Press.
(5.) Clark and Rumbold (2006).Reading for pleasure A. Research overview Retrieve at https://
Eric ed. gov/?;d=ED 496343 on November 9 2021
(6.) WWW. indeed. com.