Literacy among Students: Study of Reading

Comprehension among Grade Ten Students

:A Research Program Presented To

The Faculty Of Grade 10 English Department

New Ormoc City National High School

Ormoc City

In Partial Fulfillment of the

:Requirements in English 10

Fourth Quarter

:Presented by

)Group 3 (10 - Love

Arar, Geian

Ganabes, Ahl

Oso, Marl Onrae

Matres, Kennie Jay

Estrera, Jexcy Ann

Pepito, Precy

Ruelo, Hannah Marie

San Juan, Christine Faye

Taculod, Marie Joy

Tradio, Elgine
 CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Reading is an active process of looking at a series of written symbols and getting

meaning or receiving information from them. Reading is one of the important basics
required for a student. It is taught in pre-elementary days and is honed in different levels
until one can be considered proficient. Reading is important because it develops an
individual’s thoughts, gives an individual boundless information, knowledge and lessons
to learn from while keeping one's mind and imagination active. Reading books can help
an individual learn and understand, and makes one smarter, and at the same time, it helps
an individual develop vocabulary and thinking skills.

However, more often than not, students encounter problems in their reading and
comprehension skills, leading to the decrease in self-esteem and may lead to more
complicated problems such as being a victim of bullying or harsh comments from
schoolmates, peers and even family. Some students are not encouraged to speak or read in
English which, in turn, does not improve the student's reading and comprehension skills.
There are also parents who don’t speak or read in English, and this might influence their
children to misspeak or pronounce English words wrong, ignore proper grammar, and
mix up words with their meanings.

Therein lies the problem students have with their reading and comprehension
skills. This research aims to learn more of the problems students have with their reading
and comprehension skills, and also procedures and activities that might help in improving
a student’s reading and comprehension skills.

Statement of the Problem

Reading Comprehension is a problem to many students even as they move onto

another grade level, and such encounter many hurdles in their reading skills. It is
considered as a problem to many students because there are lots of elements that a
student needs to study. Some of the students in Grade 10 are not proficient in the English
language and have problems in their literary skills.

This study seeks to determine the problems Grade Ten students have in their reading
comprehension and thus, seeks to answer the following items:

a) Why some Grade 10 students have problems in reading and comprehension,

b) Importance of Reading Comprehension, and;
c) Why some students can read but cannot understand.
Purpose

The goal of this study is to let every poor skilled readers know what might be the
cause of their poor skills in reading and uncovering the ways on how to improve their
ability to understand and interpret what is being read. Poor reading comprehension
usually occurs to people with limited vocabulary and often leads to the decrease of one's
self esteem, making the student feel incapable and unintelligent. The study will only be
successful if this can make poor skilled readers finally have the courage to make ways on
improving their reading comprehension that will bring back their confidence and finally
feel capable and equally intelligent.

Significance of the Study

The study of reading comprehension is very important for people. It is important to

know how students define reading comprehension and how other students share their
experience about reading comprehension. Thats why the researchers are conducting a
research in order to explain and let everyone know whats reading comprehension and its
importance for students and be able to have knowledge about it.

Hypothesis

The researchers hypothesize that the student’s ability to read does not affect the
student’s ability to comprehend the read material, nor are there any factors that affect the
student’s reading and comprehension skills.

Figure 1: Hypothetical Framework

 Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature and Conceptual Framework

Reading is a fundamental and basic requirement for all individuals around the
world. It is a multifaceted process involving word recognition, comprehension, fluency
and motivation. Reading is making meaning from print. It requires an individual to
identify the words in print –recognition, construct an understanding from them
–comprehension, coordinate identifying words and making meaning so that reading is
automatic and accurate –fluency. (Diane Henry Leipzig, 2001)

Reading is one of the most important ways of learning, as it is connected with

literacy and civilizational development as well. Reading is «a complex cognitive process
of decoding symbols in order to construct or derive meaning (reading comprehension). It
is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information and
ideas». Reading is an activity with a purpose. A person may read in order to gain or
verify information, or in order to critique a(n) author's/writer's work, ideas or writing
style(s). A person may also read for enjoyment, or for the enhancement of knowledge or
skills in that particular language or area. (Djaber Nacer Bounedjah)

Reading Comprehension is the ability to process text, understand its meaning, and
to integrate with what the readers already know. It is the act of understanding what you
are reading and is an intentional, active, interactive process that occurs before, during and
after a person reads a particular piece of writing or selection. Reading comprehension is
one of the pillars of the act of reading. When a person reads, he is simultaneously using
his awareness and understanding of phonemes (individual sound “pieces” in language),
phonics (connection between letters and sounds and the relationship between sounds,
letters and words) and ability to comprehend or construct meaning from text (reading
comprehension). Reading comprehension cannot be independent without the first two and
at the same time the most important and difficult of the three.

There are two elements that make up the process of reading comprehension:
vocabulary knowledge and text comprehension. Vocabulary knowledge refers to the
knowledge of words as well as the meaning of words. Text Comprehension occurs when
readers derive meaning as a result of intentionally interacting with the text. In order to
understand a text, the reader must be able to comprehend the vocabulary used in the piece
of writing. If the individual words don’t make the sense then the overall story will not
either.

Reading Comprehension is so complex that reading strategies must be taught over

an extended period of time by elders who have experience. Reading comprehension
strategies must continually be refined and practiced throughout life. Not all reading
materials are the same and the more complex the material is, the more refined the
comprehension from the readers it needs. The development of reading comprehension is
a lifelong process that changes based on the depth and breadth of texts the person is
reading.

Problems in Reading and Reading Comprehension

What are the Common Causes of Reading Comprehension Problems? There are a
number of indicators that can be used to flag students who will likely require explicit
instruction in reading comprehension.(Swinson, 2019)

Learners that have or had weak oral language skills when they were in preschool.
Students that have underdeveloped word decoding skills. Learners with weak executive
functioning skills, especially in working memory which involves the use of one‘s “inner
eye” and “inner voice.” Learners with poor language processing abilities. They may
struggle with any of the following difficulties:

Semantic processing – the processing of perceiving words and placing them in a

context that allows for deeper meaning.

Vocabulary – all the words known by an individual person.

Inferences – the act or process of reaching a conclusion about something from

known facts or evidence.

Text structure – the many ways text can be organized.

 Grammar – the study of the classes of words, their inflections, as well as their
functions and relations in the sentence.

Much of a child's reading comprehension in high school will be designed with the

focus of preparing them for their future education goals. Once in college, a child will be
assigned reading lists and be expected to keep up with it. Classes typically involve
lectures on the material that the student read where the professor will delve deeper in the
material and relate it to the particular field a child is studying. 

When it comes to college admissions, good reading comprehension is necessary

not only for them to perform well on their admittance essays, but also to score high on
college aptitude tests such as the SAT and ACT. 

Having the ability to read quickly while still digesting and processing the
information is important to college performance. If a child has problems comprehending
what they are reading, or read at a slower pace, they are likely to fall behind and lose the
value of the professor's lectures.

If you were to ask, most teachers would agree improving reading comprehension
is about teaching students how to think while reading. In fact, students who can heighten
these skills with your help might be better prepared for college than those who earn As in
content courses.

Here is a step-by-step guide that can help your students improve their reading
comprehension significantly.

1. Discuss Reading Comprehension

Writing a one-page handout detailing your ideas about reading comprehension

and why it‘s important can be helpful. You can include your ideas about subjects such as
taking notes, setting goals, and asking questions. Additionally, connect the importance of
improving reading comprehension to something practical and relevant to them like
texting, emails, and blogs. Share these written thoughts with your learners and use the
handout as a reminder throughout the school year.

2. Practice What You Preach

Telling students that improving reading comprehension is crucial and then giving
them tests that emphasize rote memorization is backward reasoning. Instead, give them
essay tests and ask them to write reports. Your students might not be used to what appears
to be subjective grading, but it‘s your responsibility to detail what you’re looking for in
their written answers and reports and explain that you‘re preparing them for college.

3. Discuss Each Assignment

 Prior to each reading assignment, you should tell students what you want them to
learn from the text. Ask them a few questions and tell them you want to discuss the
answers in the next class. They should also write down your questions and use them in
group discussions of their own.

4. Urge Thinking Before Reading

Students should read your questions and/or the book‘s questions before they begin
reading. This should help them know when to focus on text and when to skim it. In other
words, thinking before reading can help them be selective instead of trying to
comprehend every sentence.

5. Teach Goal Setting

Teaching students to set goals before they read is also a good idea. Initially, the
goal might be to answer your questions. Eventually, they should be able to set their own
goals such as “I want to understand why the Civil War started.”

6. Urge Thinking While Reading

Perhaps the most important tip you can give learners about how to read is that
their reading comprehension is most likely to improve when they stop reading. Students
should be thinking while they‘re reading rather than reading continuously.

7. Urge Note Taking

It’s likely most of your high school classmates did not take notes while they did
their schoolwork. In college, though, everyone took notes in their textbooks. Your
students should know that college students regularly highlight important material via
underlining, circles, and notes in margins. They can take notes too, in notebooks rather
than textbooks. Students should be encouraged to stop reading after they have read
something important and write down that fact, point, or argument. They should also be
writing the answers to your pre-reading assignment questions.

8. Tell Them to Plan Ahead

Reading doesn‘t accomplish much in and of itself. Reading assignments should be

connected to future class discussions, oral presentations, tests, or reportsThus, you should
urge students to stop reading when they think of a point they want to make for a class
discussion, oral presentation, test, or report.

9. Recommend Visualizing

“Some good readers may also create mental images, or visualize a setting, event,
or character to help them understand a passage in a text,” the Texas Education Agency
wrote. Are students more apt to recall what happened at the Yalta Conference if they can
visualize U.S. leader Franklin D. Roosevelt, United Kingdom leader Winston Churchill,
and Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin talking about what to do after World War II ended?
Some will. It‘s a good idea to mention to students, who could also learn better by
studying the text’s photos and captions.

10. Assign Summaries

Asking students to write summaries of what they have read sounds like you’re
requiring them to do a lot of work, but you can emphasize that these summaries can
reduce how much time they spend studying, or cramming, for a test. Essentially, these
summaries can be homework. They can also help students prepare for class discussions
and oral presentations.

Chapter 3

Methodology
 The population for this study is defined as tenth grade students who attended
school during the sampling time frame. They were selected whether or not they were
present during the sampling and made to answer yes or no questions. This was sampled
during the 19th of February this 2020 in the New Ormoc City National High School grade
ten classrooms and on the campus grounds.

The survey the researchers used for the research is a simple yes-or-no survey with
20 items each. The survey attempts to measure the amount of students who encounter
trouble in their reading, reading comprehension and vocabulary skills. It also attempts to
measure the quantity of students who lack motivation and / or progress in their reading.

The research began this 29th of January and will end this 4th of March. The
procedures are as follows: the researchers will be drafting up the first chapter of the
research along with the first half of the second chapter, as the survey is conducted, the
researchers must now start to work on the second half of the second chapter and pass the
draft for consultation. When all is said and done, the researchers must now work on the
third chapter, along with any revisions to be made to the first and second chapters.

During the research, the researchers assume that there must be at least 1 out of 12
students who encounter reading problems, 5 out of 10 who encounter comprehension
problems, and 1 out of 8 who encounter vocabulary problems. The researchers also
assume that the numbers might not match up to the actual number of students who have
these problems as there are students who were not present during the time of sampling.
There is also the case of students letting others answer the survey for them, and therefore
messing up the data to be collected by the researchers.

This research is limited to the tenth grade students in New Ormoc City National
High School as the sampling population and a limited time frame of two months. The
researchers believe that these limitations greatly affects the quality of the research as it
does not allow for much flexibility and is only constrained to graduating/completing
students in one school.
 Bibliography

10 Effective Ways of Improving Reading Comprehension in Your Learners

(https://wabisabilearning.com/blogs/literacy-numeracy/10-ways-improving-reading-comp
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Bouhedjam, Djaber Nacer. Importance of Reading.

(https://www.academia.edu/19829855/importance-of-reading-activity-in-education)

Swinson, T. (2019, January 08) Importance of Reading Comprehension in High

School.

(https://www.mathgenie.com/blog/importance-of-reading-comprehension-in-high-school)

What is Reading Comprehension?

(https://www.k12reader.com/what-is-reading-comprehension/)

Wikipedia –Reading

(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading)

Wikipedia –Reading Comprehension

(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_comprehension)