Thesis Layout

KOLEHIYO NG LUNGSOD NG LIPA
(Formerly: Lipa City Public College)

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COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION
CHAPTER 1
The Problem and its Background
This chapter covers the following parts for greater understanding of the research study;
introduction, conceptual framework, statement of the problem, objectives, significance, scope
and limitation of the study and definition of terms. It entails necessary information reliable for
the study.
Introduction
Reading is the process of looking at a series of written symbols. In the process of reading,
people use eyes to receive written symbols (letters, punctuation marks and spaces) and use brains
to convert them into words, sentences and paragraphs that communicate something to us
(Margalio, L., 2008). Also, reading is when a person is able to create meaning from the symbols
that is present in a certain text. The reader interacts with the text to create and interpret meaning.
A person in the act of reading is actively engaged to the dialogue in the text, figuring out its
meaning, linking his prior knowledge and experience and questioning the ideas presented on the
text. Thus, to make sense of these symbols, the reader must know how to comprehend written
texts (Chomsky, N., 2005).
Likewise, comprehension is the understanding and interpretation of what a person has
read. One big part of comprehension is having a sufficient vocabulary, or knowing the meanings
of enough words. Readers who have strong comprehension are able to draw conclusions about
`what they read, what is important, what is a fact, what caused an event to happen, and which
characters are funny. Thus, comprehension involves combining reading with thinking and
reasoning (Texas Educational Agency, 2002).
ASSESSMENT OF ENGLISH PROFICIENCY AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH OF

1ST YEAR STUDENTS OF COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION: A BASIS FOR AN ACTION PLAN
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Moreover, student’s reading comprehension in high school is designed with the focus of
preparing them for students’ future education goals. In college, students are assigned to read
more and be expected to keep up. Classes typically involve lectures on the material that the
student read. When it comes to college admissions, good reading comprehension is necessary not
only for the students to perform well on their admittance essays, but also to score high on college
aptitude tests. Having the ability to read quickly while still digesting and processing the
information is important to college performance. Having problems in comprehending what is
being read at a slower pace, students likely to fall behind and lose the value of the professor's
lectures (T. Swinson, 2019).
On the other hand, exposure of students in good comprehension at early age leads them to
execute well in the latter years of their studies. Unfortunately, common readers, especially
freshman learners do not have a good reading comprehension in understanding English passages
well and effectively (Prasetyono B., 2014). Students usually find difficulties in comprehending
the text due to lack of knowledge with the meaning of the words (Harmer, N., 2005). Also,
students’ reading comprehension is going worse due to inappropriate teaching strategies.
Similarly, lack of knowledge regarding reading strategies contributes in low reading
comprehension. Students usually read without clear objectives due to vague reading strategies.
As a result, students have no good competence and experience in comprehending the passages
well. In other words, the students do not have enough reading comprehension to help them
become good readers. In fact, majority of students spend fewer than 15 minutes per day reading
(Meyer, L., 2016).
As shown by researches, in spite of the drastic change in school curricula, still, reading
comprehension is an issue today since reading comprehension affects students’ achievement.

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Nevertheless, the researchers were driven to create a research that aims to assess students’ level
of reading comprehension in Kolehiyo ng Lungsod ng Lipa. Paragraph comprehension, word
analysis and making use of context clues are the major points of the study to create a proposed
program that will strengthen students’ level of reading comprehension.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
This study aims to assess students’ level of reading comprehension. Specifically, this
study sought to answer the following questions:
1. What is the demographical profile of the respondents in terms of:
1.1 Age and;
1.2 Sex;
2. What is the level of students reading comprehension in terms of:
2.1 paragraph comprehension;
2.2 word analysis; and
2.3 making use of context clues?
3. What program can be proposed to strengthen students reading comprehension?
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study may help in enhancing the level of comprehension of the students in terms of
paragraph comprehension, word analysis as well as making use of context clues. This study was
designed for the development of a proposed program which can be used to enhance the level of
comprehension of the students under the three areas mentioned.
The results of this study will be conducted and beneficial to the following:
For school administrators and coordinators, they can make the necessary review and
revisions in the existing curriculum. Moreover, they can use the program that was developed by

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the researchers based from the result of the study in order to enhance the level of comprehension
of the students.
For the teachers, they can make necessary adjustments, mold the students holistically as
well as help them in comprehending everything they are reading and that is through adapting the
program that was developed based from the result of the study. The proposed program will serve
as a basis on how the teachers can effectively develop students’ level of comprehension as well
as provide quality education.
For the learners, they can become holistically molded, be life-long learners and become
21st century learners who are able to comprehend any text that is presented to them. They can
identify and develop their ability and capacity particularly the strengths and weaknesses of their
actions as well as on how the effectiveness of integrating and enhancing their reading
comprehension contribute to their learning.
For the Department of Education, the researchers can encourage the government officials
particularly the Department of Education (DepEd) to use the developed a program emphasizing,
enhancing and making innovations and changes in the curriculum in order to strengthen the level
of reading comprehension of the students effectively.
For the future researchers, they can expand the outcome of the research into a more
effective and precise one. Future researchers can also follow the process in the development of
action plan in different disciplines to come up with enhancement of value expected from
students.
Conceptual Framework
Systematic process is necessary in creating a research study. This will serve as pilot of
information cycle and as framework for reliable foundation. This was the combination of

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different concepts, and theories, the same with researcher’s knowledge in order to attain
expected and positive result. The central goal is to uplift knowledge of learners and to help them
have good comprehension.
SCHEMA THEORY
Paragraph Word
Context Clues
Comprehension Analysis
Proposed
Program
Strengthen students’ level of reading comprehension
Figure 1
Conceptual Framework
Figure 1 shows the conceptual framework of the study that includes paragraph
comprehension, word analysis and context clues which are rooted in the rules of schema theory
towards the creation of a proposed program that will strengthen students’ level of reading
comprehension. Paragraph comprehension, word analysis and context clues have a dynamic
relationship since all concepts are rooted from schema theory.
In schema theory, schemas are organized unit of knowledge for a subject or event which is
based on past experience and is accessed to guide current understanding in reading (Pankin, J.,
2013). Schemas guide how students interpret data which influences students’ achievement. Also,

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schemas promote students’ achievement thru providing assumptions on what students read.
Likewise, schemas help students make sense of new experience thus students learn new thru old
knowledge (Bartlett, F. C., 1932; Pankin, J., 2013). Schemas are essential in grammar and
reading (Rumelhart, D., 1975). In grammar, schemas serve as script for procedural knowledge of
the rules of grammar. On the other hand, schemas are vital in reading since old or prior
knowledge are used by students in comprehension.
Similarly, schema serves as a unit of knowledge which affects students’ way of
interpreting information. In fact, all forms of knowledge are embedded and rooted from schema
(Rumelhart, D., 1980). Moreover, schema is always manifested in reading comprehension thru
paragraph comprehension. In paragraph comprehension, students access relevant schema in
letter-sound relationships, syntactic knowledge and word meanings. Students tend to become
selective in different pieces of information from the paragraph (Samuels, J., 1994). However,
students find it hard to the concepts and knowledge from the paragraph since students’
comprehension has a limited capacity and extent.
On the contrary, in line with word analysis, text can evoke meaning but has no meaning in
itself (Goodman, R., 1994). This does not mean that the characteristics of the text are
unimportant because the way the writer and the reader constructs and interpret the word affects
comprehension. Also, interpretation of words depends on how the reader and the text and word
characteristics transact and connect. Text and word characteristics include physical characteristic
such as spelling, punctuation; format characteristics such as paragraphing, lists, schedules and
text grammar. In line with this, schema affects word analysis where the meaning depends on the
way the reader transact with prior knowledge.

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Since schema can be manifested in letter-sound relationships, word meanings and event
sequences, readers can also rely on contextual clues (Rumelhart, D., 1994). Once the students
compensates for difficulties in one or more knowledge, students can use information from
remaining knowledge sources thus using contextual clues. Context clues are concerned with
concepts and sight words (Stanovich, L., 1980). Nonetheless, schema should always be activated
to access context clues since knowledge contributes in unlocking difficulties in reading
comprehension.
Nevertheless, as shown by Figure 1, the relationship of paragraph comprehension, word
analysis and context clues within the schema theory serves as a foundation to strengthen
students’ level of reading comprehension.
PROCESS
 Development of
INPUT
survey- OUTPUT
 Literature in
questionnaire  Proposed program
Reading
 Validation and to strengthen
Comprehension
reliability testing students’ level of
 Literature on
 Administration of reading
Schema theory
questionnaire comprehension
 Data analysis and
interpretation
-------------------------------------- Feedback loop
Figure 2
Operational Framework of the Study
Figure 2 shows the operational framework of the study which is based from the system
approach. The framework is divided into three parts namely: input, process and output. The first
box includes the input phase where literatures on reading comprehension and schema theory are

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the focal points. The second box is labeled as the process phase since it includes the different
procedures of the study. Lastly, the third box is named the output phase. This phase pertains to
the final product of the study which is a proposed program in strengthening students’ level of
reading comprehension. Likewise, broken line represents feedback loop in order to make the
necessary corrections or adjustments if there are flaws in the research process.
Scope and Limitations of the Study
This study will focus on freshman BSED students in Kolehiyo ng Lungsod ng Lipa. It
was done in the second semester of school year 2018-2019. It only includes freshman students
which covers 247 students as respondents from first year college. This will also include findings
about the reasons and aims of students in establishing effective reading comprehension at
Kolehiyo ng Lungsod ng Lipa. Students’ ability, techniques and range on level of comprehension
will be emphasized in this study.
Problems in reading comprehension of freshman students and the ways of analyzing a single
text will also be discussed in this study. It will be a great help in building accurate knowledge on
how to comprehend and analyze texts.
Definition of Terms
Reading – an active process in which readers switch between sources of information, elaborate
meaning, check their interpretation and use the social context to focus their response (Whalon,
K., 2016). In this study, reading is defined as the basic skill before reading comprehension.
Reading Comprehension – is the act of understand what you are reading (Khateeb, A., 2010).
In this study, reading comprehension is the focus of the study since the level of reading

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comprehension of the freshman students was measured and identified through different ways
with enough information gathered by the researchers.
Schema – is a cognitive framework or concept that helps organize and interpret information
(Cherry K., 2016). In this study, schema is defined as students’ prior knowledge which
constitutes the pedagogical framework of the study.
Schema theory - is an explanation of how readers use prior knowledge to comprehend and learn
from text (Rumelhart, 1980). In this study, schema theory is defined as the pedagogical
framework of the study.
Paragraph Comprehension - measures students’ ability to comprehend and explain information
imparted via paragraph (Bales K., 2018). In this study, paragraph comprehension determines the
concepts and ability of the students to comprehend information from paragraphs.
Word Analysis – is the process of using the relationships between spelling and pronunciation at
the letter, syllable, and word levels to figure out unfamiliar words (LINCS, 2019). In this study,
word analysis measures the level of reading comprehension of the students and determined the
concepts and point of view of the students thru given words and text.
Context Clues - are hints found within a sentence, paragraph, or passage that a reader can use to
understand the meanings of new or unfamiliar words (Nordquist R., 2014). In this study, it
identifies how well the students comprehend a given text using words and hints.

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Chapter II
Review of Related Literature
The related literature and studies cited in this chapter aims to assess students’ level of
reading comprehension.
Reading
Reading is comprehension and the point of comprehension is learning. Children who fail to
learn to read in the first few grades of school are handicapped in later grades as they must absorb
increasing amounts of instructional content in print form. Poor readers cannot develop proper

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writing skills and become self-guide learners in other subject areas. The basic reading skills
necessary to become “literate” do not develop naturally (Wolf, 2007).
Learning to read and write are skills that determines literacy education which
unfortunately not everybody acquires sufficiently (LINCS, 2019). Likewise, literacy education
must be improved so more children in the world get the chance to learn what is needed. More so,
learning will take place if the learners can comprehend on what they have read. Problem like
poor writing skills may occur when students have lack of comprehension. In order for the
students to have high comprehension they should be exposed early in reading to improve and
develop students' literacy.
Furthermore, Ono (2004) emphasized that reading has the potential to help students to
become better readers and make improvements in other aspects of life. Reading is how people
discover new things and how people develop a positive self-image. The ability to read is a vital
skill in being able to function in today's society. Reading is important because it helps to expand
the mind and develops imagination. A person who knows how to read can educate themselves in
any area of life. People who don’t read or are poor readers often have low opinions of themselves
and their capabilities (Margalio, L., 2008). Students mostly feel isolated and behavior problems
surface. As people live in an age abundant with information, reading is the only way to become
informed (Ono, 2004).
In addition, reading is essential to life. Reading is an important gateway to personal
development, and to social, economic and civic life (Holden, 2004). It allows us to learn “about
other people, about history and social studies, the langue arts, science, mathematics, and the
other content subjects that must be mastered in school” (Lyon, 1997 ). And reading with
comprehension is the chief justification why we read, understanding what the text is all

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about (Lastrella,2010).Reading comprehension is a complex balance between recognizing
printed symbols and interpreting the meaning behind the symbols (Dennis, 2011).
Moreover, researches show 20 students (61%) in the frustration level are struggling readers
(Cabasan, H., 2000; Ono, 2004; Magralio, L., 2008). These are students who need rigid remedial
work and intensive monitoring to be able to come up with the required comprehension level to
process information of textbooks and other instructional materials (Cabasan, H., 2000).
Remediation can help the learners on improving the learner’s level of comprehension while
in intensive monitoring it will see the improvement of the learners. Through remediation and
intensive monitoring, the students will now understand the information of textbooks and other
instructional materials.
Reading Comprehension
Children must read fluently to comprehend what they are reading. As students connect the
strands of reading, including background knowledge, vocabulary, language structures (syntax,
semantics), and literary knowledge (print concepts and genres) with knowledge of print-sound
relationship and decoding, students get closer to reading and comprehension (Scarborough,
2002). Moreover, fluency links recognizing and understanding words. Effective reading
programs teach fluency skills, so that readers can make the link between words, sounds, and
meaning more quickly. However, lack of strong reading comprehension skills definitely affects a
child’s success at school as academic progress depends on understanding, analyzing and
applying information gathered through reading (Adele K., 2015).
On the other hand, for an individual to survive in today’s world, it is a requirement for the
student to know how to read with understanding. One should be capable of understanding

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simple text such as transportation documents which includes travel directions and road
instructions, bills and contracts. The effect of not being able to comprehend could be disastrous
(Lastrella, 2010).With the ability to comprehend a text, people are able not only to live
safely and productively, but also to continue to develop socially, emotionally and
intellectually. Likewise, reading is a very significant language skill for a student. Since students
are subject to a continuous flow of information, learners need to prepare for the demands
that reading in school and in the bigger society places. Reading comprehension also has
been a segment of the entrance test in most colleges and universities. But there are cases
by which students fail during the entrance examination because of lack of comprehension
(Yale, 2011l; Lastrella, 2010).
Similarly, comprehension is the major purpose of reading-without comprehension,
reading is a meaningless activity regardless of age or ability of the reader (Maggart and
Zintz, 1970). There are levels of reading comprehension, namely: literal, inferential or
interpretive level , the critical level and the creative level (Romero, 1987).Literal level
produces knowledge of what the author said. Students decode words, determine what each word
means in a given context and recognize that there is some relationship among words which
represent what the author has said. At this level, the learners are expected to identify the basic
information and follow simple instructions; they form ideas or meanings directly stated in the
selection. These ideas are elicited by questions beginning with what, when, where, who, etc.
On the contrary, interpretative level or reading between the lines is applied to what the
author said in order to derive, infer, and imply meaning from a statement. Students look into
relationships among statements within the material they have read. The learners are tasked to

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discern the implications of the episodes by inference and to conform ideas or meanings indirectly
or implicitly stated in the selection.
Furthermore, critical or evaluative level refers to reading beyond the lines. The students
give reaction, judgment and evaluation of what is written. This involves how they can distinguish
the literal meaning of words from suggestions or intentions expressed in the selection. It further
calls for the reader’s judgment on the wisdom, validity or propriety of one’s statement or literary
output. It ultimately deals with the evaluation of what is read. Critical Analysis or Critical
Evaluation on the other hand, requires readers to evaluate or weigh the facts, events, character’s
viewpoints, then make judgments about the worth of these and the effectiveness of the way they
are presented in the selection. It lets the reader comprehend by making him analyze, compare
and contrast.
Lastly, application or creative level is the highest level of comprehension, for it requires
the exercise and application of creative talent and some practical or theoretical exercise. This
level develops the readers‟ talent to profit from the vicarious experiences gained through
reading. It also allows the reader to create new ideas or new ways of expression with the use of
whatever understanding he got of the text. Thus, it challenges the learner to be like an inventor in
using what he got from the text to create new material as a proof of his excellent comprehension
of the text.
Nonetheless, reading comprehension is very important; students get low grades in their test
due to lack of reading comprehension, therefore, in this situation student find questions very hard
to understand but if the student can understand the context the more he can get a high grade in
the test. A person with great reading comprehension can visualize, question, and interpret what

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they are reading, and can think about their own feelings and opinions while reading a text
(Rippel M., 2014).
Without comprehension, reading is simply following words on a page from left to right
while sounding them out. The words on the page have no meaning. And while people read for
many different reasons, the chief goal is to derive understanding of what the writer is trying to
convey and make use of that information – whether for fact gathering, learning a new skill, or for
pleasure. That’s why reading comprehension skills are so important. Without them the reader
cannot gather any information and use it to efficiently function.
Reading comprehension should be emphasized in the process of learning. Students can
parrot words on a page all day long but if they don’t have the necessary comprehension skills
they will not be able to make predictions about what will happen next, monitor their
understanding of content, sequence or characters, clarify confusing parts of the text, or connect
what they’re reading to their own experience or prior knowledge.
Paragraph Comprehension
The ability to comprehend paragraph has been demonstrated to improve children's
memory for reading. Thus, it can be argued that a strong prior knowledge base is a very powerful
influence on how well a reader can comprehend a text (Pressley, 1990). Also, students’ ability to
read and understand a paragraph should be measured and learners should be able to answer
questions about the passage. Paragraph comprehension skills help students to identify details or
nuances embedded within a paragraph. It requires learners to read a passage and then determine
its purpose. Students must be able to determine the main idea of a passage and locate its
supporting details.

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Supporting details from paragraphs can contain many different kinds of information. A
paragraph could contain a series of brief examples or a single long illustration of a general point.
It might describe a place, character, or process; narrate a series of events; compare or contrast
two or more things; classify items into categories; or describe causes and effects. Regardless of
the kind of information they contain, all paragraphs share certain characteristics. One must know
that the most important part of a paragraph is a topic sentence and students must have the
knowledge to identify supporting sentences which are the sentences between the topic sentence
and the concluding sentence. The supporting sentences support the topic sentence which explains
and elaborate the point of the paragraph. In a nut shell, readers must have the knowledge of
where the subdivisions of an essay begin and end as it helps the reader see the organization of the
essay and grasp its main points.
Word Analysis
We need to know the meaning of the words before we can know the meaning of a text. We
want to start by teaching students how to analyze words they don't know through word analysis
(Zorfass, J., 2014). In "word analysis" or "word study," students break words down into
morphemes, their smallest units of meaning. Each morpheme has a meaning that contributes to
the whole word. Students’ knowledge of morphemes helps them to identify the meaning of
words and builds their vocabulary. Being able to analyze words is not only a critical foundational
reading skill, it also is essential for vocabulary development (Ibid).
In addition, students’ knowledge of morphemes will be a big help to identify the meaning of
words and build vocabulary development. However, the ability to analyze words is a critical
foundational reading skill and is essential for vocabulary development as students become
college and career ready (Zorfass, J., 2014). As students facing their own career in college,

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students should develop their ability in analyzing word in reading to build a strong foundation in
reading comprehension. In achieving student success across comprehension there should have an
improvement of the student’s experience, and that is having an interest in reading.
Moreover, to tests the skills of the students with word analysis, assessments should be
done. Any learner who is having consistent trouble decoding words should be assessed with an
informal assessment of letters and sounds (LINCS, 2019). Students should be assessed in
decoding words to avoid the trouble when it comes to reading because it may affect the
understanding and explanation of the student to a certain text. In addition, word analysis can be
very effective in helping beginning readers learn to read with understanding. If you provide
students with opportunities to repeatedly practice analyzing unfamiliar vocabulary, the student’s
word analysis skills will continue to develop.
Context Clues
Using context clues in word recognition means figuring out the meaning of a word based
on clues in the surrounding context. These clues could be found in the sentence with the word, in
the sentences before, or in the sentences following the word (Hancock, 1987). In such, context
clues are hugely important because their comprehension and effective usage leads to academic
success.
Finding context clues helps to build vocabulary and improve your child’s understanding
of the story and its underlying meaning. Your child will need to learn how to look at clues within
the sentence and surrounding text to identify the meaning of a word or idea. A close look at the
word in question, including the root word and affix, can also help reveal its definition and
meaning in the text (Staff Writer, 2018). Thus, comprehension involves using the other words in

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a sentence or passage to understand an unknown word. An author often includes hints, or clues,
to help the reader expand vocabulary and grasp the meaning of the passage. Skill in using
context clues enables a reader to comprehend advance texts. Once the student masters using
context clues and inferences, a dramatic increase in student’s reading comprehension abilities
will be observed. The higher mastery of context clues, the more the students comprehend the
text.
Pedagogical Framework Development
Schema Theory states that all knowledge is organized into units. Within these unit of
knowledge, or schemata, is stored information. A schema, then, is a generalized description or a
conceptual system for understanding knowledge, how knowledge is presented and how it is used.
Schemata represent knowledge about concepts: objects and the relationships they have with other
objects, situations, events, sequences of events, actions, and sequences of actions.
In connection to reading comprehension, individuals have schemata for everything.
Students’ schema was developed through everything that the students experience. Schemata
become theories about reality. These theories not only affect the way information is interpreted,
thus affecting comprehension but also continue to change as new information is received.
The importance of schemata theory to reading comprehension also lies on how the reader
uses schemata. This issue has not yet been resolved by research although investigators agree that
some mechanism activates just those schemata most relevant to the reader’s task.By
understanding how existing knowledge can influence comprehension of new information could
help design better reading programs and help students develop better reading comprehension
skills.

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Related Legal Bases
Department of Education is initiating programs that would promote reading and literacy
among the pupils and students motivate our youth to learn from the lives and works of eminent
Filipinos, uphold one’s own heritage and values and make reading a shared physical experience
(Luistro, A.2000). Department of Education conduct programs that motivate the students to read
and those programs have something to do with the lives of the learners (Memo No. 273 s. 2018).
One program of the Department of Education in teaching reading is “Every Child a
Reader Program” (ECARP) which is a national program that implements the thrust of the
Department of Education to make every Filipino child a reader at his/her own level. In relation to
this, DepEd Region IV-A CALABARZON issued the Regional Guidelines on Comprehensive
Reading Policies that intends to intensify the program for reading development (DM NO. 129, S.
2018).
Related Studies
The overall students’ performance in reading comprehension and science was indexed at
low mastery level. Generally, four out of six reading skills such as understanding vocabulary in
context, noting details, predicting outcome, and making inference made up the overall reading
skills that positively correlated with science performance of students although the strength of
relationship was considered weak (Calara, A.2000).
There is a growing body of evidence supporting the concept that a reader’s background
knowledge about what he is reading is one of the most critical factors in determining whether a
student will understand what he is reading or not (Hirsch, E. D., (2006); Kamhi, A.,
(2007). Therefore, the familiar story-like structure of narrative stories is easier for students to
comprehend if the students have background knowledge than those students who does not have

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yet. In other words, if you know nothing about a topic, you are likely to have more difficulty
understanding what you are reading than if you are very familiar with a topic (Boroughs, K.,
2007).This of course, demonstrates the importance of prior knowledge on actual reading skill.
Furthermore, one of the most surprising findings of classroom research of the 1970s and
'80s was the small amount of time that children spent actually reading texts. Estimates ranged
from 7 to 15 minutes per day from the primary to the intermediate grades (Anderson et al. 1985).
Likewise, research of the late 1970s and early '80s consistently revealed a strong
reciprocal relationship between prior knowledge and reading comprehension ability. The more
one already knows, the more one comprehends; and the more one comprehends, the more one
learns new knowledge to enable comprehension of an even greater and broader array of topics
and texts (Brophy and Good, 1984; Rosenshine and Stevens, 1986).
Synthesis
To sum up, reading comprehension enables the reader to interact with the text in a
meaningful way. Students that can read comprehensively have high possibility to perform well in
class. Three variables are essential in effective reading: Paragraph Comprehension, Word
Analysis and Making Use of Context Clues. Learners should acquire these three in order for
them to read comprehensively.Through paragraph comprehension; learners can determine the
main idea of a given passage and identify the author’s purpose for writing. Word analysis, on the
other hand, helps students identify the meaning of words and builds their vocabulary. Through
making use of context clues, students can easily figure out the meaning of an unfamiliar word as
it provides further information about a word or phrase that helps readers understand its meaning.
In addition to reading comprehension, individuals have schemata for everything. The
importance of schema theory to reading comprehension also lies in how the reader uses

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schemata. Schema is an organized unit of knowledge for a subject or event which is based on
past experience and is accessed to guide current understanding in reading (Pankin, J., 2013).
Moreover, studies revealed that comprehension is the major purpose of reading and it has
four levels which are literal level (reading the lines), inferential level (reading between the lines),
critical or evaluative level (reading beyond the lines) and creative reading. Comprehension
inherently involves inferential, evaluative and creative thinking, not just literal reproduction of
the author's words.
In addition, practice makes perfect in reading too. It is teachers’ job as educators to
engage and instruct students to practice reading in the most effective manner. Reading includes
skills in accuracy, speed, vocabulary, decoding, and comprehension. Likewise, studies conducted
by scholars revealed that schools should consider creating a sacred time for reading on a daily
basis in a classroom. To set the stage for students to succeed at reading; teachers must supply
ample time for text reading.
Pedagogical framework is defined as the integrated set of philosophical considerations,
teaching preferences, and learning values that informs and motivates the instructor in designing
and facilitating a learning experience. Simply put, a pedagogical framework consists of different
teaching strategies, tactics and approaches in which a subject or a topic can be easily learned.
Such framework is designed to support teachers in the delivery of quality teaching and learning
that will improve student learning.

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CHAPTER III
Research Methodology
This chapter includes the research design, subject of the study, methods of data
collection, instruments used, data gathering procedures and ethical considerations.
Research design

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The researchers employed descriptive-survey method. Descriptive-survey method is a
type of quantitative research which employs applications of set of predetermined questions to an
entire group. In addition, survey research is used to quantitatively describe specific aspects of a
given population which involve examining the relationships among variables. The data required
for survey research are subjective and uses a selected portion of the population from which the
findings can be generalized back to the population. This method is the most appropriate and
applicable method because it tends to fully describe the gathered data and also because of the
purposive process of gathering, classifying and tabulating data about the prevailing conditions,
practices, trends as well as its facility to fully describe the data gathered in the research process
(Glasow, A., 2005).
Respondents of the study
The respondents of this study were the freshman students in Kolehiyo ng Lungsod ng
Lipa. The researchers used the “probability sampling technique” in selecting the respondents for
the research. Freshman students were chosen because most of these students are product of K-12
curriculum which experienced a skill-based curriculum.
Likewise, all of the respondents are enrolled in the said school at present. 247 freshman
students served as the respondents of the study. Stratified random sampling was used in selecting
the respondents of the study. Stratified random sampling is atype of sampling technique wherein
the population's elements are divided into distinct groups or strata where within each stratum the
elements are similar to each other with respect to selected characteristics of the survey
(Parsons, ., 2017). The freshman students specializing in Secondary Education in Kolehiyo ng
Lungsod ng Lipa population is divided into 14 sections. The said sections served as the strata or
groups where the entire population is divided. Respondents were randomly selected under each

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section through fish bowl method. In this method, names of participants were randomly picked
from a container to determine the respondents.
______________________________________________
Sections Number of Students
______________________________________________
BSED 1A 18
BSED 1B 18
BSED 1C 18
BSED 1D 18
BSED 1E 18
BSED 1F 18
BSED 1G 18
BSED 1H 18
BSED 1I 18
BSED 1J 17
BSED 1K 17
BSED 1L 17
BSED 1M 17
BSED 1N 17
Total Number of Respondents 247
_______________________________________________
Table 1. Total number of respondents
Locale of the Study
This study was based on freshman students at Kolehiyo ng Lungsod ng Lipa. Kolehiyo
ng Lungsod ng Lipa is a state college located at B. Morada Avenue, Barangay Marawoy-
Dagatan, Lipa City Batangas. The school was founded on January, 1994 which is managed by
the city government.
The college was built to provide affordable and high quality education to underprivileged
yet deserving students living in Lipa and other nearby towns and cities in the province of
Batangas. Kolehiyo ng Lungsod ng Lipa offers four-year courses in communication,
criminology, business administration, computer science and education. Another exclusive
offering is an associate degree in computer technology.

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At present, the Kolehiyo ng Lungsod ng Lipa accommodates over 5000 students every
school year. It also continues its mission of helping young people to realize their potential and
fulfill their aspirations.
Research Instrument
A survey-questionnaire was made to assess students’ level of reading comprehension
(See Appendix A). The survey-questionnaire is divided into three categories: paragraph
comprehension; word analysis and; context clues. The survey-questionnaire was validated by
different experts in Language and Reading (See Appendix B and C). Likewise, based on the
validation done by the experts, the questions were reduced from 20 to 15.
Reliability test was also done after the validation. 10 freshman students were chosen to pilot
test the questionnaires. Based from the results, the 15 item questionnaire has 76% reliability
index.
Item E1 E2 E3 Total/Experts Results Remarks

Number
1 1 1 0 2 Qualified item.67
6 1 1 0 2 Not .33
qualified/rejected
item
Questionnaire Validity for Paragraph Comprehension

Number
1 1 1 0 2 .67 Qualified item

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6 1 1 0 2 .67 Not
qualified/rejected
item
7 1 -1 0 0 0 Not
qualified/rejected
item
Questionnaire Validity for Word Analysis
Number
3 1 -1 0 0 0 Not
qualified/rejected
item
5 0 0 1 1 .33 Not
qualified/rejected
item
Questionnaire Validity for Context Clues
Cronbach’s Alpha N of Items Reliability Index

0.760 15 76 %
Table 2. Reliability Statistics
Data Gathering Procedure
A request letter addressed to the dean of Kolehiyo ng Lungsod ng Lipa was sent. Upon
approval, 247 copies of questionnaire were distributed to the target respondents. Each respondent
was given 2-5 minutes to answer the questions. This was performed to collect information about
the learners in relation with their comprehension. Also, the researchers distributed informed
consent to the respondents for ethical considerations (See Appendix C).
After the data gathering, the researchers collected the results of the data gathered and
applied the statistical treatment of data.
Statistical treatment

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The respondents’ answers were statistically analyzed to achieve the objectives.
Responses to the questionnaires were statistically analyzed to assess students’ level of reading
comprehension under the three independent variables such as paragraph comprehension, word
analysis, and making use of context clues.
Scale of Verbal Interpretation: This was used in analyzing and interpreting the data on the
level of reading comprehension of the respondents.
Scale Range Verbal Interpretation

1 Strongly Disagree 0.01-1.00 Not at all high
2 Disagree 1.01-2.00 Not high
3 Moderately Agree 2.01-3.00 Moderately high
4 Agree 3.01-4.00 High
5 Strongly Agree 4.01-5.00 Very high
DATA ANALYSIS
The data gathered from the respondents will be categorized in terms of three categories:
paragraph comprehension; word analysis and; context clues. Responses of the students based
from their assessment on their level of reading comprehension will be tabulated to summarize the
data. Frequencies of every point-scale and scale interpretation will also be tabulated. Based from
the study conducted by Salupare, (2016), weighted mean will be computed by dividing the
summation of the weighted frequency by the sum of frequencies:
Ethical Consideration

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To protect the safety of the respondents, the researchers followed the proper procedures
in conducting research. Letters were distributed to the persons involved such as the Dean of the
College of Teacher Education, and to the respondents. Informed consents were also distributed to
the respondent to get their approvals and consents as respondents of the study.
The informant consent includes the nature, methods and most specifically the benefits of
the study to the participants. The extent of participation and the attempt of withdrawal of the
participants to the study are also included in the consent. The researchers guarantee that anyone
who is not involved in the research cannot access the data. In fact, all documents will be locked
and secured.
However, in terms of questionnaires, names are optional for the respondents and
participants. The researchers are the only persons who will analyze the information. Moreover,
this study is significant not only to Kolehiyo ng Lungsod ng Lipa but also to the educational
system since the main goal is to strengthen students’ level of reading comprehension.
Essentially, personal biases on gender, age, and class were excluded to ensure the safety of
the respondents. Likewise, all issues of the researchers which include financial situation and
grants were disclosed

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CHAPTER 4
Results and Discussion
The objective of the study is to determine the demographic profile of the respondents and
measure the level of reading comprehension of freshman students in three different areas such as:
paragraph comprehension, word analysis and making use of context clues. The respondents level
of reading comprehension under the three areas mentioned served as a basis for the development
of a proposed program. The said proposed program which served as the output of the study was
meant to enhance the level of reading comprehension of students.
1.1 Gender Profile of the Respondents

GENDER FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE RANK
Male 63 25.51 2
Female 184 74.49 1
TOTAL 247 100

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Table 3
Gender Profile of the Respondents
As revealed in table 1, females got a higher frequency of 184 and a percentage of 74.49,
while male got a lower frequency of 63 with the percentage of 25.51. This shows that there are
more female than male respondents in this study. This result was cast due to the difference
between the number of male and female present in Kolehiyo ng Lungsod ng Lipa. There are
dominant numbers of female respondents than male because there are just few male students
enrolled in the school.
Likewise, as shown by different researches, females get better reading comprehension
achievement than males. In fact, compared to males, females can better answer different
questions from reading materials in approximately 47% (Ono, 2004; Margalio, L., 2008). males
have under achievement on reading comprehension. Also, females are dominant in reading
comprehension achievement since researches show that females are more book lovers than males
(Lyon, 1997).
1.2 Age Profile of the Respondents

AGE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE RANK
18-22 221 89.47 1
23-27 19 7.69 2
28-32 4 1.62 3
33-37 2 0.81 4
38-42 1 0.40 5
TOTAL 247 100

Mean Age: 20.75
Table 4
Age Profile of the Respondents

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As shown in table 2, the age range of 18-22 got the highest frequency of 221 and a
percentage of 89.47 ranked one. This was followed by the age range of 23-27 years old with the
frequency of 19, percentage of 7.69 and a rank of two. On the other hand, age range 28-32 years
old has the frequency of 4, percentage of 1.62 and ranked as three. However, age range 33-37
years old with the percentage of 0.81 is rank as four. Age range 38-42 has the lowest frequency
of 1, percentage of 0.40 and ranked as five.
The mean age was 20.75 years old which shows that most of the respondents were younger
than the rest. This age mean was derived because the respondents are freshman students and their
expected age is 18-22. Moreover, the results of this study will expose students in different
activities that will strengthen their reading and comprehension. It will give access on improving
the learner’s ability on analyzing different text at early age. In addition, advance knowledge in
reading which can help them in their future careers will also be cultivated.
3. Level of Reading Comprehension in every area: Paragraph Comprehension, Word
Analysis and Making Use of Context Clues
3.1 Paragraph Comprehension
ITEMS WEIGHTED Interpretati RANK

MEAN on
I can analyze words in a 2.41 Moderately 5
paragraph. high
I am having a hard time analyzing 4.42 Very high 1
the context.
I can construct an idea from the 2.61 Moderately 3

text I’ve read. high
I can understand what the author 2.69 Moderately 2

wants to express in the given high
passage
I am able to identify the main idea 2.47 Moderately 4

of a certain text high

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Composite Mean 2.92 Moderately

high
Table 5
Level of Reading Comprehension based from Paragraph Comprehension
Based on the perceptions of the respondents, “I am having a hard time analyzing the
context” yielded a weighted mean of 4.42 and a rank of one with interpretation of very high. This
was followed by the item “I can understand what the author wants to express in the given
passage” yielded a weighted mean of 2.69, rated as moderate high with the rank of two.
On the other hand, “I can construct an idea from the text I’ve read”, “I am able to identify
the main idea of a certain text”, and “I can analyze words in a paragraph” were the items rated as
moderately high and yielded the weighted means of 2.61, 2.47 and 2.41 with the rank of third,
fourth and fifth respectively.
Based from the responses of the students, the obtained composite mean of 2.92 indicated
that this area of concern is moderately high. From this result, freshman students were said to
have a little interest in understanding the passage that was given to them. This means that the
level of comprehension of the students was low and they are having difficulties in providing
knowledgeable ideas or concepts from the context. Students had a hard time analyzing a
perspective of the text and they are having complications on understanding what the author
wants to express. Furthermore, students just neglect the problem and ignore possible ways to
improve their skills in paragraph comprehension.

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3.2 Word Analysis
ITEMS WEIGHTED Interpretation RANK

MEAN
I can understand verb tenses. 2.81 Moderately 2
high
I can gain knowledge in subject verb 2.65 Moderately 3
agreement. high
I am lacking on vocabulary 4.35 Very high 1

development.
I am well aware of the word structure. 2.38 Moderately 4

high
I can recognize suffixes and prefixes. 2.34 Moderately 5

high
High
Table 6
Level of Reading Comprehension based from Word Analysis
Based from the perceptions of the respondents, “I am lacking on vocabulary development”
yielded a mean of 4.35 and a rank one with interpretation of very high. “I can understand the
verb tenses” rated as moderately high and yielded the weighted mean of 2.81 with the rank of
two. This was followed by the items “I can gain knowledge in subject verb agreement”, I am
well aware of the word structure” and “I can recognize suffixes and prefixes” rated as
moderately high and yielded the weighted means of 2.65, 2.38 and 2.34 with the rank of third,
fourth and fifth respectively.

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Based from the responses of the students, the obtained composite mean is 2.90 with a verbal
interpretation of moderately high. This means that freshman students are poor in analyzing a
word structure. This means that students lack on vocabulary development and only focused on
the word meaning and not on how it was formed.
3.3 Context Clues
ITEMS WEIGHTED Interpretatio RANK
MEAN n
I can make use of context clues in a 2.70 Moderately 3.5
reading material. high
I can guess the meaning of an 2.70 Moderately 3.5
unfamiliar word in text. high
I can encounter a lot of unfamiliar 2.44 Moderately 5

words in reading. high
I am able to find the meaning of 2.50 Moderately 4

unfamiliar words in the sentence high
itself
I am having difficulty in finding 4.63 Very high 1
synonyms of unfamiliar words in the
context.
high
Table 7
Level of Reading Comprehension based from Context Clues
Based from the perceptions of the students, “I am having difficulty in finding synonyms of
the unfamiliar words in the context” yielded a weighted mean of 4.63 and a rank of one, with the
interpretation of very high. This was followed by the items “I can make use of context clues in a
reading material” and “I can guess the meaning of an unfamiliar words in text”. These items
rated as moderately high and yielded the weighted means of 2.70 with the rank of 3.5
respectively.

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“I am able to find the meaning of unfamiliar words in the sentences itself” was rated as
moderately high and yielded the weighted mean of 2.50 with the rank of fourth. On the other
hand, “I can encounter a lot of unfamiliar words in reading” gained least weighted mean of 2.44
and least rank of 5. These items rated as moderately high by the respondents.
Based from the responses of the students, the obtained composite mean is 2.99 with a verbal
interpretation of moderately high. Similarly, freshman students have neglected the context when
looking for the meaning of unfamiliar words in a sentence. This means that most of the students
look for the meaning on the dictionary or simply ignore the word

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Chapter V
Summary, Conclusions and Recommendation
This chapter covers the summary, conclusion and recommendation that were derived
from the analyzed and examined data. It leads the way in creating a concrete and reliable
conclusion that will fulfil the purpose of this study.
Summary
The purpose of this study is to assess students’ level of reading comprehension in terms of
paragraph comprehension, word analysis and context clues to create a proposed program that
will strengthen students’ level of reading comprehension. 63 males and 184 females constitute
the 247 respondents of the study. As manifested by the results of this study, the respondents have
a low level of reading comprehension. Thus, it is essential to create a program that will
strengthen students’ level of reading comprehension. Also, gender and age of the respondents
were considered since based from different researches, age and gender affects students’ level of
reading comprehension
Findings
The analysis and interpretation of gathered data come up with the following findings.
1. Demographic Profile of the Respondents
1.1 Gender profile of the respondents. Based from the results, females dominate the study
since freshman students at Kolehiyo ng Lungsod ng Lipa has axmassive number of
females compared to males. Aside from it, results showed that females are better in
reading comprehension because females are more book lovers than girls.

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1.2 Age profile of the respondents. As showed by the results, freshman students are mostly
18-22 years old since it is their expected age.
2. Level of Reading Comprehension in every area.
2.1 Paragraph Comprehension. Based on the results, freshman students moderately agreed
in “having a hard time analyzing the context” as part of paragraph comprehension. This
item yielded a weighted mean of 4.42 and a rank of one. The last rank is “will be able to
identify the main idea of a certain text” with a weighted mean of 2.47 and interpreted as
moderately high. Similarly, based from the responses of the students, the obtained
composite mean of 2.92 indicated that this area of concern is moderately high. From this
result, freshman students were said to have a little interest in understanding the passage
that was given to them. The reason behind this fact comes to know on investigating the
student’s complaint about their reading comprehension. This means that the level of
comprehension of the students was low and they are having difficulties in providing
knowledgeable ideas or concepts from the context. From this result, the researchers
conclude that the freshman students are having hard times in reading comprehension.
2.2 Word Analysis. Based on the results from the respondents, students moderately agreed
in “lacking on vocabulary development” yielded a weighted mean of 4.35 and a rank of
one. The last rank is “can recognize suffixes and prefixes” yielded a weighted mean of
2.34 which was interpreted as moderately high. Based from the responses of the students,
the obtained composite mean was 2.90 which were interpreted as moderately high.
Freshman students are poor in analyzing word structures. This means that students lack
on vocabulary development and only focused on the word meaning and not on how it was
formed.

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2.3 Context Clues. Based from the perceptions of the students, “having difficulty in finding
synonyms of the unfamiliar words in the context” yielded a weighted mean of 4.63 and a
rank of one with an interpretation of moderately agree. This was followed by the items of
“making use of context clues in a reading material” and “guessing the meaning of an
unfamiliar word in reading”. These items rated as moderately high and yielded the
weighted means of 3.13 with the rank of 3.5 respectively. Freshman students have neglected
the context when looking for the meaning of unfamiliar words in a sentence. This means that
most of the students look for the meaning on the dictionary or simply ignore the word.
Conclusion
Based on the results of the study, the following conclusions were made:
1. Based from the results, females dominate the study since freshman students at Kolehiyo ng
Lungsod ng Lipa has a massive number of females compared to males. As showed by the
results, freshman students are mostly 18-22 years old since it is their expected age.
2. With all the pieces of information collected and extracted, the researchers proven that
freshman students have low level of comprehension. They have difficulty in
comprehending a certain text due to lack of ability to comprehend a passage,
analyzing word meanings, and also the ability to recognize or figure out the meaning
of a word within a sentence.
3. Students should undergo a program that will strengthen their level of reading
comprehension. Likewise, Project DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) can provide
students with much more than a just-sit-there-and-read experience. It gives students
time to read what they want to read, share what they’ve read, and receive the support

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they need for further reading and explorations. This program shall be administered for
freshman students to enhance their knowledge in paragraph comprehension, word
analysis and making use of context clues (See Appendix D)
Recommendation
In view of the findings and conclusion, the following recommendations are hereby
presented:
1. Other demographical profiles should be considered so that rich data can be gathered
from the respondents;
2. Other areas of reading comprehension should be studied to create another proposed
project that will strengthen students’ level of reading comprehension;
3. The proposed program should be implemented in the research locale to gather
specific feedback from the respondents;
4. The proposed program should be evaluated by experts to further enhance the said
program;
5. English professors and teachers should prioritize the proposed program to develop
students’ level of reading comprehension and;
6. Similar studies can be done by future researchers by developing other programs and
projects in line with reading comprehension.

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KOLEHIYO NG LUNGSOD NG LIPA

(Formerly: Lipa City Public College)

The Problem and its Background

introduction, conceptual framework, statement of the problem, objectives, significance, scope

texts (Chomsky, N., 2005).

Likewise, comprehension is the understanding and interpretation of what a person has

reasoning (Texas Educational Agency, 2002).

ASSESSMENT OF ENGLISH PROFICIENCY AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH OF

information is important to college performance. Having problems in comprehending what is

lectures (T. Swinson, 2019).

students’ reading comprehension is going worse due to inappropriate teaching strategies.

Similarly, lack of knowledge regarding reading strategies contributes in low reading

(Meyer, L., 2016).

comprehension is an issue today since reading comprehension affects students’ achievement.

ASSESSMENT OF ENGLISH PROFICIENCY AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH OF

of reading comprehension in Kolehiyo ng Lungsod ng Lipa. Paragraph comprehension, word

program that will strengthen students’ level of reading comprehension.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

study sought to answer the following questions:

1. What is the demographical profile of the respondents in terms of:

1.1 Age and;

2. What is the level of students reading comprehension in terms of:

2.1 paragraph comprehension;

2.2 word analysis; and

2.3 making use of context clues?

3. What program can be proposed to strengthen students reading comprehension?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

comprehension of the students under the three areas mentioned.

ASSESSMENT OF ENGLISH PROFICIENCY AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH OF

as provide quality education.

comprehension contribute to their learning.

of reading comprehension of the students effectively.

ASSESSMENT OF ENGLISH PROFICIENCY AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH OF

have good comprehension.

Strengthen students’ level of reading comprehension

relationship since all concepts are rooted from schema theory.

ASSESSMENT OF ENGLISH PROFICIENCY AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH OF

knowledge are used by students in comprehension.

Similarly, schema serves as a unit of knowledge which affects students’ way of

paragraph comprehension. In paragraph comprehension, students access relevant schema in

comprehension has a limited capacity and extent.

way the reader transact with prior knowledge.

ASSESSMENT OF ENGLISH PROFICIENCY AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH OF

to access context clues since knowledge contributes in unlocking difficulties in reading

Nevertheless, as shown by Figure 1, the relationship of paragraph comprehension, word

students’ level of reading comprehension.

-------------------------------------- Feedback loop

ASSESSMENT OF ENGLISH PROFICIENCY AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH OF

necessary corrections or adjustments if there are flaws in the research process.

Scope and Limitations of the Study

will be emphasized in this study.

how to comprehend and analyze texts.

ASSESSMENT OF ENGLISH PROFICIENCY AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH OF

with enough information gathered by the researchers.

constitutes the pedagogical framework of the study.

framework of the study.

Paragraph Comprehension - measures students’ ability to comprehend and explain information

concepts and ability of the students to comprehend information from paragraphs.

ASSESSMENT OF ENGLISH PROFICIENCY AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH OF

Review of Related Literature

ASSESSMENT OF ENGLISH PROFICIENCY AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH OF

necessary to become “literate” do not develop naturally (Wolf, 2007).