UNIVERSITY OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION

THE FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO STUDENTS' POOR ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE IN ENGLISH COMPREHENSION AT CHRIKPONG

PRIMARY SCHOOL 2

JUDITH NAAMWIMBIE

ID. 22025344

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 UNIVERSITY OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

2023
INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION

THE FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO STUDENTS' POOR ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE IN ENGLISH COMPREHENSION AT CHRIKPONG

PRIMARY SCHOOL 2

BY

ENING COMFORT KORANTEMAA

PROJECT WORK SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF

DEVELOPMENT STUDIES, INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION, IN PARTIAL

FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF

BACHELOR OF EDUCATION DEGREE.

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JANUARY, 2023

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 DECLARATION

Candidate’s Declaration

I hereby declare that this project work is the result of my original research and that no

part of it has been presented for any other certificate in the college or elsewhere.

Candidate’s Name: ………………………………….

Signature: ……………………………………………

Date: …………………………………………………

Supervisor’s Declaration

I hereby declare that the preparation and presentation of this project was supervised in

accordance with the guidelines on the project work laid down by the Institute of

Education, University of Development studies.

Supervisor’s Name: ………………………………….

Signature: …………………………………………….

Date: ………………………………………………….

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 ABSTRACT

The inability of a pupil to read and comprehend depends on the lack of teaching and

learning materials (TLM’s) and techniques as well as methods that teachers use to teach

in CHRIKPONG PRIMARY SCHOOL School. The purpose of this study is to improve

upon how to read and comprehend at CHRIKPONG PRIMARY SCHOOL School. In all,

the study was predominantly centered on hundred and six (106) pupils in the Primary

School. Pupils were observed by the researcher while questionnaires were given to the

teachers to answer. The study was also direct teachers on how to use teaching and

learning materials (TLM’s) to help and boast the pupil’s morale to improve upon their

reading ability and how to comprehend in CHRIKPONG PRIMARY SCHOOL School.

The researcher employs observation and questionnaires to gather his information and

presents the data. The researcher designed pragmatic schemes that will constantly help

teachers to use the best teaching and learning materials (TLM’s) in order to teach or solve

problems.

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 DEDICATION

I dedicate this work to my dear father Mr. Ening, my mother Mrs. Janet and not forgotten

the entire family whose financial support have brought me this far and my siblings for

supporting me in writing this project work. Many thanks go to Mr. Obeng, who typed and

printed the project.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is my unconditional believe that the feasibility of the project work coming into

successful completion is through the will, power and guidance of the Almighty God.

With these believe, my first thanks go to the Almighty God, the exalted, who by His will

grace gave me the knowledge, accessibility to all my needs, strength, peace of mind and

the ability to provide this piece of work.

I own a profound gratitude which goes to my supervisor Mr. James Dassah for his

unflinching support, patience, tolerance and fatherly advice offered me in supervising my

research work. I say thank you very much and may God bless you.

Finally, I acknowledge it to my head teacher and the entire staff members for their

support in making this project a success.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION ii
ABSTRACT iii
DEDICATION iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT v
CHAPTER ONE 1
1.0 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background to the study 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem 2
1.3 Purpose of the Study 2
1.4 Research Questions 3
1.5 Significance of the Study 3
1.6 Limitation 4
1.7 Delimitation 4
1.8 Organization of the Study 4
CHAPTER TWO 6
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 6
2.1 Introduction 6
2.2 Reading 6
2.3 Reading Comprehension 8
2.4 Stages of Reading Comprehension 8
2.4.1Pre-Reading Stages 9
2.4.2 Choosing Vocabulary 9
2.4.3 Predictions Activities 9
2.4.4 Reading Stage 9
2.4.5 Questions about Cohesive Devices 10
2.5 Post-Reading Stage 10
2.6 Type of Reading 11
2.7 Reading Aloud 12

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 2.8 What are the purposes of reading comprehension? 12
2.9 Factors that has led to pupil’s inability to read and comprehend 13
2.10 Strategies to overcome Pupil’s difficulties in reading comprehension 14
CHAPTER THREE 17
3.0 METHODOLOGY 17
3.1 Introduction 17
3.2 Research Design 17
3.3 Population and Sampling 19
3.4 Research Instruments 19
3.4.1 Interviews 19
3.4.2 Pre-Intervention Test 20
3.5 Causes of the Problem 20
3.6 Intervention 21
CHAPTER FOUR 25
4.0 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF DATA 25
4.1 Introduction 25
4.2 Analysis of Outcomes of Interviews for Pupils 25
4.3 Analysis and Discussion of Pre-Test and Post-Test Data Collected 29
4.4 Analysis of Findings 31
CHAPTER FIVE 33
5.0 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 33
5.1 Introduction 33
5.2 Summary 33
5.3 Main Findings 33
5.4 Pupils’ Problem 34
5.5 Problems of Teachers 34
5.6 Conclusion / Recommendations 35
REFERENCE 38
APPENDICES 40
APPENDIX A 40
APPENDIX B 41

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 LIST OF TABLES

Table 1; Responses from Pupils as to Whether They Have Reading Textbooks At Home

to Read 24

Table 2: Responses from Pupils as To Whether They Liked English Reading and Also

Practice Reading 25

Table 3: Responses from Pupils as To Whether They Worked a Lot before Coming to

School. 26

Table 4: Responses from Pupils as To Whether They Eat Before Coming to School 27

Table 5: Pre-Test Scores in Percentages 28

Table 6: Post-Test Table in Percentages 29

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 CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

English language is one of the languages spoken by a wide range of people. It happens to

be the lingua franca of Ghana even though it is a second language for all Ghanaians. Its

teaching is very important in every curriculum from the basic level through to university.

Educational institutions have no worth without students. Indeed, students are the most

essential assets for any educational institutions (Sentamu 2003). In Ghanaian schools all

textbooks are in English and after primary three all instructions are in English. The

national syllabuses are very clear about the central role of English in our educational

enterprise. It is also a core subject for all pupils and students. Education is considered as

the development of the endowed capacities in the individual, which will enable one to

control his /her environment and fulfil his/her possibilities to a larger extent (Saxton

2000). CHRIKPONG PRIMARY SCHOOL school is at Newtown Nandom District in

Upper West Region. The researcher was assigned to handle English language at

CHRIKPONG PRIMARY SCHOOL school during her teaching practice. From the

general observation during the period it became obvious that the pupils under study in

Primary two had a problem in English reading and comprehension after she observed two

lessons taught by her mentor. In delivering the lesson the researcher’s mentor read the

passage under unit three in the English Textbook for Primary Pupils Book two to the

pupils. Since the textbooks were insufficient, the pupils were compelled to pair up. Pupils

were then asked to read silently, and answer questions based on the passage.

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The researcher observed that pupils could not read on their own let alone answer the

questions given them. It appears that most of them were not reading at home due to lack

of textbooks and supervision. This was detected when the researcher realized that the

permanent teacher had only some few copies of the textbook to teach them. Children had

also not been reading during their leisure time. When the researcher’s mentor was drilling

the key words, the researcher realized that his mentor did not follow the appropriate and

correct procedure for vocabulary presentation, and this made it very difficult for pupils to

comprehend. It seemed to the researcher that some of the pupils did not pay attention

when the reading was going on; the lesson was however not interesting enough to capture

pupils’ attention. This work therefore highlights the strategies to help motivate pupils to

read and comprehend English in Primary two at CHRIKPONG PRIMARY SCHOOL

school.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

During my teaching practice at CHRIKPONG PRIMARY SCHOOL two, I observed that

pupils could not read and comprehend. In addition, they also found difficulties in

answering questions given to them. There was also inadequacy of textbooks for pupils to

read. Furthermore, there was also the absence of wall charts and other teaching and

learning material. It is therefore based on this that the researcher has decided to conduct

this research.

1.3 Purpose of the Study

There is an English proverb that goes that “If you want to hide something from an

African, put it in a book”. This suggests how true Africans or for that matter Ghanaians

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do not like reading or have disabilities in reading. The purpose of this study is therefore

to help CHRIKPONG PRIMARY SCHOOL two pupil to improve upon their English

reading comprehension skills.

1.4 Research Questions

The study seeks to know the following which will help improve reading comprehension

skills of pupils in English language at CHRIKPONG PRIMARY SCHOOL two.

1. What are the factors which had led to the pupils’ poor performance in reading and

comprehension?

2. What are the strategies to help overcome children’s inability to read and comprehend?

3. What are the stages of reading comprehension?

4. What are the purposes of reading comprehension to leaners?

1.5 Significance of the Study

The English language occupies a very important place in the Ghanaian society as has

been outlined above. The research is based on how to help pupils to overcome their

difficulties in reading and comprehension in English language. It is therefore hoped that

when solved it will help improve the fallen standard in English language. It will also help

pupils to be able to read and answer their examination questions and any other questions

given them properly. Again, pupils will have the zeal and enthusiasm to practice how to

read and speak good English. Lastly, it will help pupils to fit well into the society as

English language is used everywhere in the world.

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1.6 Limitation

During the study, the research encounters some problems and difficulties such as inability

to speak Dagaare for better understanding of the pupils to read well and time constraints.

Due to truancy some of the pupils may not be present at school during the study.

1.7 Delimitation

Even though the school had six blocks that is Primary A and B block, only Primary two

was chosen. This was because the problem encountered was peculiar to that class, which

is Primary two. The results of the study therefore cannot be generalized.

1.8 Organization of the Study

This study consists of five (5) chapters; chapter one entails the introduction, which is the

background to the study, statement of the problem, purpose of the study, research

questions, followed by significance of the study, limitations, delimitation, and

organization of the study.

Chapter two is solely on literature review. The literature review emphasizes the review of

previous research work on the subject and analyses of the available information on the

topic under study.

Chapter three covers methodology. It discusses the subject/sample and the population

used. It deals with the detailed and accurate statement of steps taken in the collection of

feedback / testing and evidence. Chapter four also deals with the findings of the research

whether proper and suitable method has been used to test the statement of the problem

stated. It also deals with how well organized coherent and effective the work is. The last

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chapter which is chapter five is the conclusion, recommendations. The emphasis here is

on the way forward and suggestions for further study.

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 CHAPTER TWO

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

This chapter reviews literature relevant to this research work. The purpose is to provide a

basis of drawing generalization. It is in a bid to find out what the causes of the problems

are and what could be done to address the situation. With this opinion it is inevitable to

review the works of methodology writers. For convenience and easy reading, this chapter

would be put under sub-headings.

2.2 Reading

Reading is something literates, take for granted. But if one thinks about it and tries to

define it, one may have difficulty verbalizing his thought. Reading experts have defined

reading for us in various ways; the Cambridge International dictionary of English (2022)

defines reading as, “The skill or activity of getting information from books”. Reading is

also the ability to extract information from printed marks in a book, billboards, or the

ground.

Hafner (1974) sees reading as a complex process involving the perceiving of written

meanings and the interpretation of meanings and the reaction to applying of meanings to

life. It is an active process that requires the individual to demand meaning and to bring

ideas to the printed page so that the symbols will trigger off meanings according to the

pattern of writing and experience and intelligence of the reader. With the above definition

in view, one can observe that in the attempt to read, whether by a beginner or a skilled

reader, one must perform certain physical activities. These are the reader must adopt a

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process of turning the eyes over the printed symbols on the page together with another

conscious effort of directing his vision from left to right over each word, each sentence,

and each line. These listed activities should be crowned with the reader’s ability to

interpret the symbols represented by the black print on a page in relation to sound value

according to the reader’s experience. Failure of these activities degenerate good reading

skills.

Thorndike (2010) defined reading as reasoning. As Moyle (2012) has pointed out,

“Reading is a complex activity that draws on a wide variety of powers within the child.”

These powers and abilities according to him include intelligence, language ability, visual

ability, auditory ability, and physical factors. He continues to stress that the effect of

these adverse personal attributes on reading and school attainment in general can be

minimized if teachers are sensitive to the needs of the pupils. So as Anyidoho (2014)

observed, “Reading is therefore very important in language as it helps us to get

information, receive instruction in order to perform some tasks and get in touch with

friends.” For success in reading, visual skills, auditory skill, and good methodology need

to be developed. This means that the pupil should be able to see clearly, hear well to

produce the sounds accurately.

Other authors like, Manzo and Manzo (2006) observed that reading is the act of

simultaneously reading lines, reading between the lines, and reading beyond the lines.

The first part of their definition, reading the lines refers to the act of decoding the work to

construct the author’s basic message. The next part, reading between the lines, refers to

the act of making references and understanding the author’s implied messages. And

finally, reading beyond the lines involves the judging of significance of the author’s
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message and applying it to other areas or background knowledge. Yet another author,

Foertsh (1998) pointed out that reading could be defined in other ways. The first

definition of reading is learning to pronounce words. The second is learning to identify

words and getting their meaning. Foertsh (1998) share the same view as Manzo and

Manzo (2006) when he defined reading as learning to bring meaning to a text to get

meaning from it.

2.3 Reading Comprehension

Let us first look at what comprehension means. The word or term comprehension does

not lend itself to easy and straight forward definition. However, when we analyses the

word and reduce it to its simplest elements, we might say that comprehension is part of

the communication process, which seeks to get the thoughts that are expressed in an

author’s mind into the readers’ mind.

In very simple terms reading comprehension is reading and understanding what one

reads. In ELT terms it is the understanding that results from perceiving a written text to

understand its context. This is normally done through silent reading. In fact, it is the

extracting of information from a written text which is done through the medium of silent

reading (Grellet 2010: and Richards et al 2012)

2.4 Stages of Reading Comprehension

With the making of a good lesson plan, “Parrot” (2003) illustrates it in this way, “Making

a lesson plan involves; deciding on kinds of things you want your pupils to learn and

stating what is to be learned in appropriate sequence of topic and task”. The guide here

implies that before any good lesson is taken the instructor must take pains and plan well.
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2.4.1Pre-Reading Stages

This pedagogical approach is applied to enhance the understanding of the writer’s

purpose. The text or structure content comes in three stages: Pre-reading, Reading and

Post-reading.

Yemeh (2008) talks about the first stage that; “Before children begin to read effectively,

they need to be given some fundamental habit. In the lower primary the teacher should

make sure a firm foundation is laid for reading by their pupils. This can be done by doing

some activities to prepare pupils for late reading normally referred to as pre-reading

activities.

2.4.2 Choosing Vocabulary

In general, we should not teach more than seven items at most and preferably less.

Secondly, students should be told it is necessary to teach each new word only. Words

important for understanding the passage should be taught.

2.4.3 Predictions Activities

Prediction activities are also part of the preliminary reading stage. Basically, these

activities are intended to activate the knowledge pupils have stored in their mind about

content or topic to help in comprehending the passage. In the case of primary 2,

prediction activities are based mainly on the pictures and titles. These help pupils to

concentrate on ‘meaning’ because they read to find out if their predictions were correct.

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2.4.4 Reading Stage

Graves and Graves (2004) explained that during- reading activities include things that

students themselves do as they are reading and things that the teacher does to assist them

as they are reading. During reading options include silent reading, reading to students,

guided reading, and oral reading by students. During reading, activities are necessary

ingredients as they sustain the interest of the pupils as they journey through this

wonderful phenomenon of making meaning from the marks on the paper or board. With

this, the reading stage is when the reading of the text takes place. At the beginning stages

passages are usually modeled first by the teacher, read by the class and then by rows or

individuals. But this heavy emphasis on reading aloud should decrease gradually. At the

reading stage, reading is almost entirely silent reading. Most of us are familiar with

questions in the preliminary reading stage and post-reading stage but not in the reading

itself. However, modern recent classroom reading comprehension methodology

recommends the use of questions here too. The two kind’s teachers use here are pre-

reading questions and questions about cohesive devices.

2.4.5 Questions about Cohesive Devices

These are only asked if the teacher wants to ensure pupils are keeping track of the

meaning from sentence to sentence. It is good to ask them at first because pupils can get

confused by them.

2.5 Post-Reading Stage

According to Graves and Graves (2004) post-reading activities serve a variety of

purposes. They provide opportunities for students to synthesize and organize information

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gleaned from the text. They provide opportunities for students to evaluate an author’s

message and the quality of the text itself. They provide opportunities for both teachers

and students to evaluate students’ understanding of text. And they provide opportunities

for students to respond to a text in a variety of interesting ways. This portrays that post-

reading activities serve as rest cap activities which stamp what the pupils have read

indelibly in their minds. This stage may be written or done orally but usually consists of

questions checking on whether pupils have understood the passage. As the pupil’s

answer, the teacher gives feedback.

2.6 Type of Reading

There are different types of reading. There are two kinds of reading: silent reading and

reading aloud. Nasr (2009) exerts the concepts silent and reading aloud in these

situations.

“In silent reading we use the eyes and air ability to understand the meaning of the written

signs. In oral reading we do one more thing, we change the written signs into oral signs

giving the same meaning. Silent reading therefore is mainly for understanding and

expression.

Nasr (2009) further talks about silent reading that, “The main aim behind silent reading

understands. And since in silent reading there is no oral expression, we do silent reading

faster than oral reading. Speed therefore is the most important result. Both speed and

understanding can be improved by practice”. But we must remember that understanding

is more important than speed. The writer directs silent reading through certain

pedagogies. We can develop understanding in silent reading by giving short passages in

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the beginning and asking questions about them afterwards. We can develop speed in

silent reading by timing students and by telling them not to move their lips when they

read silently. Lip movement slows down reading.

2.7 Reading Aloud

Nasr (2009) again adapts from Michael West (2011) on reading aloud that, “Except in

teaching pronunciation ordinary reading aloud is not merely a useless exercise for foreign

language learners. It is likely to be harmful because it intends to produce just that evil

which the teacher is most anxious to prevent – parrot talking without thought of any

meaning. Reading aloud tends to establish a direct path between the eyes and the voice

without disturbing the brain at all”.

Accordingly, it will be wise and proper to discourage oral reading as early as possible so

that it does not become a habit among pupils.

The writer continues that; “With a slight change however reading aloud can be made one

of the most valuable exercises in the early stages of teaching pupils to speak foreign

language. The pupils should be made to look up when they read aloud.

Grillete (2010) affirms that, “The first point to be noted when practicing reading in the

classroom is a silent reading activity. Therefore, silent reading should be encouraged in

most cases.

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2.8 What are the purposes of reading comprehension?

In everyday life, reading is done. The reading done has to be purposeful because children

who read with a purpose tend to understand what they read better than those who read

without a purpose.

One cannot assert himself as a scholar or learned man if he has not been transformed

through reading and writing, two of the major skills for learning a language.

Before it is done, the teacher must set objective for the younger children by helping them

set their own purposes. The objective may include reading for enjoyment, perfect oral

reading performance, to up-date knowledge about a topic, to link new information to

already known, to confirm or reject predictions, to the event which happened in the past,

to obtain information on an oral written report, to learn about the structure of a text or to

answer specific questions as observed.

Irwin (2017) Udoh (2014) echoed that, under proper guidance, pupils could develop

permanent interest in extensive reading for recreational enrichment of their experiential

background and development of their personalities. According to him through reading,

the child is introduced to the world of events which happened in the past and those

happening at the present time. The reader thus becomes familiar with human behaviors

outside the family, the immediate neighborhood, and his cycle of friends. In this way, he

learns something about objects and places and about forces and ideas which motivate

human conduct. The above comment and observation emphasize the fact that the ability

to read well is one of the most valuable skills human beings can acquire.

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2.9 Factors that has led to pupil’s inability to read and comprehend

Causes of difficulty in reading comprehension with regards to the research questions are

Pupil’s inability to read and comprehend is unavailability of textbooks in the basic

school. Since the Ghana Education Service (GES) has not been providing adequate and

relevant textbooks for the various schools under them, pupils in such schools face the

problem of insufficient textbooks thereby making reading comprehension difficult for

children. Secondly, poor lesson delivery on the part of some teachers also brings about

children’s inability to read and understand. Some teachers do not follow the exact

procedures of lesson delivery and you would see them doing it in their own way. What

happens here is that the activities that are supposed to be followed are neglected. Thirdly,

parental background is also one of the causes of children’s inability to read and

understand. When parents have sound educational background, they encourage their

children to read at home by affording them with the necessary and relevant books which

will boost their reading skills and vocabulary.

On the other hand, children from parents with no educational background do not see the

need to help their children practice at home let alone afford them with books to read. This

will obviously account for their inability to read. When parents show enthusiastic interest

in their children’s reading when they read stories to them and show them pictures, when

they discuss the content of the book with them, they are laying a strong foundation for

pleasurable independent reading.

Lastly is the unavailability of books in the home. A child who has grown up in an

environment where there are books and much reading is done and where books are

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treated with respect, has a better prospect of becoming a good reader. It therefore

important to note that reading is the key to knowledge and if a child is handicapped in his

ability to read, he rarely learns anything at all on his own, for modern knowledge is

principally acquired through books.

2.10 Strategies to overcome Pupil’s difficulties in reading comprehension

Possessing the ability to gain meaning of a written text is an essential skill that all

students need to ensure success in academic life (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 1997; National

Reading Panel, 2000; RAND Reading Study Group, 2002; Taylor, Alber, & Walker,

2002). However, students are different based on their ability to comprehend a written text

(Grünke, Wilbert, & Stegemann, 2013; Swanson & De La Paz,1998; Taylor, Alber, &

Walker, 2002). For example, unlike the unskilled readers, skilled readers usually use one

or more cognitive skills and strategies while reading that they use to construct meaning of

a text. In other words, proficient readers read more strategically than struggling readers

do. Strategic readers are active learners who are able to acquire strategic reading skills by

themselves without being taught. They are able to construct meaning from a text through

identifying and recalling significant information, monitoring their comprehension,

integrating their prior knowledge with the new information, and summarizing as well as

directing their learning (Gajria, Jitendra, Sood, & Sacks, 2007; Swanson & De La Paz,

1998) In contrast, unskilled readers, including students with learning disabilities, usually

fail to acquire strategic reading skills by themselves. They are not able to read

strategically due to their failure to monitor their comprehension (Bos & Vaughn, 1994;

Garner & Reis, 1981; Swanson & De La Paz, 1998), distinguish between various kinds of

questions, appropriately utilize a specific strategy to gain meaning from a text (Raphael
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& Pearson, 1985), integrate prior knowledge with new information, or make a connection

between the ideas within a passage to gain meaning (Oakhill & Patel, 1991). Also,

inefficient readers are not able to utilize a repair strategy, such as rereading a certain

paragraph of a text when they fail to understand it (Garner & Reis, 1981). Since poor

readers have difficulties being strategic readers by themselves, they need to be taught

how to implement strategies while reading to facilitate their understanding (Swanson &

De La Paz, 1998). Since reading comprehension is a complex skill that has not been

naturally acquired by all students, teachers can enhance students’ reading comprehension

by implementing different research-based reading comprehension strategies (Gersten,

Fuchs, Williams, & Baker, 2001; Mahdavi & Tensfeldt, 2013; Pressley, 1998; Swanson

& De La Paz, 1998; Osborn & Lehr, 1998). According to the report issued by The

National Reading Panel (2000), teaching reading.

comprehension to students plays a significant role in helping them to improve their

overall academic performance and not only in the reading area. Every Students Succeeds

Act (ESSA) requires teachers to satisfy the literacy needs of all students, including those

who have disabilities, especially those whose reading skills are below grade level.

Meeting these needs requires teachers to provide students with intensive, supplemental,

accelerated, and explicit intervention and support in literacy (International Literacy

Association, 2016). Reading comprehension strategies are instructional methods

developed in order to teach students how to construct meaning of a written text (Johnson,

Graham, & Harris, 1997; Schunk, 2003). These strategies include, but are not limited to,

graphic organizers (DiCecco and Gleason, 2002; Kim, Vaughn, Wanzek and Wei, 2004),

cooperative learning (Crowe, 2005; Klingner &Vaughn, 2000;), story-mapping (Grünke,

16
Wilbert, & Stegemann, 2013; Johnson, Graham, & Harris, 1997), self-questioning

(Crabtree, Alber-Morgan, and Konrad, 2010; Taylor, Alber, & Walker, 2002), and peer-

assisted learning strategies (Fuchs et al., 2002; Mathes et al, 1998). Also, the National

Reading Panel (2000) has highlighted six reading strategies that have effectively

improved students reading comprehension.

CHAPTER THREE

3.0 METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

This chapter describes the research design, population sample, sample technique,

instrumentation and data collection procedure.

3.2 Research Design

In a study such as this, it is important to adopt a design that will provide information to

ascertain the ways through which CHRIKPONG PRIMARY SCHOOL Two pupils could

be helped to improve upon their English reading comprehension skills. For this research

to be carried out successfully there should be a research design. The researcher therefore

chose the action research design for this work

Action research is a kind of research activity in which the researcher works

collaboratively with other people to solve perceived problem. It is a collaborative work

because it involves other people’s views concerning a specific problem.

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The reason why the action research was chosen by the researcher was that the researcher

wanted to solve a classroom problem through the application of scientific method and

approaches. It is aimed at increasing pupils’ knowledge on English Reading

Comprehension. The researcher chose the action research design because the researcher

realized that the topic under study was a problem pupils encountered during their English

reading and comprehension lessons and this was in the case of the researcher’s particular

class.

Action research has its own strengths and weaknesses. Some of the strengths are as

follows; firstly, it helps the teacher to understand what actually goes on in the teaching

and learning situation.

Secondly, it is a systematically evolving process of changing both the researcher and the

situation in which she works.

Thirdly it gives immediate solution to a problem identified and it does not only focuses

on generating new knowledge but also enable both the participants to develop appropriate

intervention and strategies aimed at finding solution to the problem identified in the

teaching and learning situation and also to enable the researcher gain an in-depth

understanding of pupils’ inability to read and understand.

Notwithstanding the above strengths, action research has some of the following

weaknesses. First of all, action research needs a lot of time to study, observe and collect

relevant information about the topic or problem so as to get a clear picture of the

problem.

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Secondly, it is difficult in soliciting information, for example absenteeism and lack of

cooperation on the part of pupils. Therefore, the researcher deemed it necessary to use the

action research design.

Action research design and its methods such as interviews and tests enabled the

researcher to explore the topic in-depth about which little empirical information is

available.

3.3 Population and Sampling

The population of pupils at CHRIKPONG PRIMARY SCHOOL School was one

hundred and Fifty-Six (156) pupils. However, only twenty pupils of the class were

chosen for the study. This therefore formed the sample of the study. The sample size

consists of ten girls representing fifty percent (50%) and ten boys representing fifty

percent (50%).

The sample was chosen based on simple random sampling. This sampling method was

used because it gave every member of the population an equal and independent chance of

being selected. Again, since we have individual differences, the researcher wanted to find

out the extent to which pupils of CHRIKPONG PRIMARY SCHOOL Two could read

individually and also answer questions correctly.

3.4 Research Instruments

For the preliminary study, data was collected through interviews and tests. This was to

gather information about pupils’ inability to read and comprehend.

19
3.4.1 Interviews

In administering the interviews, the researcher prepared six questions as a guide and

interviewed twenty pupils. This was to find out reasons for pupils’ inability to read and

answer questions given them. The interview was conducted during the first week. (See

Appendix ‘A’)

3.4.2 Pre-Intervention Test

A pre-test was conducted during the first week in addition to the interview of the

researcher’s findings. Based on the findings from the interviews administered, the

researcher designed this test and questioned ten (10) pupils of the class to check the

ability to read and understand and as well as answer questions given them.

The test items were picked from their English textbook titled ‘Mr. Anim’. Twenty

comprehension questions were set for pupils to answer after reading silently. Pupils were

given a time of one hour thirty minutes within which they were to answer the questions.

Each question answered correctly carried ten (10) marks (10%) making a total of one

hundred marks (100%). The performances of every individual pupil were recorded. (See

Appendix ‘B’ for pre-test and post-test passage)

20
3.5 Causes of the Problem

After the pre-intervention test was conducted, the researcher realized that most of the

pupils could not read on their own let alone answer questions given to them by the

researcher. The following were therefore identified as the causes of the problem;

1. Teacher’s failure to take pupils through pre-reading activities.

2. Insufficient textbook for pupils to read.

3. Pupils’ inability to read or learn on their own.

4. Insufficient use of teaching and learning materials by the teacher.

3.6 Intervention

WEEK TWO

TOPIC: Pre-Reading Activities

OBJECTIVE: To help pupils get an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the

passage by the use of pre-reading activities

TEACHING / LEARNING MATERIALS: Picture in the passage drawn on a cardboard,

word cards, and photocopies of an excerpted text titled ‘Mr. Anim’.

REFERENCE: English Language for primary pupil’s book two page 1-2.

PROCEDURE: Pre-reading simply means before reading. These are activities that are

done before the actual reading of the passage begins. As part of these pre-reading

activities the researcher took the pupils through these exercises.

21
 1. The researcher first of all discussed the pictures in the passage drawn on a

cardboard with pupils in order to arouse their interest and attention to the lesson.

2. The researcher used the discussion method to let pupils predict what they were

going to read about based on the picture.

The researcher however, prepared some teaching and learning materials which were used.

The kind of teaching and learning materials prepared were word cards and the picture in

the passage was drawn on the cardboard. The following were how the teaching and

learning materials were used;

1. Picture in the passage drawn on a cardboard: pupils had a look and discussed what

they saw from the picture with the researcher and related it to the new lesson.

2. Word card: the researcher pronounced the word and called a pupil to come and

pick that word and the rest of the class was asked to state the meaning of that

word. In situations where they could not, the researcher came in and helped them

out.

WEEK THREE

TOPIC: Reading Comprehension Activities

OBJECTIVE: To help pupils read silently and also answer pre-reading questions by the

use of reading comprehension activities

TEACHING LEARNING MATERIAL: Picture in the passage drawn on a cardboard,

word cards, and photocopies of excerpted text titled ‘Mr. Anim’

REFERENCE: English language for Primary pupils book two page 1 –2

22
PROCEDURE: These are activities done during reading. In order to keep the pupils’

attention on the reading the researcher did the following:

a. The researcher wrote four pre-reading questions on the chalkboard and asked the

pupils to try and find answers to them while reading was going on.

b. The researcher made the model reading of the passage while pupils listened carefully

as they looked into their textbooks.

c. The researcher repeated the procedure once again to enable pupils follow the flow of

the passage with regards to the pronunciation and punctuation.

d. The researcher asked pupils to read silently in order to find answers to the pre-reading

questions as well as the actual reading comprehension questions.

WEEK FOUR

TOPIC: Post-reading Activities

OBJECTIVES: To help pupils understand the text and answer comprehension questions

correctly by the use of post-reading activities.

TEACHING LEARNING MATERIALS: Picture in the passage drawn on cardboards,

word cards, photocopies of an excerpted text titled ‘Mr. Anim’.

REFERENCE BOOK: English Language for primary pupils book two page 1-2

PROCEDURE: Post-reading activities are performed to check pupils’ understanding and

fluency of the passage. In the post-reading activities, the researcher did the following;

a. The researcher wrote ten actual comprehension questions on the chalkboard.

23
b. The researcher discussed two questions with the pupils.

c. The rest of the questions were answered by pupils in their exercise book.

d. The researcher gave pupils one hour, thirty minutes within which they were to answer

the questions.

e. The researcher discussed pupils’ errors with them.

f. Pupils made the necessary corrections.

WEEK FIVE

TOPIC: Post-intervention test

OBJECTIVES: To find out how well pupils could answer questions based on the passage.

PROCEDURE: After the intervention the researcher gave pupils the same ten actual

reading comprehension questions for pupils to answer after reading the same passage

silently.

Pupils were given the same time duration to answer the questions. After the researcher

had finished marking pupils’ exercises, it clearly showed that there had been remarkable

improvement in pupils’ performance after the intervention was administered. It was

therefore clear that pupils’ inability to read and answer questions on their own resulted

from the fact that the teacher did not use the appropriate method to prepare the pupils for

effective reading comprehension. (See appendix ‘C’ for pre-test and post-test marked

scripts)

24
 CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF DATA

4.1 Introduction

This chapter deals with the analysis of the data collected in the study. The results

gathered by means of interviews and tests will be stated, described and finally

commented upon.

4.2 Analysis of Outcomes of Interviews for Pupils

Table 1; Responses from Pupils as to Whether They Have Reading Textbooks At

Home to Read

Responses Number of responses Percentage

Yes 7 35%

No 13 65%

25
 Total 20 100%

In the above table seven pupils representing 35% responded ‘Yes’ whilst 13 pupils (65%)

responded ‘No’. This was therefore obvious that much of the pupils had no reading

materials that would enable them cultivate the habit of reading. Most of the parents

cannot afford to buy any book for their ward when they find it extremely difficult even to

pay for exercise books supplied to their children. At home most of the pupils share one

room with their siblings and in the rural areas there is only one lamp for the whole family

and with this no reading can be done at home.

With this if books were available at home; pupils would cultivate the habit of reading

which could help improve their reading comprehension skills.

Table 2: Responses from Pupils as To Whether They Liked English Reading and
Also Practice Reading

Responses Number of responses Percentage

Yes 4 20%

No 16 80%

Total 20 100%

From the table above, four pupils representing 20% responded ‘Yes’ to the questions

while sixteen pupils representing 80% responded ‘No’ to the question. This revealed that
26
pupils’ inability to read and comprehend was due to the dislike pupils had for English

reading. As the saying goes “Practice makes perfection”. Pupils need to constantly

practice how to read and not only read but understand what they had read.

Table 3: Responses from Pupils as To Whether They Worked a Lot before Coming
to School.

Responses Number of responses Percentage

Yes 15 75%

No 5 25%

Total 20 100%

The table above indicated that fifteen pupils representing 75% answered ‘Yes’ to the

questions while the other five pupils representing 25% responded ‘No’. This meant that

many of the pupils did a lot of work before coming to school and this was an indication

that pupils might be tired in the class. This resulted in pupils’ sleeping when they were in

27
the classroom while lesson was going on. Pupils are supposed to perform house chores

but parents should lessen the work load on pupils so that they could get adequate time to

concentrate on their books since they are very young.

Table 4: Responses from Pupils as To Whether They Eat Before Coming to School

Responses Number of responses Percentage

Yes 6 30%

No 14 70%

Total 20 100%

From the above table and in the questions of pupils eating before coming to school, six

pupils representing 30% responded ‘Yes’ while fourteen pupils representing 70%

responded ‘No’. This indicated that many pupils do not eat before coming to school.

28
Pupils need good and nutritious food to eat in order to stay healthy and also get a sound

mind in order to read and understand.

4.3 Analysis and Discussion of Pre-Test and Post-Test Data Collected

Table 5: Pre-Test Scores in Percentages

Score Interval Frequency Percentage

29
 100 – 109 0 0%

90 – 99 0 0%

80 – 89 0 0%

70 -79 0 0%

60 – 69 0 0%

50 – 59 0 0%

40 – 49 2 10%

30 – 39 0 0%

20 – 29 13 65%

10 – 19 4 20%

0–9 1 5%

Total 20 100%

Table 5 which is the pre-test for “English reading comprehension” shows that nobody

(0%) scored one hundred percent (100%) which is the full mark in the pre-test. one (1)

pupil representing 5% scored between zero (0) and nine (9) mark (0 – 9)

The table therefore indicates that nobody (0%) scored fifty and above that is

(50 – 59 100 – 109). Furthermore, the pre-test table indicated that twenty pupils

(100%) scored marks below fifty that is (40 – 49) (0 – 9). This analysis therefore depicts

that pupils have difficulty in doing English comprehension.

Table 6: Post-Test Table in Percentages

30
 Score Interval Frequency Percentage

100 – 109 3 15%

90 – 99 7 35%

80 – 89 5 25%

70 -79 5 25%

60 – 69 0 0%

50 – 59 0 0%

40 – 49 0 0%

30 – 39 0 0%

20 – 29 0 0%

10 – 19 0 0%

0–9 0 0%

Total 20 100%

Table 6 which is the post-test for “English reading and Comprehension” shows that three

pupils (15%) scored one hundred percent which is the full mark in the post-test.

Whereas nobody scored between zero and nine marks (0 – 9).

The table however indicates that twenty pupils (100%) scored marks above fifty

(50-59 100-109).

It is therefore obvious and clear that there has been significant and remarkable

improvement in the learning behavior of the pupils on the post-test.

31
Now comparing the pre-test and the post-test tables it is clear that all the pupils

representing one hundred percent (100%) scored marks above fifty percent (50%) in the

post-test as against nobody representing zero percent (0%) scoring above fifty percent

(50%) in the pre-test.

Furthermore, the table indicates that all the pupils representing one hundred percent

(100%) scored marks below fifty in the pre-test conducted.

Conclusion can now be drawn with regards to the pre-test and post-test table that there

was a significant improvement in the learning behavior of pupils on the post-test which

clearly showed that pupils performed far better in the post-test than in the pre-test.

4.4 Analysis of Findings

This part of the work deals with the discussion on how successful the work was in

achieving the work benefit. This piece of work was successful even though there were a

lot of problems encountered in the course of working on it. This was because the

researcher found out that pupils could not read on their own let alone trying to understand

what they read and also answer questions based on the materials read.

In a nutshell, even though the researcher encountered these problems she was able to

achieve the set objective, that is, pupils were able to read and comprehend and also

answer questions given them.

32
 CHAPTER FIVE

5.0 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Introduction

This chapter concludes the final stages of the project and consists of the summary of the

research finding, conclusions and appropriate recommendations and also suggests areas

for further studies

33
5.2 Summary

The main purpose of this research was to find out the reading comprehension skills of

pupils of CHRIKPONG PRIMARY SCHOOL school and also try as much as possible to

use the findings of the research to suggest ways of helping the teachers to in turn help

their pupils to improve upon their English reading comprehension skills. During the

research many problems were unearthed. These problems have been mentioned and

discussed in the previous chapter. It is pertinent in this to revisit these findings in the first

part of this chapter and contrive possible solutions to them in the second.

5.3 Main Findings

The research has brought to light those impediments to the effective teaching of English

reading and comprehension at CHRIKPONG PRIMARY SCHOOL Two for the purpose

of this discussion, the problems have been conveniently categorized as problems of

pupils and those of teachers.

5.4 Pupils’ Problem

Problems that CHRIKPONG PRIMARY SCHOOL two pupils face with regards to

learning to read and comprehend are quite a number but these outstanding ones have been

summarized.

1. Lack of reading practice at home: As the saying goes, ‘Practice makes perfection’.

Pupils need to constantly practice how to read and not only read but understand what

they had read.

34
2. Insufficient reading and supplementary textbook for pupils to read at home. To most

pupils the class textbook is above their comprehension. Since they do not understand

it they do not enjoy reading it. The reading textbooks are also not enough for the

class.

3. Most of the parents cannot afford to buy books for their wards when they find it

extremely difficult even to pay for exercise books supplied to their wards.

5.5 Problems of Teachers

Teachers also face many problems in their lesson delivery as was realized by the

researcher. Most teachers assume that just because pupils can read some given text, they

could also comprehend effectively. Teachers should therefore be made more aware of the

appropriate and correct procedure for English comprehension lesson delivery.

There is also the problem of lack of teaching aids. There is a Chinese adage that, “What I

hear I forget, what I see I remember, what I do I understand”. Children can learn better

when they use most of the senses. The senses of touch, taste, hear, smell and sight must

be engaged in every lesson to ensure maximum understanding. This can only be done by

the use of essential teaching and learning aid like pictures, photos, magazines, tapes,

cards, wall charts, toys and many others as mentioned previously to help facilitate better

understanding.

Using the simple random sampling technique, pupils of CHRIKPONG PRIMARY

SCHOOL two class were selected for the study. Twenty pupils were however selected

which comprised ten girls and ten boys. Data was collected through interview and test

administration was carried out.

35
5.6 Conclusion / Recommendations

It is now time to conclude the study with recommendations and suggestions of the

findings mentioned above. The recommendations and suggestions are meant to enable

teachers to help their pupils to improve upon their English reading comprehension skills.

Reading a text without comprehending is a waste of time, energy and above all

frustrating to the reader. Pupils need to be exposed to a variety of strategies to help them

overcome reading comprehension difficulties. Failure to expose them to these strategies

may likely result in their dislike for reading. It is in this light that the researcher has

offered the following recommendations aimed at improving the reading comprehension

skills of CHRIKPONG PRIMARY SCHOOL two pupils. Teachers should devote more

time developing reading comprehension skills specifically at the pre-reading stage so that

children can be independent readers and take charge of their own learning.

Teachers should be made more aware of the appropriate and correct procedure for

English comprehension lesson delivery. Hence there is the need to attach great

importance to the specific teaching and learning of this very important skill.

The result is that English is introduced to our pupils in their formative years by teachers

who are least qualified to do it. The teachers themselves have difficulty with the language

they are teaching and they also assume that just because pupils can read some given texts

they could also comprehend effectively. Even the few who have gained some knowledge

of English above secondary level lack the skills of how to introduce language. They do it

so badly that pupils lose interest in the subject. It is not surprising therefore to meet

pupils enormously remarking that English cannot be taught nor learnt if you know it.

36
There is the question of methods of teaching English comprehension as a second

language and the skills to employ the methods which these teachers lack. Even in well-

endowed schools where the school is staffed with trained teachers not all of them are

abreast with modern methods of teaching reading comprehension.

It is hereby recommended strongly that only trained and competent teachers should

handle this subject. This will ensure that the pupils grasp the rudiments of the language in

these formative years through competent teachers.

Since there are not enough teachers, all untrained teachers must be made to undergo some

form of in-service training (for a month or two) at a Teachers’ Resource Centre before

they assume duty.

It is even necessary for trained teachers to attend refresher courses at least once a year to

update their skills.

Again, trainee teachers in training colleges should be exposed to modern methods of

helping pupils study expository texts.

Finally, this and other effective research reports should be made available to schools in

which the research was carried out. The availability of the reports to the teachers of the

school, in which the research was conducted, would help them to read and use the

methods in order to improve their teaching methods as far as English reading

comprehension is concerned

37
REFERENCE

Alderson, J.C. and Urquhart, A.H. (2002), Reading in a language Longman London:
New York

Blege, Walter (1991), English is a foreign language in Ghana – A Rejoinder Ghana

Journal of Education Vol.2 No. 4 (1971) pg. 28

Bos & Vaughn, 1994; Garner & Reis, 1981; Swanson & De La Paz, 1998
Bright, J.A. and McGregor, G.P. (1973), Teaching english as a second language
Longman Group Limited, London

Christophersen, P. (1969), An english phonetics course.Longman Group Limited,

London.
38
Crabtree, Alber-Morgan, and Konrad, 2010; Taylor, Alber, & Walker, 2002)

Crowe, 2005; Klingner &Vaughn, 2000;), story-mapping (Grünke,

Cross, D. (1991), Practical handbook of language teaching. Cassel Publishers Ltd

Doff, A. (1991), Teach english trainer’s handbook. Cambridge University Press.

Graves, B.B. and Graves, M.F. (2004), Scaffold Reading April (1995:29) UKRA 1955
Blackwell Publishers, 108 Cowley. Road, Oxford

Grillete, Francoise (1992), Developing road skills a practical guide to reading

comprehension exercise. Cambridge University Press.

Hafner, L.E. (1974), Improving reading in secondary schools. Macmillan Publishing

Company, New York.

Mastropieri & Scruggs, 1997; National Reading Panel, 2000; RAND Reading Study
Group, 2002; Taylor, Alber, & Walker, 2002).
Moyle, D. (1968:23), The teaching of reading. Ebenezer and Sons, London

Moyo, J.G. (1970), Beginning to learn. A handbook of infant teaching Longman Group
Limited.

Nasr, R.T. (2009), Teaching and learning english. Beinut College for Omen, Beinut
London.

Parrot, E. (2003:12), Effective teaching a practical guide to improving your teaching.

Longman Group Limited

Yemeh, P.K. (2008), Technique of teaching language skills Unpublished U.C.E.W

Grünke, Wilbert, & Stegemann, 2013; Swanson & De La Paz,1998; Taylor, Alber, &
Walker, 2002).
Gajria, Jitendra, Sood, & Sacks, 2007; Swanson & De La Paz, 1998)

39
DiCecco and Gleason, 2002; Kim, Vaughn, Wanzek and Wei, 2004), cooperative

learning Wilbert, & Stegemann, 2013; Johnson, Graham, & Harris, 1997), self-

questioning

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A

Interview Guide For Pupils

1. Do you work before going / coming to school? Yes No

2. Do you eat before coming to school? Yes No

40
3. Do you like English Reading? Yes No

4. Do you go to bed early? Yes No

5. Do you learn before going to bed? Yes No

6. Do you have reading textbooks at home? Yes No

APPENDIX B

Mr. Anim

Once upon a time there lived a hunter in a small village call Susa in the southern part of

the western region and he had a wife called Aishatou. One day Mr. Anim went for

hunting in the forest unfortunately he lost his way home so he decided to keep praying

41
and on the third day rabbit rat and grasscutter came to him and offered to show him the

way home a hunter thanked them and gave them groundnut for their kindness.

APPENDIX C

Pre-test and Post-test Questions

1. What’s Mr. Anim’s occupation?

2. How many days did he stay in the forest?

3. Mention three (3) animals he met in the forest?

42
4. Why did Mr. Anim give the animals groundnut?

5. In your own words give another title to the passage

43