UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST

INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION

IMPROVING UPON THE READING SKILLS OF BASIC EIGTHT PUPILS AT KAJANYA

JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL USING SENTENCE CARDS

AWUKU SENYO

ADA COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

ADA-FOAH
2008
 UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST

INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION

IMPROVING UPON THE READING SKILLS OF BASIC EIGTHT PUPILS AT KAJANYA

JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL USING SENTENCE CARDS

BY

AWUKU SENYO

OF

ADA COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

ADA-FOAH

A PROJECT WORK SUBMITTED

TO THE INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION

OF THE FACULTY OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST

IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT

FOR THE AWARD OF DIPLOMA

IN BASIC EDUCATION

JULY, 2008
 DECLARATION

CANDIDATE’S DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this project work is the result of my own original research and that

no part of it has been presented for award of another degree in this university or elsewhere.

Candidates Name: SENYO AWUKU

Signature ………………………………

Date: …………………………………..

SUPERVISOR’S DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the presentation of this project work was supervised in accordance

with the guidelines on supervision of project work laid down by the university of Cape Coast.

Supervisor’s Name: MR. ROGERS ASEMPASAH

Signature…………………………………………....

Date………………………………………………
 ABSTRACT

The generally ineffective way of teaching reading in basic(8) eight at Kajanya Junior

High School in the Dangme East District has resulted in the poor performance of pupils in

reading and English Language as whole and other subjects as well. The researcher during his

teaching practice, therefore, investigated or researched into the causes of the poor reading skills

of pupils and hence came out with a more and interesting approach in teaching the skill with

the introduction or use of T.L.M (i.e. the new approach involved the use of T.L.M). The

stratified sampling procedure was used to select the sample size of ten (10) pupils from the total

population of thirty seven (37) to conduct the research. The research employed some research

instruments such as interview and observation so as to help him gather valid and relevant

information. The researcher also found out and concluded that, using T.L.M and the right

method in teaching helps in attaining required goals and objectives of lessons.

i
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I sincerely wish to thank God Almighty who game me the strength and health to carry

out this project work. May his name be praised now and forevermore.

I further wish to sincerely acknowledge my parents, Mr. Gabriel Agbolosu and Madam

Cecilia Nora Akah and all my siblings for their tremendous efforts, love and support in

educating me up to this level of my education. To them I say a big thank you and may the

almighty God richly reward and bless your efforts.

This work will be incomplete without acknowledging the tireless efforts of my

hardworking and devoted supervisor, Mr. Rogers Asempasah who spent sleepless nights

reading through the work and giving me all the necessary assistance and for effecting all the

necessary corrections in the final work. To him I say a big thank you.

I also wish to thank Miss Dora Mansah Atsem for helping in typing this project work.

Indeed, you deserve my thanks. I again wish to extend my sincere thanks to Justice Nego (a.k.a.

JANK) for his help in making this work a success.

I again want to thank all my friends especially Cyril and Shine for all their supports and

also to Mr. Bernard Addo for helping me designing the Teaching and Learning material.

I also wish to thank Mr. Samuel D. Amoah for editing and printing this work.

ii
 DEDICATION

This piece of work is dedicated to God almighty, my lovely parents, Mr. Gabriel D.

Agbolosu and Madam Cecilia Nora Akah and all my siblings; Peace, Eunice, Linda and Dennis

and to all my friends especially Shine.

iii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

ABSTRACT i

AKNOWLEDGEMENT ii

DEDICATION iii

LIST OF TABLES iv

CHAPTER

1. INTRODUCTION 1

Background to the Study 1

Statement of the Problem 3

Purpose of the Study 3

Research Questions 3

Significance of the Study 4

Limitation 4

Delimitation 4

Organization of the Study 4

2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 6

3. METHODOLOGY 13

Research Design 13

Sample Population 13

iv
 Sample Size 13

Sampling Procedure 13

Research Instruments 15

Pre-intervention 17

Intervention 18

Post-intervention 20

4. DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS 21

5. SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 26

REFERENCES 29

APPENDIX 31

v
 LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1 Causes of pupils low reading skills

Table 1.2 The use of teaching and learning material to help the teacher solve problem

Table 1.3 Appropriate method to be used in teaching reading

vi
 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

This serves as the beginning of the whole study. It contains the background of the study,

the statement of the problem, purpose of the study, research questions, significance of the

study, limitations and delimitations as well as the organization of the study.

Background to the Study

English language is the official language in Ghana and beyond. It is the official

language of national administration, the media, of law and commerce.

English language is used as the medium of instruction in the Ghanaian educational

setting of which Kajanya Junior High School is no exception. That is from the very

foundational level to the highest level of education (University), English is used. The role

English language plays in the Ghanaian environment and beyond cannot be under-estimated.

Many children the world over who do not get good foundation in the English language

grow up to face many challenges as far as the study and use of English language is concerned

since English has become the international medium of communication. English language has

therefore become the ‘saviour’ of many as far as communication is concerned.

For one to have effective communication, he ought to be able to speak, read, write and

listen to and understand what is said when communicating in the English language.

Many people and governments across the globe including Ghana are making frantic

efforts to make the study of English language their priority with the sole aim of breaking some

barriers of communication in English language. It is for this reason that the study of English

1
language is made compulsory in the basic and secondary schools in Ghana. That is English is a

core subject which every student must take.

The basic schools in Ghana play very significant roles as far as developing skills in

English language (speaking, listening, writing and reading) are concerned. English language is

thus a pre-requisite for any Ghanaian who wants to enter into the secondary school or any

tertiary institution.

Kajanya, a town in the Dangme East District where the researcher undertook his

teaching practice, has a population of about two thousand. The school has a population of one

hundred and twenty five (125) with sixty (60) boys and sixty-five (65) girls. The main

occupation of the citizens of Kajanya is farming with little petty-trading since the main market

centre is near the town.

Out of the total population of the people, just about seven hundred are educated and the

remaining not educated. This means that the illiteracy level in the community is high since the

people mainly use their local dialect, Dangme, as their main medium of communication. This

means that English language is rarely used in the community. This has brought about the

problem of the inability of basic eight pupils of Kajanya Junior High School to read simple

sentences meaningfully. Improving the reading skills of basic eight pupils of Kajanya Junior

High School therefore becomes the primary focus and concern of the researcher.

Statement of the Problem

In a reading lesson in Kajanya Junior High Basic Eight, the researcher observed that the

pupils could not read simple sentences and passages to make meaning out of them.

2
 Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study was to identify the cause(s) of pupils in Kajanya Junior High

School basic eight inabilities to read in English language meaningfully.

It was also to design and make a suitable teaching and learning material to help pupils

and teachers solve this problem.

Again, it was to bring out an appropriate method that can be used to help teachers to

teach reading for pupils to understand.

Research Questions

 What is/are the causes of the low reading level of Kajanya Junior High basic eight

(8) pupils?

 What teaching and learning materials could be used to solve the problem?

 What method of teaching can the teacher use more effectively to solve this

problem?

Significance of the Study

The study or research aims at improving the reading skills of pupils of Kajanya Junior

High School basic eight. It also aims at improving the teaching and learning of reading in

Kajanya Junior High School, basic eight. The research will also aid both teachers and pupils to

use the right approaches in the teaching and learning of reading. Again, the study will serve as

a guide to other pupils who may encounter the same problem.

3
 Limitations

The researcher realized that since the citizens are predominantly farmers and petty-

traders, pupils usually accompanied their parents to the farm and market respectively. The

market days are Tuesdays and Fridays and English language is usually taught on these days.

Therefore, many of the pupils may be absent on these days.

Another limitation to this study was that pupils fear to read in class with the reason that

they will be laughed at when they make mistakes.

Delimitation

The researcher conducted the research on only Kajanya Junior High School, basic eight

pupils and solely worked with pupils in this class. Again, the research focused only on

improving pupils’ reading and not any other skill. Again, the researcher focused primarily on

the experimental group.

Organization of the Study

This section of the study takes a look at how the entire study or research has been

arranged from the beginning to the end.

Chapter one of the studies took a look at the introduction of the study. It also looked at

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

questions, limitations and delimitations, significance of the study as well as the organization of

the study.

The second chapter captured the literature review which highlights the work of other

people whose work have a direct bearing on this research or study.

4
 The chapter three looked at the methodology employed by the researcher in carrying out

the study. It involves the research design, population sample, sampling procedure, research

instruments, interventions (i.e. pre-intervention, intervention and post intervention) and the

method of data collection as sub-headings.

The fourth chapter looked at the data presentation, analysis of results and findings.

The very last and final chapter which is chapter five of this study focused on the summary,

conclusion and recommendations of the study.

5
 CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter discusses the views of other authors or researchers on reading. These

researchers discussed what reading is, circumstances surrounding weaknesses as well as ways

of enjoying reading.

Definitions of reading

Terry D. Johnson (1973) in his book Reading: Teaching and Learning defined reading at

its lowest mechanical level as the interpretation of printed or written symbols into speech or its

mental equivalent. He said that teaching reading involves the consideration of the nature of the

child, the goals to be attained and finally the methods and materials required to attain those

goals. He also talked about a second and a third conceptual level of reading. He said a second

conceptual level of reading incorporates the idea of literal meaning. He said the reader must not

only be able to read aloud the words on the page if called on to do so, but be able, if necessary,

to react to them in the same way as if they had been spoken to him. A third conceptual level of

reading according to him involves an active, out-going attitude on the part of the reader.

Simone Greenal and Michael Swan (1986), Effective Reading Skills for Advanced

Students define reading as the ability to read accurately and efficiently and to understand as

much of the passage as you need in order to achieve your purpose.

Richard C Anderson (1985) said in his book that “reading is a process in which

information from the text and the knowledge possessed by the reader act together to produce

meaning”.

6
 Theodore L. Harris and Richard E Hodges (1995), said reading is a sampling, selective,

predicting comparing and confirming activity in which the reader selects a sample of useful

graphic cues based on what he sees and what he expects to see.

Lawrence E Hafner and Hayden B Jolly (1982), They said reading is a process of

looking at written language symbols, converting them into overt or covert speech symbols and

then manipulating them so that both the direct(overt) and implied(covert) ideas intended by the

author may be understood.

Robert Karlin teaching elementary reading (1980), in his book said reading is thinking

and reconstructing the ideas of others.

Miles A tinker and Constance M McCullough, (1975), they said reading involves the

identification and recognition of printed or written symbols which serve as stimuli for the recall

of meaning built up through past experiences, and further the construction of new meanings

through the reader’s manipulation of relevant concept already in his possession. The resulting

meanings are organized into processes according to the purposes that are operating in the

readers.

According to Leonard Bloomfield and Clarenace Barnhert (1872), reading involves

nothing more than correlation of a sound image with its corresponding visual image that is the

spelling.

Henry P. Smith and Emerald V. Dechant (1961), they said reading typically is the

bringing of meaning from the printed page.

Paul C. Burns, Betty D. Roe and Elinor P. Ross (1999), in their book Teaching Reading

in Today’s Elementary Schools said that reading is composed of two parts; the reading process

and the reading product. According to them, nine (9) aspects of reading namely sensory,

7
perceptual, sequential, experimental, thinking, learning, association, affective, constructive,

combine to produce the reading product. They said when these aspects blend and interact

harmoniously, good communication between the writer and the reader results but the sequences

involved in the reading process are not always performed in the same way by different readers.

That is to say that individual readers use various sequences of the nine aspects in their reading.

To them again, the product of reading is communication of thoughts and emotions by the writer

to the reader. Communication according to them results from the reader’s construction of

meaning through integrating his or her prior knowledge with the information presented in the

text.

Rosenblatt (1994), believes that every reading act is an event or a transaction involving

a particular reader and a text and occurring at a particular time in a particular context.

Beach and Hynds (1991) believe that reading must be viewed as constructing and

evolving experience instead of a static meaning. The reader’s stances, beliefs and attitudes

affect responses as does the context.

Environmental factors that can influence reading

In preparation for children’s formal education, Mrs. Hughes Felicity (1971), emphasizes

the fact that mothers must provide a conducive environment to help their children know about

reading. In this case the problems of reading may be minimized or reduced before they are

given formal education.

Emilia Ferreiro and Ana Taberosky (1979), in their book Literacy Before School took a

close look at reading from a pedagogical perspective. They realized that the problem of

8
learning to read is the result of methods. Various educators have been oriented to finding for

the benefit of our Ghanaian schools.

In consideration of the child’s intellectual and linguistic maturation, Alber J. Harris

(1962) spoke about the child’s family and neighborhood as strong factors of reading. He said

the child’s background must contribute to the child’s reading development in order to explore

the three domains of reading- developmental, functional and recreational.

Suggested Ways Teachers Can Improve Reading Abilities of Pupils

Robert J Tierney and John E Riddance (1985), Reading Strategies and Practices believe

that using the look and say method can help solve the reading problem of children

Mc Gee (1992), points out that readers employ knowledge gained through past

experiences to help them select interpretations visualize the message make connections

between the new information and what they know and relate affectively to the material.

Geoffrey Roberts (1994), said in his book Learning to Teach Reading pointed out that

phonemic awareness in children should not be taken for granted. He said it is a necessary

element in learning to read and it must first be fostered or mastered and sufficiently

demonstrated by teachers with instruction continuing until a sufficiently advanced ability in

word recognition has been achieved for teachers to rely upon to formulate the word attack

strategies unaided. He further said that teachers have to take every opportunity to sound out

words to draw comparisons with words of similar structure and to encourage children to do like

wise.

According to Rudolf Flesch (1955), in his book Why Johnny can’t read and what you

can do about it, one reason why children cannot read is that teachers have abandoned the

9
alphabetic code and rather begin to teach children to guess and memorize the meanings of the

tens of thousands of words they would see in print.

Francoise Grellet (1981), said in his book Developing Reading Skills said that the

teacher also plays an active role in enhancing students’ reading abilities. He said the teacher has

to make the atmosphere conducive for reading to take place. He also has to use the right

method because a particular method cannot suit all the pupils.

He further said that the teacher must follow the following steps; consider the text as a

whole, skim through it, ask a number of questions and read the text again. From his point of

view, this will enable the reader to get a deeper meaning and understanding of the text.

Hall (1987), said the ability to read and write will emerge when conditions are right.

Gestwicki (1995), he said knowledge of developmental stages indicates which practices are

appropriate for beginning readers’ illustrating a field trip and enjoying picture books and

practices such as isolated skill development and work sheets are inappropriate.

According to Hafner and Jolly, (1982), knowledge of letter names is important for

talking about similarities and differences among printed words, but knowledge of letter sounds

is more useful in decoding words.

James A. Smith (1975), in his book Creative Teaching of Reading believes that reading

has a place in the development of language skills. Therefore the methodological principles of

reading need to be translated to creative development of children. He also spoke about how

reading problems are dominant in our Ghanaian schools. To him it is the pseudoscientific focus

on reading which has made teaching of reading a dull communicative process.

10
 Leila Berg (1977), in Reading and Loving talked about the acquisition of reading skills.

She said reading skills is not primarily an academic or technical, but it rather grows from a

warm, physical and emotional base of shared enjoyment with another human being.

Vera Southgate (1983), in Planning for Reading Success suggested ways teachers can

improve their teaching techniques; some of the ways are the use of methods like the look and

say method, the phonic method, the alphabetic method etc.

From the economical point of view, Routledge (1990), The New Literacy considers

reading as a basic life skill. He spoke about lost of job opportunities for personal fulfillment, if

proper reading skills are not acquired.

According to Wendy Ijioma (1981), Teaching English in the Primary School teaching

children to read is not easy. She said the ideal way to teach reading is individually, but this very

time-consuming. Only a really conscientious teacher will manage to do it. She also talked about

some methods of teaching reading such as the alphabet method, look and say method, sentence

method and the phonic method.

Summary of Review

This chapter has been discussing what other authors or researchers think of reading. From

the review, it can be seen that teachers play very vital roles in enhancing students’ reading

ability. Some again believe that there is the need for appropriate methods to be adopted in

teaching pupils/students reading since not all methods favour all students. Again the teaching of

the skill or concept involves well planned steps which need to be followed in order to achieve

desired educational goals and objectives.

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 Nonetheless, much has not been said about the use of sentence cards in teaching reading.

It is in view of this that the researcher decided to adopt or use this method in teaching reading.

12
 CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

This chapter of the research discusses the methodology employed in carrying out the

research work. That is it deals with the explanation of how the study was done. The chapter is

presented under the following sub-units; research design, sample population, sample size,

sampling procedures, research instrument and the interventions involved (i.e. pre-intervention,

intervention and post intervention). The chapter again took a look at how data was collected or

obtained for the study.

Research Design

The research design used by the researcher for the study was the action research.

Action research is the type of research in which researchers attempt to study specific problems

in order to guide, correct and evaluate their decisions and actions. It involves a small scale

intervention that concerns itself with diagnosing problems and attempting to solve it in a

specific context.

Action research again deals with problems located or identified in an immediate

environment such as the classroom setting where results and findings are immediately applied

using a small sample size. Action research is carried out solely on those who are directly

concerned with the identified problem with the aim of bringing or effecting a positive change in

them. This research entails or involves a well structured or planned procedure.

The Action research has the following advantages;

 Action research is conducted on issues of current concern.

 Action research uses interventions to solve identified problems.

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Action research, not withstanding the above advantages, has the following weaknesses or

disadvantages;

 In Action research, information is not readily available.

 It is a tedious and tiresome process and it is also time consuming.

Sample Population

The sample population for this study was Kajanya Junior High School basic eight (8)

pupils in the Dangme East District. The population of the class at the time of this study was

thirty seven (37) pupils comprising twenty one (21) males and sixteen (16) females.

Sample Size

Out of the thirty seven (37) pupils, a sample size of ten (10) pupils was selected by the

researcher to represent the whole class in carrying out the research with the remaining twenty

seven (27) pupils serving as the control group.

Sampling Procedure

The researcher in selecting his sample size wrote YES on ten (10) pieces of paper and

NO on twenty seven (27) other pieces of paper and called pupils to pick one after the other

without looking into the container according to their sitting positions. The ten (10) pupils that

picked the YES were selected or chosen as the sample size. This method or procedure was used

to prevent any biases on the part of the researcher. This is the simple random sampling

procedure or method.

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 Research Instrument

For a successful research work, the researcher decided to use observation and oral

interview as his research instruments.

Observation;

This involves the use of vision as a means of collecting data. By this technique the

researcher can be part of the group he/she is studying. This affords him or her opportunity to

have a good insight into the problem at stake. He/she on the other hand can decide not to be

part of the group under study. Observation thus can be directly or indirectly.

In using this technique to collect data on pupils’ inability to read meaningfully, the

researcher gave a passage to pupils to read. He also asked pupils to read simple sentences

written on the chalkboard. He again asked pupils to pronounce certain words written on the

chalkboard. He thereafter observed pupils’ problem areas and difficulties. The following are

some of the difficulties that the researcher identified.

 Inability of pupils to translate written signs (words) into sounds.

 Poor pronunciation of words

 Backward readers

 Word recognition problems.

The researcher used this technique because by this, he was part of the group he studied and

therefore had full insight into the structure of the group and thus obtained vital information that

may not have been readily accessible using other methods such as test.

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Interview;

An interview refers to a dialogue between two people, an interviewer (in which case the

researcher) and an interviewee (in which case the pupils), on a one – on – one basis. It is an oral

form of a face – to – face interaction between the interviewer and the interviewee. The

interview could be conducted on a group of people or a person who could provide vital

information with regard to a specific issue or subject matter. The interview was conducted in

order to obtain vital information on pupils’ inability to read meaningfully.

The researcher conducted interviews with his mentor and other teachers by asking them

questions relating to pupils’ reading skills. Some of the questions the researcher asked were

as follows.

 Have you realized that most of the pupils in your class have reading problems?

 What specific reading problems do they have?

 What techniques or strategies have you adopted to address the problems?

Finally, the researcher conducted an interview with his target group or the experimental

group by asking them questions relating to their poor reading ability. Some of the questions

asked were;

 Are you aware you have reading problems?

 What accounts for your poor reading skills?

What attempts have you made in overcoming your reading problems?

At the end of the observation and oral interview, the researcher identified the following as some

causes of the problem under study.

 Poor method of teaching the reading skill.

 Lack of appropriate teaching and learning materials.

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 Pupils’ inability to speak good English.

 Pupils’ low interest in reading.

Intervention Procedures

With the above causes identified, the researcher undertook a set of strategies planned to

be implemented with the sole aim of addressing the identified problem. It involved a step – by

– step procedure which was constantly monitored over varying periods of time. The process

involved pre-intervention, intervention and post intervention.

Pre-intervention

This is the procedure that the researcher adopted in trying to find out or diagnose the

identified problem with the primary aim of addressing it.

The researcher used observation and interview to diagnose the problem which

suggested an intervention to the problem.

For instance, during a reading lesson, the researcher sat in the classroom and observed

how pupils read. The researcher observed that pupils had problems or difficulties with the

pronunciation of certain words in the passage. He also observed that pupils had difficulties in

linking words and sentences in the passage meaningfully. He again observed the teaching

method employed by the teacher in the lesson delivery taking into consideration the

introduction and use of teaching and learning materials in the lesson.

The passage below was given to pupils to read during the lesson.

It is extremely important to read the wording of examination questions very carefully;

and obviously, you must do this before you begin answering the questions. For example, in the

17
BECE English Language examination, Part I, Section B, the instruction is to find the word

among the alternatives which is ‘nearest in meaning’ to the word underlined in the sentenced

concerned. In Section D, it is to find the word which is ‘most nearly opposite in meaning to the

word underlined. Some candidates might think that the instructions are the same because of the

similarity of the words ‘nearest’ and ‘nearly’.

Intervention

The researcher used series of activities to help solve the identified problem to help

pupils master reading simple sentences and passages more meaningfully. After carefully

studying and understanding the pupils’ problems, the researcher used word/flash cards and

sentence cards as teaching and learning materials to teach the concept reading. It was hoped

that the teaching and learning materials would involve pupils and sustain their interest in the

lesson.

To use the teaching and learning material to teach the lesson for the achievement of the

set goals, the researcher flashed the words on the cards (flash/word) to the pupils to practice the

correct pronunciation of the words and also explained to the pupils the meaning of the words.

Word or flash cards

Extremely Obviously Alternative

Candidates Wordings Section

The researcher thereafter read through the passage for pupils to hear. He further asked

pupils to read the passage on their own according to the way he read. He again asked pupils to

18
arrange the passage which he has written on sentence cards in the sequence in which it was

read.

Sentence cards

It is extremely important to read the wording of examination questions carefully;

and, obviously, you must do this before you begin answering, the questions

For example, in the BECE English Language examination, Part I, Section B

the instruction is to find the word among the alternatives which is

‘nearest in meaning’ to the word underlined in the sentence concerned.

In section D it is to find the word which is’ most nearly opposite in meaning

to the word underlined’.

Some candidates might think that the instructions are the same

because of the similarity of the words ‘nearest’ and ‘nearly’.

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The researcher specifically allotted extra time i.e. after normal classes trice a week to handle

the target group due to the nature of their problem. The period for the intervention was five (5)

weeks.

Post - intervention

After pupils had been taken through lessons and activities over a period of four (4)

weeks, the researcher used oral assessment and observation to find out the level of pupils

attainment and improvement. A similar passage of same difficulty level in terms of wording

was given to pupils to read. Pre-intervention and post-intervention results were thereafter

compared. It was realized that the target group read the passage more meaningfully and with

understanding and even better than some of the sample population.

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 CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

This chapter outlines and discusses the results and findings of the study. It deals with

the description of data obtained, the instruments used, in which case observation and interview

and how data is presented graphically and analyzed. The instruments above were used to obtain

information from ten (10) pupils and six (6) teachers. The statistical tools used were frequency

alongside percentage as well as the bar graph.

Research Questions

 What is/are the main cause(s) of the low reading level of Kajanya Junior High basic eight

pupils?

 What teaching and learning materials will be needed to solve the problem?

 What method of teaching can the teacher use more effectively to solve this problem?

Table 1.1- Causes of pupils low reading level

Responses Frequency Percentage (%)

Pupils don’t pay attention in

class during lesson 1 10

The method used in teaching 4 40

Weak foundation of pupils in

English 2 20

Pupils interest in reading 3 30

Total 10 100

21
 40

30

20

10

From table 1.1 with the title Causes of pupils’ low reading level, one (1) pupil

representing 10% of the class responded that some pupils do not pay attention in class during

lessons and due to this they are unable to listen to words as pronounced by the teacher in

passages.

Also, four (4) representing 40% of the pupils responded that the methods used by some

teachers in teaching them reading make them unable to read properly and meaningfully. Again

two (2) pupils representing 20% of the pupils responded that their week foundation in the

English Language was the cause of their inability to read meaningfully. Lastly, three (3)

representing 30% of the pupils were of the view that their problem was due to their low interest

in reading that resulted in their inability to read meaningfully.

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Table 1.2:- The use of teaching and learning material to help the teacher solve the problem.

Responses Frequency Percentage (%)

Use of T.L.Ms 4 66.7

No use of T.L.Ms 2 33.3

Total 6 100

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

From table 1.2, with the title The use of teaching and learning material to help the

teacher solve the problem, four (4) teachers representing 66.7% of teachers in the school

responded that there was the need for the use of teaching and learning materials and that they

used teaching and learning materials in their lesson delivery.

However, two (2) teachers representing 33.3% responded that they did not use teaching

and learning materials in their lesson delivery.

23
Table 1.3:- Appropriate method to be used in teaching reading.

Responses Frequency Percentage (%)

Discussion method 2 33.3

Activity method 3 50

Lecture method 1 16.7

Total 6 100

50

40

30

20

10

From table 1.3, with the title, Appropriate method to be used in teaching reading, two

(2) teachers representing 33.3% responded that the discussion method was the appropriate

method to be used in teaching the skill of reading. Also three (3) teachers representing 50%

were of the view that the activity method was the most appropriate and effective method of

teaching the skill. One (1) representing 16.7% however, was of the view that the lecture method

was equally an appropriate method.

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 Discussion of key findings

It was found out that most teachers did not see the need to use teaching and learning

materials in their lesson delivery. The use of teaching and learning material plays a very

dynamic role in understanding certain concepts. It saves the teacher from too much talking.

Some teachers also feel that the teaching and learning of reading is an easy task and therefore

does not involve the use of teaching and learning material.

Again, it was found out that some teachers handling English language did not consider

their choice of methods in handling various aspects of the English language such as reading.

The right choice of method, however, enables the teacher to deliver his lessons consistently.

Again, it is as a result of some teachers not adopting the right approaches, and failure to

use teaching and learning materials that made some pupils to develop low interest in reading

and for that matter English Language.

It is an undeniable fact that a solid or strong foundation enables a building to stand firm.

A weak foundation of course will definitely cause a building to collapse. The poor or weak

foundation pupils received from the previous classes or levels made their current stand in

English Language shaky.

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 CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

This is the last of the five of the chapter action research. The chapter deals with

summary, conclusion and recommendations.

Summary

The causes of pupils inability to read meaningfully as found by the researcher were due

to the non use of teaching and learning materials, poor methods of teaching, pupils’ own

attitudes and interests as well as their poor background in the English Language. Most methods

used in teaching pupils English reading did not help pupils in learning and knowing how to

read meaningfully. It was view of this that the researcher used the activity method in teaching

the skill. Pupils’ inability to read meaningfully comes with a wide range of negative results

such as pupils’ inability to perform well in other subject areas since they are unable to derive

meaning from what they read.

The choice of teaching methods has to be seriously considered when one wants to

achieve very good results at the end of a lesson.

Teaching and learning of reading as a skill poses various challenges to teachers and

pupils. Some teachers feel the skill is such an easy one to teach and therefore does not require

the use of teaching and learning materials. Some teachers therefore end up not using them,

hence the difficulty in grasping the concept or skill.

It is against this background that the researcher developed the word/flash as well as

sentence cards as a teaching and learning material to be used in teaching the skills.

26
 Conclusion

In conclusion, pupils’ reading problems came about as a result of many factors such as

pupils’ poor background, teacher’s poor methods of teaching, pupils’ own interest and attitudes

and the lack of teaching and learning materials. The researcher has therefore made some

suggestions in addressing the problem. These include consideration of teaching method and

appropriate materials. It is the hope of the researcher that the above suggestions would be taken

seriously by teachers of the subject in order to bring about improvement in their teaching and in

the academic fulfillment of their pupils.

Recommendations

The researcher recommends the following measures for greater improvement in basic

schools.

 Teaching and learning materials produced by teacher trainees should be made available to

schools whenever they are needed.

 Classroom teachers should explore the local environment to get simple materials suitable

for the construction of their teaching and learning materials.

 Also, school or circuit supervisors should pay regular visits to the schools under their

supervision to keep headteachers, teachers and pupils up and doing.

 There should also be more and regular in-service training and workshops for teachers on

improved lesson delivery and construction of teaching and learning materials.

 Schools as well as teachers should be provided with the needed logistics for better

performance.

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 Modification for future Improvement

The researcher, a teacher trainee, undertook this research work within a period of six

months combining it with other activities such as teaching. As a result, much time and attention

was not given to the work as he would have wished and desired. In the process, he might have

also committed some mistakes in the research work.

The researcher is therefore suggesting the following modification for anyone who

would want to embark upon a similar work.

 That, the sentence holders should be made with wood (plywood).

 That, much time and attention should be devoted to the work.

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 REFERENCES

Campbell R. (1990). Reading Together, Philadelphia, University Press Milton Keyness

Ferreiro E. and Teberosky A. (1979). Literacy Before School, Heinemann Educational

Books Ltd. London.

Goeffrey Roberts. (1994). Learning to Teach Reading. Simon and Schuster Education Ltd.

London.

Harins J.A. (1962).Effective Teaching Of Reading, David Makay Company Inc.

New York.

Hughes F. Bay. (1971).Reading Before School, Ebenezer Baylis and Sons Ltd.

London.

Leila B. (1977). Reading and Loving, Routledge and Kegan Paul Limited. London.

Oliver and Boyd. (1986). Reading in Today’s School’s, Longman Group Limited.

Edinburgh.

Paul C. Burns, Betty D. Rose and Elinor P. Ross (1999). Teaching reading in Today’s

Elementary Schools, Macmillan Publishers, London.

Robert J. Tierney and John E. Readance.(1985). Reading Strategies and Practices.

A Pearson Education Company, U.S.A

Routledge Chapman (1990). The New Literacy. Routledge Chapman and Hall Inc.

New York.

Rudolf Flesh. (1955), Why Johnny can’t Read and what you can do about it, Harper and

Row Publishers Inc. New York.

Simon Greenal and Michael Swon. (1986). Effective Reading Skills for Advance Students.

Cambridge University Press, New York.

29
Smith J.A. (1975).Creative Teaching of Reading, Allyn and Bacan Inc. London and Sydney.

Southsgate V (1983). Planning for Reading success, Macmillan educational Ltd. London.

Southgate V e’tal.(1981). Extending Beginning Reading. L Heinemann Educational Books

Ltd. London.

Terry D Johnson. (1973). Reading Teaching and Learning. Macmillan Education Limited.

London.

Trancoise Grellet. (1981), Developing Reading Skills, Cambridge University Press.

New York.

Wendy Ijioma (1981), Teaching English in the Primary School, Macmillan Publishers,

London.

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 APPENDIX

Appendix A

Sample of pre-intervention text

It is extremely important to read the wording of examination questions very carefully; and

obviously, you must do this before you begin answering the questions. For example, in the

BECE English Language examination, Part I, Section B, the instruction is to find the word

among the alternatives which is ‘nearest in meaning’ to the word underlined in the sentence

concerned. In Section D, it is to find the word which is ‘most nearly opposite in meaning’ to the

word underlined. Some candidates might think that the instructions are the same because of the

similarity of the words ‘nearest’ and ‘nearly’.

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 Appendix B

Sample of post-intervention text

In Section E, of the BECE examination, the instruction is to choose from the alternatives the

one that ‘most suitably completes’ the sentence. This means looking at and thinking about the

whole sentence. For example, if the choice is between ‘go’ and ‘went’ to complete the sentence

‘Yesterday I……to Accra’, ‘went’ would be chosen because of the presence of ‘Yesterday’ in

the sentence.

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 Appendix C

Lesson Note Used in the Intervention Process

School: Kajanya Junior High School REFERENCES: Eddie Fianu (2005), Principle and Methods of English

Subject: English Language Language Teaching. Page 91-94.

Class : J. H. S 2 M. Keleve (2005), Gateway to English Language, Pg 92.

Day/ Topic/Aspect Objectives T.L. M / T.L. A Core Points Evaluation /

Tuesday Reading By the end of the Flash cards and sentence cards

DATE lesson, pupils will

6th Feb., 2008 TOPIC be able to Obvious Extremely

Examination -pronounce key Alternative Section

70 minutes -read the given Wording Candidates

meaningfully and
It is extremely important
with

understanding. to read the wording of

33
 examination questions
R.P.K

Pupils have been carefully, and obviously, you

reading simple

sentences must do this before you

begin answering the questions

T.L.A

PRELIMINARY READING STAGE

-let pupils talk briefly about Speaking Skills

examination guidelines.

-Drill the correct pronunciation of key

words on the flash cards with pupils,

explaining their meanings to pupils.

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35