An Appraisal to Methods and Problems of Reading English Language Instructions in Primary Schools

Citation: Khamis Hamza IBRAHIM & Yerima MAINA (2021). An Appraisal to Methods and Problems of Reading English Language Instructions in Primary Schools. Yobe Journal of Language, Literature and Culture (YOJOLLAC), Vol. 9, Issue 1. Department of African Languages and Linguistics, Yobe State University, Damaturu, Nigeria. ISSN 2449-0660

AN APPRAISAL TO METHODS AND PROBLEMS OF READING ENGLISH LANGUAGE INSTRUCTIONS IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

And

Khamis Hamza IBRAHIM
Yerima MAINA

Abstract

The study assessed methods and problems of reading instruction in primary schools. To achieve this six primary schools with children numbering two thousand one hundred and sixty (2160) were chosen by stratified random selection, a procedure in which every element in the population sample had an equal chance to be selected. As a methods of data collection, a questionnaire; open ended and close-ended were administered. The percentage and simple description were used for data analysis. The findings indicated that an overwhelming majority do not know how to read. On the bases of these findings recommendations were made as to what teachers, parents and government could use to aid primary school pupils develop the skills and interest to read.

Keywords: methods, primary, instruction, reading, appraisal

1.0 Introduction

The importance of reading cannot be overemphasized as it enhances the acquisition of knowledge, provides a wider understanding of subjects, develops one’s interest and enhance deeper understanding and a wealth of experiences. However, in spite of its importance most of pupils cannot read and comprehend reading materials. Oyetunde (1997) observed that, students who cannot read and study well are those who do not succeed in school, and many of them drop out of school eventually. The study therefore, seeks to assess the method and problems of reading instructions in primary schools at Nguru Local Government Area of Yobe State.

2.0 Background to the Study

Reading is when you vocalize or sub-vocalize anything that is written or printed and you can explain it in your own words to yourself or to someone else. One can do this explanation orally or in writing, Oyetunde, (2003). This means that when we read, we do much more than word calling. It is obvious that people read in order to obtain or get information from what they read. That is when you read, you want to get meaning from the text or passage that you read. If you do not get any information from what you read, you cannot say you have actually read.

Learning to read English language is one of the most important skills children need to master in the first few years of school, but it does not always come easy. Some pupils struggle to grasp the very building blocks of reading, while others get the basics but find it hard to build fluency or comprehension. Whatever the reason for the pupil’s difficulties it can be a real worry. It is important to understand that having trouble with reading is not a sign of lower intelligence. Sometimes it is a result of special educational needs, and sometimes it is simply a lack of confidence.

Extensive reading, according to Audu, (1995, p. 1), provides an individual with enriching personal outlook in life, sound emotional responses and stimulates an individual’s imagination and aspiration. It is on this basis that one is known to be literate and the reverse is illiterate. Effective reading promotes understanding, retention, recall, transfer of learning and the attainment of good intellectual development.

According to Oyetunde, and Chinwe (1999) three methods have been found very effective to help children develop reading skills concepts. These are: Literary Awareness Programme (LAP), News on the Board (NOB) and Language Experience Approach (LEA).

I.LAP is a language activity which involves having an adult read interesting stories aloud to children every day. The advantages of LAP are that it extends both the experience and language backgrounds of children: it generates an interest in reading: it develops children’s listening and it introduces them to “book language”

II.NOB is a language activity that can be used to get children started out in learning to read. It particularly helps children to see the connection between speech and print. It involves having children share their experiences in class, and the teacher records on the board in the form of news items. What are written on the board then become children’s reading materials.

III.LEA is similar to NOB in many respects; the only difference is that the experiences or stories the children dictate follow some particular theme or order: children are encouraged to talk about their interests and experiences.

3.0 Statement of the Problem

It is common knowledge that the school is failing in its important responsibility to develop effective reading and study skills in students, Oyetunde, (1997). He further observed that the schools’ failure to deliberately teach study skills may be responsible for the high percentage of students in many schools who persistently receive poor grades in both internal and external exams. He suggested that effective reading and study methods as well as positive attitudes towards reading need to be taught to students.

It is obvious that many pupils in Nguru Yobe State are facing the problems of reading English language instruction in both private and public schools. Most of these pupils cannot read, comprehend, interpret and obtain information from the English reading materials. It is in the light of the above that the researcher seeks to make an appraisal to the methods and problems of reading English language instructions in primary schools.

4.0 Aim and Objectives

The aim of this study is to make an appraisal to the methods and problems of reading instructions in primary school.

The objectives:

1.                     To find out the factors that cause poor performance of pupils in the reading classes.

2.                     To find out the methods teachers use in their reading classes.

3.                     To find out the number of pupils that can read from each school.

5.0 Research Questions

The research questions guiding this study are:

1.                     What are the factors that cause poor performance of pupils in the reading classes?

2.                     What methods do teachers use in their reading classes?

3.                     What are the percentages of pupils that can read from each school?

6.0 Sample and Sampling Techniques

The investigation was carried out at Nguru Local Government Area of Yobe State. Six primary schools were selected for the purpose of this research. It should be noted that the researcher did not study every member of the population. Only some members of the population were studied and this was so because it was practically impossible to study all the teachers and the pupils of public and private schools. For the above reasons, the researcher had decided to use the convenience and purposeful sampling techniques. The convenience according to Ibrahim (2020) involves choosing the nearest individuals to serve as respondents and continuing that process until the required sample size has been obtained, while in the purposeful sampling, the researcher hand picks the cases to be included in his sample because of his judgment of their typicality. In this way, he builds up a sample that is satisfactory to his specific needs. The schools selected comprised of both public and private. The schools are:

1.                     Hausari Primary School, Nguru

2.                     Girgiri Primary School, Nguru

3.                     Kasugula Primary School, Nguru

4.                     Fatima Academy, Nguru

5.                     Citadel Primary School, Nguru

6.                     Reality Children Academy

7.0 Data Collection and Choice of Instrument

Data collection here refers to obtaining relevant information regarding the major ideas of the objectives of the study for the purposes of demonstration, whether or not they are true in this study Ibrahim (2019). The researcher collected data that had direct relationship with the objectives, which in turn had relationship with the problem under study.

The work in this research was based solely on questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised of two sets of questions: close-ended questions and open-ended questions. The questions are seventeen in number. Questions 1-5, 10 ‘b’, 11 ‘b’ and 13 are close-ended questions. The questionnaires were administered and later collected. Out of the sixty (100%) questionnaires sent out, 54 (90%) were returned while 6 (10%) were unreturned.

8.0 Method of Data Analysis

The methods used for analysis and interpretation of data in this research are the percentage (%) and simple description. The analysis is based on the schools and the number of staff that filled and returned the questionnaires. The simple formula by Nasiru (2013) is adopted:

 X  =

Where:

NR=Number of respondents on the test

TR= Total number of respondents under study

The items are presented in a tabular form; each item is shown in its table showing its detail analysis.

9.0 Results and Discussion

The results of the research are hereby presented in a percentages and descriptive form: Table1. Distribution of Questionnaires

Schools Selected	No: of Questionnaire given out	No: of Questionnaire Returned	Percentage Returned
1. Hausari Primary School Nguru	10	8	4.8%
2. Girgiri Primary School Nguru	10	10	6%
3. Kasugula Primary School Nguru	10	8	4.8%
4. Fatima Academy Nguru	10	9	5.4%
5. Citadel Academy Nguru	10	9	5.4%
6. Reality Children Academy Nguru	10	10	6%
Total no. of Sch. Six	60	54	90%

From the above table, sixty questionnaires were distributed out to the staff six schools. Fifty-four questionnaire were returned while six were not unreturned. The research will be interested on the returned forms.

Table 2: Research Question (1) What are the Factors that Cause Poor Performance of Pupils in the Reading Classes?

Schools Selected	Lack of interest by the pupils	Negative attitude of teachers	Method of teaching	Poor environment	Lack of instructional materials
1.Hausari Pri. Sch. Ngu.	-	1	2	2	3
2. Girgiri Pri. Sch. Nguru	1	2	1	2	4
3.Kasugula Pri. Sch. Ngu.	1	2	1	2	2
4.Fatima Acad. Nguru.	1	1	2	3	3
5.Citadel Acad. Nguru	-	1	2	3	3
6.Reality Child. Acad, Ngu	1	1	2	2	4
Number of Sch. 6 Number of Q. 54	4 (7.40%)	8 (14.8%)	10 (18.5%)	13 (24.0%)	19 (35.1%)

As shown on the above table (2), lack of instructional materials has been the major factor that affect the performance of pupils in the reading classes. It has (35.1%) percent, followed by the poor environment which is (24.0%). Wrong method of teaching with (18.5%) occupied the third factor in the table. Negative attitude of teachers towards teaching of reading and lack of interest of students have contributed negatively in teaching reading in primary schools with (14.8%) and (7.40%) respectively.

From the foregoing, teachers need to improve on their methods of teaching. They can also make improvisation for instructional materials. Availability of teaching aids and materials like textbooks, boards, voice recorders, charts, etc. are important. Teaching aid are some of the devices which facilitate learning and make it very important in English language teachings. A child cannot learn much without seeing it written on the chalk board. Billah, (2015, p.1) stated that “teaching is regarded as an activity in which you (as the teacher) your pupils and material came into close contact with one another for the purpose learning”.

Table 3: Teaching Methods Employed by Teachers

Schools Selected	Group Reading	Silent Reading	Reading Aloud	Individual Reading	Other	Total number of Q.
1.Hausari Pri. Sch. Ngu.	2	2	3	1	-	8
2.Girgiri Pri. Sch. Nguru	2	2	4	2	1	10
3. Kasugula Pri. Sch. Ngu.	2	1	2	2	1	8
4. Fatima Acad. Nguru.	2	2	3	1	1	9
5.Citadel Acad. Nguru	3	2	3	1	-	9
6. Reality Child. Acad, Ngu	2	2	4	1	1	10
Number of Sch. 6 Number of Q. 54	13 (24.0%)	10 (18.5%)	19 (35.1%)	8 (14.8%)	4 (7.4%)	54 (90%)

From the description on the above table; many teachers employed reading aloud, this forms 35.2% of the whole total. Followed by group reading which 24.1% is? The next in rank is silent reading which has 18.5%. Another method on the list is individual reading which is 14.8%. Lastly 7.4% which reads ‘others’ may be project method or any other methods which are rarely used in our schools.

From the above table therefore, we can infer that most teachers employed reading aloud in their reading classes, the use “read after me” method. A good number of teachers thought that reading is merely pronouncing words from printed materials. Eclectic is however recommended.

The eclectic approach is the label given to a teacher’s use techniques and activities from a range of language teaching approaches and methodologies. The teacher decides what methodology or approach to use depending on the aims of the lesson and the learners in the group. Larsen-Freeman (2000) and Mello (2000) as cited by Billah (2015) both have used the term principled eclecticism to describe a desirable, coherent, pluralistic approach to language teaching, eclecticism involves the use of variety of language learning activities, each of which may have very different characteristics and be motivated by different underlying assumption.

Table 4: The number of children that can read from each school

S/N	Schools Selected	Number of Classes per School	Number of pupils per Class	Total number of students per School	Number of Children that can read	Percentage of Children that can read
1.	Hausari Pri. Sch. Nguru	8	40	320	63	19.6%
2.	Girgiri Pri. Sch. Nguru	10	40	400	79	19.7%
3.	Kasugula Pri. Sch. Nguru	8	40	320	64	19.9%
4.	Fatima Acad. Nguru	9	40	360	71	19.8%
5.	Citadel Acad. Nguru	9	40	360	38	10.5%
6.	Reality Chidren Acad. Nguru	10	40	400	41	10.3%
	Num. of Sch. 6 Num. of Q.54	54	240	2160	356	100

The number of children from the six (sampled) selected schools are two thousand one hundred and sixty (2160) only three hundred and fifty-six (356) of them can read. Only (16.9%) can read. The research was made possible by the assistance of some volunteers who offered themselves for obtaining the data.

10.0 Summary of Findings

The major findings of the study are:

1.                     The study revealed that the factors that caused poor performance of pupils in reading classes are:

i. Lack of instructional materials

ii. Poor environments (school and home)

iii. Wrong methods of teaching

iv. Poor attitude of teachers

v. lack of interest of the learners.

2.                                                                             The investigation discovered that the methods employed by teachers are:

i. Reading aloud very often is employed

ii. Followed by silent reading, then

ii. Individual reading and any other methods are rarely used.

3.                                                                             The results presented in percentages and description form show that the majority of the primary school children in Nguru Local Government do not know how to read. The study revealed that 16.9% signifying 356 out of 2160 total population can read. The study therefore concludes that majority of the pupils cannot read.

11.0 Implications and Recommendations

In the findings of the study, many factors had been identified as the main causes of poor reading performance of pupils in the primary schools. In this part, the researcher will provide some implications in other to help students, teachers and the authority concern. It is hoped to be useful.

To teachers:

The teacher can arouse the interests of pupils in reading by involving them in pre-reading, while reading and follow up reading activities.

Pre-reading activities are the stimulations and activities teacher bring to wet the children interest before reading takes in class. The teacher guides the children towards improving their reading comprehension, aid them set a purpose for reading and to link their background experiences to the new experience. He should help them to link the known to the unknown. Pre reading activities could take any form, one of these is the form of discussion which could lead to questions that give clues to the topic of reading. The teacher’s ability to arouse the interest of his children at the beginning of a reading class has an immense value. The younger children can be given a passage to read silently for a period of time, the teacher could evaluate their reading skills through dictation.

While the children are involved in silent reading, the teacher can go round the class to assist children in difficulties and correct mechanical reading faults like sub-vocalization, movement of lips while reading, finger pointing at words, improper eye movement and other anomalies. He could aid any pupil who asks for his help with words they do not know.

Post reading activities serve two main purposes. The first purpose is to improve pupils understanding of the passage they have read. The second purpose is to find out if any pupil has problem of understanding the passage. A teacher may involve children in the post reading questions. The teacher may allow the children find out the answers themselves by making them read the portion of the story that contain the answer to their questions orally. In this way guessing is eliminated and reading for specific purpose is encouraged. After the pupils have answered the pre reading questions which are of three types; literal, inferential and critical comprehension skills. The teacher can make the pupils answer questions which test the reader’s ability to understand information directly from the text.

Efforts of the teachers to vary their methods of teaching by making use of appropriate teaching aids is necessary. The teacher could use the children to build word album by cutting different sizes of words from magazines and newspapers and store them in their album. Each child may be asked to produce and read those words from their album and read. The words would widen the scope of their vocabulary. Teachers should endeavour to make their lessons interesting and sustain the interest of the children. Teachers should identify and praise poor readers whenever they make some efforts

To Parents:

The home is a unique place where the foundation for reading success is read. Children of educated parents who always listen to their family members and tell stories to them are likely to be motivated to pick interest in reading than those children who do not have such opportunities. This is why the children early home environment is essential.

One of the methods parents can adopts in teaching their young children is using language experience method. In this method, the parents write the story told to them by their young children in the child’s mother- tongue, they later read the story together, some vocabulary words are made as the child reads the story on his own. In this case the children and their parents engaged in reading the story told by the child himself. The child identify himself with the story he told which has now become his text book. When such stories are told by child and written by the parent for reading together of the child and the parent, reading habits will be established.

To develop reading skill in them parents in early years can involve the children in informal games such as singing popular nursery rhymes to them when bathing them and emphasizing the last word on each line of rhyme if the last lines rhyme. Moreover, story books with flashy and attractive drawings pictures should be bought for young children and the stories from these text books should be read aloud for the child to hear. The most important achievement parents can aid their children attain is reading success.

Children should be treated with patience, praise them whenever they make progress in reading and encourage them when they seemed discouraged in their reading lessons. Equally, parents should not be discouraged if their children do not make progress knowing that learning to read is a complex process and takes time to master. Parents should not be disturbed if their children seemed dull and playful at the very beginning of his reading lessons. Parents should stand as good models for their children to emulate. They learn from our action more than what they see us do. Children read better when they see their parents read with enthusiasm. When they see you read with zeal without preparing to write for examination, they will also know that reading is not only for passing examination but for pleasure. Lastly, parents should conscious of limitedness of a child’s concentration span, do not over stretch them.

To the management:

Subject specialists especially English as well as professional competence should be made one of the strongest criteria for employment of teachers. Trained language teachers are rare; short term courses seminars should be organised for language teachers while long term courses like in service training should be encouraged, the importance of such courses cannot be over emphasized; they train individuals on new approaches in teaching reading and revitalizing reactivating teachers experiences on their special subjects.

Adequate instructional materials should be provided and environment of school and home be conducive for learning. Many a times the government and parents blame the poor performance of their children on the teachers but forgetting to know that those who schooled in the yester years had adequate text books and conducive school environment was top priority lists of the government.

Supervisors and inspectors of schools should be employed on qualification as subject specialists and not political appointment based on nepotism and ethnic affiliation. These supervisors and subject specialists would find out if their special subjects are taught methodically, efficiently and relevantly or not, and suggest improvement where necessary.

14.0 Conclusion

There is no gain saying that effective reading promotes understanding, retention, recall, transfer of learning and the attainment of good intellectual development. The study therefore sought to arouse the interest of parents, pupils and teachers to give reading its paramount position for every success in school subjects relate to reading ability.

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