Background of the Study
English is the most widely used language in the world. English has enjoyed the status of national, international and as Nigerian official language for oral and written communication in the whole world. The language is very crucial as a medium of instruction of school subjects in the Nigerian educational system and is a prerequisite for admission into all programs in higher institutions (polytechnics, colleges of education and universities). The role English language plays in the world of communication either written or oral cannot be overemphasized. English language is now the language of the government, literature, business and internal and external communication. The government of Nigeria considers English language as a core subject in the school curriculum and a major medium of communication both within and outside the school system. The National Policy on Education, Federal Government of Nigeria, (FRN 2004) also demands ability to communicate in English and use as a medium of instruction from primary school level to tertiary level of education.
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The study of English language needs the knowledge of the language skills. The aim of teaching English language especially at primary to secondary school level of education is to understand the four basic language skills namely; listening, speaking, reading, and writing. According to Akwanya, (2007), the four language skills have been grouped based on the roles they play. Listening and reading are classified as the receptive skills; speaking and writing are the productive language skills. Reading as one of the receptive skills of English language learning is the act of interpreting printed words (Dike 2002). Also Agwu, (2006) stated that reading entails the processing of information in written or printed materials to be able to make meaning out of the materials. Reading is an essential tool for the acquisition of knowledge. It is a means whereby information stored in books are obtained and utilized for different purposes. According to Okwudire, (2003), reading is a difficult process which involves communication through the use of symbols. Okwudire emphasized that teaching children to learn to read is regarded as the responsibility of the teacher. Similarly, Andzayi, (2004) opined that reading is the interpretation and comprehension of printed information which involves the evaluation of the writers’ mind. For the reading to be meaningful there has to be comprehension. Specifically, reading involves comprehension.
Comprehension means understanding. Specifically, reading involves comprehension. According to Pardo, (2014) comprehension is the process by which readers interact and construct meaning from the text. Pardo further stated that comprehension is difficulty when the reader is unable to grasp the meaning from a text or passage. The comprehension section of any examination both internal and external seeks to test a total understanding of the English Language. This is the section that brings all aspects of the language. This section aims at testing the candidates’ understanding of a given passage. Looking at reading comprehension by the researcher’s view point, it is basically a test of students’ ability to read, understand and express themselves in the language involved.
Unfortunately, students’ achievements in examination bodies like West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examinations Council (NECO) have been very poor in English language. Abutu and Ocheni, (2008) emphasized that reading comprehension is at the centre of all the subjects offered in the school. Therefore, failure in comprehension is failure in all other subjects including the English language. For instance, WAEC’s statistical report of candidates’ performance in English May/June (2006-2008) showed very poor achievement. In May/June (2006) 32.48% obtained credit and above, and in May/ June (2007) 30.32% scored credit and above. Also according to chief examiner’s report WAEC English, (2007:14);
Candidates’ weaknesses are listed in this section of the chief examiner’s report every year, but there is no evidence that those concerned are taking steps to overcome them. A candidate cannot understand the content of a passage unless they understand the meanings of the words used. It is no wondered therefore that many of the candidates failed to answer correctly the simple content questions on the comprehension passages: they did not understand the passage. If candidates learn how to answer comprehension and summary questions and make a serious attempt to understand the passages and questions, they will do well in examination.
Similar report of WAEC chief examiner, (2008) in May/June indicated that students’ scores in English language was poor, especially in the areas of paper 1 section B and C which comprises comprehension and summary of passage have never attracted favourable commentary on students’ performance for some years now. For instance, they expressed sadness that after six years in the secondary schools and given a paper that confirmed to standards, most candidates still performed very poorly (WAEC, 2008). According to the report, candidate’s expression was generally poor and the range of vocabulary knowledge so limited. In reading comprehension and summary writing sections, candidate’s loss of marks was as a result of lifting seeming answers. The report indicated that many candidates were yet to understand the skills of reading comprehension. Also according to the report released by WAEC (2014) it stated as thus;
The result of May June 2014 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) has been released with mass failure in two compulsory subjects – English and Mathematics. While juxtaposing the new results with the 2012 and 2013 May/June W ASSCE, there was marginal fall in the performance of the candidates. Just as 31.81 percent was recorded in 2012, while the performance level stood at 36.57 percent in the year 2013, 31.28 percent was recorded in 2014 (www.waecresult.com:27).
In the same examination, NECO’s statistical presentation on candidates’ performance in the same English language has not showed any improvement as one would with all that the computer age has to offer. In NECO June/July (2009) 25.55% candidates scored credit and above, in June/July (2010), 21.00% candidates scored credit and above and in June/July (2011) 20.10% obtained credit and above.
Many research work such as Abutu and Ocheni, (2008); Egbuche and Nsor, (2011); (Okonkwo, (2011) and Adimora, (2012) on reading among Nigerian students have also shown that a good number of students exhibit many problems in reading comprehension. Some of the problems outlined include; slow inflexible reading rate, poor comprehension manifested in inability to distinguish main ideas from secondary ideas, inability to separate relevant from irrelevant details, inability to extract the gist of a passage, poor retention and recall of what was read, weak vocabulary and undeveloped reading interest. Similarly, the researcher has observed in her several years of experience in teaching the English language in secondary schools, especially in junior secondary schools the poor reading skills among the students which majorly result from some reading defects which they have imbibed in earlier years. Such reading defects include; silent reading, finger pointing, sub-vocalization, regression and head movement. According to Abutu and Ocheni, (2008) a good reading should aid comprehension and the failure to comprehend what was read, leads to poor performance in the subjects. Abutu and Ocheni further stated that reading comprehension is regarded as important for academic achievement in all the school subjects. This is because many subjects are learned by reading, which means that one’s reading comprehension skill should be of high quality. The researcher is of the opinion that a decrease in one’s reading comprehension ability will inevitably lead to a decrease in the amount of learning outcome and vice versa.
The results so far presented call for urgent need to explore ways of making reading comprehension lessons effective in order to enhance students’ achievement. Nsukka Education Zone is not left out in these anomalies. The uninspiring achievements in the senior and junior school certificate examinations were causes of concern for teachers, curriculum experts, parents and evaluators. One begins to wonder whether the weakness in reading comprehension could be as a result of poor method of teaching and learning. Teachers are at a loss on how best to teach the reading comprehension for better achievement in English language. The teacher of English Language in an effort to inculcate required skills in the students selects instructional method to ensure that students’ reading habit is stimulated for maximum academic excellent. Adunfe, (2005) advised that once a teacher decides on what to achieve at the end of the lesson, the teacher must select a procedure, content and method that is relevant to the stated objectives and cause the students to interact with the subject matter and finally measures the students’ achievement in line with the stated objectives.
Method of teaching the subject has been under severe criticism in recent time. Prominent among other methods in most of Nigerian secondary schools is the conventional (lecture) method of teaching which are teacher oriented and not student oriented. In view of this, Okoronkwo, (2011) stated that the English language teaching method has long been lecture method. It is the traditional way of transferring the societal norms and values to the younger generation. Mangal, (2010) outlined conventional method of teaching to include the following: lecture, discussion, guest speaker, panel discussion, and storytelling, dramatization, reading of textbooks, handout or manual. For the purpose of this study, conventional method is lecture method. Lecture method is an instructional method used by teacher to impart knowledge to the student through oral presentation of the lesson contents. It is one of the widely used in classroom for transmitting information and ideas to the students by the teacher. According to Mangal, characteristics of Lecture method include the following: teacher-centered, student -passive and content emphasis.
