EFFECTS OF SILENT READING AND READING ALOUD STRATEGIES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ENGLISH

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page- – – – – – – – – – -i
Declaration- – – – – – – – – – -ii
Certificate- – – – – – – – – – -iii
Approval Page- – – – – – – – – -iv
Dedication- – – – – – – – – – -v
Acknowledgment- – – – – – – – – -vi
Abstract – – – — – – – – – – -vii
Table of Content- – – – – – – – – -viii
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study- – – – – – – 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem- – – – – – – 3
1.3 Purpose of the Study- – – – – – – – 4
1.4 Research Questions- – – – – – – – 5
1.5 Significance of the Study- – – – – – – 5
1.6 Delimitation of the Study – – – – – – 5
1.7 Operational Definition of Terms- – – – – – 7
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Introduction- – – – – – – – – 9
2.2 Meaning of Reading Comprehension- – – – – 10
2.3 Importance of Reading Comprehension- – – – – 12
2.4 Types of Reading – – – – – – – 13
2.4.1 Intensive Reading – – – – – – – 14
2.4.2 Extensive Reading- – – – – – – – 15
2.4.2.1 Skills Require for Extensive Reading- – – – – 15
2.5 Poor Reading habits- – – – – – – – 16
2.5.1 Motor Skill- – – – – – – – – 17
2.5.2 Head Movement- – – – – – – – 17
2.5.3 Pointing to Words- – – – – – – – 17
2.5.4 Vocalization- – – – – – – – – 17
2.5.5 Sub-vocalization- – – – – – – – 18
2.5.6 Regression- – – – – – – – – 18
2.5.7 Recognition Skill- – – – – – – – 18
2.5.8 Rhythmic Eye Movement- – – – – – – 19
2.5.9 Increase Eye Span- – – – – – – – 19
2.5.10 Discipline the Eye – – – – – – – 20
2.6 Factor Associate with Failures in Reading Comprehension – – 20
2.6.1 Articulatory Disorder- – – – – – – – 20
2.6.2 Physical Factor- – – – – – – – 21
2.6.3 Auditory Factor- – – – – – – – 21
2.6.4 Visual Factor- – – – – – – – – 21
2.6.5 Emotional and Personal Problems- – – – – – 22
2.6.6 School Condition- – – – – – – – 22
2.6.7 Lack of Good Foundation- – – – – – – 22
2.7 Levels of Reading- – – – – – – – 23
2.7.1 Critical Reading- – – – – – – – 23
2.7.2 Inferential Reading- – – – – – – – 23
2.7.3 Literal Reading- – – – – – – – 23
2.8 Levels Involve in Comprehension- – – – – – 23
2.8.1 Word Comprehension- – – – – – – 23
2.8.2 Sentence Comprehension- – – – – – – 24
2.8.3 Paragraph Comprehension- – – – – – – 25
2.9 Strategies for Improving Comprehension- – – – – 25
2.9.1 Survey- – – – – – – – – 26
2.9.2 Question- – – – – – – – – 26
2.9.3 Read- – – – – – – – – – 26
2.9.4 Recall, Recite or Retell- – – – – – – 26
2.9.5 Review or Revise- – – – – – – – 27
2.9.6 Skimming- – – – – – – – – 27
2.9.7 Scanning- – – – – – – – – 27
2.9.8 Pressing on- – – – – – – – – 27
2.10 Students Attitudes to Reading- – – – – – 28
2.11 The Effects of the Environment on the Students Reading Habits – 29
2.12 The Concept of Reading Aloud and Silent Reading Strategies- – 29
2.12.1 What is Reading Aloud- – – – – – – 29
2.12.2 What is Silent Reading- – – – – – – 29
2.12.3 Pedagogical Implication of Teaching Reading Aloud and
Silent Reading on Junior Secondary School – – – – – 33
CHAPTER THREE
METHODSAND PROCEDURES
3.1 Introduction- – – – – – – – – 36
3.2 Research Design- – – – – – – 36
3.3 Population and Sample- – – – – – 36
3.4 Sampling Technique – – – – – – – 34
3.5 Instrument for Data Collection- – – – – – 34
3.6 Method of Data Analysis- – – – – – – 38
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Introduction- – – – – – – – – 39
4.2 Results- – – – – – – – – 40
4.3 Discussion – – – – – – – – 50
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.0 Introduction- — – – – – – – – 53
5.1 Summary of Findings- – – – – – – 53
5.3 Conclusion- – – – – – – – – 54
5.2 Recommendations – – – – – – – 54
References – – – – – – – – 55
Appendices – – – – – – – – 58

ABSTRACT
The study examined effects of silent reading and reading aloud strategies on the performance of Junior Secondary School Students in English in Pankshin Local Government Area of Plateau State. For the purpose of achieving the aims of this study, the research provided strategies that can be used by Junior Secondary School Students to improve their academic performance. The target population for the study included all students of Junior Secondary Schools in Pankshin Local Government Area of Plateau State from which a sample of 5 schools were chosen using simple random sampling technique. The researchers used a comprehensive passage and questions which both groups were expected to read and answer the questions that followed. In the methodology of the research, the researchers used experimental design to compare reading aloud and silent reading strategies. Marks awarded to students in the two categories were analysed in tabular form using simple percentage. Based on the findings, it is revealed that students comprehend better when silent reading strategy is employed in the teaching of reading comprehension. Finally, recommendations were made which included improvement and improvisation of silent reading strategies which help in reading comprehension.

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Braan and Shelden (1961, p. 5) defined reading comprehension as the ability to understand printed words or materials by looking at them in a book. According to Hussian (2006) “factors that affect academic performance in reading comprehension can be apportioned on the part of the home of the pupils, psychological factors that may be due to students’ discouragement by none and unqualified English teachers, also the fear of making mistake by students. English on its part is assumed to be a difficult foreign language interference of mother tongue in pronunciation and translation into structure hinders the effective teaching and learning of reading comprehension”. Linguistic factors include the problems of punctuation, lexical and structural concepts. Lack of using an appropriate strategy to help improve poor academic performance of students in reading comprehension is still a problem faced by teachers and students respectively, Oyemi (2005, p. 30).
The skill of reading comprehension can provide an insight into the behaviors of students and lead them on journeys into unknown parts of the world and enable them to share experience throughout an event. Reading is a skill we need to study at all times. It is noticed that many students when asked to read anything find it difficult to do so. Without being told, we know that there must be some causes associated with this.
Educational processes are all over the world today largely depend upon printed words or materials and have thus made reading the centre of school experiences and the means through which the child learns about things in the environment. In order to produce the type of children we want in Nigeria, we need to examine the reading problems facing our learners and then find possible ways of solving these problems by providing the strategies to be used by students to improve their reading comprehension skills.
Reading is a powerful tool. It is a means of constructing meaning and acquiring new knowledge. Reading, according to Wilson (1974, p. 72); is the ability to interpret printed materials from a page. It is a decoding process by which printed words are translated and a process of gaining meaning from a material applying it in daily life.
Reading is seen as a receptive skill. The primary reason why we read is to obtain information as well as comprehend or understand a text. Some students have poor foundation in reading in primary school which further leads to some difficulties in their reading habit or performance in secondary school. Some things which actually affect the performance of a student in reading comprehension may include: reading while eating, absent mindedness, emotional disorder and forgetting what has been read which is caused by poor memory.
The USA National Reading Panel report of 2000 (Primary National Strategy, 2006) identified strategies for improving reading comprehension to include; prediction, questioning, clarifying, imagining and summarization. Some skills are needed to be able to get meaning from printed words or for comprehension to occur. These include the ability to find main idea, note details, recognize sequence, make comparison, make inferences, draw conclusions, predict outcomes and evaluate content. For comprehension to take place while reading, readers need to take connections between text and their lives, past experiences, prior knowledge, other books, articles, movies, songs, events, issues or people; visualize or create pictures in their minds as they read; ask questions before and after reading, infer to read between the lines, using clues from titles, pictures and chart; and synthesize by using what is read to create ideas having merged new information with existing knowledge. Additionally, research indicates that students need multiple exposures to words before they have the reading ability that will allow them to understand what they have read. Reading failure is not a new phenomenon, and research into the complexity of reading has been ongoing for many years.
In 1917, Edward Thorndike noted that “reading is a very elaborate procedure” (p. 323). His assertions are true today. Reading requires the ability to decode words or phrase and make meaning from those individual words and phrases. This process requires explicit instruction, practice, feedback from the teacher, and more practice to become a proficient reader.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Reading difficulties are a major with Nigeria for both children and adults. Current reading research shows that several key factors impede a student’s reading comprehension. One of the most important is the phonemic awareness i.e. the tendency to process individual sounds of letters, which is needed for word recognition. (Aberyrathana, 2004). For instance, when a reader hears the word “big” he must discriminate the three distinct phonemes within the word. The reader then blends the sounds together to decode the word. Underdeveloped phonemic awareness and phonics skills, as well as poor working memory interfere with a student’s ability to recognize, read words fluently (i.e. with automaticity), which is linked to reading comprehension deficits. During a student’s first years in school, reading instruction focuses on decoding and influence, which require both phonemic awareness and phonics skills.
Numerous cognitive processes aid comprehension when reading. Strong vocabulary skills are needed to aid a student’s ability to read proficiently. Reading influences vocabulary development. However, when students do not read fluently, or regularly, their vocabulary skills are impacted.
Another factor linked to reading difficulties is low prior knowledge (i.e. poor general knowledge) and lack of breath in vocabulary. Prior knowledge is a strong predictor of reading ability. When a student lacks prior knowledge about a topic, reading comprehension is impaired. Some of these problems of poor reading comprehension have taken deep roots on the part of the students as observed by Williams and Wavel (2002).
a. Lack of qualified teachers.
b. Ill – health of students.
c. Bad method of teaching.
d. Out – dated textbooks.
e. Family background.
f. Psychological factor.
g. Teachers’ poor attitude towards reading and teaching students the proper reading skills.
1.3 Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to provide strategies that can be used by junior secondary school students to improve their academic performance and to examine the relative importance of vocabulary, prior knowledge, word recognition, reading, strategies and motivation – to – read to the reading comprehension of students. Specifically, the research aims at identifying:
1. The reading habit of the students.
2. The amount of time students spends in reading.
3. The availability of reading materials (books).
4. The strategies needed for the improvement of students reading habits and books available for the achievement of quality education.
5. To identify reading interest and habit of junior secondary school students in Pankshin LGA.
6. To suggest ways in which reading comprehension will be of help to students in order to improve the quality of reading comprehension and the vocabulary of the students.
1.4 Research Questions
The study will address the following questions:
1. What is the related importance of working memory, vocabulary, prior knowledge, word recognition, reading strategies and motivation to reading comprehension of junior secondary school students?
2. What strategies do teachers use in teaching reading skills in junior secondary schools in Pankshin LGA?
3. Which of the strategies is most effective for reading comprehension?
4. Does reading comprehension have any relationship with the academic performance of students in other subjects?

1.5 Significance of the Study
This study is important to the field of reading research for several reasons. First, because reading is an essential life skill, it becomes a success for students to be read. Whether students attend college, vocational training (for artisans) or apply for jobs, they will need to be proficient readers. It is widely accepted that reading is essential to provide a strong academic base for students. Understanding strategies influencing reading comprehension is clearly importance for tens of thousands of poor readers. Additionally, while motivation is one aspect to reading, fewer studies have focused on the relative importance of effective strategies to reading comprehension.
More so, this research is to suggest remedy/strategies that can be used by teachers and students to improve poor academic performance in reading comprehension.
Lastly, with the large number of adults who struggle to read, research into the strategies for improving poor academic performance in reading comprehension for junior secondary students is timely and important not only to school students and teachers but also to school students and teachers but also to society as a whole.
With a clearer understanding into the factors that affect reading comprehension for junior secondary school students, instructional programs can be implemented that will target the specific skills needed to improve comprehension. To realize this aim, teachers will also need to receive adequate professional training on how to support older struggling readers.
1.6 Delimitation/Scope of the Study
This research was carried out in Pankshin Local Government Area of Plateau State to find out the strategies for improving poor academic performance in reading comprehension among junior secondary school students. However, not all the secondary schools in the local government were used, as only five (5) schools were used. Another aspect of the study concentrated on reading aloud and silent reading.
1.7 Operational Definition of Terms
Learning Disability: Is a general term used to describe disorders that cause difficulties for a person to “… acquire and use listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning and mathematical abilities, or of social skills”. (Birsch, 2011:30). Learning disabilities are unique to each individual and are due to variations in how a person’s brain processes information.
Phonemic Awareness: Is the ability to aurally recognize and manipulate phonemes, which are the smallest units of sound within words (e.g. /c/, /a/, /t/ together make the word “cat”). Students must rapidly manipulate these sounds, which will allow students to apply this knowledge then they begin phonics instruction. Phonemic awareness is the first and most important aspect of reading acquisition (Uhry, 2002:102).
Phonics: Is the association between letter sounds symbols. To read fluently, students must rapidly match sounds and symbols when reading.
Prior Knowledge: Is defined as a students’ content knowledge related to a subject (e.g. English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies) studied prior to direct instruction from the teacher (Gurlitit & Renkl, 2010:10).
Reading Comprehension: Is the ability to gain meaning from what is read. Reading comprehension requires various reading skills (i.e. word recognition, fluency, lexical knowledge, pre-existing knowledge) to be undertaken rapidly so that the reader may gain knowledge from text (Pressley, 2000:33; Birsch, 2011:20).
Reading Strategies: Are strategies that good readers use while reading such as predicting, inferring and summarizing. For instance, a reader might look at the title of story and predict what the story will be all about or they may activate their own knowledge about the topic they are reading. During reading instruction, teachers may explicitly teach strategies to increase a student’s reading comprehension (i.e. summarizing, visualizing and asking questions).
Self Efficiency: Is a person’s belief about their ability to complete a task or fulfill a goal. Bandura, (1999: 57) posited that a person learns by observing others, and these observations from the basis of how behaviors should be conducted. A person’s self efficiency is then guided by their own beliefs about how effective they are in a given situation and about how effective others are in the same situation. In the case of reading, if a person is unable to read proficiently while others are around them, overtime, their belief in the ability to read will be negatively impacted (Grusec, 1992; Solheim, 2011: 5).
Working Memory: Is defined as a cognitive processing store with limited capacity. It provides resources to process information while retrieving the same or different information (Swason, Zheng & Jerman, 2009). For instance, remembering a person’s phone number while trying to find their address.