CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

English has acquired the title of the world’s leading global language because it was used for business, science, and politics (Ioreber, 2018). English was a living subject that reflected the quality of education a student received at any point in time. The quality of vocabulary items students possessed ensured their proper use of the language. Since English language teaching and learning had great implications for use in society. A good English teacher had to appreciate the need to update their methodology for motivating the students to learn the language.

The rate of English language failure in external examinations such as WAEC and NECO was very disheartening. Therefore, this work attempted to find workable approaches to reducing this rate of failure by using intensive reading as an experimental yardstick to test the influence on vocabulary development of students from the SS2 level. It was hoped that a rich vocabulary base from the SS level of education would culminate in better performance of students in English.

Hornby (2020) postulated that reading was a developmental skill that could never be fully acquired, and one should, therefore, make a conscious effort to continue to improve on reading throughout his life. Reading also involved looking and understanding the meaning of written or printed words or symbols. Reading was a unique human activity that was characterized by the translation of written symbols or letters, words, and sentences to get information that meant something to the reader. The reader sought to understand the meaning of a written text, evaluated its significance, and used what he had read to enhance his knowledge effectively or for pleasure.

There had been great concern by the government, language teachers, parents, public examination bodies, and the general public on the declining performance of students in English at the senior secondary school level. The situation had been one of the disturbing aspects of the Nigerian education system.

Adeyanju (2019) observed that students in secondary schools had a low standard of expression and scanty, illogical, incoherent, and irrelevant ideas. The inability of students to involve in intensive reading in the English language had contributed to the poor performance in the English language at senior secondary school. The reason was that most of the students lacked the ability to comprehend what they read. Most Nigerian secondary school students did not read intensively and, therefore, lacked adequate vocabulary items to express themselves both in spoken and written English (Azikiwe, 2017). Studies by White, Graves, and Slatter (2020) had shown that poor readers often lacked adequate vocabulary, and this affected their understanding of what they read from a text. Consequently, reading was difficult and tedious for them. Hart and Risely (2018) observed that students who did not have large vocabularies or effective word-learning strategies often struggled to achieve comprehension as they read. Their poor experiences with reading set them into a cycle of frustration and failure that continued throughout their schooling. Research had also shown that often students with reading disabilities had lower than average vocabularies. This could be a consequence of the influence of linguistic problems or limited exposure to print (Pressley, 2012).

According to Beach, Appleman, Hydns, and Wilhelm (2016), innovative teachers were moving away from teacher-centered approaches where meaning was imposed on students to student-centered approaches which exposed students to activities that encouraged personal response to the text. Crandall, Jaramillo, Olsen, and Peyton (2012) believed that learning strategy was very important in the learning of concepts, and teachers could employ various strategies to help students see how ideas or concepts related to one another and help them develop a well-structured mental picture about the content they were learning. Exposing students to effective learning strategies helped to deepen their understanding of the content. Chamot and O‘Malley (2014) asserted that students who had a storehouse of strategies to draw from consciously or unconsciously monitored their learning and did better than students who did not have such strategies. Therefore, teachers could use a variety of strategies to ensure students’ active engagement with the reading comprehension and make personal responses to the texts too. Allington and Cunningham (2016) emphasized strategies that allowed children to learn by doing and take ownership of their learning through opportunities that led to freedom of choice and social interaction. By inference, researchers were advocates of child-centered and sociocultural strategies that promoted students’ active participation in the learning process.

Unfortunately, as research indicates learners are not exposed to these student-centred strategies probably because teachers lack knowledge of these approaches and strategies or they do not consider their use of any importance (Ogunaike 2012). Teachers resort most often to the easiest strategy of ‘take your book and read’, making reading comprehension teaching in the secondary school a teacher-centred activity. One way to enhance students’ performance in reading comprehension is by the use of instructional strategies that promote students’ active engagement with texts and provide opportunities for sharing what is read with others which the prevalent teacher-centred strategies used in the teaching of reading comprehension have not been able to achieve (Anyaniyi 2019). Teachers spend more time reading and narrating the story without much of students’ participation in meaning construction.

The basic idea of interactive teaching is that students must be active. Interactive teaching takes into account that learners have experience and knowledge that they bring to each situation. The first thing to realize about interactive teaching is that it is not something new or mysterious. If a teacher asks questions in class, assigns and checks homework, or holds class or group discussions, then the teacher already teaches interactively. Interactive teaching is just giving students something to do, getting back what they have done, and then assimilating it, so that the teacher can decide what would be best to do next. However, it is important to note that English language facilitates the learning processes and effectively promotes our intellectual development since all other disciplines hinge on it. Hence, efficient learning of English language in our schools as a medium of communication certainly promotes a general understanding of other subjects.

The researcher observed that interactive teaching technique is an integration of teaching technique that demand high student participation at all levels of the learning process. The teacher guides and the students perform different learning tasks in groups based on the three levels of interaction patterns in the classroom student-teacher interaction, student-student interaction and student-community resources interaction. 

Williams (2019) notes that universities are dissatisfied with the low standard of many entrants who have scored reasonable marks in the examination but are handicapped in their university studies because of their inability to read with understanding or write clearly. Adekola (2010) says that the secondary level of education has for some time been receiving much attention in West Africa because it is the immediate reservoir of potential middle and high-level manpower. But it is at this level that a lot of wastage in manpower potential occurs because of so many factors one of the most important being the language problem. Admission to this level of education and successful completion of the courses depends very much on the students’ proficiency in English Language, which is the medium of instruction. 

It is in light of the above discussion that this study seeks to examine the influence of interactive reading approach on the performance of Senior Secondary Schools in reading comprehension in Pankshin Local Government Area.

• STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Over the course of time, various obstacles have emerged that hinder the successful instruction and acquisition of reading comprehension. These challenges encompass deficiencies in vocabulary, inadequate teaching materials, limited enthusiasm towards studying English, inadequately qualified teachers, slow reading pace, difficulty in comprehending words and sentences. The presence of these predicaments, among others, has raised concerns among English teachers and other educational stakeholders, as they pose a significant threat to the effective teaching and learning of reading comprehension. Consequently, the researcher recognizes the necessity to scrutinize the impact of prediction skills on students’ reading comprehension performance.

At the core of reading comprehension lies an interactive approach. When students engage with reading materials interactively, their motivation increases, and they are more inclined to employ active processes that enhance comprehension. Regrettably, the consistent utilization of interactive techniques is lacking in secondary schools within the Pankshin Local Government Area. Consequently, the populace suffers from an insufficient grasp of reading comprehension skills. Without exposure to an interactive reading approach, students will struggle to comprehend what they read.

This problem appears to stem from deficiencies within our educational system and among teachers. The Nigerian education system has failed to establish an effective literacy program, particularly for secondary schools. Research studies have demonstrated that a considerable number of secondary school graduates are either illiterate or possess only basic literacy skills (Eze, 2019). This clearly indicates that students are ill-prepared to meet the reading demands outlined in the national curriculum. Furthermore, many secondary school teachers persist in employing traditional teaching methods that emphasize rote memorization rather than critical thinking. In light of these circumstances, this study aims to investigate the influences of an interactive approach on the reading comprehension performance of senior secondary school students in the Pankshin Local Government Area of Plateau State.

• AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

This study aims to examine the influence of interactive reading approach on the performance of Senior Secondary School students in reading comprehension in Pankshin Local Government Area. Other specific objectives of the study are:

1. Find out the influence of Interactive approach in answering reading comprehension question.
2. Determine the influence of Interactive approach in determining literal message of the passage.

iii. Elucidate the influence of Interactive approach toward enhancing students’ ability to summarize ideas in a comprehension passage.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This study presents and answers the following questions:

1. What is the influence of Interactive approach in answering reading comprehension questions?
2. What is the influence of Interactive approach in determining literal message of the passage?

iii. How does Interactive approach help in enhancing students’ ability to summarize ideas in a comprehension passage?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The significance of this study could not be underemphasized. This study would have been of benefit to the following education stakeholders:

Senior Secondary School Students: The primary beneficiaries of the study were the students themselves. The interactive reading approach aimed to improve their reading comprehension skills, which directly benefited their academic performance and overall learning experience.

Teachers: The study provided valuable insights to teachers in Pankshin Local Government Area regarding the effectiveness of the interactive reading approach. Teachers could have incorporated these interactive techniques into their teaching methods to enhance students’ reading comprehension skills and adapt their instructional strategies accordingly.

School Administrators: The findings of the study would have been beneficial to school administrators, as it could have guided them in making informed decisions about curriculum development and resource allocation. They could have considered implementing or promoting the use of interactive reading approaches within the schools in Pankshin Local Government Area.

Curriculum Planners: The study could have provided valuable information to curriculum planners at the district or state level. The findings could have influenced the design and development of reading comprehension curricula, emphasizing the integration of interactive approaches to improve students’ performance in this area.

Parents and Guardians: Parents and guardians played a crucial role in supporting their children’s education. The study could have provided them with insights into the effectiveness of the interactive reading approach and encouraged them to actively engage in their children’s reading activities at home. They could have also advocated for the implementation of interactive reading approaches in schools.

Education Researchers and Scholars: The study’s findings could have contributed to the existing body of knowledge in the field of education, specifically in reading comprehension and teaching methodologies. Researchers and scholars could have used this information to further explore and refine interactive reading approaches or conduct similar studies in different contexts.

Education Policy Makers: Policymakers at the local, regional, or national level could have benefited from the study’s findings when making decisions regarding educational policies and practices. The results could have informed policies aimed at improving reading comprehension outcomes and guided the allocation of resources for teacher training and professional development programs.

Community Members: The study could have had an indirect impact on the community as a whole. By improving reading comprehension skills among Senior Secondary School students, it could have contributed to the overall educational development of the community, leading to potential long-term benefits such as increased literacy rates, improved employment opportunities, and enhanced social and economic well-being.

1.6 SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study on the influence of the interactive reading approach on the performance of Senior Secondary School students in reading comprehension in Pankshin Local Government Area encompassed a specific geographical area, namely Pankshin Local Government Area. The study focused on Senior Secondary School students as the target population, specifically examining their reading comprehension performance. The research investigated the impact of an interactive reading approach on students’ reading comprehension skills within the given area. However, the study was delimited to Senior Secondary School students in Pankshin Local Government Area, excluding students from other educational levels or students outside the specified geographical boundary. Additionally, the study did not explore other factors that might have influenced reading comprehension performance, such as socio-economic background, prior reading ability, or individual learning differences.