Remedial Reading in Improving Comprehension Skills of High School Students

Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM

Background of the Study

All in all, Alejo (2015) of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization – Innotech (SEAMEO-Innotech) sums up the enhanced K to 12 curriculum as designed to provide a holistic education for all. The K to 12 curriculum is more than just adding years to a child’s schooling. Implemented starting in 2011 and signed into law in 2013, the longer educational cycle of the K-12 curriculum is seen as critical in giving Filipino students a higher quality of education. Now decongested, it will give students ample time to master basic academic skills as well as to participate in co-curricular and community activities.

Undeniably, the curricular reform has tremendously brought big changes in the structure of the educational system especially in the public school. It brings into focus a new profile of the Filipino learners. As Bro. Armin Luistro,,former DepEd Secretary pointed out, “Ang bagong Pilipino – higit sa pagiging maka-tao, maka-Diyos, maka-bayan, at maka-kalikasan ay kailangang magtaglay ng kasanayan at pananaw na angkop sa 21st century.” The K to 12 Curriculum is focused on the learner’s acquisition of the 21st century skills such as Learning and Innovation skills which take into scope creativity and curiosity, critical thinking, problem solving, and risk-taking, adaptability, managing complexity and self-direction and higher-order thinking and sound reasoning. This calls for making learning and meaning-making multimodal. Such is the provision for the new curriculum that it demands utmost attention and consideration from education stakeholders for its implementation to work as purported.

For the teachers at the forefront of instruction bringing to fruition the objectives of the K to 12 curriculum entails subscribing to prescribed standards. They have to prepare budgeted lessons. These budgeted lessons are very demanding since the teacher needs to tackle lessons every quarter for the school year. Lessons prepared for each quarter are unattainable and immeasurable since they primarily cause burdens to both teachers and learners. A teacher always rushes to finish each lesson for one to three days relative to the budgeted lesson. Teachers; thus, devise ways in which lessons are to be covered as budgeted and ensure that competencies are met as stated in the curriculum guide. Teaching literature though is another matter. Think of longer literary materials needing advance reading and greater coverage without sacrificing the allotted time for such. This brings to the fore varying strategies employed by teachers teaching literature. These strategies target foremost the reading development of the students particularly where comprehension is concerned.

According to Ingerslev (2012) there are different approaches to literature teaching and are used, too, for different purposes. One may employ advanced reading where the students have an idea of the subject content and of the aim of the subject which form the basis of their ways of reading and learning. Ingerslev concurred that the teacher’s conception of knowledge, view of the subject, and idea of the ideal educational setting is decisive for the teacher’s teaching practice in literature. This approach results to students having conceptions of learning and ideas of educational setting which are decisive for their study behaviour in studying literature. Baird and Mitchell (2014) noted how responsibility and control of the lesson is wholly the teacher’s. Students are made to understand the nature, purpose or progress of the lesson by performing set tasks. When this is done students are fully informed and involved in managing the lesson and lesson content in literature. In this case students participate actively according to teacher directions. Advancing ways of learning literary texts as Biggs (2015) pointed out affirm how teachers assume responsibility and control for lesson nature and development. Moreover, it develops in the learners to develop the ability to look at themselves in relation to the text and to look at a text on several levels. Meyer and Boulton-Lewis (2014) professed how progression of lessons in literature is done without fail when teachers develop schemes to ensure continuity and coverage of lessons. Consequently, such scheme as Ono (2010) asserts, also addresses reading difficulties students may have pertinent to reading comprehension. Al- Khateeb (2010) confirms this when he avers how remedial reading enables learners to not only focus on the text but also on the interpretation of its deeper meanings. Reading comprehension is evident when this happens.

In the Philippines the Department of Education’s Policy Guidelines on Daily Lesson Preparation for the K to 12 Basic Education Program as stated in DepEd Order No. 42, s. 2016 directs teachers to follow the competencies set by DepEd as reflected in the budget of work. This entails managing their classes and lessons effectively and ensuring that learning outcomes are achieved. It means that lessons are not just covered as scheduled but are also understood. This is easier said than done taking to mind the conduct of division and school-based activities which consequently affect the carrying out of budgeted lessons. To address this teachers have to employ strategies to keep within the budget of work. Quijano (2015) professed how teachers keep within the budgeted lessons by means of strategies such as lesson study, advanced reading and giving of homework. Dita (2016) on the other hand highlighted how teachers utilize advanced reading in teaching literature to abide with the budget of work set by DepEd in the curriculum. According to Dita the use of the said strategy targets both observance of the budgeted lessons and reading comprehension of the given material/s.

At Pangasinan National High School sans the interruptions brought about by class cancellations, holidays and school-based activities among other events, budgeted lessons can be completed for another day or in succeeding days. The administration has included remedial reading as intervention to problems brought about by class interruptions. Moreover, the intervention serves as the school’s remedial program in improving the reading ability and comprehension level of the students. This is particularly true to students who are left behind specially in World Literature. The remedial reading sessions is seen as to enhance reading abilities of students in understanding literary text for better learning experience. This stems from the observation of the English teachers that reading literature is one of the activities which is neglected by most students. It has been noted that instead of appreciating the study of literature, the learner tends to develop aversion to World Literature, a subject which has to be appreciated by everyone with its collection of interesting stories. However, due to complication of words, in which case, it may eventually result to disinterest of study on the part of the learner. Furthermore, the period of time to study each piece of writing, given one-hour period for the subject is another unfavorable factor to understanding.

It is in this context that this study is conducted. It looked into the utilization of remedial reading as a strategy in teaching literature in keeping with DepEd’s budget of work and as an intervention in improving students’ reading ability. In particular it looked into the effects of remedial reading in teaching of World Literature to the Grade 10 students at the Pangasinan National High School this school year 2017 – 2018. Through remedial reading, the teacher is afforded the chance to elaborate the meaning of a certain prose or poetry by deeply engaging the students to relate its content to some issues affecting our society. There is the chance to impart greater appreciation and profound interpretation of World Literature. The impact of this study will let the students explore World Literature in a lighter, enjoyable and accessible learning area through the use of remedial reading. Moreover, this study will afford the teachers to optimize this strategy in improving students’ reading comprehension and in coping with the coverage of budgeted lessons.

Statement of the Problem

This study determined the effects of remedial reading in the teaching of World Literature to Grade 10 students enrolled during the academic year 2017-2018 at Pangasinan National High School.

Specifically, this study answered the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the students in terms of:

a. age;
b. sex;
c. third grading grade in English;
d. parents’ educational attainment, and
e. monthly family income?

2. What is the performance of the students in World Literature after the exposure to remedial reading?
3. Is there a significant difference between the performance of the students in World Literature before and after remedial reading?
4. Is there a significant difference between the performance of the students in World Literature exposed and not exposed to remedial reading?

Research Hypotheses

In this study, the following hypotheses were tested in its null form at 0.05 level of significance.

1. There is no significant difference between the performance of the students in World Literature before and after remedial reading.
2. There is no significant difference between the performance of the students in World Literature exposed and not exposed to remedial reading.

Significance of the Study

This study deemed significant to the following:

School Administrators. The results of this study would give an output to their school that would show an effective way of making the curriculum relevant, functional and effective to their teachers for the learners to meet the standards in providing quality education for all since they are known to be as instructional leaders and must look for effective programs that would benefit the students. They would also be institutionalizing the conduct of remedial reading since one of the key result areas in education is literacy.

Department Heads in English. This study is relevant to them in terms of providing solutions to existing problems in teaching World Literature to the students. As front liners in English, they must think of innovative and effective ways in order to make the teaching-learning process active and engaging. They would also have the opportunity to initiate programs that would strengthen the conduct of remedial reading in teaching English through the development of reading materials to be used in remedial class.

English Teachers. Through this study, they would have an effective way to make the delivery of instruction effective to the students towards the attainment of the learning competencies necessary for the subject. Thus, they must always be updated, well-informed and keen observer in terms of students’ performance. They would also make remedial reading sessions engaging and productive to the students.

Parents. This study would remind parents that reading is one of the fundamental skills that every student should master in school necessary for lifelong learning. This would be an eye-opener for them to encourage their children to actively support this innovation. It would let them know that the distance in going to school is not a factor that hinders learning. It will also remind their children regarding the effect of social networking sites.

Students. They are the main reasons why this study is conducted in order for them to really appreciate the teaching of World Literature through remedial reading as an aid to fully understand the text being studied and not to be just passive learners.

Community. This study will be relevant to the community in terms of having a well-informed and literate citizen as reading is one of the most important fundamental skills that everyone should know in order for the smooth implementation of its programs and policies. It would also encourage stakeholders to support the program.

Scope and Delimitation

The study focused on determining the effects of remedial reading in teaching of World Literature. The subjects of this study consisted of two regular sections in Grade 10 at Pangasinan National High School, Lingayen, Pangasinan enrolled during the school year 2017-2018. The researcher coordinated with the principal and the department head in the conduct of the remedial reading sessions.

The major research instrument was a 60-item multiple choice test which covered three reading selections, namely: Run Papoy, Run…to Your Freedom, to Your Happiness, to the Clouds, A Beautiful Woman I Cannot Forget and A Grain as Big as a Hen’s Egg. The three selections were taken from the Department of Education English Module Grade 10 that focused on World Literature. These topics were included in the students’ learning materials as prescribed by DepEd.

Definition of Terms

The following terms are defined operationally and conceptually in order to present how they are used in the study:

Remedial Reading. It is an approach in reading aimed at increasing speed and comprehension by correcting poor reading habits (http://www.dictionary.com/browse/remedial-reading). Operationally, this refers to the intervention given to the identified students in teaching of World Literature.

Students. These are persons formally engaged in learning, especially one enrolled in a school (http://www.dictionary.com/browse/student). In this study, they are the Grade 10- Section 18 and Grade 10- Section 19 students who are heterogeneously grouped for the school year 2017-2018 at Pangasinan National High School in Lingayen, Pangasinan.

Students not exposed in remedial reading. They are the group of students who do not receive treatment by the researchers (https://www.google.com. ph/#q=control+group+meaning). Operationally, it is composed of students particularly Grade 10- Section 19 who are not exposed in remedial reading.

Students exposed in remedial reading. It is the group in an experiment that receives the variable being tested. One variable is tested at a time. The students exposed in remedial reading are compared to the students not exposed in remedial reading, which do not receive the test variable. In this way, experimental group is used to find answers in the experiment (https://www.google.com.ph/#q=experimental+group). In this study, it is composed of students particularly Grade 10-Section 19 who are exposed in remedial reading.

Teaching. This refers to the act, practice, or profession of a teacher (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/teaching).Operationally, this refers to the delivery of the instruction in the classroom to the students in line with the learning competencies prescribed by the Department of Education.

World Literature. It is sometimes used to refer to the sum total of the world’s national literatures, but usually it refers to the circulation of works into the wider world beyond their country of origin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_literature). In this study, this is one of the two aspects in English Grade 10 aside from grammar in the K to 12 Curriculum that provides variety of texts particularly world literary pieces which are relevant and meaningful to learners.

K to 12 Basic Education Program. It covers Kindergarten and 12 years of basic education (six years of primary education, four years of Junior High School, and two years of Senior High School [SHS]) to provide sufficient time for mastery of concepts and skills, develop lifelong learners, and prepare graduates for tertiary education, middle-level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship (http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/k-12/). In this study, this is the curriculum wherein the students are included and engaged in the study of World Literature in English.

Chapter 2

REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents the literature and studies reviewed to have connection to the present study. This includes the literature on remedial reading, and on profile variables. It also includes studies that focus on remedial reading.

RELATED LITERATURE

On Remedial Reading

Reading, as Ewing (2016) claims, is touted as one of the most important academic language skills as it serves as a means for independent learning. It is also regarded as a way to open the door of enlightenment and enjoyment, and a valuable instrument for learning in the content fields. As Scott (2010) assumes that the learners’ ability to use reading strategies is the most critical factor determining their reading comprehension and consequently in their performance in reading assessments. It’s this importance of reading that compels parents to ensure that literacy begins at home, to ensure that they teach their children even before they send them to school as Hill (2011) notes in the National Institute for Literacy. Brown (2013) notes; however, that despite this period of language learning, there are still students who are either non-readers or whose level of reading comprehension is poor. As one aspect of communication process, reading is not just a subject but rather an information-gathering and utilization process. This goes to show that reading skills venture all areas of specialization to primarily understand their own context. Van Keer (2014) highlights this when alludes to reading as reasoning as it requires readers to support analysis of information presented by a writer in a text. Consequently, this process enables students engaged in remedial reading to identify basic information found in the text and be able to locate them in accordance with allotted time. As Dalton and Proctor (2010) point out reading enables students to differentiate ideas and relate it to the actual situation. This study would give the students the opportunity to interpret concepts in a lighter mood through the guidance of the teacher. This in turn would differentiate the atmosphere of an actual classroom situation to the remedial reading session facilitated by the teacher.

Undeniably, the rapid changes in our society brought about several factors which affect reading habits of the students. Attwell (2010) attributes the emergence of new words which gives rise to a wealth of vocabulary to the advent of technology and globalization. Consequently, Hughes (2010) notes how these new words affect the students who may have difficulty of understanding where its context and correct usage are concerned. Thus, the intended sessions of remedial reading include the ability of students to identify difficult words in a certain selection and be able to comprehend its meaning using the dictionary. This also gives them background about the selection in relation to their personal experiences.

Similarly, Mc Cabe (2011) stresses the pedagogic approaches used by teachers today in integrating techno-centric words in text used in contemporary literature. This allows an interaction between the reader and the text as the reader uses mental activities to construct meaning from text. These pedagogic approaches bring about the conduct of activities generally referred to as reading strategies or reading skills. One example of these pedagogic approaches is remedial reading. Through remedial reading, the students are provided with strategies for better understanding. In relation this, Ferris (2009) underscores the need for intervention such as a special reading program to address students’ reading deficiencies. This compels administrators to implement a remedial reading program to improve classroom instruction in reading. Where meeting the demands of a technological age is concerned, Nederveld (2011) claims that a special reading intervention such as remedial reading will afford the students the chance to cope with their regular classroom sessions particularly in literature.

Significantly, Raudenbush (n.d.) mentions that remedial programs target students who lag behind their peers by a grade level or more on reading tests. Research on the effectiveness of remedial reading interventions shows varying results but also points to effective methods to support struggling readers. Basically the purpose of this study is to let struggling readers improve their reading level and catch up in the regular classroom instruction. For reading interventions to succeed, Allington, (2012) believes that there is a need to match students individually to the intervention that will work best. Wallace (2010) opines that effective reading remediation involves teachers modelling for students the abilities they struggle with and guiding students as they practice these skills. Interventions should then focus on teaching students how to use strategies to improve comprehension of texts read. This intervention serves as an avenue for students to develop awareness in the importance of learning World Literature by exploring literary text in a lighter mood for them to catch up in their regular class.

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