A study on: Students Reading Attitude, Reading Instruction and Reading Performances: in the Case of Grade 10 Students of Entoto Amba Secondary School
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Date
2016-05
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The main objective of the study was to explore students reading attitude, reading instruction and
reading performances. A descriptive research design which consisted of first collecting
quantitative data and then collecting qualitative was used to investigate the attitude of learners
towards reading skills. That is, both quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques were
employed to analyze the data collected. There were four main measurement tools employed in
this study: 1) a questionnaire, 2) an interview, 3) a class room observation and 4) a reading test.
These tools were used to measure the attitudes of the students towards reading skills. The
subjects of the study were selected from Entoto Amba secondary school that is in grade 10.
Ninety one students who were selected using stratified sampling technique filled in the
questionnaire and took the reading test. Six students were randomly selected from the group for
interview. Three teachers were chosen by using purposive sampling technique and they were
observed. After the administration of the data gathering tools, the data were collected and
analyzed. The quantitative data was analyzed using frequency count and percentage. The
qualitative data was thematically analyzed. Attempts were made to triangulate the qualitative
and quantitative data. Thus, the results of the questionnaire, individual interviews, class room
observation and the reading test showed that most students held positive attitudes towards
reading skills in most aspects even if they were not committed to do reading tasks. The results of
the interview and the class room observation revealed that reading was not taught effectively.
Students did not get adequate reading practices. In addition to this, the results of the interview
revealed that majority of the students agreed that the class room teacher was better in teaching
reading skills than the plasma teacher. The performance of the students in the reading test was
also found to be average. Finally, the results of the study also revealed that the reading
instruction and the students’ reading performance were significantly interconnected. The study
concluded that the weaknesses that the students show in reading in English are mainly rooted in
the method of teaching reading. It is, thus, suggested that the teaching of reading in Entoto
Amba secondary school needs a thorough revision in terms of the methodology used in the
teaching of reading. Teachers also use the process and communicative approaches of teaching
reading
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Keywords
Reading instruction and reading