CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

This chapter presents (1) Background, (2) Problem of the study, (3) Objectives of the

study, (4) Significance of the study

1.1 Background

Reading plays an important role in making people acquire knowledge, information and
skills in communication. Reading is the key to learning in all aspects of life; the people often
learn something by reading. (Nunan, 2006, p. 69) defines reading as a set of skills that involves
making sense and deriving meaning from the printed words. When people read, they often try
to find the meaning of what they have read. Reading is multidimensional process that involves
the eyes, the ears, the mouth and most importantly, the brain (Brassell & Ransinski, 2008,
p.15). Reading ability will be developed best in association with writing, listening and speaking
activities.

Nation (2009, p. 49) reading is a source of learning and source of enjoyment. As a source
of learning, reading can establish previously learned vocabulary and grammar, and encourage
learners to learn more and continue with their studies. Reading can be a source of enjoyment
and a way of gaining knowledge of the world. As learners gain skill and fluency in reading, their
enjoyment can increase. The goal of reading is comprehension. Comprehension is what entices
the reader to continue reading (Caldwell, 2008, p. 175) based on some opinions and previous
studies of some researchers and experts above, it can be said that reading and comprehension
are in one package, one supports the other and they are correlated.

Knowing the meaning of words alone does not help the reader to comprehend and
understand what the students read (Westwood, 2008, pp. 33-37). Reading is not easy to be
mastered. There are eight problems that exist in reading comprehension. They are limited
vocabulary knowledge, lack of fluency, lack of familiarity with the subject matter, difficulty level
of the text (readability), inadequate use of effective strategies, weak verbal reasoning, problem
with processing information and problems in recalling information after reading. Additional
problem in reading are lack of interest and laziness of the readers.
Significance of the Study

The result of the study will be valuable to stakeholders in the education sectors
including parents, teachers, and students. Reading comprehension as a multi-faceted process
where readers construct meaning as they interact with the text.

Comprehension is only possible if the reader activates prior knowledge and past
experiences to actively respond to the reading material. The way each reader uses their
background knowledge and strategies to understand the text then leads to different
interpretation of the reading materials.

Parents The parents can plan activities which could positively influence their children’s
reading habits that would contribute to overall academic performance in a school. For example
enjoying the story book with a child at home can make a significant positive difference in
reading comprehension.

Teachers The teacher will learn powerful lessons on how reading comprehension practices
which enhance their skills in dealing with reading difficulties of the learners and how to improve
on teaching methods when handling reading comprehension will lead to the improvement of
academic performance and on what teaching approaches they can use to contribute towards
reading abilities among learners.

Students It is helpful for students to understand various concepts that reading is important
skills to improve their academic performances and to engage the learners to read with
comprehension. The studies support that through reading increases reading comprehension,
vocabulary growth, spelling facility, understanding of grammar and have greater content
knowledge, which can make a positive significant relationship to higher achievement test in all
subject areas and has impact to student’s academic performances.
 Statement of the problem

A study was conducted to find the correlation between reading comprehension practices
and students academic performances among the second year BEED in DHVTSU-STC.

1. The types of reading comprehension difficulties experienced by the learners be describe in

terms of:

1.1 Word recognition;

1.2 Poor vocabulary;

1.3 Poor fluency;

1.4 Laziness;

1.5 Reading strategies

1.6 Lack of interest

2. To focus on the appropriateness of the instruction methods used to teach reading

comprehension

2.1 Silent reading

2.2 Discussion

2.3 listening and speaking

3. To ascertain the relationship between reading comprehension and student’s academic

performances

3.1 Is there a relationship between reading comprehension and student’s academic

performances?

Theoretical Framework

The “Schema Theory” is relevant to the study which specifically focuses on reading
comprehension. It plays an important role in achieving the objectives of the study.

According to Schema theory, a text provides directions for listeners or readers on how
they should retrieve or construct meaning from their own previously acquired knowledge. The
previously acquired knowledge structures are called schemata.
 Comprehension involves old information which we use to interact with new information
or to a new message (Anderson &Pearson, 1984). Schema theory is an active coding technique
necessary for facilitating the recall knowledge. When new knowledge is perceived, it is coded
into either pre-existing schema or organized into new script. It organized mental structures to
understand and associate with what is being presented to them. Relating new information and
experiences to what they already know the way people learn.

When individual obtain knowledge they attempt to fit that knowledge into some
structure in the memory that makes them to make sense of that knowledge. In the light of
schema theory, reading can be thought of as comprehension process that involves three stages:
pre-reading, while reading and post reading stages. Seeking student’s involvement, interest and
motivation and also provides language preparation are the main importance of pre-reading
stage, activities prepare the learners for what they will read and set the task second stage.
During reading the aims are skill practice, helping learner to put together what he has read and
relate the information to his own experiences, opinions and knowledge. The purpose of the
reading enables the teacher to monitor the learners. Other skills such as writing, speaking and
vocabulary development are involves in post reading stage (Lindsay & Knight, 2006). The theory
supports activating prior knowledge and recognizes the importance of the three reading stages;
pre-reading, while reading and post reading.

Hypothesis or Assumption
Definition of Terms