PRESBYTERIAN UNIVERSITY, GHANA

FACULTY OF EDUCATION

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

USING PHONIC METHOD TO HELP BASIC TWO LEARNERS TO READ IN THE

YILO KROBO MUNICIPALITY, SOMANYA.

NAME OF STUDENT: TEYE JOYCE TERKUOR

INDEX NUMBER: 22060028

COURSE TITLE: RESEARCH METHOD

COURSE CODE: PUCM 703

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Table of Content

1.0 Background of the study............................................................................................................3

2.0 Problem Statement.....................................................................................................................6

3.0 Purpose of the study...................................................................................................................8

4.0 Research Questions....................................................................................................................8

5.0 Significance of the Study...........................................................................................................9

6.0 Research Design......................................................................................................................10

7.0 Study Site and Sample Population...........................................................................................12

8.0 Sample and Sampling Technique............................................................................................13

9.0 Research Instrument................................................................................................................14

10.0 Data Collection Technique....................................................................................................15

11.0 Data Analysis Technique.......................................................................................................16

12.0 References..............................................................................................................................17

APPENDICES...............................................................................................................................20

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1.0 Background of the study

English is the country's official language and is extensively used throughout the country.

Language of government and administrations; business; the academic profession; news media.

Almost everyone uses it on the internet. Every aspect of our national growth relies on the use of

the English language. As a result, reading is an essential component of studying other disciplines

and in higher education. For these and other reasons, English is a standard course of study in

Ghanaian educational establishments. The importance of English in Ghana's educational system

may be stated without reservation.

The school's curriculum is built on the foundation of English. As a result, the art of learning is a

common thread across all courses taught in school (Torto, 2017). Challenges in teaching and

learning reading at the elementary school level, particularly in the lower primary schools, have

harmed the academic achievement of lower primary students in general and the careers of

numerous school leavers in particular, according to this study.

At the very least, students in elementary schools should be able to do basic educational tasks

such as experimentation, observation, identification, speaking, writing, addition, and subtraction.

English reading in elementary school sufficiently prepares students for their future academic

endeavours in Junior High School (JHS), Senior High School (SHS), and other educational

institutions. Reading is an essential talent for today's guy. It is critical for everyone, regardless of

educational attainment, professional background, or vocation. Literacy and knowledge may also

be gained via reading. It's also a way to get your point across. To be a fully literate human being,

one must read at a high level of proficiency. Thus, the ability to read unlocks the door to a wealth

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of information, experiences, and happiness. Reading books allows one's imagination to travel

across the globe searching for new data (Gao et al., 2019).

Due to their first language interfering with their future language education, students have poor

reading comprehension. According to Lyon (2000), children who struggle in their first language

may also struggle in the target language. Obiegbu (2018) firmly believe that poor first language

readers will have trouble reading in a second language. Due to sociopolitical and historical

factors, Ghana has relied on English as a national language instrument. It's a given that English is

the official language of government, education, commerce, politics, and paperwork. Pupils in the

lower elementary are urged to acquire English to switch from local language to English

education.

To use English as a medium of teaching in the upper grades, students must read, write, and

develop basic sight vocabulary. All instructional resources are written in English, except for

those about Ghanaian languages. The wide range of academic interests that students who are

fluent in English can pursue results from this. Children should be encouraged to read books

regularly, as reading is a gateway to education. Books present us with reading contexts,

according to Troseth and Strouse (2017). They say that a lack of reading leads to a lack of

proficiency in a foreign language.

In another way, this view emphasizes the need to study how to read from the beginning of their

education. According to current findings, most elementary school students in Ghana cannot read

and never catch up with their peers or become competent readers in learning to read (Adu-

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Sarkodie et al., 2015). Individuals are worried about the developing trend of low reading ability.

Different views are being stated on this topic. The inability of basic school students to read has

been blamed on a variety of various problems. Here are a few examples:

1. The use of mother tongue (LI) as a medium of instruction during the early years of

schooling.

2. Due to a lack of well-trained English teachers,

3. There is a lack of English reading textbooks and supplemental materials.

According to Burns and Roe (1980), "phonics is the association of speech sounds (phonemes)

with printed symbols (graphemes)". In a single letter or a combination of letters in the alphabet, a

letter may stand for many different sounds. For example, in the following words: tape/, /card/,

/cat/, and /father/ the letter 'a' had different sounds in the various words. In addition, li single

sound may be represented by more than one letter. As a result of the above, phonics is the set of

relationships between phonology (the sound of speech) and orthography (the spelling patterns of

written language).

Hence, phonics is the relationship that exists between printed letters and the speech sounds that

these letters represent. In applying phonic skills to an unknown word, the reader blends a series

of sounds dictated by the order in which some particular letter appear in words. It the view of

Heilman (1981), phonic instinct is a facet of reading instruction that leads rue child to understand

that printed letters in printed words represent the speech sounds heard when words are

pronounced and it involves the actual teaching of sound, which is associated with a particular

letter or combination of letters.

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It noticed that some instruction in phonics in the beginning stages of reading produces better

results than no instruction in phonics. For a child to be able to read, he or she must be aware of

the connection between the sounds made by the man's voice marks made on paper to represent

sounds (Appiah, 2010).

2.0 Problem Statement

The advancement of knowledge and skills acquisition as components of human activities has

beyond reasonable doubt been facilitated through reading. Commerce, education, recreation and

other aspects of human life basically in recent times require some amount of reading and

pronunciation of words to perform well. The English language is the medium through which all

subjects except Ghanaian Language are channeled. It is, therefore, very significant in the life of

every child who is receiving formal education. The English Language is also the only official

language being used at our workplaces throughout the country. It will, therefore, be impossible

for an individual who can neither read nor communicate in the English Language to be employed

in certain workplaces.

Poor reading in the English Language is a major problem for most school pupils especially those

in the lower primary class. The excessive use of vernacular between students and their peers,

students and their teachers, and students and their parents, have contributed immensely to this

problem. It is very difficult teaching these pupils to comprehend when the English language is

used in a formal setting. It was observed that during reading lessons, majority of the pupils could

not read. They found it difficult to identify simple words, and vocabulary and as a result, only ten

per cent voluntarily try to read during reading lessons. This is characterized by some difficulties.

This problem contributes immensely to the difficulty involved in teaching other subjects since

they are also to be taught and studied in the English Language.

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Most basic school pupils in the Yilo Krobo Municipality cannot correctly read simple sentences

in English. One rarely found these pupils making good use of reading materials that are available

during their leisure time. This, if unattended to, will have the following adverse effects:

1. These children would find it difficult to read and write good English in the future, which

will impact the production of human resources in our country.

2. It will negatively affect pupils' ability to communicate well in English and social life.

3. Pupils’ may not perform well in English in future examinations, mainly in the B.E.C.E.

Phonics, which is the association of speech sound with printed symbols, can be an effective

method to help pupils read without or with little difficulty in basic schools.

Rivers and Temporally (1978) have argued that phonic method is the best way of teaching

reading. According to Harris and Sippy (1979:53), phonics refers to a system of teaching reading

that builds on alphabetic principles, a system of which a central component is the teaching

correspondence between letters or group of letters and their pronunciations.

They raid that intensive, explicit phonics instruction is a valuable component of beginning

reading programs. In addition, Goodman (1967) indicates that phonic is one method of teaching

children how to read. Children are taught how to sound out new words by learning the following

items:

1. Consonant letters sounds: b,c,d,f,g,h,k,i,m,n,p,q,r,s,t,v,w,x,x,y,z.

2. Blend sounds: br, dr, fr, etc.

3. Short vowels sound: a, e, i, o, u.

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The attest to this finding, Carroll (1964) cited in Harris and Sippy (1979) mentions that when the

learner has mastered the important phoneme correspondences the learner maybe said to have

broken the code of English orthography. Phonic is one of the essential skills that help children to

identify printed words that they have not seen before and understand meaning that those words

represent and without phonics, most children cannot become self- reliant. Efficient readers have

now come to benefit from the use of the phonics method. In spite of all these challenges faced by

pupils in the basic school with respect to reading and the benefits of applying the phonic method

in teaching pupils to be able to read, it has received little attention among researchers and policy

makers in the basic education field.

3.0 Purpose of the study

The main objective of the study is to use phonic methods to assist basic two school pupils in

reading simple sentences in English correctly.

The study specifically will look at:

1. To establish the causes of reading disability among school children.

2. To develop strategies to help improve pupils reading skills.

3. To examine the impact of the strategy on their reading difficulties.

4.0 Research Questions

The following research questions will guide the study:

1. What are the causes of reading disability among school children?

2. Which strategy can be used to improve the pupils reading skills?

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 3. What extent will the strategies assist pupils in overcoming their reading difficulties?

5.0 Significance of the Study

A major purpose of phonics is to help the child pronounce words correctly with the hope of

recognizing these words from his or her oral or aural vocabulary in the course of reading.

According to De Boer (1964), many pupils at the early stage of reading do not know what skill

or enable him or her identify new and unfamiliar words in print. An in-depth analysis from the

findings of Adams (1994) about phonics shows that beginning readers always find it difficult to

recognize new words. However, knowledge in letter- Bound relationship, associated with context

clues, helps children to understand what they read.

In phonics method of teaching, we study the position of the organs of speech, example the

tongue, lip and the vocal cord in production of different sounds. The articulator's description can

help us when we are trying to produce unfamiliar sounds. In speech production, the organs are in

continual motion so the sound may vary slightly as they produce in association with other sounds

or given different degree of stress. An example in C in 'cup' - /k/ /A/ /p/.

According to Morgan (2007), whole languages are mostly used in conjunction with the phonetic

method. Whole language method of teaching reading implements a belief in the importance of

learning meaning first and then applying that meaning to written language. Morgan also cited

Spache (1962) and Honig (2001:2) by indicating that "more than any other approach to the

teaching of reading, the language - experience approach conceives of earning to read as part of

the process of language development. This recognizes the close relationship among reading,

speaking, writing, and listening (p. 170). Proponents of this method believe that elementary

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student will acquire reading skills by being read to, immersion in print and learning them in the

context of reading for meaning". Based on this, the Phonetic reading technique will be used to

improve the reading skill of the pupils.

It is hoped that the outcome of this study will assist the pupils in overcoming the difficulties

associated with their reading. This will help them to read, understand them and construct good

sentences on their own in English. Teachers will benefit from this study's findings, particularly;

those in the lower primary, identify and use appropriate teaching techniques, improving pupils'

ability to read and communicate in English.

It would assist the teachers in understanding why reading difficulties occur (in English) and how

to overcome them. This will equip them with basic skills in reading. It would also serve as

reference material for other researchers who will conduct similar studies. It will help educate

policymakers such as G.E.S and C.R.D.D. to design modern instructional strategies for adoption

by teachers.

6.0 Research Design

Research design is a planning blueprint that specifies how data relating to a given problem

should be collected and analysed (Dela, 2011). This study will employ action research study

design. An Action Research involves is identifying a problem, planning how to carry out a

detailed investigation into the causes of that problem and finding solution to the problem through

interventions. It is a case study, which is a detailed account of peculiar developments pertaining

to a particular place over a period of time needing inquiry or investigation. It falls under the

descriptive research, which involves collecting data in order to test hypothesis concerning the

status of the subject of study. It concerns the present status of phenomena.

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Villainy and Webb (1992) sees action research as an approach which requires teacher researchers

to use evidence to identify issues and gain understanding of problems which they are directly

concerned. The study will be an account of peculiar developments pertaining to a particular place

over a period needing inquiring or investigation.

According to Burn (2010), there are four basic characteristics of classroom action research:

Action research is situational; diagnosing a problem in a specific context and attempting to solve

it in that context. It is collaborative; with team of researcher and practitioner(s)working together.

It is participatory; as team members take a part directly implementing the research. It is self–

evaluative; modifications are continuously evaluated within the on-going situation to improve

practice.

Action Research (CAR) serves as a tool to improve the quality of classroom teaching. In the

classroom, Action Research (CAR) can serve as: tool to address the problems diagnosed in

learning situations in the classroom, in-office training tools; equip teachers with the skills and

methods and encourage the emergence of a new self-awareness, particularly through peer

teaching, tool to incorporate into existing systems (naturally) an additional or innovative

approaches, tool to improve communication between teachers and researchers, tool to provide an

alternative to approaches that are subjective ,impressionistic to a problem solving class.

This research will be carried out within context of the teacher’s (in this case the researcher’s)

environment that is with the students at the school. According to Burn (2010), there are four

basic characteristics of Action Research: planning, implementing or acting, observing, reflection.

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This study takes three cycles; pre-intervention, intervention and post-intervention, all deploying

these four steps: first is planning; Burns (1999) said that this phase is an important role, for this

phase, action plan is developed based on the existing problems in the field with the aim to

increase the ability in the era more specific. The rationale for the design is to help teachers to get

better understanding of what goes on in a teaching 1earning situation and to come out with some

practical activities that will help students.

7.0 Study Site and Sample Population

The study will be conducted in Somanya. Somanya is a town and the capital of Yilo Krobo

Municipality, a Municipality in the Eastern Region of south Ghana. Somanya has a 2013

settlement population of 20,596 people. Because the town is surrounded by a number of farming

communities to the north of it, the name Somanya is used to encompass a collection of smaller

communities around a bigger one. As a result, the 2021 Population and Housing Census

conducted by the Ghana statistical service put the population of Somanya at 87,847, representing

3.3% of the region's total population. Males constitute 48.2 percent of the population while

females represent 51.8 percent, according to the Ghana Census Bureau.

Population refers to all individuals of interest to the researcher. Agyedu et al., 1999 also explain

population as a set of individuals (objects, subjects, events) that have common observable

characteristics for which a researcher is interested.

The population for this study will be all basic two pupils attending public schools in Somanya.

The accessible population will consist of all class two pupils of some five selected public schools

in Somanya.

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Figure 1: Source: Town and Country Planning, Somanya (Town and Country Planning,

Somanya)

8.0 Sample and Sampling Technique

The study will compose of two hundred (200) basic two pupils from five selected schools in the

Yilo Krobo Municipality, Somanya to have a broader and wholistic approach to the research

questions to be tackled.

Cluster sampling technique will be employed in categorizing the schools in Somanya into

clusters, after which simple random test will be used to sample the five schools from the various

clusters. The main technique that will be used for the selection of the participants is purposive

sampling. The selection of this technique is because the participants are most likely to be

informative about what is being investigated. Avoke (2005) commented that in purposive

sampling, the researcher hand-picks the cases to be included in the sample based on their

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judgment of the typicality, which means the sample was chosen for a purpose of reducing the

possible incidences of bias in the final results.

9.0 Research Instrument

The study will adopt the following research instrument;

a) Observation

Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (4th edition, 2016) defined as the process of

watching something or someone for a period to find solutions to a particular problem. It is an

opportunity for looking at or observing what is taking place or occurring in a real-life situation,

classifying and recording pertinent happenings according to planned schemes. The researcher

will use visual means and critically observed the behaviour of both students and teachers while

lessons were in progress on different occasions. Their behaviour towards the teaching and

learning of English reading comprehension will be observed. To obtain first-hand and relevant

information on the ground, the researcher will ensure that the target population was not aware

that they were being observed to enable the actual information to be gathered. The observation

will be unstructured and there will be a checklist prepared to guide the researcher.

b) Interviews

The interview will be done by the researcher to get the detailed information and to make a

crosscheck of students’ impressions of learning activities during the research. The researcher will

use unstructured interview method to collect information from the pupils and some teachers.

Interview will be done to collect complete information with greater understanding. It will more

personal.

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 c) Reading exercise

Reading exercises will be given to the study participants to observe their appreciation and

pronunciation of consonants, vowels as well as blending them. Reading passages will be taken

from their English Language text books as well as other story books available in their libraries.

d) Test (Pre-test and Post-test)

A test is a learning outcome assessment tool used to assess and measure student learning

outcomes related to the mastery of teaching materials appropriate to the learning objectives. The

test will be used to measure the level of student's reading skills. The researcher will conduct tests

in the study. Pre-intervention and post intervention stage tests will be conducted with the class by

the researcher. The pre- intervention stage tests will be conducted with the class by the

researcher to test students reading ability. This served as a means of gathering data on the

reading proficiency of students. The intervention stage test will be conducted to assess student’s

level of development in response to the approach during the intervention stage. On the other

hand, the post intervention stage test will be served as a source of reinforcement to the students.

It will also aid the researcher to evaluate the level of understanding of the students from the

lesson taught and identify their weaknesses.

10.0 Data Collection Technique

This study will collect data on pupils' pronunciation of words in English reading. Most of them

are from pupils' class readers with the use of word cards. The Data collected will focus on how

pupils could recognize words in isolation and in a given passage with them through words,

sentences and picture word card. The study participants will be given a passage to read and

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mistakes recorded. As pupils read, strokes will be indicated according to mistakes made. This is

shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Sample of the Information Reading Inventory

Names of Pauses Omission Wrong Wrong Total

pupils Tenses Pronunciation

A1

A2

A3

A4

A5

Pupils who scored high strokes in table 1 will be identified as having reading problems. For

example, pupils who made five mistakes and above will be identified and chosen as participants

in the study. The study will then adopt the Phonic method in solving the problem using the

instruments aforementioned. Validity and Reliability of the research instruments will be put in

place to ensure that the research meets standards and conforms to ethics.

11.0 Data Analysis Technique

The data collected will be descriptively analyzed with the use of tables, percentages and charts

on the scores of the work done by the pupils with regards to comparison of pre-test and post-test

results. This will be done by comparing the mean of the pre-test with that of the post-tests. P

values will be calculated using t-test or ANOVA when necessary or appropriate at will be used to

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compare the means at a 95% confidence interval. P values below 0.05 will be considered as

statistically significant.

12.0 References

Adu-Sarkodee, Rosemary., Asante, Edward & Akussah, Maxwell (2015). Relationship

between uses of social media on reading habits: Evidence from senior high students in
Ghana. International and Knowledge Management 5 (11), 26-32

Appiah, J. A. (2010). Assisting basic three pupils of Bedieso M/A primary 'B' in Obuasi to
improve upon their reading difficulties using phonic method. (Unpublished Project
work, University of Education, Winneba).

Burns, C. P., Roe, D. B., & Ross, P. E. (1999). Teaching reading in today's elementary
school (7th ed). New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Gao, Y., Zheng, L., Liu, X., Nichols, E., Zhang, M., & Shang, L. et al. (2019). First and
Second Language Reading Difficulty Among Chinese–English Bilingual Children:
The Prevalence and Influences from Demographic Characteristics. Frontiers in
Psychology, 10. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02544

Goodman, K. S. (1967). A psycholinguistic view of reading comprehension. Geelong,

Australia: Deakin University Press.

Harris, J. A. & Sipay, E. (1979). How to teach reading. New York: Longman Inc.
Lyon, G. R. (January/February 2000). Why reading is not a natural process. LDA
Newsbriefs. Learning Disabilities Association of America.

Rivers, M. & Temperly, S. (1978). A practical guide to teaching of English. New York:
Oxford University Press.

Villainy, G. & Webb, R. (1992). Teaching research and special educational needs. London:
David Fulton Publishers.

Torto, G, A. (2017). The Implementation of the Basic School English Curriculum: The case
of the Cape Coast Metropolis in Ghana. In Journal of Education and Practice. ISSN 122
2222-1735(Paper) ISSN 2222-288X(Online). Vol. 8, No. 8, 2017.

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Obiegbu, I. R. (2018). Reading Errors in Second Language Learners. SAGE Open.
https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244018792973

Troseth, G.L, G.A. Strouse (2017). Designing and using digital books for learning: the 34-
informative case of young children and video, Int. J. Child-Computer Interact. 12
(2017) 35 3–7. doi: 10.1016/j.ijcci.2016.12.002.

Bums, 3. (1999). Teaching reading in today’s elementary school. New York: Houghton
Muffin Company.

Lyon, C. and Moat, D. (1997). Children learning flow to read and write. London
Macmillan.

Lee, M. (1997). Learning to read through experiences (2nded). New York: Appleton Century
Crafts.

Lepper, M. R., Greene, D. & Nisbett, R. E. (1973). Undermining children's intrinsic

interest with extrinsic rewards: A test of the over justification hypothesis. Journal of
Personality and Psychology, 28, 129-137.

Rod, T. & Tomlison, M. (1982). Teaching secondary English. London: Routledge and
Kegan Paul Ltd.

Rosenblatt, L. (2003). Types of reading. Retrieved on March 21, 2011, from

http://everything2.com/title/efferentandaestheticreading-20k-

Sackyfio, N. A. (1996). Let's teach English. Accra, Ghana: Padaetons Publishers.

Sakyi-Baidoo, J. Y. (2003). Language and communication (2nded). Accra, Ghana: City

Press.

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Sesnan, E. (1997). How to teach English. New York: Oxford University Press.

Smith, F. (1988). Joining the literacy club. London: Heinna.

Strong, R. M. & Troaxter, P. (1971). The improvement of reading. San Francisco:

McGraw- Hill Publication Company.

Tsadidey, S. K. W. (1996). Comprehensive guide to English methods for teachers in

training. Kumasi: Payless.

Tsekpo, S. (2008). Is reading nation a winning nation? Daily Graphic (NO 17969: 20th
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Wheat, K. L., Cornelissen, P. L., Frost, S. J., & Hasen, P. C. (2010). During visual word
recognition, phonology is accessed within. Retrieved on March 21, 2011, from
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 APPENDICES
PROJECT TOPIC: USING PHONIC METHOD TO HELP BASIC TWO LEARNERS TO

READ IN THE YILO KROBO MUNICIPALITY, SOMANYA.

QUESTIONNAIRE Disclaimer. This study is meant for academic purpose and we assure you
that information given would remain in the context of this research and serve its purpose of
educating by collecting data on Using Phonics Method to Help Basic Two Learners to Read In
The Yilo Krobo Municipality.
In addition, the information given will be confidential. Please help us by filling the blank spaces.
Your participation in this study is duly welcomed and appreciated.

Thank you.

SECTION A: WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF READING DISABILITY AMONG

SCHOOL CHILDREN?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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…………………………………………………………………………………………………

SECTION B: WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF READING DISABILITY AMONG

SCHOOL CHILDREN?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………

SECTION C: WHAT EXTENT WILL THE STRATEGIES ASSIST PUPILS IN

OVERCOMING THEIR READING DIFFICULTIES?

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………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING

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