Effects of Pre-Reading Activities on Senior Secondary Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension in Karu Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, Nigeria

Danjuma Dogara Musa; Mary O. Anyebe; Patricia U. Mmegwa

doi:10.18535/ijsshi/v12i12.01

Abstract

The present study examined the effects of pre-reading activities on senior secondary students’ achievement in reading comprehension in Karu Local Government Area in Nasarawa. The study adopted the quasi-experimental research design. Specifically, the pre-test post-test non-equivalent comparison group design. The sample size of the study consisted of 103 senior secondary students (SS2) The sample was drawn using simple random and purposive sampling techniques. Reading Comprehension Achievement Test (RCAT). was used to gather data. The Reading Comprehension Achievement Test (RCAT) measured the two reading skills namely the literal and inferential comprehension. The data collected for the study were organized and interpreted using descriptive and inferential statistics. The research questions one to two were answered using the mean and standard deviation. Hypotheses one to two were tested using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The findings showed that pre-reading activities motivate and sustain students’ interest in the actual reading activity. They also activate the building of related information in such a way that new information is easily assimilated into learners’ existing fields of knowledge. Though pre-reading activities such as brainstorming, use of picture and predicting play a critical role in the reading comprehension classroom, the study revealed that a significant number of teachers do not use them. The few who do, neither use a variety of them nor use them regularly. The study recommends that curriculum developers and implementers should incorporate appropriate and regular pre-reading activities for assigned texts in the reading comprehension classroom.

Keywords

readingpre-reading activitiesreading comprehensionachievements

References

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Mahmoud, R. (2020). Reading comprehension assessment: The effects of reading the items aloud before or after reading the passage. The Elementary School Journal, 120(2), 300-318.Google Scholar ↗
Mohammad, H. (2015). Research methods and statistics in psychology (2nd Ed.). London: Hodder & Stoughton.Google Scholar ↗
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Oyetunde, T. O., & Muoddumogu, C. A. (1999). Reading strategy instruction and comprehension development in Nigerian schools. Nigerian Educational Research Journal, 5(2), 33-41.Google Scholar ↗
Silbert, D. (2016). Improving reading comprehension and social studies knowledge among middle school students with disabilities. Journal of Exceptional Children, 81(4), 426-442.Google Scholar ↗
Yusuf, A. (2016) Instructional materials and students’ performance in comprehension tasks. Ilorin Journal of Education, 2(1), 92 – 100.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-1] Akremi, O. (2016). Effective leadership and management in childhood care and education services. In fundamentals of pre – school and primary school teacher preparation in Nigeria. An unpublished material of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-2] Agbevivi, S. L. G. (2022). Aspects of kindergartners’ reading and writing skills assessed by kindergarten teachers in the Atwima Kwanwoma District, Ghana. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, VI(VIII). 77 - 94.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-3] Ajide, F.O. (2020). Challenges in the teaching of reading comprehension in secondary school. Journal of Language Education, 5(2), 66 – 71.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-4] Asemota, H. (2018). The effect of directed reading thinking activity through cooperation learning on English secondary stage students, reading comprehension in Jordan International Journal of Humanities and Social Science 2 (16):138-143.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-5] Beard, R. (2018). Reading-a personal and professional view. International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years’ Education, 49(1), 13 – 25.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-6] Christopher, G. (2017). Teaching reading skill using heuristic technique through Schema theory. IUP Journal of English Studies, 12(1), 11.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-7] Dickson, A. (2022). Pre-reading activities to boost comprehension. Retrieved on 4th June 2022 from https://ellii.com/blog/pre-reading-activities-to-boost-comprehensionGoogle Scholar ↗

[refR-8] Gharawi, H. (2014). Understanding the 2013 curriculum of English teaching through the teachers’ and policymakers’ perspectives. International Journal of Enhanced Research in Educational Development (IJERED), 3(1), 6 – 15.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-9] Hasan, S. (2011). Tradition and modernity in Islam: A reading through power, property and philanthropy. Saudi Arabia: Usman Press.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-10] Hashemi, A., G. (2016). The impact of content-based pre-reading activities on Iranian high school EFL learners’ reading comprehension. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 7(1), 137.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-11] Johnson, P. (2010). Re-examining some conventional assumptions in vocabulary teaching: What can we learn from the research? In E. Hinkel (Ed.) Handbook of practical second language teaching and learning (pp. 409-420). New York: Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-12] Kim, Y. (2019). A comparison of the impact of extensive and intensive reading approaches on the reading attitudes of secondary EFL learners. Second Language Learning and Teaching, 10(2), 337–358.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-13] Lawal, S. (2019). Pre-reading and during –reading questions as predictors of reading comprehension achievement of Nigerian senior secondary school students. An unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-14] Mahmoud, R. (2020). Reading comprehension assessment: The effects of reading the items aloud before or after reading the passage. The Elementary School Journal, 120(2), 300-318.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-15] Mohammad, H. (2015). Research methods and statistics in psychology (2nd Ed.). London: Hodder & Stoughton.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-16] Nanda, D.W. (2020). Poor reading comprehension issue in EFL classroom among Indonesian secondary school students: Scrutinizing the causes, impacts and solutions. Journal of English, Education and Humanities, 8(1), 12 – 24.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-17] Naranjo, E., (2021). Reading: definition and reading operations. Journal of Research Innovation and Implications in Education, 3(2), 53-62.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-18] Nurdina U. (2018). The effect of before, during, and after reading (BDA) strategy on students’ reading comprehension achievement in narrative text. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-19] Nwodo, D. W. (2019). Poor reading comprehension issue in EFL classroom among Indonesian secondary school students: Scrutinizing the causes, impacts and possible solutions. Englisia Journal of Language, Education, and Humanities, 8(1), 12–24.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-20] Oakhill, J., Cain, K., & Elbro, C. (2015). Understanding and teaching reading comprehension: A handbook. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-21] Osei, O. R. (2016). The importance of reading in Nigeria schools. Ibadan: Spectrum publishers.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-22] Oyetunde, T. O., & Muoddumogu, C. A. (1999). Reading strategy instruction and comprehension development in Nigerian schools. Nigerian Educational Research Journal, 5(2), 33-41.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-23] Silbert, D. (2016). Improving reading comprehension and social studies knowledge among middle school students with disabilities. Journal of Exceptional Children, 81(4), 426-442.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-24] Yusuf, A. (2016) Instructional materials and students’ performance in comprehension tasks. Ilorin Journal of Education, 2(1), 92 – 100.Google Scholar ↗