Northern Iloilo Polytechnic State College Philippines

Abstract

This study investigates the correlation between first-year college students’ reading comprehension and reading comprehension. One hundred one (101) randomly stratified sample respondents were asked to answer a checklist of a questionnaire on reading strategies and were given test items on understanding vocabulary in context, noting details, and story structure to determine their comprehension level. Findings revealed that the students had an outstanding comprehension in understanding vocabulary in context, and they excelled in noting details and determining the story structure and details of events. The most frequently used pre-reading strategy was previewing the text, during-reading, integrating prior knowledge with reading and after-reading strategies, summarizing their reading, applying what they have read, and putting on the values skills they learned from the story/passage. Moreover, the study revealed that students’ reading comprehension significantly correlated with their reading strategies. In conclusion, the respondents observed pre-reading, during reading, and after-reading strategies to help enhance their reading comprehension. Finally, the study has implications for language learners, teachers, college students, and lecturers.

Keywords: Before-reading strategies, During-reading strategies, After-reading strategies, Reading comprehension

Introduction

Reading is a fundamental skill to obtain information. Wаgnеr & Tаnnеnbаum (2007) posit that reading is the response to printed or written symbols and establish skills needed to understand the meaning from different texts that serve as a precursor for the meaning created by the reader’s previous experience. Moreover, several research types show that readers are active or strategic and use different comprehension strategies before, during, and after reading a text. Although there are a growing body of research regarding reading strategies and comprehension skills in the second language (L2) contexts, little of this research focuses on tertiary education. The purpose of the current study is to take a first step towards exploring this problem by determining the first-year tertiary education students of using before, during, and after reading strategies to attain comprehension.

A reading strategy is described as a systematic plan adopted by readers to facilitate understanding of reading and the construction of meaning (McNamara, D. S., & Kintsch, W. (1996). These strategies include previewing, self-assessing, creating connections, viewing, understanding how to read, monitoring, summarizing, evaluating, and so on. Moreover, McLaughlin and Allen (2002) theorized that using such strategies can help students become metacognitive readers

While reading is based on the process, reading comprehension focuses on comprehension of a text. This understanding comes from the interaction between the written words and how they generate knowledge outside the text. Therefore, reading and reading fluency are the cornerstones of a student’s success in school and later in life. Considered a basic skill, learning to read and understand what was read is an integral part of a learner’s life and indispensable in the educational system.

Additionally, the K + 12 subjects are offered to create multi-disciplinary and independent readers. These subjects cover three aspects; 1) in-depth discussions of spiral lessons to develop reading skills; 2) contextual understanding of texts applied to various sources of reading materials and 3) writing exposure to complement reading. These topics help students increase their sense of readability and writing by exposing them to academic and professional texts with real-life practical and contextual relationships.

Though, much uncertainty still exists about the correlation between reading and comprehension of students. Also, despite the government’s efforts supporting the DepEd’s vision, the growing reading problem persists. In the Philippines-IRI test for 2015, as reported in the study of Magistrado (2015), the results of the reading tests revealed that one-sixth to one-third of the elementary school graduates were identified as “frustrated” readers while others were labeled “instructional” readers. Both levels are below the desired reading level. Similarly, the National Assessment of Educational Progress Handbook (2014) reported that 55% of primary school graduates were frustrated readers who showed withdrawal from reading instructions and had poor word recognition and comprehension skills. These results raise an alarming case for primary school teachers and all secondary and tertiary teachers because reading is a much-needed skill at the academic world’s highest level.

Due to the foregoing situations, the researcher determined a significant relationship between reading strategies and reading comprehension of first-year college students in one of the country’s western parts.

Methods

This study utilized a descriptive-correlational design. The 101 first-year college students sampled using the stratified random sampling approach. The college students are from different fields of concentration or disciplines. For the survey questionnaire, descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, percentage, and means were utilized. The Pearson Product–Moment Correlation was used to explore the relationship between the two variables for the relationship between the reading strategies and reading comprehension. To find out the reading comprehension level of the students, they were given test items on understanding vocabulary in context, noting details, and determining story structure and to identify their reading strategies while trying to comprehend the text that they read, they were asked to answer a checklist of a questionnaire on reading strategies. The researcher utilized the survey questionnaire to determine what reading strategies the students use while reading in different stages and a reading comprehension test to measure their reading comprehension. For the comprehension test, the researchers gave forty-five (45) questions broken down as follows; for vocabulary in context, fifteen (15); noting details, fifteen (15); and determining story structure, fifteen (15). The test on vocabulary in context, noting details, and determining story structure was a multiple choice. For the reading passage, the researchers used the story “Footnote to Youth,” authored by Jose Garcia Villa adopted from http://pingpdf.com (2018). This story was chosen because it has all the necessary elements that the test needs. It has the essential lesson to guide today’s young people in their decision-making, especially when entering into an early marriage relationship since every decision they make will greatly impact their lives. Lastly, the researcher sought help from English teachers to serve as proctors during the test to avoid bias. After administering the test, the data were gathered, checked, and analyzed.

Results and Discussions

This section presents and discusses the data in chart and tabular forms. The data were gathered, analyzed, and examined using the appropriate statistical tools and procedures.

Reading transcends the mere transmission of information. Adequate vocabulary is key for learners to gain comprehension. The following charts show the descriptions of the statistical findings of the first-year college students’ level of reading comprehension.

Chart 1.

Understanding Vocabulary in Context

Chart 1 depicts the evidence that most of the respondents have a sufficient understanding of the vocabulary in context with a frequency of 42 and a percentage of 41.5, which translates to an outstanding understanding. This implies that students should always receive vocabulary activities so they can enrich their comprehension. This idea was supported by Armbruster, B. B. & Baker, L. (1986). They found that teachers should include vocabulary enrichment activities in their lessons.

Chart 2.

Noting Details Comprehension

Chart 2 shows that in noting details, the respondents garnered a frequency of 45 and a percentage of 44.55, which corresponds to a very satisfactory comprehension performance. Students ask questions and answer who, what, where, and how questions as they read a text, passage, or article. They are interested to know the details of what they are reading.

Chart 3

Story Structure Comprehension

Chart 3 shows that the respondents performed satisfactorily in determining story structure with a frequency of 50 and a percentage of 49.5, which translates to satisfactory performance. Students give importance to elements of a short story to aid them in having a better understanding of what they read. They are interested in the story’s flow by looking at the setting, character, plot, and theme. Just as sentence grammar is used to explain how sentences are constructed, story structure delineates the basic parts of a story and how those works together to create a well-constructed tale (Alfaki & Siddiek, 2013). The data imply that students easily understand vocabulary in context on the overall analysis of the first-year college students’ reading comprehension skills. Moreover, they can determine the story’s structure and understand the details of events in a text passage.

The following table shows the statistical result of the reading strategies of first-year college students.

Table 1.

Before-Reading Strategies

Strategies

Mean

Verbal Description

I preview the title, image, charts, and other relevant items.

4.06

Always

I predict what the texts will be about.

3.49

Occasionally

I ask questions.

3.51

Frequently

I select a suitable strategy for predictions and questions.

3.30

Occasionally

I skim for information.

3.34

Occasionally

I scan the reading materials to know special details.

3.35

Occasionally

I read orally to know how the words are articulated.

3.49

Occasionally

Total Mean

3.50

Frequently

Table 1 presents the strategies used by first-year college students before reading. They always preview texts by looking at the title, picture, graphics, and other relevant items with a mean score of 4.06 (X = 4.06). First-year college students frequently use before-reading strategies with a grand mean of 3.50 (X = 3.50). Students are concerned about what they read. They check relevant information that is given to help them gain a better understanding of the text they read. This was strengthened by Ajideh (2006) in his study that a reader whose prior knowledge is accessible and well-developed recalls more than readers whose previous knowledge of the subject is limited.

Table 2

During-Reading Strategies

Strategies

Mean

Verbal Description

I visualize the text information.

3.37

Occasionally

I read slowly to adjust to the text difficulty.

3.14

Occasionally

I predict what will happen next in the story.

3.21

Occasionally

I use my schema while I am reading.

3.51

Frequently

I ask questions to understand the information fully.

3.34

Occasionally

I use context clues to understand unfamiliar vocabulary.

3.36

Occasionally

I infer while reading.

3.12

Occasionally

I use graphic organizers to visualize text information.

3.17

Occasionally

I use mnemonics to easily remember ideas.

3.14

Occasionally

I look for parallel ideas in my reading.

3.13

Occasionally

I repeat my readings for text for clarity.

3.36

Occasionally

Total Mean

3.28

Occasionally

Table 2 reveals that integrating prior knowledge with reading was the most frequently used strategy by First-Year College Students during a reading with a mean of 3.51 (X = 3.51). In general, the respondents employ reading strategies occasionally, as shown by the grand mean of 3.28 (X = 3.28). Students are critical thinkers and visual learners. They scrutinize the paragraphs they read and create mental images as they read the article or paragraph. This confirms the findings of Alvarez and Risko (2009), who found that students’ comprehension of the text also depends on metacognition:

their ability to think their thought process before, during, and after reading.

Table 3

After-Reading Strategies

Strategies

Mean

Verbal Description

I respond appropriately: personally, critically, and creatively.

3.38

Occasionally

I summarize my reading.

3.51

Frequently

I read for my fulfillment.

3.45

Occasionally

I apply what I learned from my readings.

3.52

Frequently

I retell the story to myself or others.

3.48

Occasionally

I ask myself questions for clarification and deeper understanding.

3.38

Occasionally

I put on the values and skills I learned from the story/passage.

3.52

Frequently

I re-enact/dramatize what I have read.

3.34

Occasionally

I give conclusions or generalizations.

3.14

Occasionally

I visualize what I have read in the form of drawing.

3.20

Occasionally

Total Mean

3.39

Occasionally

Table 3 shows that there are three (3) after-reading strategies used frequently by the First Year College Students such as: summarizing and synthesizing what has been read, using what they have read in some applications, and applying the values and skills they have learned from the story with a mean of 3.51, 3.52 and 3.52 respectively. In general, after-reading strategies were used occasionally by the first college students, as shown by the grand mean of 3.39 (X = 3.39). It could be gleaned from Table 3 that the First-Year College Students summarize and synthesize what they have read, use what they have read in some applications, and apply the values and skills they learned from the story. Moreover, the majority of the before reading, during reading, and after reading strategies were occasionally utilized by the first college students. The result reinforced the study of Duke, N.K., & Roberts, K.L. (2010) as they found out that good readers possess several flexible, adaptable strategies that they use before, during, and after reading to maximize their comprehension.

Table 4

Relationship between the reading strategies and comprehension

__________________________________________________________________________________

VARIABLES r value p value Decision

__________________________________________________________________________________

Reading Strategies 0.134 0.029 Ho is rejected

Reading Comprehension p < .05 significant

__________________________________________________________________________________

Table 4 shows that the respondents’ comprehension was significantly correlated with their reading strategies with an r-value of 0.364 and p-value of .029 (r = 0.134, p = .029). The correlation is weak. Hence, the hypothesis, which stated that “there is no significant relationship between the reading comprehension and reading strategies of the college students’ was rejected, although the correlation is weak. The correlation data suggest that college students have specific reading strategies relevant before, during, and after reading, which helps them comprehend the text.

Conclusions

The results of this study have shown thаt: 1.) Students had an outstanding comprehension in understanding vocabulary in context, and they excelled in noting details, determining the structure and details of events of the story; 2.) To comprehend the text, students preview the text before reading; integrate their prior knowledge with what they read while reading; and summarize what they read after reading and finally, 3.) There is a relationship between the reading comprehension and reading strategy used by the first-year college students, which indicates that the first-year students’ strategies before, during, and after reading significantly affect their reading comprehension. Therefore, these results should be taken іntо аccоunt tо аіd students іn achieving reading comprehension.

Recommendations

Based on the findings and conclusions drawn, the following recommendations are given:

Administrators should put up a functional internet library that is always accessible to teachers and students for their pedagogical skills in research;
Curriculum planners should integrate reading strategies and concepts in the curriculum to enhance the reading skills of the students and strengthen reading teachers;
Teachers of reading should find ways to stimulate readers to read through adopting appropriate technique suited to the students’ level, background, and culture;
Reading teachers should expose students to varied reading activities like the reading festival, reading marathon, or reading Olympics to stimulate or encourage them to read;
Reading teachers should put up a mini-library and a reading corner in their classrooms to raise the awareness of reading among the students;
Reading teachers should use social media network like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, vlogs, and email to facilitate reading lessons and activities; and
Lastly, teachers should adopt education 4.0 strategies to be at pace with the learning demands of the time, especially in reading comprehension strategies of the students in K12, secondary, and tertiary education.

Funding

The researcher personally funds the study.’

References

Ajideh, Parviz. (‘, 2006). Schema-theory Based Considerations on Pre-reading Activities in ESP Textbooks. Retrieved from: http://www.asian-efl-journal.co

Alvarez, M. C., & Risko, V. J. (2009). Motivation and study strategies. In R. F. Flippo & D. C. Caverly (Eds.), Handbook of college reading and study strategy research (pp. 249-289).

Al-Faki I. (‎2013). The Role of Background Knowledge in Enhancing Reading Comprehension. World Journal of English Language Vol. 3, No. 4; 2013 Retrieved from

http://www.sciedupress.com/journal/index.php/wjel/article/viewFile/3736/2275

Armbruster, B. B. & Baker, L. (1986). The role of metacognition in reading and studying. In Orasanu, J. (Ed.), Reading Comprehension: From Research to Practice (pp. 49-75). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

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Duke, N. K., & Pearson, P. D. (2002). Effective practices for developing reading comprehension.

In A. E. Farstrup & S. J. Samuels (Eds.), What research has to say about reading instruction (3rd ed., pp. 205–242) Newark, Del: International Reading Association.

Kirmizi, F. (2010). “Relationship between reading comprehension strategy use and daily free reading time.” Procida Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2 (2), pp.4752-4756.

Magistrado, R. (2015). A Proposed Intervention Program on the reading comprehension skills of the college freshmen students of Bicol University. Unpublished Master Thesis. Bicol University, Legaspi City.

McNamara, D. S., & Kintsch, W. (1996). Learning from text: Effects of prior knowledge and text coherence. Discourse Processes, 22, 247–287.

McLaughlin, M., & Allen, M.B. (2002). Guided comprehension: A teaching model for grades 3–8. International Reading Association.

National Assessment of Educational Progress Handbook (2014). Retrieved from http://www.naep.net/pdf/v02i14/tqih

Wаgner, R.K., Muse, А.Е., Tаnnеnbаum, K.R. (2007). Vоcаbulаrу Аcquіsіtіоn: Іmplіcаtіоns fоr Rеаdіng Cоmprеhеnsіоn. Thе Guіlfоrd Prеss.

Gilbert C. Binas is an Assistant Professor at Northern Iloilo Polytechnic State College, Batad Campus, Batad, Iloilo, Philippines. He holds a Master of Arts in Teaching English (M.A.T.E.) from NIPSC Estancia, Iloilo, Philippines. His research interests include language teaching strategies, pragmatics, literary analysis, and socio-linguistics. He is now finishing his Ph.D. in Instructional Leadership major in English at the Iloilo State College of Fisheries (ISCOF) at Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo, Philippines.