CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Human beings have been in the act of reading in order to understand the
rapidly changing structure of society and to adapt to this structure, since the
invention of writing to the present. Reading can be defined as the process of making
sense in a regular environment in line with an appropriate method and purpose,
based on effective communication between the author and the reader, with the
cooperation of cognitive behaviors and psychomotor skills (Akyol, 2015; Razon,
1982). When the definitions are examined, we can define reading as the process of
making sense in the mind by exposing the text and symbols to cognitive processes.

For reading, which is defined as the process of making sense of texts and symbols,
to be effective, it must be handled as a fluent, sense-making, strategic, motivation-
based, and lifelong process. The skills involved in this process constitute five basic
principles of reading (Akyol, 2015). To be able to read effectively and at the expected
level, individuals need to gain fluent reading skills, which is one of the fundamentals
of reading skills (Ulusal Okuma Paneli [NPR], 2000). Fluent reading is the ability of
the student to read the text at an appropriate speed, without pausing when he/she
sees the sound, syllable, and word as if he/she speaks in his/her daily life in an
emotional and harmonious way (Akyol, 2016; Young & Rasinski, 2009). Based on
the definition made, it is seen that the reading skills required for fluent reading to
occur are accuracy, speed, and prosody. Accuracy refers to quick reading without
making addition, subtraction, and inversion mistakes in reading sounds, syllables,
and words. Reading speed, according to Turna and Güldenoğlu (2019), involves
automating the word recognition process and reading at the appropriate speed for
the level. Automation occurs when the reader sounds the words in a text accurately
and quickly, without much effort. We can define prosody as the ability to read
through appropriate intonation and stress according to the sense of the text after
achieving word recognition, perception, interpretation, and reading speed, as the
music of the spoken language (Akyol et al., 2014; Reutzel, 2009; Yıldırım & Ateş,
2011).
The two most important skills that affect fluent reading are word recognition and
vocabulary knowledge. The inadequacy of these skills negatively affects the reading
skills of the students compared to their peers. Inadequacies in reading skills cause
students to fall behind in terms of achievement in both reading and other fields.
Although they do not have any mental, auditory, and visual problems, the concept
used for students who fall behind their peers and have difficulty in reading due to
insufficient socio-economic and educational opportunities is defined as learning
disability. The Ministry of National Education defines these students as children who
do not have interests, or experiences in education and instruction due to the material
and cultural inadequacy of their environment or who have special difficulties in
understanding, explaining, reading, writing, drawing, recognizing, and
conceptualizing due to organic and functional reasons, although they are not
different from their peers in terms of level of intelligence (MEB, 2014). On the other
hand, Akyol (2016) defines a poor reader as an individual who cannot transfer
his/her prior knowledge to the reading environment during the reading process.
Today, the most important purpose of reading is to make sense of what is read. Two
basic skills are needed in the process of sense-making: Recognition and perception.
Recognition is the accurate and fast reading of letters, syllables, and words.
Perception refers to making sense of the activity that is recognized by the senses in
a reading material and continues to be processed by brain functions. Phonological
awareness, analysis, and word recognition, which are the first steps of reading, must
be at a sufficient level to make sense and read fluently which are two of the basic
principles of effective reading. Word recognition is an important element in the
reading process. Stanovich (2005) stated that word recognition is the most basic
element of reading comprehension. Individuals who experience problems with their
fluent reading skills have some difficulties while reading a text. It has been observed
that students with reading difficulties generally have some problems such as having
short-term memory, not being able to concentrate their attention, being emotionally
weak, reading without thinking, lack of eye-motor coordination, reading the words by
turning them back, and having problems to divide the plot into stages. The problems
that readers encounter and the mistakes they make in word recognition are
summarized by Akyol (2015) as the inability to comprehend the relationship between
symbols and sound, confusing words and letters, spelling difficulty, changing the
position of letters in words, wrong reading, adding and subtracting, reading by
inverting and repeating. When the literature on the elimination of word recognition
mistakes and improving fluency in reading aloud is examined, it is seen that there
are some methods and techniques used such as repeated reading (Akyol, 2016;
Armbruster et al., 2010; Samuels, 1997; Therrien, 2004; Torgesen, 1986), paired
reading (Akyol, 2016; Reutzel & Cooter, 2007; Topping, 1998), reader theatres
(Akyol, 2016; Rasinski, 1999), word repetition technique (Chafouleas et al, 2004;
Rosenberg, 1986), reading in choral (Akyol , 2016).
People communicate using their vocabulary knowledge to understand and explain
something. The word can be defined as the label of feelings, thoughts, and attitudes
consisting of sounds or sound groups in such a way as to have a meaning or
grammatical function and it can be used alone (Akyol, 2015; Ergin, 2013; Türkçe
Sözlük, 2018; Yıldız, 2019). Another sub-dimension that constitutes the fluency of
reading skills is vocabulary knowledge. Vocabulary has an important place among
the factors that affect reading and writing, which are the basic language skills of
comprehension and expression, and even the sub-language skills of listening and
speaking (Karadağ, 2019; Karatay, 2007). Instead of vocabulary knowledge, other
terms such as vocabulary repertoire, word level, and word proficiency have been
used in studies and definitions focused on vocabulary. Vocabulary knowledge is
defined as the accumulation of words that the individual learns, understands, uses,
and stores in memory as a result of his or her experiences (Akyol & Temur, 2007;
Karadağ, 2019; Özbay & Melanlıoğlu, 2008).
Vocabulary knowledge affects the reading speed of students depending on their
grade levels. A certain vocabulary of students is formed as a result of the texts
structured within the framework of life studies, mathematics, and Turkish main
courses up to the fourth grade. At the fourth and higher grade levels, students who
encounter different words as a result of the inclusion of new subject areas in the
curriculum can maintain their level of success in reading by eliminating these
deficiencies with vocabulary teaching activities. In vocabulary teaching, it is of great
importance to determine which words to teach first. It has not been determined
exactly which words will be taught to which age groups of children in schools and
what the number of these words will be (Özbay & Melanlıoğlu, 2008). Students
should have words, word groups, terms, idioms, proverbs, etc. to use when they
employ their skills of understanding and expressing their own thoughts, feelings,
desires, and wishes in daily life in accordance with their age and level. At this point,
traditional vocabulary tests, multiple choice measurement techniques, yes-no
questions, and rubrics are some of the assessment techniques put forward by
researchers to assess individuals' vocabulary knowledge (Akyol & Temur, 2007).
Vocabulary teaching should not be thought of as one-dimensional, just like teaching
the meaning of a word with the use of a dictionary. The word to be taught becomes
more permanent and concretized in the student's mind when taught in a sentence,
through its antonym, synonym near-synonyms, etc. Different methods and
techniques should be used in vocabulary teaching activities in accordance with
student's age, level, grade level, interests, and needs (Acat, 2008; Akyol, 2015).
There are some methods and techniques to ensure the retention of words in the
student's mind and to enhance vocabulary knowledge. These include dictionary
usage, association, finger technique, grouping, direct vocabulary teaching, concept
development, using clues in the sentence and text environment, finding the similar
word, definitions, prior experiences, summarizing, reflection, word map, meaning
analysis, vocabulary grouping, brainstorming, possible sentences, venn diagram,
using visual materials, creating a dictionary book, choosing different meanings of
words, teaching with games, producing words from the last letter of words, riddles,
songs, using observations and experiences, producing new words from the root of
the word, word-meaning matching, using proverbs and idioms, writing the word
suitable for the dotted places in a sentence, puzzles, working with different text
types, finding meaning from the sentence, word-visual matching, drama, word-
related painting and speaking activities (Akyol, 2015; Akyol & Temur, 2007; Foil &
Alber, 2002; Gardner, 2007; Gill, 2007; İnce, 2006; Montenegro, 2019; Rupley &
Nichols, 2005; Özbay & Melanlıoğlu, 2008; Star, 2019).

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1332254.pdf

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Junior High School students of Saint William’s Academy Bulanao Inc. are
quite weak on English in general and reading in particular, as a result, they still find
difficulties in reading comprehension. Students' lack of reading comprehension
strategies is also considered a major cause of students' poor comprehension skills.
In order to help learners better enhance their reading comprehension and tackle their
reading comprehension problems, students need to identify their problems first and
then think of appropriate strategies in order to improve their reading comprehension.

Specifically, it sought answers to the following:

 1) Why do students of Junior High School in Saint William’s Academy
Bulanao Inc. have difficulties in reading comprehension?

2) What are the main problems encountered by the students in Saint

William’s Academy in reading comprehension?
3) What are the possible outcomes that they get in reading comprehension?

OBJECTIVES
 To determine whether students with lower cognitive abilities, such as
limited working memory or slower processing speed, may struggle to
process complex texts and retain information.
 To determine whether a lack of motivation or interest in reading can
hinder students' effort to engage with texts and develop their
comprehension skills.
 To determine whether students who develop strong reading
comprehension skills can read more fluently and quickly.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The significance of the study about circumstantial issues in reading
comprehension difficulties of junior high school students is;

To identify the factors that affect the student's ability to understand what they read
and to provide effective interventions to help them overcome these difficulties.
Reading comprehension is a crucial skill for academic success and lifelong learning,
but many students struggle with it due to various reasons, such as lack of
vocabulary, prior knowledge, motivation, or strategy.
By analyzing the students' difficulties in reading comprehension of narrative text, the
researchers hope to find out the most common and challenging problems that the
students face and to suggest some remedial actions to improve their reading skills.

The study is also important because it gives information about the strategies used to
eliminate these problems, such as sound, syllable, and word recognition exercises,
repetitive reading, and word repetition. These strategies are based on the principles
of fluency, strategy, motivation, continuity, and meaning-building, which are essential
for effective reading.

The study is relevant for teachers, parents, and students who want to enhance their
reading comprehension abilities and overcome the barriers that hinder their learning.

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

This is to help the student to comprehend and analyze written material,
reading comprehension is an essential skill. However, Junior high school students
often face difficulties in this area.
This study primarily focuses on exploring the reasons why Junior High School
students in Saint William’s Academy Bulanao Inc. have difficulties in reading
comprehension. This study is only limited until the end of the school year 2023-2024
at Saint William’s Academy, Bulanao Inc.
The researchers will be conducting a questionnaire for students in order to determine
who has problems with reading comprehension.
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE:

INTERNATIONAL

International According to a study by Mitchelle Molo Pernito-Amor, the least

mastered reading skills among junior high school students include using phonetic
analysis, using contextual clues, using idioms, getting the main idea and identifying
facts and opinions, predicting outcomes, drawing conclusions, following directions,
using parts of the book, and using dictionaries, encyclopedia, and other reference
materials and using the internet.

A literature review conducted by the National Reading Panel found that teaching
reading comprehension strategies and procedures are essential for teachers to help
students become proficient readers. The panel also identified that the most effective
reading comprehension strategies include summarization, question answering,
question generation, multiple-strategy use, graphic organizers, and cooperative
learning.

An international literature review by M. A. K. Azad Chowdhury found that the most

common factors that affect reading comprehension among junior high school
students include lack of vocabulary, lack of background knowledge, lack of fluency,
lack of motivation, and lack of reading strategies. The review also identified that the
most effective reading comprehension interventions include explicit instruction,
metacognitive instruction, and strategy instruction.

Another literature review by Jingjing Liu found that the most common difficulties
faced by junior high school students in reading comprehension include difficulty with
word recognition, difficulty with understanding words and ideas, slow reading speed
and fluency, limited vocabulary or underdeveloped oral language skills, and difficulty
answering questions about or discussing a text. The review also identified that the
most effective reading comprehension interventions include teacher modeling,
explicit instruction, and metacognitive instruction.

NATIONAL

Sultan Kudarat State University freshmen's reading comprehension and

English language proficiency were the main subjects of the study. The results
showed that first-year students performed "Average" in English language and at a
"Passing" level in reading comprehension. Vocabulary, understanding, and
articulation were shown to present difficulties. The university's main teaching
methods were individual and cooperative development, and it was noteworthy that
there was no Reading Laboratory.
Students showed interest in contemporary teaching techniques even in the lack of
standardized reading resources. While reading comprehension skills had a major
impact on English language performance, the freshmen's profile had no discernible
effect on their skills. The study served as the foundation for a reading instruction
manual.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Students in junior high school who struggle with reading comprehension are
those who have trouble deciphering and analyzing written materials. These
challenges may appear in a number of ways, such as:
• Difficulty decoding: This refers to having trouble pronouncing words correctly and
sounding them out.

• Limited vocabulary: This refers to knowing and understanding only a small number
of words, which makes it difficult to understand written passages.

• Poor fluency: This is reading that is laborious and slow, which can make it difficult
to understand.

• Insufficient background knowledge: This refers to not having the background

information or context needed to comprehend certain subjects or ideas covered in
the text.

• Ineffective reading strategies: This refers to the difficulty of using techniques that
improve comprehension, such as summarizing, previewing, and drawing
conclusions.

• Distractions or inattention: These can keep pupils from paying close attention to the
text and understanding what is being taught.

• Low motivation: This might result in a lack of enthusiasm for reading, which can
impair understanding.

The academic performance and general learning experience of junior high school
pupils may be greatly impacted by these reading comprehension issues. They may
also have an impact on their capacity for information access, efficient
communication, and full societal participation.

https://www.doe.mass.edu/massliteracy/reading-difficulties/automaticity-fluency.html

https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=4651&context=studentwork#:~:text=This%20decrease%20can%20have%20a
%20negative%20impact%20on%20achievement%2C%20and,%2C%20race%2C
%20and%20socioeconomic%20status.

APPENDIX A:

Circumstantial issues in reading comprehension difficulties of Junior High

School students at Saint William’s Academy Bulanao Inc.

Name (optional): ________________________ Age: _______ Sex: __________

Grade level: _________

Direction: The following questions attempt to determine the possibilities that can a
student respond about how reading comprehension affects their lives. Please read
carefully before you answer the questions above. We are hoping that you will
answer honestly and correctly. Thank you for your kind consideration. Please feel
free to ask questions.

Please answer each question by checking.

ALWAYS SOMETIMES OFTEN NEVER

1) I find myself suffering in

understanding reading
comprehension.

2) I faced
difficulty in guessing the
meanings of some new
words.

3) I overlook the sentences

with complicated structures.

4) I predict the main idea of

the whole passage.
5) I do not bother with the
grammatical structure of
sentences while reading in
English.

6) I turned to dictionaries
when coming across new
words in the English
reading.

7) I pause and analyze the

structure of the sentences
when reading in English

8) When I read English

articles, I skip the words that
are new to me.

9) I use simple words to

replace difficult one’s in
sentence understanding.

10) I do not pay attention to

the implied meaning of the
reading material.