The English Reading Performance of Grade IV Pupils in the District of Quezon, Division of Nueva Ecija: Its Implication to Teaching Reading

Abstract

Reading is one of the basic skills necessary for effective communication. According to the data from the District of Quezon, a total of 156 pupils in Grades III-IV were subjected to Pre-Reading Evaluation in the Phil-IRI program. Results show that the school had 51 pupils or 32.69 percent who were in frustration level, 55 pupils or 35.26 percent under instructional level and 50 pupils or 32.05 percent were categorized under independent level in reading English, revealing an alarming result because those grade levels mentioned are expected to have reached mastery in reading with comprehension. The study was conducted to determine the relationship of the classroom characteristics and reading difficulties of Grade IV pupils in elementary schools of Quezon District, Division of Nueva Ecija during the School Year 2018-2019. 61 pupil respondents participated in the study. The researcher utilized a survey questionnaire and analyzed the data using descriptive statistics and Correlation Coefficient. The age of the respondents was not widely dispersed from 8 to 12 years old. There were more male respondents compared to females. Most parents of the respondents were busy at work. Most fathers were high school undergraduate, while most of their mothers were high school graduates. Monthly family income had a mean of Php 8,032.79 and most of them belong to 4Ps. The class size where the pupils belong to have an impact on their reading performance.The classrooms where the respondent's study has a good physical environment. Outstanding psycho-social environment and strategies used in teaching reading by the teacher must likely to offer meaningful reading comprehension to pupils. A highly significant relationship in terms of oral difficulties was found under the family instability and highest educational attainment (HEAF) of the father while HEAF found a significant relationship in terms of reading comprehension. Small schools, physical classroom environments, and strategies used in teaching established a high negative relationship with oral reading and a negative relationship to the psychosocial environment. While the psycho-social environment established a significant relationship in terms of comprehension. The remedies or intervention in reading difficulties in English answered by the teacher-respondents are peer teaching.