Improving Reading Comprehension Skills through Peer-Pair Mentoring

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Reading comprehension skills is the most widespread difficulty among the learners which affects their reading performance. Thus, the teacher-researcher wanted to address the emerging problem of her class in which a high percentage of pupils with 55% were in frustration level based on the result of PHIL-IRI Pretest in English. The result was quite alarming and it needed attention. The researcher administered reading intervention focused on the pupil-mentee of the class. The researcher believed that Peer-Pair mentoring as its intervention enhances the reading performance of the pupils.

METHODS

The researcher used the Peer-Pair mentoring in which it gave students time in class to pair up in an in-class tutor/tutee relationship taking turns between being the tutor and the tutee. The tutors were the best readers or the pupils who belonged to an independent level. The tutees were the pupils who belonged to the frustration level. In this model, students spend time summarizing information, assessing the work or ideas of a peer, and explaining rationales. This type of peer instruction is associated with the promotion of critical thinking skills as well as an understanding of complex scientific concepts.

RESULTS

Based on the Phil-IRI posttest there was a big difference between the pre-test and the post-test result. Before the implementation of the intervention, the recipients who were 17 of them belonged to the frustration level. Only very few are under the independent level. In the post-test, however, the distribution changed. Most of the respondents were already at the instructional level and independent level. After the implementation of the intervention, 50% of the recipients were already in the instructional level which and there were 35% already raised to an independent level as compared to the time when the intervention was not yet applied. The percentage of recipients under the frustration level was already very low.

DISCUSSIONS

Based on the results of the study, the reading intervention "Peer-Pair Mentoring" is an effective tool to enhance the reading performance of the Grade VI-Einstein pupils. The result showed the great improvement of the reading performance from frustration level to instructional and from instructional to independent level. Regarding the result, teachers as innovators must apply strategies/ approaches or interventions like this to enhance the reading performance of the pupils.