Syntactic Knowledge in Relation to Reading Comprehension: Basis for the Development of English Proficiency Intervention Program

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

The study aims to determine the relationship of senior high school learners' syntactic knowledge to their level of reading comprehension to come up with a program beneficial to their development and growth.

METHODS

The respondents of the study were senior high school students of Bolbok Integrated National High School, SY 2018-2019. The questionnaire was the main data gathering instrument. It includes: syntactic knowledge of the respondents in terms of identifying syntactic categories, determining syntactic constituents, substituting words or phrases in sentences, deleting or omitting words or phrases, identifying sentence pattern and filling out sentences.

RESULTS

Many respondents have problems in comprehending texts. As the level of syntactic difficulty increased, the correct responses decreased. Many learners still lack skills in sentence patterns, subject-verb agreement and word categorization.

DISCUSSIONS

Teachers must propose an intervention program focusing on syntactic knowledge to enrich learners' reading comprehension. This program should be conducted in a regular basis to ensure the development of all syntax-related skills.