Investigation of the Common Reading Comprehension Difficulties of Grade Five Pupils at Leon M. Manigbas Elementary School

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

One big part of comprehension is having a sufficient vocabulary or knowing the meaning of enough words. Readers who have strong comprehension are able to draw conclusions about what they read, what is important, what is a fact, what caused an event to happen, which characters are funny. Thus, comprehension involves combining reading with thinking and reasoning.

METHODS

The descriptive method was used in this study. The researchers used a researcher-made questionnaire administered to pupils focus on determining the common difficulties encountered in reading comprehension. A total of 23 pupils from Grade 5 level from Leon Manigbas Elementary School (LMES) during the school year 2016-2017 served as the respondents of the study, all selected for the purpose. Purposive sampling was the technique used in determining the samples obtained from a total Leon Manigbas 158 student population. All of them ages 9-13 years old and all capable of answering the researcher-designed questionnaire. The test questionnaire used was patterned after the Department of Education-recommended modules. The researchers personally distributed the questionnaires.

RESULTS

Based on the results of the research, reading comprehension difficulties of Grade five pupils showed that majority of them experience difficulties in understanding the topic of the story, identifying characters, summarizing the story and organizing and sequencing of events and few of them encountered difficulties in finding the meaning of new words. In factors that affect reading comprehension difficulties showed that majority of them affect in rote memory and teaching style, and few of them in prior knowledge, lack of reading materials, and good reading environment.

DISCUSSIONS

The results demonstrate that need for improvement of the pupils' difficulty in reading comprehension particularly in understanding the meaning or comprehension of new and unfamiliar words or vocabulary be addressed by implementing schemes that can help improve the attitude of Grade 5 pupils towards reading at Leon Manigbas Elementary School such as utilizing multimedia integrated into the lesson to capture undivided attention, visualize the abstract, and enhance the rote memory of students and setting up of mini library in every nook of the classroom that will contain new reading materials for use as a research nook is deemed effective in developing reading habit from among the pupils.