Reading Comprehension Level and Vocabulary Skills of Grade II Pupils and their Academic Performance in English of St. Paul University Philippines

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the reading comprehension and vocabulary
level of Grade II pupils and their performance in English. The study further
investigated the relationship among the three focused variables. The
descriptive correlation design was adopted to investigate the assessment
and correlation analysis of the pupils’ reading comprehension level and their
performance in English. A reading comprehension test and vocabulary skill
test were administered to the total enumeration of the pupils in the three
sections of Grade II at Saint Paul University Philippines for the academic
year 2014-2015. For data analysis, frequency, percentage count, Pearson
Product Moment Correlation Coefficient and Chi-square test were employed.
From the findings, it was assessed that the reading comprehension levels
and vocabulary skills of Grade II pupils are “low” considering the majority
belonging to the “frustration” level. On the other hand, the performance of
pupils in English is relatively “high” with an equal number of pupils within
the “advanced” and “proficient” level. For Chi-square test results revealed
that a significant correlation exists between pupils’ comprehension level
and their performance in English. Similar results were inferred by the
grade II pupils’ level of vocabulary and their performance in English. The
vocabulary skills of pupils along synonyms, context clues, configuration
clues and homonyms are correlated to the reading comprehension levels
of the pupils along noting similarities, identifying cause and effect, noting
details and predicting outcomes. In contrast, the vocabulary skills of pupils
along picture clues and their reading skill revealed a significant correlation.
Therefore, there must be a need for the language teachers to make
interventions to improve their students’ performance in English.