1.1 Introduction
Reading is a pre-requisite for learning and so, the poor reading habits of the primary and secondary school students cannot be separated from their poor performances. Poor reading abilities can cause poor performance in examination. The ability to read well, especially reading and interpreting questions has been identified as an important reason for this situation. Reading has not received the proper attention due to it by students. The inability to read properly may be because of the students’ lack of sufficient skills in reading. It is often erroneously taken to be the easiest skill which is not. Studies in reading have revealed that there are all kinds of reading difficulties that create problems to readers and aggravate learning problems.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
The reading background provided at home is a powerful factor in finding out how well the child will excel in school. Parents, who show interest in the reading of their children at home, build strong foundation in the reading habit of their children. A happy home and the presence of variety of attractive and colorful books for children enhance better chances of reading at school. Parents at home exert great influence on a child’s life. This means that if parents are interested in their children’s performance in reading and thus show appreciation of their success; the child will be motivated. It is also evident that there is a link between the development of reading ability and the socio- economic background of the child.
Another contributing factor to the success or failure in reading of the child is poor home environment/background. Most secondary school students especially those from rural areas come from poor homes and as such lack reading materials because they could not afford the relevant texts. Illiteracy of some parents also contribute to poor reading abilities of students because those parents who are rich but are illiterates do not know the value of reading and as such cannot encourage their children to have necessary reading materials. Therefore, a child’s home and background determines to a large extent whether the child will be good or bad reader.
Nevertheless, some reading difficulties have been identified as; inability to decode printed materials, low retention as a result of regression, nervousness, mother tongue interference, lack of retention among others. Regression is moving backwards on already read lines or sentences. Learners encounter considerable difficulties when learning a second language especially the English language which is a foreign language in Nigeria this is because the sound system/ the grammar of the first language (L1) or the mother tongue impose difficulties on the new language or second language (L2) which leads to foreign language pronunciation and grammatical errors. Nervousness affects the reading of some students especially those from rural areas who may not be privileged to have been taught mainly with English. They may be nervous when expressing themselves in the English language, because they feel that others are laughing at their expressions and pronunciations.
Therefore, in Abuja where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Reading Difficulties among Primary and Secondary School Students.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Reading is most functional when it facilitates the learning process and effectively promotes our intellectual development. This is to say that efficient reading certainly promotes understanding, retention, and recall, transfer of learning and achievement of good intellectual development. Nevertheless, reading difficulties continues to exist among students, especially those in junior secondary schools. These difficulties include; inability to decode printed materials, low retention as a result of regression, mother-tongue interference, lack of retention among others. These reading difficulties poses a lot of problems in secondary school certificate Examination and therefore become a source of concern to teachers, administrators, counselors, police-makers, students as well as parents.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to scrutinize the Reading Difficulties among Primary and Secondary School Students of Abuja. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To ascertain the extent of regression on what was read.
- To find out the extent of regression in the reading comprehension of the students.
- To determines how slow reading relates to their reading difficulties.
- To ascertain the extent of mother- tongue interference in the reading comprehension of the students
- To determine the extent location of school in the rural areas contribute to the reading difficulties of students.
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- To what degree can the students recall what has been read from the given passage?
- To what degree can Junior Secondary School students (JSS1) read a comprehension passage?
- To what extent does slow reading relate to their reading difficulties?
- To what degree does mother-tongue interference affect the reading comprehension of students?
- To what degree does location of school in the rural areas contribute to the reading difficulties of students?
1.6 Research Hypothesis
In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.
- H01: There is no significant difference between the mean achievement scores of males and the mean achievement scores of females in the reading ability rating scale used.
- H02: There is no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of students in the urban and those in the rural areas in the reading ability rating scale used.
1.7 Significance of Study
This study will be of immense help to so many benefactors. Some of them are: the students of English of the junior secondary school level, the teachers of English, the curriculum planners, other researchers, parents and society. It will bring to the focus of the researchers the areas that have been studied and areas that are yet to be studied. Parents and the society will have the sigh of relief when their children perform better in school certification examination.
1.8 Scope of Study
The study focuses on the Sociolinguistic Study of Reading Difficulties among Primary and Secondary School Students of Abuja.
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
1.10 Definition of Terms
Laboratory: It is a place for experimental studies.
Inadequate laboratory: Insufficient laboratories
Poorly equipped laboratory: This is laboratory with little or no equipment to carry out the necessary experiment for effective and efficient learning.
Well equipped laboratory: A laboratory that contains all the necessary equipment for experimental or practical learning.
Profession: Career which require advance education and special training.
Final examination: West African School Certificate Examination and senior school certificate examination (SSCE).
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