1.1 Introduction and General Background
Attention has been given to the reading problems of students in Nigeria. One major reason for this is that there has been a lot of misconception and lack of understanding and agreement about what reading is and how it should be done.
In Nigeria, reading is perceived as verbalization of the written symbols. This perception of reading underscores the belief that whoever can read is acquiring knowledge. it is assumed that skills for activity has been learnt during the primary education when people were taught alphabets and how to read word recognition. This category of people have failed to realize that reading is more than mere reading of printed words on a page of paper.
Thus narrow perception of what reading is does not give direction to the appreciation of reading as response orientated.
English language is the official language of Nigeria and Nigerians learnt it, as a second language. This, no doubts has affected many individuals capacities for reading and performance in academic studies. Students are faced with volume of work that should be read with comprehension and speed if they have to pass well in their examination but quiet often students in most schools bring with them reading habits/skills which have hardly been develop and some with bad reading habits which have not been corrected.
This problem is compounded by the fact that after the secondary education most people never again have a formal reading lesson even though the ability to learn a clearly significant factor of developing reading increase with maturity.
A person proficiency in reading to generally judge by the fluency, speeding word recognition and the ability to comprehend the reading materials.
The need for a proper guidance becomes necessary for lecturers to help their student develop those skills that could be for them such skills include:
- Ability to identify main ideas
- The ability to identify the topic sentence
- The ability to follow verbal direction links between words and ideas
- The ability to follow organizational pattern for the students to attain these skills. They need to develop the right attribute towards reading.
A lot of scholars have emphasized the importance of reading. Reading is a part of everyday living that one can hardly imagine modern life without it. The recognition of this fact was ascertained by Thomas Jefferson, one time president of America who writes in one of this letters that people who read can be free because reading banishes ignorance and superstition. He went further to say where the press is free and every man is able to read, then all is safe.
Reading is the care of language learning. It is the central able to read printed materials, he or she begins to communicate with deals of information. However depends greatly on his reading skill which needs to develop since it is not natural.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
It has been shown that the all the language skill, reading, the view is widespread among teachers, lecturers that Nigerian students have poor reading skills which is to say that they are poor readers.
They have difficulty with comprehension, especially when the failure rate in West African Examination Council (WAEC) has been associated with some reading difficulties.
This situation calls for close examination with a view to finding the factors that accounts for the poor reading habits. To this end, the study will attempt to find answers to the following research question.
- How do student perceive reading
- What is their attitudes towards reading
- What among the student of Federal Polytechnic Nekede Owerri.
1.3 Scope of the Study
It is generally believed that reading comprehension is a complex skill involving a widerange of skill. in the case of persistent failure of polytechnic school students, the study sets but to assess the skill of the polytechnic students.
The students studying habits therefore need to be studied to determine the extent to which their studying and reading habits affect success. It also focused on the students reading attitude and perception of reading.
1.4 Aims and Objectives of the Study
The aims and objectives of this study include
- To study the relationship between sex of students in regards to reading and their performance
- To identify factors that affect comprehension and rate to reading of students.
- To determine students attitude towards reading.
- To study if there is any relationship between reading habits and academic performance of polytechnic students.
1.5 Significance of the Study
The major concern of the study is to determine the importance of reading habits and its affects on academic performance of federal polytechnic Nekede Owerri students. This study should lend to awareness of studying problems of student of the school and prefer corrective measures.
It is hoped that the students would be made to realize that reading involves skills perhaps better understanding of what reading is, may shape a reading attitude towards his fellow friends, schools, parents also provide knowledge and general interest for further studies in this area to the need to examine the reading comprehension skills of students with a view to identify the factors responsible for their academic performance.
The study is also aimed at making the government realize that their efforts to improve the standard of education will continue to be a mirage if the teaching of reading among other learning skill is neglected in the school course outline.
1.6 Problems Encountered During The Study
As a result of confidentially of the students result. I had the problem of administering the questionnaire of this study to the study to the students at first. So I had to go through the exams and record to get the results. Meanwhile it should be noted that at any stage of statistical enquiry, there exists bias, but we should try much as possible to eliminate them.
I achieve this by using accurate and simple equipment for the data collection, formulating a simple question while the answers will not be so hard for the respondent to supply.
Also financial problem and time were also involved.
1.7 Statement of Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a statement about one or more populations, it is an assumption about the population involved. This statement about the population may or may not be time. Therefore test of hypothesis is also called test of significance.
The two hypotheses, which are the null hypothesis (denoted by Ho) and the alternative (denoted by Hi).
Therefore, the null hypothesis is the hypothesis that is being tested while the alternative hypothesis is the hypothesis that can becomes the available alternative when the null has been registered.
Therefore, formulating the hypothesis of the study, I have
- Ho: The reading habit of students is independent of their performance in the polytechnic.
- H1: The reading habit of students is dependent of their performance in the polytechnic.
1.8 Limitation of the Study
- There is need for caution in the use of data especially data from secondary sources.
- There is need for the uses of any set data to check whether changes in concepts, definition and methods of collection have change over the period of interest.
- This study is restricted to the federal polytechnic Nekede Owerri. This is for an effective and purposeful research findings.
- Imperfect or improper methods of data collection recording, classification and errors of omission when data are transferred from one record to another.
1.9 Definition of Terms
Main Idea:
The is the key or point that dominates the passage.
Word To Word:
Reading of every word of the passage one by one without any transition skill from one phrase to another.
Diagnosis:
This is the investigation of the nature of the course and extent of the nature of the students' strength and weakness.
Literal Meaning:
This involves ordinary meaning of words basic or usual meaning of a word or phrase.
Evaluation:
This is the ability to read beyond the line. It involves critical assessment of the reader what he is reading.
Cognitive:
Ability of knowing how to, knowing what and the ability of the reader to use experience.
Effective Reading:
Good reading and caring for materials.
Languages:
A systematic means of conventionalized signs, sounds, gestures, or marks having understood meaning.
