Sto.

Tomas Senior High School

Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region IV-A CALABARZON
Division of Batangas Province
District of Sto. Tomas

EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF READING COMPREHENSION IN THE

SUBJECT OF 21ST CENTURY LITERATURE IN THE PHILIPPINES AND
THE WORLD OF HUMSS 11- STUDENT IN STO. TOMAS SENIOR HIGH
SCHOOL

A Research Project
Presented to
The Faculty of Sto. Tomas Senior High School
San Miguel, Sto. Tomas, Batangas

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Subject
Practical Research 2

Submitted to

Ms. Sarah Jane S. Vallar

Submitted by
Angel L. Pineda
Josiah Marie Sicor
Charelie Andrea L. Malveda
Jennifer Colina
Jomar Aquino
Anjieralyn Reyes
Rosemarie Docabo
Yuan Dimalanta
Carry Malveda
Sirjane Alina
Janica Uway
Marinel Baysa
Leiselle Geling
Aljon Geroleo

2019
 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
APPROVAL SHEET

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course of Academic/

Humanities and Social Sciences, this research study titled Evaluating the
Impact of Reading Comprehension in the Subject of 21st Century
Literature in the Philippines and the World of HUMSS 11- Student in Sto.
Tomas Senior High of which has been prepared and submitted by Angel L.
Pineda, Josiah Marie Sicor, Charelie Andrea L. Malveda, Jennifer Colina,
Jomar Aquino, Anjieralyn Reyes, Rosemarie Docabo, Yuan Dimalanta, Carry
Malveda, Sirjane Alina, Janica Uway, Marinel Baysa, Leiselle Geling, Aljon
Geroleo, is hereby recommended for acceptance for Oral Examination.

Approved by the panel of examiners with the grade of _____________.

PANEL OF EXAMINERS

Ms. Sarah Jane S. Vallar

Chairman

Member

Mr. John Meldwin B. Baronia

Ms. Lorena M. Lara.

Accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

strand of Academic Track/Strand of Humanities and Social Sciences

LEONIDES V. KUNDANGAN

Assistant Principal II

Date: _________________
 Sto. Tomas Senior High School

DEDICATION

We dedicate this work to our beloved parents for their great love,

constant support and tireless dedication to our initial formation. We dedicate it

to our brothers and sisters who greatly contributed to my life and growth. This

work is also dedicated to all the Teachers in Sto. Tomas Senior High School

who are educators and strive to mound young girls and boys, specially to our

very special subject adviser teacher Ms. Sarah Jane S. Vallar who was very

supportive, considerate and believe in our ability to finish this research, We

also dedicate this work to the persons who molded as to do the best we can

and to finish our thesis with their guidance Mr. John Meldwin B. Baronia and

Ms. Lorena M. Lara.

-The Researchers

iii
 Sto. Tomas Senior High School

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost special thanks to God Almighty for His goodness

to us without whose Grace and Blessings it would have been difficult for us to

complete our studies. We thank Him for the good health He granted us during

our studies. We are very grateful to Ms. Sarah Jane S. Vallar who allowed us

to pursue our studies. I do appreciate all the support accorded us; moral and

spiritual by the Sto. Tomas Senior High School. Our special thanks go to our

parents and all our family members for their encouragement and support

during our studies at the Sto. Tomas Senior High School. Our sincere

appreciation goes to our teachers Mr. John Meldwin B. Baronia and Ms.

Lorena M. Lara for their guidance, patience, encouragement, suggestions and

valuable contributions. Their competence and commitment in reading,

critiquing and willingness to assist me were very instrumental in the realization

of this work. I also owe a lot of gratitude to all our lecturers and fellow

students in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. Lastly, We

wish to extend our sincere gratitude to all who contributed in any way towards

our academic achievement. To all of you, We say God bless you.

-The Researchers

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION........................................................................................iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT........................................................................iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS.........................................................................v

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Background to the Study................................................................................1-2

Statement of the Problem...............................................................................3
Significance of the Study................................................................................3
Research Questions.......................................................................................3-4
Scope and Delimitations of the Study.............................................................4
Theoretical Framework...................................................................................4-7
Conceptual Framework...................................................................................7-8

CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

A.Introduction to Reading Comprehension Skills……………………………....9-10

1. The Critical Dimensions of Language and Literacy in Early Childhood......10-18

2. Features of the Environment that Support Literacy Development…….......18-21

3. Interactional Supports for Literacy Learning………………………………….21-24

4. Addressing the Needs of English Language Learners………………………24-27

5. Potential Avenues for Revisions of ECRR materials………………………...27-41

B. Keys to Comprehension…………………………………………………………42

1. Reading with Meaning……………………………………………………………42

2. I Read It, But I Don’t Get It………………………………………………………42

3. Deeper Reading…………………………………………………………………..43
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CHAPTER 3
METHODS AND PROCEDURES
Introduction...................................................................................................
Research Design....................................................................................
Subjects of the
Study............................................................................................................. Data
Gathering Instrument.................................................................................. Data
Gathering Procedure..................................................................
Scoring of Result...................................................................................43 3.6
Statiscal Treatment of Data...............................................................................
CHAPTER 4 PRESENTATION, DISCUSSION AND INTERPRETATION OF
THE FINDINGS

Table 1……………………………………………………………….
Table 2……………………………………………………………….
Table 3…………………………………………………………………

CHAPTER 5 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Introduction ..............................................................................................
Conclusions..............................................................................................
Recommendations..............................................................................................
..............
Bibliography.................................................................................................
Appendices
Appendix A: ...........................................................
Appendix B:.....................................................................
Appendix C:………………………………………………………
Appendix D:…………………………………………………………
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Chapter 1

Introduction and Background of the Study

Introduction

Reading comprehension is the ability to read, understand, process,

and recall what was just read. Simply put, reading comprehension is the act of

understanding what you are reading. Reading comprehension is one of the

pillars of the act of reading. Having proficient reading comprehension skills is

crucial in the effectiveness of an individual not only academically but also in

personal life. On the other hand, proficiency means advancement in

knowledge or skill: progress. Being proficient in reading comprehension will

greatly help every learner to understand and perform more in the related

subjects.

One of the most challenging parts of being a Humanities and Social

Sciences student is being able to construct, analyze and comprehend words

in the field of academic text and written works. In today’s society, the ability to

read and write is crucial for communication with the surrounding environment,

with the increasing volume of electronic messaging, online news stories, and

other printed sources of information, strong literacy skills are more important

than ever. Unfortunately, despite this apparent need, assessments

consistently report ubiquitous student underachievement in the literacy

domain. Being able to understand the text you were reading is constantly

have affected in your performance and the way you internalized it. It is very

common for us just to read the text and didn’t even understand it. Reading
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comprehension skills is a fundamental skill to obtain further academic learning

success.

To get further knowledge, Senior High School students are required to

have critical and analytical competence in comprehending academic texts, in

searching more academic information through various types of reading

materials such as textbooks, journals, reports, or electronic messages;

however, not all students are good at comprehending the text being read.

Most of them understand the informational of the text; in other words, they are

good at decoding the text but struggling to comprehend what the underlying

meaning and purpose beyond the text are. Reading is a lifelong skill to be

used both at school and throughout life. Reading is a basic life skill. It is a

cornerstone for a child's success in school and, indeed, throughout life.

Without the ability to read well, opportunities for personal fulfillment and job

success inevitably will be lost. Despite its importance, reading is one of the

most challenging areas in the education syst em. The ever increasing demand

for high levels of literacy in our technological society makes this problem even

more pressing. Although word recognition, decoding, and fluency are building

blocks of effective reading, the ability to comprehend text is the ultimate goal

of reading instruction. Comprehension is a prerequisite for acquiring content

knowledge and expressing ideas and opinions through discussion and writing.
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Statement of the Problem

The purpose of this descriptive study is to determine the level of

proficiency of Grade 11- HUMSS students in reading comprehension at their

selected subject 21st Century Literature in the Philippines and the world, and

to evaluate the learning strategies they employ in order to improve their skills.

The Significance of the Study

This study evaluated the impact of having a proficient reading

comprehension skill with the following:

The students may consider this study as their learning tool in developing

efficient reading comprehension skills that will be useful in better

understanding the related subject in the area.

The teachers may review this research and use in their teaching methods to

improve the skills of the learners.

The future researchers may find this useful for further development of the

research study with similar subject.

The Specific Research Questions

This study aims to answer the following questions:

1. What is the level of proficiency of HUMSS 11- students in terms of their

reading comprehension?

2. What are the difficulties encountered by HUMSS 11- students in achieving

an efficient reading comprehension skill?

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3. What are the strategies employed by HUMSS 11- students in order to

overcome the difficulties encountered in reading comprehension.

The Scope and Limitations of the Study

This study covers the evaluation of Reading Comprehension

proficiency to the improvement of HUMSS 11- students of Sto. Tomas Senior

High School that will be conducted for the school year 2019-2020 with the aim

of uplifting their skill through recommending strategies that will help them do

good in their studies and suggest effective ways of imposing the compliance

to the mention rules and regulations.

Theoretical Framework

Schema Theory and Reading Comprehension

Schema theory is an explanation of how readers use prior knowledge

to comprehend and learn from text . The term "schema" was first used in

psychology by Barlett as "an active organization of past reactions or

experiences" , later schema was introduced in reading by Rumelhalt, Carrell

and Hudson when discussing the important role of background knowledge in

reading comprehension (all cited in An, 2013). The fundamental principle of

the schema theory assumes that written text does not carry meaning by itself.

Rather, a text only provides directions for readers as to how they should

retrieve or construct meaning from their own previously acquired knowledge

(An, 2013).
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According to schema theory, comprehending a text is an interactive

process between the reader’s background knowledge and the text. Efficient

comprehension requires the ability to relate the textual material to one's own

knowledge. As Anderson (p.369) point out, "every act of comprehension

involves one’s knowledge of the world as well". Reading comprehension

operates in two directions, from bottom up to the top and from the top down to

the bottom of the hierarchy. Bottom-up processing is activated by specific

data from the text, while top-down processing starts with general to confirm

these predictions. These two kinds of processing are occurring simultaneously

and interactively, which adds to the concept of interaction or comprehension

between bottom-up and top-down processes (Carrel and Eiserhold, Cited in

An, 2013).

The Three Levels of Comprehension

Reading comprehension is the ability to process information that we

have read and to understand its meaning. The three levels of comprehension

are the literal level, inferential level and the critical/evaluative level.

1. The Literal Level

It is simply what the text says and what actually happens in the story.

This is a very important level of understanding because it provides the

foundation for more advanced comprehension. It focuses on reading the

passages, hearing the words or viewing the images. It involves identifying the
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important and essential information. With guidance, students can distinguish

between the important and less important ideas.

2. The Inferential Level

It involves determining what the text means. Determining inferential

meaning requires you to think about the text and draw a conclusion. , the

focus shifts to reading between the lines, looking at what is implied by the

material under study. It requires students to combine pieces of information in

order to make inferences about the author's intent and message. Guiding

students to recognize these perceived relationships promotes understanding

and decreases the risk of being overwhelmed by the complexities of the text

being view, heard or read.

3. The Critical Level

In this level we are analyzing or synthesizing information and applying

it to other information. Understandings at the literal and interpretive levels are

combined, reorganized and restructured at the critical level to express

opinions, draw new insights and develop fresh ideas. Guiding students

through the applied level shows them how to synthesize information, to read

between the lines and to develop a deeper understanding of the concepts,

principles, and implications presented in the text.

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SCHEMA THEORY

READING PRIOR
COMPREHENSION KNOWLEDGE

Figure1. Relationship between prior knowledge, reading comprehension, and

schema theory.

Conceptual Framework

This study points out the development of reading comprehension skill

through implementing new strategies for students. Having a project proposal

that will be assisted by the EFICOM Club and SSG Club of Sto. Tomas

Senior High School will help a lot in achieving a proficient reading

comprehension skill that they can use to improve their understanding on their

subject, 21st Century Literature in the Philippines and the World.

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The project proposal named "Empowering Reading Comprehension

Skill" will be pass to the EFICOM Club and SSG Club and the approval of the

school will be the boiling point of the program. Implementing the project will

help greatly in achieving an efficient reading skills. These relationships are

illustrated in Figure 2.

Input Process Output

Evaluation of Survey Recommending a

Reading Project Proposal
Questionnaire named
Comprehension
“Empowering
of Grade 11 Reading
HUMSS Students Comprehension
Skill”

Figure 2. Paradigm showing the relationship between the variables of the

study.
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Chapter 2

REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

The last decade has brought a growing consensus on the range of

skills that serve as the foundation for reading and writing ability (Dickinson &

Neuman, National Reading Panel Report, 2000; Neuman & Dickinson; Snow,

Burns, & Griffin). To become a skilled reader, children need a rich language

and conceptual knowledge base, a broad and deep vocabulary, and verbal

reasoning abilities to understand messages that are conveyed through print.

Children also must develop code-related skills, an understanding that spoken

words are composed of smaller elements of speech (phonological

awareness); the idea that letters represent these sounds (the alphabetic

principle), the many systematic correspondences between sounds and

spellings, and a repertoire of highly familiar words that can be easily and

automatically recognized (McCardle & Chhabra; McCardle, Scarborough, &

Catts). But to attain a high level of skill, young children need opportunities to

develop these strands, not in isolation, but interactively. Meaning, not sounds

or letters, motivates children’s earliest experiences with print (Neuman,

Copple, & Bredekamp). Given the tremendous attention that early literacy has

received recently in policy circles (Roskos & Vukelich), and the increasing

diversity of our child population, it is important and timely to take stock of

these critical dimensions as well as the strengths and gaps in our ability to

measure these skills effectively.

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In the following sections, we first review the important skills that are

related to early language and literacy achievement. We then provide

recommendations for updating ECRR workshops.

1. The Critical Dimensions of Language and Literacy in Early

Childhood

Language. Verbal abilities are consistently the best predictors of later

reading achievement (Scarborough). Skilled readers typically draw upon

multiple levels of the language system (Dickinson, McCabe, Anastasopoulos,

Peisner-Feinberg, & Poe), with abilities encompassing vocabulary, syntax,

and discourse. Vocabulary size in optimal settings may increase exponentially

in the early years (some estimate about seven words a day) (Snow et al), with

children learning to comprehend words spoken to them before they are able

to produce them on their own. Word knowledge, however, is not just

developed through exposure to increasingly complex language, but to

knowledge-building language experiences (Neuman) that involve children in

developing and refine networks of categorically-related concepts. With

opportunity and practice, children’s word knowledge is put to use in syntactic

structures that grow in length and complexity. Children’s sentences often start

at two words, but quickly lengthen to four or more words as children

communicate their ideas increasingly through language. Snow and colleagues

(Snow, Baines, Chandler, Goodman, & Hemphill) have shown that

conversations that are physically removed from immediate objects or events

(i.e., ‘what if?’) are tied to the development of abstract reasoning and related

to literacy skills like print production and narrative competence. With word
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learning occurring so rapidly, children begin to make increasingly fine

distinctions of words not only based on their meaning but also based on their

sound. They begin to make implicit comparisons between similar sounding

words, a phenomenon described by linguists as lexical restructuring

(Goswami; Metsala). For example, a two-year old child probably knows the

words “cat” from “cut;” “hot” from “not.” Distinguishing between these similar

sounding words both quickly and accurately, children begin to hear

sequences of sound that constitute each known word. Children with large

vocabularies become attuned to these segments and acquire new words

rapidly; children with smaller vocabularies may be limited to more global

distinctions. Consequently, vocabulary size and vocabulary rate are important

for lexical restructuring (i.e., making sound distinctions between words)

(Goswami), and are strongly tied to the emergence of phonological

awareness.

Recent analyses (Dickinson et al.) have made it abundantly clear,

however, that oral language skills, and more specifically vocabulary

development, not only play a role in phonological awareness but also are

critical skills for the development of reading comprehension later on.

Therefore, it is essential for quality indicators in early childhood programs to

recognize that oral language and vocabulary development is the foundation

for all other skills critical to successful reading.

Phonological awareness. Based on a massive body of research

(Burgess, 2006; Lonigan), phonological awareness is a critical precursor,

correlate, and predictor of children’s reading achievement. Discriminating

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units of language (i.e., words, segments, phonemes) is strongly linked to

successful reading (National Reading Panel Report). It is, however, as

described above, both a cause and a consequence of vocabulary

development and learning to read (Ehri & Roberts). Typically developing

children begin first to discriminate among units of language (i.e., phonological

awareness), then within these units (i.e., phonemic awareness). Phonological

awareness refers to the general ability to attend to the sounds of language as

distinct from its meaning. Phonemic awareness is the insight that every

spoken word can be conceived as units of sounds that are represented by the

letter of an alphabet (Snow, Burns, & Griffin).

Evidence (Lonigan, 2006; Whitehurst & Loniga) suggests that children

achieve syllabic sensitivity earlier than they achieve sensitivity to phonemes,

and sensitivity to rhyme before sensitivity to phonemes. Children’s entry to

these skills typically begins with linguistic activities such as language games

and nursery rhymes (Maclean, Bryant, & Bradley) that implicitly compare and

contrast the sounds of words, and include alliterative phrases (i.e., bibbily

bobbily boo begins with /b/). But implicit comparisons, alone, may be

insufficient. Phonological awareness and phonemic awareness are meta-

linguistic abilities (Adams). Children must not only be able to recite and play

with sound units, they must also develop an understanding that sound units

map onto whole or parts of written language. Phonological awareness should

not be confused with phonics. The term phonics, or decoding, assumes that

children understand the phonemic composition of words, and the phoneme-

grapheme (sound/letter) relationship. Studies that have attempted to

accelerate learning through early phonics training have shown no effects

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(Snow et al); in fact, evidence suggests that such training, without a firm

understanding of phonemic awareness, may be detrimental to remembering

words and learning to spell.

Recent reviews and analyses (Dickinson et al; Scarborough,) have

placed phonological awareness as a critical part of a complex braid of

language abilities which include strands of phonology, semantics, syntax,

pragmatics, and discourse. Its tie to children’s ability to decode has been

clearly established. At the same time, quality indicators would do well to

recognize that phonological awareness skills are integrally connected to other

important language skills which need to be strongly bolstered in these early

education and care programs.

Letter knowledge: Knowledge of the alphabet letters is a strong

predictor of short- and long-term reading success (Bond & Dykstra,Chall,).

However, its influence on later reading is not about knowing the letter names,

per se. Rather, the learning of letter names mediates the ability to remember

the sounds associated with the letters (Ehri). Once again, there is a reciprocal

relationship between skills: Letter knowledge plays an influential role in the

development of phonological awareness, and higher levels of letter

knowledge are associated with children’s abilities to detect and manipulate

phonemes. For example, the child who knows the letter ‘b’ is likely to

remember the sound of /b/. Consequently, letter knowledge may reflect a

greater underlying knowledge and familiarity with literacy related skills such as

language and print.

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Research (Gibson & Levin) indicates that children differentiate letters

according to their visual form, that is, their horizontal, vertical and diagonal

segments. Given the complexities of the visually distinct forms of letters

(upper case, lower case, printed form), current learning theory (Adams)

suggests that simultaneously teaching two versions of letters with their

confusable sounds and labels may be overwhelming to the young child.

However, there is no substantial evidence to suggest which particular form

(upper or lower case) should be taught first.

A growing body of research suggests that a variety of extrinsic and

intrinsic factors influence the development of letter knowledge. Exposure to

letters is a primary vehicle for alphabet knowledge. Children who participate

frequently in adult-child writing activities that include a deliberate focus on

print have better alphabet knowledge relative to those who may spend time on

other activities like shared reading (Aram & Levin). Further, some letters tend

to be learned earlier by children than others. In a recent investigation, Justice

and her colleagues (Justice, Pence, Bowles, & Wiggins) reported that the

single largest advantage for learning letters were the child’s first initials,

compared to the lesser advantage of phonological features of the letters

themselves. Given the variability among children in the specific letters they

know, multiple methods for gaining letter knowledge are recommended.

Background Knowledge. For children to become skilled readers

(Neuman & Celano), they will also need to develop a rich conceptual

knowledge base and verbal reasoning abilities to understand messages

conveyed through print. Successful reading ultimately consists of knowing a

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relatively small tool kit of unconscious procedural skills, accompanied by a

massive and slowly built-up store of conscious content knowledge. It is the

higher-order thinking skills, knowledge, and dispositional capabilities that

enable young children to come to understand what they are reading.

Children’s earliest experiences become organized or structured into

schemas, building blocks of cognition. Schemas (Anderson & Pearson)

provide children with the conceptual apparatus for making sense of the world

around them by classifying incoming bits of information into similar groupings.

Stein and Glenn, for example, provided a compelling case for schemas and

their usefulness for recalling information about stories. Well-read to children

internalize a form of story grammar, a set of expectations of how stories are

told which enhances their understanding. Knowledge becomes easier to

access (Neuman), producing more knowledge networks. And those with a rich

knowledge base find it easier to learn and remember.

Quality indicators of a rich content base for instruction in early

childhood programs include a content-rich curriculum in which children have

opportunities for sustained and in-depth learning (Neuman, Dwyer, &

Newman, submitted for publication), including play; different levels of

guidance to meet the needs of individual children; a masterful orchestration of

activity that supports content learning and social-emotional development; and

time, materials and resources that actively build verbal reasoning skills and

conceptual knowledge.

Print conventions. Recognizing that concepts about print in the English

language are not intuitive, Marie Clay, in her pioneering work with Maori
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children in New Zealand, identified a set of conventions that could be

understood without being able to read. These conventions included, among

others, the directionality of print in a book (left-to-right, top-to-bottom, and

front-to-back), differences between pictures and print, uses of punctuation,

and definitional characteristics of a letter and a word. Knowing these

conventions, she found, helped in the process of learning to read. With the

exception of a study by Tunmer and colleagues (Tunmer, Herriman, &

Nesdale,) demonstrating the relationship of these skills to later reading

success, however, there is little evidence to suggest the predictive power of

these skills on later achievement. Rather, print conventions act as an

immediate indicator of children’s familiarity with text, and are not integrally

related to the other language based skills associated with reading success.

Therefore, while such conventions might be helpful to young children in

navigating through books, these skills may not in the long run play a powerful

role in learning to read.

Children who are English language learners experience each of these

critical dimensions in the context of learning two languages, which only

increases the complexity of the processes of language and literacy

development. In order to become proficient in their second language, young

children will need to familiarity with the phonology to the [second language],

its vocabulary (typical everyday discourse as well as academic vocabulary, its

morphology and grammar (Geva, 2015). Further, to become literate in a

second language, it is important to have an adequate level of oral proficiency

in that language (Bialystock, 2011). Research with second language learners

has shown that oral language and literacy skills in the first language contribute
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to the development of those skills in the second language. For example,

phonological awareness skills in the first language have been found to predict

phonological awareness sand word recognition in the second language

(Chiappe & Siegel; Cisero & Royer; Durgunglu,). Although much more

research is still needed about the ways in which English language learners

develop literacy skills, this knowledge can help guide the development of

further interventions.

In sum, research supports a particularly strong linkage between oral

language, phonological awareness, letter knowledge, background knowledge,

and to a much lesser extent, print conventions, in the preschool years. These

skills are highly interdependent. Phonological awareness appears to influence

vocabulary development and vocabulary rate. Letter knowledge supports

phonological awareness. Code-related skills are highly predictive of children’s

initial early reading success while oral language skills and background

knowledge become highly predictive of comprehension abilities and later

reading achievement. Each of these skills, when integrated in meaningful

activity, has an important role to play in children’s literacy development.

In 2015, the National Early Literacy Panel (NELP, 2014) was convened to

conduct a synthesis of the scientific research in the development of early

reading skills for children ages 2-5. Their report, recently issued (2014),

indicated that the most powerful predictors of reading achievement were

alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming, and

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that oral language and vocabulary were only moderate predictors of

achievement.

Paris , however, has most recently demonstrated the flaws in what has

come to be understood as this traditional view. Early literacy skills, such as

letter knowledge (knowing the letters of the alphabet), phonological

awareness (sensitivity to the sounds in words), and concepts of print are best

described as constrained skills-—skills that predict later achievement early on

but that quickly asymptote after the age of 5. Contrary to constrained skills are

vocabulary, comprehension and background knowledge; these skills are

unconstrained, essentially never asymptote as children get older. These skills

have the potential to grow throughout one’s lifetime, and can dramatically

influence children’s long-term abilities both in reading and content areas.

This research has significant implications for teaching and our focus on

the skills necessary for children to read. It suggests that although letter

knowledge, phonological awareness, and concepts of print are initially

important and should be taught, they lead only to temporary gains on skills,

and do not predict long-term outcomes. The critical skills are vocabulary,

comprehension, and background knowledge—skills that take more time to

teach and review and these skills should be a major focus in helping children

learn how to read.

2. Features of the Environment that Support Literacy Development

The environment can play a major role in promoting these critical skills

for literacy development. The organization, structure, and complexity of the

early childhood setting influence patterns of activity and engagement. For

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example, a fairly sizable number of studies (Morrow, Neuman & Roskos,

Vukelich,) have revealed the powerful influence of access to literacy tools on

young children’s involvement in literacy activities. This research indicates that

in settings carefully constructed to include a wide access of literacy tools,

books, and play materials, children read more (Neuman & Roskos), and

engage more in literacy-related play themes (Morrow), with resulting effects

on literacy improvement (Neuman & Roskos).

The use of space in settings influences learning (Roskos & Neuman).

Children use space and its boundaries to regulate and guide their own

responses. For example, studies (Morrow, 1988; Neuman & Roskos,) find that

smaller, well defined niches and nooks seem to encourage greater language

and collaboration with peers and adults. Children are likely to use these more

intimate settings to interact in longer and richer conversation with others.

Relatedly, studies (Fernie,) show evidence that the physical

environment can have behavioral consequences. Some materials seem to

encourage more sustained activity than others and invoke children’s attention

at different ages. Materials that involve children in constructive activity, for

example, tend to generate more language than “pull toys” (Rosenthal). Some

materials elicit greater social interaction and cooperation, like block building,

whereas others encourage more solitary and or parallel play, such as puzzles

(see review, Roskos & Neuman).

The physical placement of objects, as well, influences children’s

engagement in literacy-related activity. Children become more involved in

sustained literacy play when objects are clustered together to create a

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schema or meaning network. For example, in one study (Neuman & Roskos),

placing props associated with mailing letters together in a play setting

(envelopes, writing instruments, stamps and stationary) led to longer play

episodes than when these props were scattered throughout the room. Further,

props that were authentic, familiar and useful to common literacy contexts,

like telephones in the kitchen area, or mailboxes in the office area,

encouraged more complex language interactions and routines.

The proximity of quality books at children’s eye view supports

involvement in literacy-like enactments (Morrow & Weinstein, Neuman). In

one of the first intervention studies of its type, Morrow and Weinstein

examined the influence of creating library corners in early childhood settings.

These library corners were specially constructed to include the following

elements: (a) a clear location with well-defined borders; (b) comfortable

seating and cozy spots for privacy; (c) accessible, organized materials; and

(d) related activities that extended whole- and small-group book activities.

Morrow and Weinstein (1986) found that the frequency of use rose

significantly when library corners were made more visibly accessible and

attractive. Similarly, in a large-scale study in 500 child care settings

(Neuman), library settings were created to “put books in children’s hands” (p.

286). Observations indicated that children spent significantly more time

interacting with books when they were placed in close proximity to children’s

play activities.

Consequently, there is clear and abundant evidence that certain

physical design features in environments support young children’s literacy

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engagement and subsequent achievement. Physical design features, uses of

space, and resources, may help to focus and sustain children’s literacy

activity, providing greater opportunity to engage in language and literacy

behaviors. This research indicates, therefore, that a more deliberate approach

to the selection and arrangement of materials according to specific design

criteria may enhance children’s uses of literacy objects and related print

resources.

Libraries might benefit from this research on the ecological features of

environment. Creating cozy areas for children to sit and read together;

constructing play spaces that help them learn to engage in playful behaviors

that mimic library activities; and clustering objects such as books, toys, and

writing implements together to encourage their sustained use of materials

might enhance children’s independent engagement in the library areas.

3. Interactional Supports for Literacy Learning

Environments include not only physical settings, but psychological

settings for literacy learning as well (Tharp & Gallimore). Children are

influenced by the participants present in a setting, their background

experiences, their values and it is the integration of place, people, and

occasion that support opportunities for learning. These individuals act as

social and psychological resources that provide information and feedback

through demonstrations and interactions. From a Vygotskian perspective the

participants in the setting have the potential to help children perform at a

higher level than they would be able to by interacting with their physical
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environment alone. It is the contrast between assisted and unassisted

performance that differentiates learning from development.

A great corpus of research (Dickinson & Neuman, Neuman &

Dickinson,) identifies the types of supports that promote children’s language

and literacy development. Essentially, they highlight both instructional and

relational components. Since language represents the foundational basis for

literacy learning in the early years, there is evidence that the amount of verbal

input in settings enhances children’s language development (Hart & Risley,;

Hoff-Ginsberg). Children whose teachers engage them in rich dialogues have

higher scores on tests of both verbal and general ability (Whitehurst et al.,).

This is especially the case when discussions consist of adults encouraging,

questioning, predicting and guiding children’s exploration and problem-solving

(Palinscar, Brown, & Campione). Such verbal interactions contribute to

children’s vocabulary growth which, in turn, is strongly correlated with

phonological awareness, comprehension, and subsequent reading

achievement.

Adults also engage in activities that are highly supportive of literacy

development. Reading stories to children on a regular basis is regarded as

one of the more potent supports for literacy learning (Bus, Van Ijzendoorn, &

Pellegrini). Studies (Dickinson & Smith; Whitehurst & Lonigan) have shown

that a parent’s style or approach to reading storybooks to children has both

short-term and long-term effects on language and literacy development.

Shared book reading activities, such as dialogic reading (Whitehurst et al.,

1994), for example, and repeated readings (Biemiller) have been widely
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studied and identified as an important source of knowledge about vocabulary,

about letters, and about the characteristics of written language. Recent

studies (Beck & McKeown; Duke, 2017) also highlight the importance of

introducing children to a wide variety of books in different genres such as

information books, poetry, and popular folk tales.

Attention to and support of emergent writing (Clay) has also been

shown to strongly connect with children’s developing phonological awareness,

phonemic awareness and readiness skills. Activities involve ‘driting (drawing

and writing), and adult scaffolding help to build the alphabetic principle

(Adams). Further, interactions in literacy-related play have been shown to

relate to children’s length of utterances, and sustainability in play themes

(Neuman & Roskos). Taken together, activities that engage children in

reading, writing, talking, and playing create occasions for meaningful

communicative interactions involving language and print.

This research highlights the central role of the caregiver who evokes

children’s interest and engagement in literacy learning. According to Bus, Van

Ijzendoorn, and Pellegrini, children build a mental representation of their

interactions with caregivers that influence their expectations and responses to

activities. When children feel secure, they engage in learning; when insecure

in situations, they may use digressive tactics to avoid activity. For example, in

a cross-sectional study of interactive reading with 18-, 32-, and 66-month

children, Bus and van Ijzendoorn found that the atmosphere surrounding book

reading was more positive among securely attached caregiver-child dyads

than anxiously attached dyads. For securely attached children, book reading
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was ultimately an enjoyable task, tied to learning improvement; for insecurely

attached children, it was negative, with caregivers often using verbal and

nonverbal cues to discipline behavior.

Other studies (Blair, Blair & Razza,; Hamre & Pianta, Miles & Stipek,;

Pianta, La Paro, Payne, Cox, & Bradley,), as well, support the linkage

between children’s emotional security and cognitive activity. For example,

Howes and Smith report that in settings rich with creative play activities and

staffed by adults who provide children with emotional security, children not

only thrive socially but cognitively as well. Similarly Peisner-Feinberg and her

colleagues (Peisner-Feinberg et al.,) found that the influence of close

attachments between caregivers and children yielded even stronger positive

effects for children from disadvantaged backgrounds than for children from

more advantaged backgrounds. Recent studies (Hamre & Pianta) have shown

that these emotional supports may have important moderating effects during

the elementary school years as well. Shown in a recent study by Powell and

his colleagues (Powell, Burchinal, File & Kontos), these types of supportive

adult interactions are more likely to occur in small group and one-to-one

instructional settings, rather than in whole group instruction.

4. Addressing the Needs of English Language Learners

All of these environmental supports are especially important for young

English language learners (ELL). Their numbers have increased dramatically

in the past 15 years in the United States. For example, in 1990, 1 in every 20

children was ELL, that is, a student who speaks English either not at all or

with enough limitations that he or she cannot fully participate in mainstream

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English instruction. Today the figure is 1 in 9 (Goldenberg). Although these

children come from over 400 different language backgrounds, by far the

largest proportions of students are Spanish-speakers (over 80%) (U.S.

Department of Education).

Recent syntheses of research (August & Shanahan; Rolstad,

Mahoney, & Glass; Slavin & Cheung) suggest that when feasible, children

should be taught in their primary language. Primary language instruction helps

to promote bilingualism and, eventually, biliteracy. Further, children will need

support in transferring what they know in their first language to learning tasks

presented in English. Engaging children actively in meaningful tasks and

providing many opportunities for them to participate at their functional levels

will enable children to feel more efficacious, and to become contributing

members in mainstream classrooms.

Adults will need to make adjustments and accommodations—

sometimes described as ‘instructional scaffolding’—to support children who

are beginning English speakers (Goldenberg). They may have to speak slowly

and somewhat deliberately, with clear vocabulary and diction; they may need

to use pictures or other objects to illustrate the content being taught; or ask for

children to respond either non- verbally (e.g., pointing or signaling) or in one-

or two-word utterances (Snow et al.). ELL’s language needs are complex.

These young children are not only learning a new language, but also a new

set of social rules and behaviors that may be different from their home. Given

the great variability among ELL children, adults will need to know the different
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stages of language learning to be able to implement the most appropriate

accommodations (for addition information on accommodations (see Carlo et

al; Francis et al; Vaughn et al.). Consequently, these and other factors are

especially important to ensure that these ELL children have many

opportunities to use their second language (i.e., English) and their native

language in meaningful and motivating situations.

From an ecological perspective, therefore, the physical and

psychological environments play vital roles in children’s learning about

literacy. These supports mediate opportunities for literacy engagement and

practice, and will likely influence children’s attitudes and efforts to engage in

literacy activities despite difficulties they may encounter as they learning to

read proficiently.

To summarize, program features that support literacy development

include:

• A supportive learning environment in which children have access to a wide

variety of reading and writing resources.

• Developmentally appropriate practices that actively engages children’s

minds and builds language and conceptual development.

• Adult engagement in children’s learning through conversations, discussions,

and contingent responses to children’s questions and queries.

• A daily interactive book reading routine that introduces children to multiple

genres, including information books, narrative, poetry, and alphabet books.

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• Activities that support small group and one-to-one interactions and differing

levels of guidance to meet the needs of individual children.

• A masterful orchestration of activities that supports play, learning and social-

emotional development.

• Adjustments and accommodations for English Language Learners that allow

them to successfully engage in learning activities in the classroom.

5. Potential Avenues for Revisions of ECRR materials

The ECRR kit includes activities that support six critical skills: Print motivation,

phonological awareness, vocabulary, narrative skills, print awareness, and

letter knowledge. All of these skills are important. At the same time, however,

the library community might wish to do the following:

 Rename some of the skills to be better aligned with current research.

This would include: phonological awareness, vocabulary and oral language

development, print concepts that include letter knowledge and specific

concepts about print, and background knowledge and comprehension.

Specifically, the library community would be wise to emphasize the

informational aspects of book reading and its important relationship to

background knowledge and conceptual development.

 Some skills, particularly in these early years are more important than
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Mothers. The library community might consider focusing on language,

vocabulary and its relationship to comprehension and reading success. Letter

knowledge, print concepts are constrained skills, with limited predictive power

in the long-run for children’s achievement.

The research literature clearly focuses on the importance of materials

and interactions, as well as the social components in learning. The library

community might consider adding these ecological factors which are critical

for literacy motivation and learning.

In many second or foreign language-teaching situations, reading

Comprehension receives a special focus for several reasons. It is considered

as an important language ability because it enhances the process of language

acquisition and helps students to read for a variety of purposes. Besides,

written texts serve various pedagogical purposes. Therefore, extensive

exposure to linguistically comprehensible written texts can enhance the

process of language acquisition. In addition, suitable reading texts serve as

good models for writing, and provide opportunities for introducing new topics,

stimulating discussions, and studying the features of language. Many foreign

language students often have reading as one of their most important goals. In

fact, in most EFL academic situations, the ability to read in a foreign language

is all that students ever want to acquire. Reading, then, is highly valued by

students and teachers alike. The ability to read, no matter what the purpose of

reading is, requires that readers extract information from the text and combine

it with information and expectations they already have. Therefore, reading is a

meaning-construction process which involves an interaction between text and

 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
reader. During reading, readers subconsciously try to interact with the

passage in order to understand the text. However, since in this interaction

readers approach a text with differing background knowledge, interests,

motivations, skills, and strategies, they arrive at different interpretations of the

same text. Reading is also a problem-solving behavior that actively involves

the reader in the process of deriving and assigning meaning. During this

problem-solving activity, readers have to draw on contextual information that

contains syntactic, semantic, and discourse constraints which affect their

interpretation of the passage (Rivers, 1988, 11 p.71). Syntactic constraints are

provided by the word order and the syntactic rules of the language. Semantic

constraints include the distribution of meaning within a specific language and

culture. Discourse constraints are those provided by the topic of the text and

its development.

According to Chastain these constrains make reading comprehension

a highly cognitively demanding skill which involves careful attention, memory,

perceptual processes, and comprehension processes. It also includes

understanding words, sentences, or even texts, along with a complex

integration of the prior knowledge, language proficiency, and metacognitive

strategies. Language learners may have various problems in reading

comprehension. Some may have specific difficulties with phonological skills,

others with word recognition. Most, however, have some difficulties in more

than one area. Of course, reading difficulties can be the result of many factors

such as cognitive, affective, and so forth and it is never easy to find the

causes. Developing reading abilities assists students in overcoming their

reading problems and in becoming competent readers. Another important

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factor that contributes to students' reading ability is the extent of their

knowledge about various reading strategies (see Chastain; Rivers &

Temperley). Beginners have fewer strategies at their disposal and are less

skilled than more experienced readers. Good readers try to create a structure

on what they are reading and this stimulates further expectations about what

is to come next. According to Rivers, students can progress in reading if the

knowledge of the language in the oral form precedes reading, as this is the

order of learning the mother tongue. Therefore, it becomes easier for readers

to recognize what they already know orally, in its graphic form. Oral reading

fluency has attracted considerable attention as a potentially reliable indicator

of reading competence (Kame'enui & Simmons, p. 208). Practice in reading

aloud can be considered as a primary step to both reading and writing. Before

students can do either well, the connection between the sound and its written

symbol(s) needs to be recognized because competent reading requires

adequate attention to the meaning of the word while focusing on its sound. As

a result, when a word is misread, good readers tend to recognize the error,

because it does not make sense in context. Without this knowledge, students

are not likely to be successful in the typical language class in which all

language skills are stressed. 12 Many reading specialists (e.g., Chodkieiwicz,;

Hadley; Rivers, Wallace) emphasize the importance of selecting authentic

materials for the purpose of both teaching and testing reading comprehension

without having to worry about unfamiliar structures and vocabulary. During

working on reading comprehension tasks that preserve authenticity, students

should be encouraged to use their knowledge of the syntax by paraphrasing,

simplifying, avoiding, and even inferring from rules they know in the new
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language. Simplifying an authentic reading passage can improve

understanding of the passage if it is performed by the readers themselves.

However, simplifying texts for the purpose of publication reduces the texts'

natural redundancy which might actually make them more difficult to read.

Therefore, authentic materials should be presented to students, if possible, in

their original form, to allow them to use non-linguistic cues to interpret

meaning. Authenticity is also important in testing reading comprehension.

Reading comprehension tests ought to be constructed in relation to the ways

people read texts in normal life. "Since most test methods are unusual in real-

life reading, the purpose for which readers on tests read, or possibly the

manner in which they read, may not correspond to the ways they normally

read such texts" (Alderson , p. 248). In other words, the danger is that the test

may not reflect how students would understand the passage in the real world.

One resolution to this problem may be employing test methods that most

probably reflect the ways in which readers read in the real world. Reading

comprehension skills are also improved if learners are exposed to reading

materials that are at the right difficulty level. This has been emphasized by

many reading experts (e.g., Nassaji; Nunan,; Soranastapon & Chuedoung,

Widdowson Willis & Willis). The difficulty level of a reading passage depends

on the degree of structural and lexical complexity of the language used. It

should be in accordance with the readers' current level of competence and

permit students to decode the passage's structure and its lexicon in other to

understand it. Decoding a passage consists of both syntactic and semantic

processes. Fluent readers rely more on semantic than syntactic information

except when the meaning is not clear (Rivers, p.73). During syntactic
 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
processing, readers have to recognize meaningful structural relationships

within the sentences. During semantic processing, they should be able to

identify the lexical meaning of words and try to create a broader meaning for

these words within the contexts of phrase, sentence, and discourse. However,

sometimes this semantic processing becomes more complicated because of

the existence of 13 difficult words. One criterion for deciding about the

difficulty level of the words is th length.

According to Bernhardt longer or multi-syllable words in a passage are

considered as difficult because they do require considerable processing

attention. To be good readers, language learners should develop and improve

three distinctive reading abilities that contribute to competent reading: (a)

recognizing familiar written words, (b) using phonic skills to pronounce

unfamiliar words, and (c^ understanding what is being read (Funnel &

Morgan, 1995, p. 46). Since these three abilities are, to a considerable

degree, independent of each other, readers may rely mostly on one skill and

rarely make use of the others. One way of helping these students to apply all

these skills is preparing suitable materials in the form of reading

comprehension tasks and passages that are interesting, relevant, and at an

appropriate level of complexity (Dobrenow,p. www). Materials should also

match the learners' objectives, put them in control of their learning, be socio-

culturally appropriate, be based on the norms of the society, be gender

sensitive, be age appropriate, match the ability of the students, be up to date

and authentic, be well organized and easy to use, and facilitate interaction

among learners. Appropriate reading materials can noticeably help readers to

improve their comprehension of textbook assignments, directions on exams,

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homework assignments, job applications, or questionnaires. They can also

assist students in comprehending the discourse structure and the organization

of the reading passage, if they clarify the passage's function, its general

argumentative organization, its rhetorical structure, the use of cohesive

devices, and the understanding of intersentential relationships (Hadley,p.

198). Comprehension is also enhanced if students are familiar with various

types of reading materials and if such materials are related to understanding

the plain facts as well as the implications, suppositions, and evaluations of the

text (Grabe & Stoller,p.l93). 2.3. Types of Reading Passages Familiarity with

the construction of various types of reading passages can be considered as

another key factor in improving reading comprehension skills. Five types of

reading passages, viz., narratives, expository, descriptive, argumentative, and

explanatory are briefly described below. They vary in terms of their topics and

their genres.

Narrative: Narrative passages are those instances in which the writer

tells a story or writes about an event. They share many characteristics with

face-to-face oral communication. Since these texts appeal to the readers'

shared knowledge of the world, they are easier to understand and recall than

other types of passages such as expository ones. Empirical studies (e.g.,

Scollon & Scollon; Stein & Glenn) have shown that even preschool children

face not mush difficulty grasping event sequences described in stories and

folktales. Other studies (e.g., Freedle & Halle, Graesser) have shown that

even among adult readers, the recall capability is generally far superior in

narratives than in other types of texts. Expository: Expository is defined as

'serving to explain' or 'tending to illustrate' by the new Webster dictionary

 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
(Thatcher & McQueen). Expository passages are informational in nature and

are intended to induce new insights. Understanding the structural properties

of such passages requires considerable formal training. However, much of the

early research (e.g., Kintsch, Kintsch & VanDijik; Meyer,; Miller & Kintsch,)

focused on formalizing the structural properties of expositions, and in doing

so, it highlighted the specific ways these variables affect comprehension.

Descriptive: In descriptive passages, the authors try to describe people,

events, objects, sceneries, etc. based on their interpretations of them. This

description is generally presented in the form of a personal impression or a

purely imaginary one. Therefore, such descripfions may be either valid or

invalid. Descriptive writers may describe the same entity differently because

their viewpoints vary. Argumentative: Argumentative passages are texts

whose writers are concerned almost entirely with ideas. They just discuss

particular problems without presenting any personal interpretation about the

subjects. Such texts argue and offer reasons to support or overthrow a

proposition, opinion, or measure. The passages may reason, dispute or

discuss an idea.

According to (Alexander, p. 16), the important requirement of any

argumentative passages is reasoning along with the arrangement of the ideas

in logical order. Explanatory: In explanatory passages, the writers try to

explain the existing interrelations in a passage by giving information about

something or by describing how something works in order to make it easier to

understand. Abraham (p. 109) 15 defines explanation as "the detailed

analysis of the complex interrelation and multiple meaning of the component

elements existing within a written work". 2.4. Learning Strategies Reading

 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
materials that trigger general learning strategies (guessing, attending to

meaning, self-monitoring, etc.) that are related to successful language

learning as well as more specific strategies in particular skill areas

considerably improve EFL learners' comprehension and prevent them fi-om

excessive reference to bilingual dictionaries (Cobb & Stevens, p. www).

Learning strategies are some operations (i.e., actions, behaviors, steps, or

techniques) that are deliberately employed by learners to achieve particular

goals, for example to assist acquisition or to learn a second/foreign language

(see Oxford, , p. 166). In his words, Rubin describes reading strategies as

"sets of operations, steps, plans, or routines used by the learners to facilitate

obtaining, storage, retrieval, and use of information". These specific

operations that are often intentionally taken up by learners, make learning

easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective, and more

transferable to new situations. They also help students enhance their own

learning, be more autonomous in their learning, and improve their progress in

developing second language skills. According to Long & Crookes (p. 42)

formal instrucfion on strategies has a positive effect on students' use of

strategies and improves the rate of learning. However, strategies should be

contextualized for the purpose of the formal training. Decontextualized

teaching of individual strategies for a short time will not a have longterm effect

on students nor will it help them to develop as strategic readers. Strategy use

develops over a long term, perhaps several years. In this regard, Janzen (,

p.288) introduces the following factors in the formal instruction of strategies to

help develop learners into strategic readers: o Inserting strategies in the

content area of students' regular course o Teaching strategies through direct

 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
explanation, teacher modeling, and feedback o Recycling the strategies over

new texts and tasks Teaching strategies become more usefUl if it is related to

the reading task at hand, if it fits the particular student's learning style

preferences to one degree or another and if students employ the strategy

effectively and link it with other relevant strategies 16 (Oxford, b, p. 362).

Strategies that fblfiil these conditions make learning easier, faster, more

enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective, and more transferable to new

situations. Application of learning strategies can facilitate the internalization,

storage, or retrieval of the new information. The ability to employ strategies

during reading, distinguishes good readers from poor ones. Good readers use

strategies in a systematic way whereas poor ones use them in a random,

unconnected, and uncontrolled manner. Good readers are also able to shift

between alternative strategies, as needed, so that they can progress in

reading as efficiently as possible (Vann & Abraham). Strategic readers are

more successftil because ... They understand the goals of a reading activity,

have a range of well-practiced reading strategies at their disposal, apply them

in efficient combinations, monitor comprehension appropriately, recognize

miscomprehension, and repair comprehension problems effectively. They use

a wide repertoire of strategies in combination rather than in isolated

application. (Grabe & Stoller, , p. 195) Strategy training can be generally

included in academic courses. Therefore, by creating proper situations,

students can have opportunities to use, adapt, evaluate, and transfer a

strategy to new situations and in reading tasks. Besides, providing suitable

contexts for strategy instruction can encourage teachers to model reading

skills and strategies overtly, facilitating students' performances of theses

 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
abilities. However, strategies should be learned in an organized way. The

organized, reasoned use of learning strategies is more important than the

sheer; frequent use of them. Successful application of strategies help readers

to process a text actively, to monitor their comprehension, and to cormect

what they are reading to their own existing knowledge and to other parts of

the text. Learning strategies included six major categories: cognitive,

metacognitive, mnemonic, affective, social. They are discussed in the coming

sections. 2.4.1. Cognitive Strategies These strategies help learners make

and/or strengthen associations between existing knowledge and the new

information they receive. Although various researchers describe cognitive

strategies differently, they all refer to one common phenomenon, i.e.

improving cognition (see Dougherty; Masny, 1984; Oxford,). For example,

Weinstein and Mayer describe cognitive strategies as a broad array of actions

that help govern behavior, emotion, motivation, communication, attention, and

17 comprehension. Similarly, Anderson, (p. 460) designates cognitive

strategies as deliberate cognitive steps that learners can take to assist in

acquiring, storing, and retrieving new information. A much broader definition is

adapted by Chamot and ElDinary (, p. 319) stating that cognitive strategies

are "mental procedures that assist learning and that occasionally can be

accompanied by overt activities". Cognitive strategies usually involve the

identification and retrieval of language elements, for example the use of

memory-enhancing strategies to improve remembering new words (Richards

& Renandya, p. 121). They also include hypothesis testing (such as searching

for clues in surrounding materials and in one's own background knowledge)

and hypothesizing the meaning of unknown words and determining if this

 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
meaning makes sense and, if not, repeating at least part of the process

(Oxford, p. 167). These strategies can be used for accomplishing specific

cognitive tasks during reading to facilitate the mental restructuring of

information. Richards (p.90), for example, believes that when dealing with

various kinds of reading problems, readers perform the reading tasks and

verbalize their thought processes by reflecting upon the cognitive strategies

and upon the heuristics they employ. Varieties of cognitive strategies are

discussed in the following sections. 2.4.1.1. Rapid Recognition of Words It is

of great advantage for second language readers to recognize automatically

the words (in isolation) and common phrases containing them. These words

that readers can recognize quickly and effortlessly are called 'sight

vocabularies'. This rapid and automatic process of word recognition, i.e., the

process of extracting lexical information fi"om graphic display of words, is

extremely crucial for reading comprehension. Readers who are not able to

recognize words easily face difficulty in getting information fi-om the text.

Because poor word recognition is directly related to poor reading

comprehension. In the absence of adequate reading practice, this skill

remains underdeveloped and poor comprehension continues. Funnel and

Morgan (p. 96) describe sight vocabulary as memory for whole words. They

flirther explain that at the early stages, learners use partial clues of the words

to remember whole words. Yet, the visual memory they form for words in their

sight vocabulary is not the same as complete records of the properties of

each word. This incomplete data of the basic sight words is the source of their

errors and 18 causes conflision of words about which they have similar clues

in their mind. At the later stages, when students improve in forming detailed
 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
representation of printed words, their sight vocabulary expands and they will

be able to memorize complete records of the words. Thus, successfiil

comprehension during reading is heavily dependant on knowledge of

individual word meaning. Some studies (e.g., Alderson & Urquhart, Anderson

& Freeboy, Carrell, Carroll, Davis, Koda) indicate that there is a widely

recognized relationship between the knowledge of vocabulary and reading

comprehension which attests to the crucial role word knowledge plays in text

understanding among both LI and L2 readers. According to (Grabe, p. 276), if

students are given ample opportunities to encounter words and to read

predictable texts for several times to develop word-recognition skills, they

would be able to process a text completely and read more words on a single

page. Some reading specialists (e.g., Brown & Haynes, Ryan & Meara)

believe that developing automatic word-recognizing skills leads to reading

fluency. Reading fluency involves the effortless recognition of words in a

connected text, the ability to recognize basic grammatical information, and the

rapid combination of word meaning and structural meaning to create larger

meaning units (see Good, Simmons, & Kame'enui, p. 261; Grabe & Stoller, p.

196). Students can acquire fluency in reading rates by practicing with a

combination of timed reading, paced reading, rapid recognition exercises, and

rereading techniques. Studies emphasizing the primacy of repeated practice

in reading (e.g., Faulkner & Levy, Lemoine, Levy & Hutchinson, Stoddard,

Valcante, Sindlear, O'Shea, & Algozzine,) have yielded a consistent and

positive impact on both word recognition and comprehension of the practiced

items. Other studies (e.g., Gass & Selinker, Green & Meara, Kellerman &

Sharwood) have also indicated that the first language experiences can affect
 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
students' word recognition abilities. These studies have shown that L2

learners use identifiable LI processing devices during L2 word recognition. A

logical assumption would be that readers bring their first language knowledge

and its corresponding processing skills to their L2 word recognition

processing. Knowledge of letter patterns and their linkage to sounds is

another factor that can facilitate rapid and automatic recognition of words

(Koda, p. 46). Good 19 readers are those who read rapidly for

comprehension, recognize words rapidly and automatically without seeming to

pay attention to them, integrate text information with their own knowledge, and

employ learning strategies to monitor comprehension. As a result, to be good

readers, learners need to have a large repertoire of vocabulary. This can be

developed by focusing their attention on key vocabularies during extensive

reading or vocabulary learning exercises. 2.4.1.2. Using Context to

Comprehend a Passage EFL/ESL readers need to be able to read effectively

while tolerating a certain amount of ambiguity and uncertainty. The tendency

for many EFL readers while dealing with incomplete information in a passage

is to stop and think about each unknown word and ask for help or look it up in

a dictionary. This is a typical strategy of poor readers. However, one of the

usefiil strategies readers can resort to when dealing with incomplete

information is using the context and contextual clues to comprehend the

passage. A context is the combination of vocabulary and grammar that

surrounds a word. It can be a sentence, a paragraph, or a passage. Every

context includes some clues that assist in understanding the passage.

Contextual clues are words that are located elsewhere in a sentence or

paragraph which help one to decipher unknown vocabulary words (Han,p.

 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
www). Context helps readers to make a general prediction about meaning. If

readers know the general meaning of a sentence, they can also know the

general meaning of the words in the sentence. Using context and its clues can

help students understand the passage without stopping to look up every

unknown word in a dictionary. Practice in reading aloud performed by the

teacher and by students (when they have achieved enough proficiency) can

also assist students in recognizing contextual clues such as intonation, stress,

pause, and mostly those features indicated by commas and periods. During

loud reading, the teacher can also attract students' attention to other

contextual clues such as the words, phrases, sentences or even paragraphs

surrounding a word or a phrase that can help students guess their general

Keys to Comprehension

Ellin Oliver Keene and Susan Zimmermann, partners at the Denver-based

Public Education and Business Coalition, published “Mosaic of Thought,”

which explained how good readers use thinking strategies to build

comprehension. Zimmermann followed with “Seven Keys to Comprehension,”

a work designed to give parents and teachers practical advice on teaching

children to read strategically. She explains how readers use their background

knowledge and imagination to visualize what they read. Zimmermann also

reveals how children can learn to ask themselves questions to help them find

important details and make key inferences. Finally, she shows how readers

can put ideas together to form a complete understanding of what they’ve been

trying to comprehend.
 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
1. Reading with Meaning

Debbie Miller, the author of several books on reading, outlines methods for

teaching reading comprehension to elementary school students in “Reading

with Meaning.” Miller discusses setting up a classroom where plan instruction

around what students need individually and help those students with one-on-

one conferences. Reading teachers, Miller believes, need to build

relationships with their students based on trust and open communications.

Miller teaches students to work with the same reading strategies Zimmermann

and Keene outline in their works. However, in the book, Miller describes

teaching students to apply those comprehension strategies independently.

2. I Read It, But I Don’t Get It

Tovani, who also worked with Keene and Zimmermann, is a teacher and

literacy coach in Denver. In this book, she discusses why many children who

have learned how to recite the words on the page still struggle with

comprehension. She believes struggling readers need to see how good

readers think as they read. To promote thinking, Tovani asks children to write

down what’s on their minds as they read. Tovani says writing makes readers

pay attention to their “thinking voice,” the thoughts they have as they try to

understand the text. By recording their thinking in the margin -- or on another

piece of paper -- students create a permanent record of their attempts to

understand the text. Readers can return to their thinking, revise their ideas

and accumulate information needed to build comprehension.

 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
3. Deeper Reading

In “Readicide,” English teacher and literacy consultant Kelly Gallagher warned

educators about literacy practices that he felt killed student motivation to read.

In “Deeper Reading,” he describes what effective reading instruction looks

like. He tackles methods for getting students to tackle difficult books such as

“Romeo and Juliet” and “All Quiet on the Western Front.” Challenging

material, Gallagher explains, usually requires more than one reading. He

outlines plans for what he calls “first-draft readings” and “second-draft

readings.” Gallagher encourages readers to work through the confusing parts

of their books and to reread passages to find new ideas they didn’t see in the

first reading.
 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
CHAPTER 3

Research Method and Procedure

This chapter presents the research design, subject of the study, data

gathering instruments and procedures and statistical treatment of data used to

analyze and interpret the data.

Research Design

The researcher will use the descriptive method of research for the

researcher believes that this is appropriate to the study. The researcher is

also guided with the definition of descriptive method of research given by

Devin Kowalczyk 2015, descriptive research is a study designed to depict the

participants in an accurate way. Furthermore, this also involves describing,

comparing, contrasting and interpreting conditions that exists.

The study investigated on the extent of the respondents’ perceptions

about the evaluation of their reading comprehension skill and a new learning

strategy, the project proposal which can help them to be efficient in their

subject, 21st Century Literature to the Philippines and the World.

Subjects of the Study

The research is conducted at Sto. Tomas Senior High School at San

Miguel, City of Sto. Tomas, Batangas. The respondents of the study are the

Grade 11-HUMSS students . There are a total of 60 students and become

active respondents and cooperated well.

 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
Data Gathering Instrument

This study uses survey questionnaire that presents two parts: the first

part answers the S.O.P. 1 which is determining the level of Reading

Comprehension skills of the respondents. The second part is evaluating the

difficulties encountered by the respondents in Reading Comprehension skill.

Also, we used random sampling of the respondents.

Data Gathering Procedure

The data gathering of the primary data of the study was done using the

following procedures:

Construction of Questionnaire

First, the researcher prepared sets of questionnaires for the

respondents by identifying the level of reading comprehension skill of the

respondents and the difficulties they encountered in the said skill.

Validation of questionnaire

The researcher sought the help of knowledgeable person specifically

the research coordinators for the validation of the questionnaire. After doing

so, the researcher also sought the consent of the respondents as they

approved answering the survey questionnaire.

Administration of questionnaire

With the approved written consent from the research adviser and the

respondents, the researcher proceeded to the distribution of the

questionnaires, since they are willing to answer the questions.

 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
The respondents, during the course of data collection, were given ample time

to answer the questions and in exact time they finished it successfully.

Scoring of Result

The results were tallied and tabulated according to the frequency of

items checked by the respondents. Thereafter, data tabulation results were

interpreted using various statistical tools.

Statistical Treatment of Data

Table 1.

Options Verbal Interpretations

4 Strongly Agree

3 Agree

2 Disagree

1 Strongly Disagree

S.O.P. 2

Options Verbal Interpretations

4 Always

3 Sometimes

2 Seldom

1 Never
 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
CHAPTER 4

Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation of Data

This chapter presents the data gathered, its analyses and

interpretations.

Table 1. The Level of Reading Comprehension Skill of HUMSS 11 in the

subject of 21st Century Literature in the Philippines and the World.

4 3 2 1

1.I can easily understand when I read 8 48 4

articles and/or books.

2. I prefer dictionary whenever I 13 40 5 2

encounter deep words when reading.

3. I love to read books especially 11 30 17 2

language and literature.

4. I do not have difficulties 10 29 19 2

comprehending what I read in a

subject.

Percentage Per Rank 17.5% 61.25% 18.75% 2.5%

Random Sampling Total: 60

Interpretation:
 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
Data on Table 1 reveals that the level of reading comprehension of

the respondents is in the average state. It means that the participants

understand what they read in their subject, but not that excessive. In terms of

the individual mean of each level, 17.5% said they are proficient in reading

comprehension skill, 61.25% said they are in the average state, 18.75% said

they are fair, and 2.5% said they are not efficient in the said skill.

Table 2. The Difficulties encountered by Grade 11- HUMSS students in

Reading Comprehension Skill.

4 3 2 1

1. I prefer visuals rather than 9 44 6 1

reading.

2. Whenever I read something, I 20 33 4 3

read it over again so I could

understand it better.

3. I can’t comprehend a text without 13 37 8 2

dictionary or searching the

summary of it on Goggle.

4. Reading Comprehension skill 20 32 5 3

really affects my understanding on a

certain topic.

Percentage per Rank 25.8% 60.8% 9.6% 3.8%

 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
Random Sampling Total: 60

Interpretation:

Data on Table 2 reveals that the respondents had difficulties in terms of

their reading comprehension skill in their subject. It means that they

understand what they read but there are factors affecting their

comprehension. In terms of the individual mean of each level, 25.8% said they

really encountered difficulties in their reading comprehension, 60.8% said they

struggles with the said skill, 9.6% said they are in the average state, and 3.8%

said they do not encountered difficulties in reading comprehension.

According to the report, the researchers concluded that reading

comprehension really affects the academic performance in their subject. Their

grades on the said subject are in the average state. It means that they can

understand the subject but there are difficulties or factors affecting their

proficiency on it

Table 3. The Strategies Employed by the Researchers

The researchers will conduct an Educational Program for students of

Sto. Tomas Senior High School to enhance their Reading Comprehension.

Title: Empowering Reading Comprehension Skill

-Educational Program

Input Process Output

Before the program

Researchers will provide We will seek the help

a request letter to the and guidance of the Exact date, time and place
principal to conduct an EFICOM CLUB for the
educational program for program to work, since
 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
children who are the club is they have the
illiterate and who do not authority to help
read fast. researchers execute the
program, especially for
its adviser teachers,
these advisers will help
make the program
effective.

The researchers On the first day, Number of participants

together with the SSG researchers will identify
officers, they will find out children who are not
how many children are able to read, so that
illiterate. researchers can identify
the participants of the
program.

During the program

Input Process Output

We will find out the Worksheets Students of Sto. Tomas

student's problem, why Senior High School are
One by one Reading
he is illiterate or why he already reading and
is not reading fast. Let’s understands what he is
read them different reading.
types of text, one by one
and one by one the
EFICOM CLUB member
can execute it correctly.
They may be given a
worksheet, which can
help improve their
reading skills.
 Sto. Tomas Senior High School

CHAPTER 5

Summary of Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations

After a thorough analysis of the gathered data, the researchers came

up with the following summary of findings:

1. In terms of the level of reading comprehension of HUMSS 11- students in

their subject, they are in the average or moderate state. It means that they
understand, can comprehend text, but they are not truly proficient yet.

2. The difficulties encountered by HUMSS 11- students are moderate. They

disagree that they struggles in reading comprehension.

Data discloses that the level of reading comprehension in the particular

subject greatly affects to the academic performance of HUMSS 11- students.

4. The researchers provide a project proposal in order to overcome the

difficulties encountered by HUMSS 11- students in the proficiency of reading
comprehension.

Conclusions

1. Results of the study showed that the respondents are not proficient in
terms of their reading comprehension.

2. Although in the results displays that they are unfavorable encounters of

difficulties in the said skill, however, their level of efficiency considerably
affecting their academic performance in the subject.

These results concluded that the respondents need a learning

technique in order to enhance their level of proficiency in reading
comprehension.
 Sto. Tomas Senior High School

Recommendations

To further enhance this study the researchers suggests the following

recommendations:

1. Implementing a learning technique named Empowering Reading

Comprehension Skill that aims to:

a. uplift the level of proficiency in reading comprehension of students

b. Provide activities that will enhance the learning efficiency of every learner.

Input Process Output

Before the program

Researchers will provide We will seek the help

a request letter to the and guidance of the Exact date, time and place
principal to conduct an EFICOM CLUB for the
educational program for program to work, since
children who are the club is they have the
illiterate and who do not authority to help
read fast. researchers execute the
program, especially for
its adviser teachers,
these advisers will help
make the program
effective.

The researchers On the first day, Number of participants

together with the SSG researchers will identify
officers, they will find out children who are not
how many children are able to read, so that
illiterate. researchers can identify
the participants of the
program.
 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
During the program

Input Process Output

We will find out the Worksheets Students of Sto. Tomas

student's problem, why Senior High School are
One by one Reading
he is illiterate or why he already reading and
is not reading fast. Let’s understands what he is
read them different reading.
types of text, one by one
and one by one the
EFICOM CLUB member
can execute it correctly.
They may be given a
worksheet, which can
help improve their
reading skills.

2nd Recommendation

Creating a reading program

What: Reading program

Who: Those students who wants to enhanced their reading skill

When: Reading Month

Where: at the library 2nd Floor Malvar Building

3rd Recommendation

Functionality of the library

 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
The library was very important for student now that ever before they don’t

need to search on the internet and their reading habit will definitely up high.

And through the use of library, we will make them enhance their skill because

they can find and choose the book that is interested to their taste.
 Sto. Tomas Senior High School

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. Electronic Sources

EF EPI. (2018), EF English Proficiency Index. Retrieved from www.ef.com

Govind. (2017)Which countries have the most English speakers?Retrieved

from blog.cudoo.com

Racca and Lasaten.(2016),English Language and Academic Performance of

Philippine Science High School Students. Retrieved from www.ijlll.org.

Krashen,S. (1980) Stephen Krashen’s Theory of Second Language

Acquisition. Retrieved from www.sk.com.br

Institute of International Education (IIE) . (2014).ENHANCING STUDENTS'

ENGLISH PROFICIENCY. Retrieved from
https://www.facebook.com/IIEglobal/posts/enhancing-students-english-
proficiencyread-this-please-it-will-give-you-an-idea-/787428491299268/

Connor Mark, (2017). What is English proficiency? Retrieved from

https://www.quora.com/What-is-English-proficiency

Cabigon, Mike,(2015). State of English in PH: Should we be concerned?

Retrieved from https://opinion.inquirer.net/90293/

EISELE, JOHANNES,(2017).English Language Proficiency and Development.

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studies/english-language-proficiency-and-development-ec9c5c082d5e

Ekola ,Tytti . (2016). ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEEDS AND LANGUAGE

PROFICIENCY OF ACADEMIC PROFESSIONALS AS A BASIS FOR
DEVELOPING LANGUAGE TRAINING: A case study of environmental
researchers . Retrieved from:
https://jyx.jyu.fi/bitstream/handle/123456789/53038/1/URN%3ANBN%3Afi%3
Ajyu-201702141439.pdf

Cabaysa, C.C. &Baetiong, L. R. (2010). Language learning strategies of

students at different levels of speaking proficiency. Education Quarterly,
68(1), 16-35.

Fewell, N. (2010). Language learning strategies and English language

proficiency: An investigation of Japanese EFL university students. TESOL
Journal 2, 159-174.
 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
Green, J. & Oxford, R. (1995). A closer look at learning strategies, L2
proficiency, and gender.

TESOL Quarterly 29 (2), 261-297.

Griffiths, C. (2003). Patterns of language learning strategy use. System 31 (3),

367-383.

Huang, S. H. (2016). Language learning strategies incontext. The Language

Learning Journal, DOI:1

British Council, http://www.britishcouncil.org

RAHMAN,RAFIDAH.HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH PROFICIENCY.

Retrieved from: https://www.thedailystar.net/shout/education/how-improve-
your-english-proficiency-1263943

b. Unpublished Books or articles

https://ejournals.ph/article.php?id=1048

http://article.sapub.org/10.5923.j.edu.20180801.02.html
 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
APPENDICES
Appendix A
Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region IV-A CALABARZON
Division of Batangas Province
District of Sto. Tomas
STO. TOMAS SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
San Miguel, Sto. Tomas, Batangas

LEONIDES V. KUNDANGAN
Assistant Principal II, Senior High School
Sto. Tomas Senior High School
San Miguel, Sto. Tomas,Batangas

Sir:

Good day! We have the honor to request your permission to conduct a

research titled, Evaluating the Impact of Reading Comprehension in the Subject of
21st Century Literature in the Philippines and the World of Grade 11 HUMSS
Students in Sto. Tomas Senior High School which is a partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the course HUMSS 12- Compassion.
Rest assured that the result of this study will be strictly confidential. Your
favorable response in this request will be highly appreciated.

Truly yours,
Angel L. Pineda
Josiah Marie Sicor
Charelie Andrea L. Malveda
Jennifer Colina
Jomar Aquino
Anjieralyn Reyes
Rosemarie Docabo
Yuan Dimalanta
Carry Malveda
Sirjane Alina
Janica Uway
Marinel Baysa
Leiselle Geling
Aljon Geroleo
The Researchers
 Sto. Tomas Senior High School

Appendix B

Letter to the Respondents

Dear Respondents,

We are the researchers from HUMSS 12- Compassion conducting

a research with the title evaluating the Impact of Reading
Comprehension in the Subject of 21st Century Literature in the
Philippines and the World of Grade 11 HUMSS Students in Sto. Tomas
Senior High School as partial fulfillment of the requirement for Practical
Research 2.

In line with this, we would like to seek for your assistance by

providing information and answering the questionnaires attached
herewith. Rest assured that all information will be treated with utmost
confidentiality.

Your cooperation is highly appreciated. God bless!

Respectfully yours,

Angel L. Pineda Janica Uway

Josiah Marie Sicor Marinel Baysa

Charelie Andrea L. Malveda Leiselle Geling

Jennifer Colina Aljon Geroleo

Jomar Aquino

Anjieralyn Reyes

Rosemarie Docabo

Yuan Dimalanta

Carry Malveda

Sirjane Alina
 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
Researchers

Noted by:

MS. SARAH S. VALLAR

Research Adviser
Appendix C

Consent Form

I understand that I will be participating in the study with the title

Evaluating the Impact of Reading Comprehension in the Subject of 21st
Century Literature in the Philippines and the World of Grade 11 HUMSS
Students in Sto. Tomas Senior High School
I understand that the information and data that will be acquired from
this study will be useful to the researchers and would be treated with utmost
confidentiality.
The objectives and importance of this study are thoroughly explained
to me. I have read and understand all of this and I am willing to participate.

__________________ _____________
Name (optional) Date
 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
Appendix D

Questionnaires

Directions: Fill up the checklist by checking the following selections that

corresponds to the survey of Determining the Level of HUMSS 11 in terms of
their Reading Comprehension in the subject of 21st Century Literature in the
Philippines and the World.

Legend:

4- Strongly Agree

3- Agree

2- Disagree

1- Strongly Disagree

4 3 2 1
1. I can easily understand when I read
articles and/or books.
2. I prefer dictionary whenever I encounter
deep words when reading.
3. I love to read books especially language
and literature.
4. I do not have difficulties comprehending
what I read in a subject.

Directions: Check the following column about evaluating the difficulties

encountered by HUMSS 11-Students in Reading Comprehension skill.

Legend:

4-Always

3-Sometimes

2-Seldom

1-Never
 Sto. Tomas Senior High School
4 3 2 1
1. I prefer visuals rather than reading.
2. Whenever I read something, I read it over
again so I could understand it better.
3. I can’t comprehend a text without dictionary
or searching the summary of it on Google.
4. Reading Comprehension skill really affects
my understanding on a certain topic.

.
Sto. Tomas Senior High School
Sto. Tomas Senior High School