STUDENTS’ READING-RELATED FACTORS AS PREDICTORS OF ACHIEVEMENT IN ENGLISH READING COMPREHENSION IN LAGELU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, OYO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Secondary school students are reportedly deficient in English language reading comprehension, and this partly accounts for the poor results recorded in English language at public examinations. Studies indicate that some students really have low interest in reading, just as a number of researchers have queried availability of reading materials for students’ poor achievement in reading comprehension. The argument is that availability and use of appropriate instructional resources will tend to facilitate effective learning in schools. Thus, the study examined students’ interest in reading and availability of reading materials as they relate to and predict students’ achievement in English reading comprehension in Lagelu Local Government Area (LGA) of Oyo State, Nigeria. Survey research design of the correlational type was adopted for the study, which was guided by four research questions. The study population comprised SSS II students in this LGA. Five secondary schools were randomly selected; and a simple random technique was used to select 40 students from each school, thus, a total of 200 participants in the study. Three properly validated instruments – English Reading Comprehension Achievement Test, Students’ Interest in Reading Scale, and Availability and Utilization of English Reading Materials’ Inventory – were used to gather data, which was analyzed using frequency count, percentage, Pearson product moment correlation and multiple regressions. Results show that the current level of students’ achievement in English reading comprehension is generally low. There is no significant relationship between students’ interest in reading and academic achievement (r=0.04, p>0.05). There is a statistically significant and positive relationship between reading materials and students’ achievement (r=0.14, p<0.05). A linear relationship exists among the variables in the study, R=0.14, R²=0.02 and Adj. R²=0.01. However, availability of reading materials [β=0.14, t(200)=1.93, p<0.05] is a potent and significant predictor of achievement in English reading comprehension. The study concludes that students’ interest in reading and availability of reading materials are significantly related to students’ achievement in English reading comprehension, though only reading materials could substantially predict students’ achievement in reading comprehension. Governments should increase reading materials in schools. There should be adequate and regular supervision of the use of instructional materials in all schools to enhance effective teaching and learning towards boosting students’ achievement. Teachers should always try their best to make use of available instructional materials, or improvise, to make lessons more interesting. Principals should provide teachers with enabling environment for the use of available instructional materials to make learning more meaningful.

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