Abstract:
This study investigates the poor reading skills among pupils of St. Paul‟s R/C Primary
School „B‟. The purpose of the study is to find out the causes of poor reading skills,
the effects of poor reading skills on the pupils and the strategies that can be adopted to
improve upon them. This was done through data collection tools interview,
observation and questionnaire. The sample size used was thirty-eight (38) class six
pupils and six (6) teachers of St. Paul‟s R/C Primary School. The study confirmed that
students of the school had difficulty in reading and that it had dire consequences on
the pupils‟ academic performance, communication skills and their competence level
in reading. It was discovered that this causes were as a result of inappropriate teaching
methodologies, inadequate time allocated to reading and inadequate use of TLMs on
the part of the teachers while the causes ascribed to the pupils were inadequate
reading after school, pupils‟ perception of reading, inadequate library visitation and
the types of books they read. The study therefore proposed that increasing the time
allocation on the timetable, usage of modern strategies like the Syllabic and Phonics
methods in teaching reading among others. Pupils should also be encouraged to read
after school and make good use of the library. They should also change their
perception of reading. The study has contributed to the existing literature on
improving reading skills.
Description:
A thesis in the Department of Applies Linguistic, Faculty of Languages,
submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the award of the degree of
Master of Education
(Teaching English as a Second Language)
in the University of Education, Winneba
SEPTEMBER, 2019