Using extensive reading to enhance the vocabulary acquisition of Ghana senior high school students

Abstract

Despite the constant efforts made by teachers, stakeholders in education and parents to develop English education in Ghana, it is still obvious that students cannot express themselves in speaking Standard English, write meaningful essays or read with comprehension. This canker is attributed to low vocabulary acquisition. That is why this study sought to use extensive reading to enhance the vocabulary acquisition of students of senior high schools, particularly Ghana Senior High School, Tamale. The researcher used oral interview, pretest, posttest, questionnaire and other interventional activities to collect data on the study. From the pre intervention activities’ results, it was clear that students had vocabulary problems. Most of their difficulty was in a form of grammatical errors in writing, reading speaking and spelling. Interventional methods such as extensive reading activities among others were used to address the vocabulary problems in students. The findings established that, some of the causes of students’ vocabulary problems were interlingual and intralingual interference. It was also realized that students were not interested in reading, particularly, extensive reading. Most importantly poor teaching style of teachers was another cause. Therefore, the researcher suggests that a lot of reading books should be made available both at home and school for students by parents and school authorities. Stakeholders and for that matter parents must always show interest in supporting and supervising their children in their day to day learning activities, especially, inculcating in them the interest and spirit of engaging in extensive reading.