St.

Paul University Philippines

Tuguegarao City, Cagayan 3500
GRADUATE SCHOOL

READING DIFFICULTIES OF GRADE 7 STUDENTS OF SAINT WILLIAMS

ACADEMY: A PROGRAM FOR DEVELOPMENT

________________________________________________________________

A Research Proposal

Presented to the

Faculty of Graduate School

Saint Paul University Philippines

________________________________________________________________

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirement in the Course Research

Submitted by:

JENNIFER BAUTISTA ABELLANIDA

 CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

The world of vast modernization calls for the academe and higher
educational institutions to produce learners who are competent
enough to get along with the global arena.

Developing the reading abilities of students entails a lot of

challenges for the 21st century language teachers. According to
Wixon, et. al (1987), reading is the process of constructing
meaning through the dynamic interaction among the reader, the
text and the context of the reading situation. Reading process
involves visual motor, skills, and perception of the symbols by
the brain. It is generally broken down into two components:
‘reading’ the words or decoding and understanding what is read,
or comprehension (Cooper, et al (1988). This study intended to
use the definition according to Manzo (1993) who define reading
as the act simultaneously reading the lines, reading between the
lines, and reading beyond the lines. “Reading the lines” is the
process of decoding the words in order to reconstruct the
author’s basic message. “Reading between the lines” is the
process of making inferences in order to reconstruct the
author’s implied messages. This requires an understanding of the
integral knowledge of facts presented as well as an
understanding of connotative and figurative language. “Reading
beyond the lines” is the process of judging the significant of
the authors message and constructively applying it to the other
areas of knowledge an experience.

Typical reading difficulties of adolescents particularly the

Grade 7 students of Saint Williams Academy include problems with
vocabulary, word recognition, reading comprehension, and reading
pace. Reading appears to affect performance in all other
academic subjects as well as to impact vocational needs and
options (Feagans, 1983). (Mercer 1987) denotes several times of
reading problems that are typically found among students such as
reading habits, word recognition errors, comprehension errors
and miscellaneous symptoms. Therefore, the researcher sought to
identify and establish the effects of students reading
difficulties and the possible developments of programs to cater
the needs of the Grade 7 students of Saint Williams Academy.
 Conceptual Framework

Figure 1: Conceptual Paradigm of the Study

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE
DEPENDENT VARIABLE
Level of Reading Difficulties of
Reading Difficulties of the
the students along:
Grade 7 Students of Pacac
a. Word Recognition National High School: A
b. Word Comprehension Program for Development
c. Reading Pace
d. Vocabulary

MODERATOR
VARIABLE

a. Gender
b. Parents’
Educational
Attainment
c. Occupation of
Parents
d. Size of the Family
e. Language Culture

The paradigm of the study shows the direction of the study.

 The independent variable includes the level of reading
difficulties in word recognition, word comprehension, pacing in
reading and vocabulary.
The dependent variable is the Reading Difficulties of Grade

7 Students of Pacac National High School: A Program for

Development

The moderator variables are: gender, parents’ educational

attainment, occupation of parents, size of the family and

language culture.
 THE PROBLEM

Statement of the Problem

The study aims to identify the level of reading

difficulties of the Grade 7 students of Pacac National High

School with the end view of coming up with a program for

development designed to overcome their reading difficulties.

Specifically, this study seeks to answer the following

questions:

1. What is profile of the students as to:

a. Gender;

b. Parents’ Educational Attainment;

c. Occupation of the Parents;

d. Size of the Family;

e. Language Culture.

2. What is the level of comprehension of the students

along the word recognition, word comprehension, reading

pace and vocabulary?

3. What proposed program for development can be

established to meet the needs of the Grade 7 students?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Students’ performance in reading is considered as one of

the prevailing problems in the teaching learning process,

hence, the finding in this study, may prove beneficial to

the following:

ADMINISTRATORS. The study will serve as a basis in

formulating a more effective plan and possible program to ease

the reading difficulties of the students.

PARENTS.This will make them aware on their child’s

performance, and realize the importance of supervision and

guidance to their children’s development in reading.

STUDENTS. This will help them cope with the quality of

education if they will be provided activities and exercises that

will increase their level of understanding.

TEACHERS. This study will make them more aware to their

role as teachers in motivating, inspiring and guiding students

who needs their time and effort to ease their reading

difficulty.

FUTURE RESEARCHERS. This research will give them an idea or

possible information that can help them in their study.

Scope and Limitations of the Study

The 50 grade 7 students of Pacac National High School will

be choosen at random for the floating and answering of the

questionnaires to determine their cognitive readiness which will

eventually pave way for teachers to design programs that will

cater to the diverse needs of the learners.

Definition of Terms

The following terms are defined theoretically and

operationally to ensure clearer understanding on the date of

this study.

READING. It is decoding and understanding written texts.

Decoding requires translating the symbols of writing system into

the spoken words which they represent. Understanding is

determined by the purposes for reading, the context, the nature

of the text, and the readers’ strategies and knowledge. (Cline

et. al 2006)

READING DIFFICULTY. It is a struggle in reading, but do not

have a diagnose disability.

WORD RECOGNITION. It is the ability of a reader to

recognize written words correctly and effortlessly.

 CHAPTER 2

METHODS AND PROCEDURES

This chapter presents the research design, local of the

study, sampling method, instruments and procedures and data

collection method.

Research Design

The method that will be use in the study is descriptive

type of research. It focuses on the Reading Difficulties of

Grade 7 Students of Pacac National High School.

Local of the Study

The study will be conducted at Pacac National High School.

The respondents were fifty (50) Grade 7 students.

Sampling Method

The researchers will be using Likert Scale to measure the

cognitive readiness of the students.

Instruments and Procedures

The study will be using questionnaires as the primary tool

in gathering data needed. The researcher will personally

administer and retrieve questionnaires after it has been

accomplished. It consist the following parts:

Part 1 deals with the personal information of the students

with regards to gender, parents’ educational attainment,

occupation of parents, size of the family and language culture.

Part 2 asked answers on the extent of the level of

comprehension of the students along the word recognition, word

comprehension, reading pace and vocabulary.

Part 3 inquired proposed program for development can be

established to meet the needs of the Grade 7 students.

Data Collection Method

The questionnaires will be tallied with utmost

confidentiality and will be treated by licensed statistician.