THE PROBLEMS THAT STUDENTS FACE IN READING COMPREHENSION IN EFL CLASSROOM: THE CASE OF GRADE EIGHT STUDENTS OF HARAMAYA WOREDA AT BATE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Abstract

This study investigates the problems that Students face in Reading Comprehension in EFL classroom. The study was carried out in Bate Primary School with special reference to grade eight students .Descriptive research design was employed to address the problem. To conduct the study, three English teachers were chosen along with 60 students who were selected through random sampling techniques. In order to achieve the objective the study employed four data gathering tools: questionnaire, interview, classroom observation and text book analysis. Questionnaire was employed to identify the problems that students face in reading comprehension in EFL classroom. Interview was used to find out the cause of students reading comprehension problems and identify the challenges that students face during reading comprehension in EFL classroom. Furthermore Classroom observation was employed to identify What the English Language teachers were doing when they teach English reading comprehension. The study utilized both quantitative (Questionnaire) and Qualitative (Interviews, Classroom Observation) data collection methods .The study identified that student face difficulties in identifying main ideas specific information and vocabulary from contexts. Additionally, Lack of back ground knowledge, Shortage of vocabulary usage, Limited reading practice, lack of motivation and influence of their mother tongue were identified as contributing factors. Furthermore, the analysis of textbooks highlighted issues with authenticity ,difficulty level of tasks type and irrelevant to students interests and language needs .Based on this finding the study concludes that ineffective teaching methods and textbooks limitation contributes significantly to the students struggle .To improve the problems that students face in English reading comprehension the study recommends revision to teaching approach emphasizing clear and concise language use .Teachers must use simple and precise expression, explicit instruction and communicative approaches to reading instruction. Therefore, since English reading Comprehension is a skill that could be improved through sufficient practicing, Bate primary School students have been given a chance of learning and practicing techniques for English reading comprehension to effectively use them to comprehend a text.