Abstract:
The purpose of this research was to assess factors affecting Grade 11 students’ intensive reading
skills development. To put this in to effect, both quantitative and qualitative approaches were
employed. The major research instrument used to collect the data is questionnaire. The
participants are 20 grade 11 students and one English teacher was used. The findings revealed
that the view reflected by the students on the relevance is not inclusive of all the potential
benefits that would motivate them to engage in it with enthusiasm. Teachers are aware of the
benefits of intensive reading. Yet, they view its possible implementation as difficult in the present
situation of student’s background and school system. The study also reveals that albeit the
presence of some opportunities, the least emphasis is given for students’ intensive reading skill
development. The findings indicated that there are several factors that affect students’ intensive
reading development. Among these are poor reading habits, seating arrangements, lack of
resources, motivation, poor background, etc., were found to be the major factors. Moreover,
teachers teaching methods are also found to be problematic in that teacher-centered teaching
methods are some of the factors negatively affecting students’ intensive reading development. In
addition to these from questionnaire, interview and classroom observation it is understood that
intensive reading is not given emphasis and below what is needed to develop its degree. Based
on the findings of the study, the researcher provided recommendations to on how to address the
identified problems.
