FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENTS’ READING COMPRHENSION: THE CASE OF 10TH GRADE STUDENTS OF HADES SECONDARY SCHOOL

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to identify the main factors that hindered the students’ reading comprehension skills: the cases of 10th grade the students of Hades Secondary School. The school was chosen due to its proximity, appropriateness for the researcher to get much more information, and due to the problem that the students had focussing on their reading problems that faced when they read various texts in the teaching learning process in classroom. To conduct the research, collecting data was the main decisive deed that helped the researcher identify the drawbacks and suggests solution for the problems. From the total number of 186 students, 35% of them (65 students) were selected using random sampling technique. Thus, 22 from Section 1, 22 from S2 and 21 students were selected from S3. Besides, 2 EFL teachers were used. Descriptive statistical analysis was employed to analyze the data that was carefully gathered using the instruments of data collection. Here, both quantitative and qualitative data analysis were employed so that the data gathered could be carefully analyzed and identified. The descriptive xiv statistics such as percent, tabulation, and frequency were emplemented for quantitative data that obtained through questionnaire whereas the data that were obtained through classroom observation and interview were analyzed qualitatively and presented using detailed descriptions. In the study, findings were identified through the tools of questionnaires, classroom observation, and structured interviews. When the researcher identified the students’ related factors that hindered their reading comprehension skills, there had been the failure of students’ mechanical process, failure of adopting reading procedures and there had been lack of active processing. Concerning about teachers’ related factors that affected students’ reading comprehension skills, they did not let their students use the students’ approach methods. Moreover, it was identified that the EFL teachers’ scaffolding system was so little that the students led to be very less motivated, uninterested and weak in reading and comprehension skills. Finally, based on the findings of the study, recommendations were made: students should read texts in meaningful units; they should use various types of reading to suit the linguistic level of the texts. Teachers should give their students opportunity to read texts individually, in pair, and in group and they should encourage and motivate their students so that they can be interested to read texts intensively in their classroom under their close guidance and extensively everywhere.