Abstract:
The main objective of this study was to understand challenges teachers face in teaching
reading skills of four secondary schools in West Hararghe Zone. In this research,
descriptive survey research design was used with the mixed research method of
qualitative and quantitative research approaches. Thus, all twenty EFL teachers for
questioners and four for interview and class observation, one from each of four
secondary schools were comprehensively taken as source of data. The data obtained
were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. As to the findings, the study illustrated
that large class size, lack of resources, students’ poor background knowledge, lack of
interest and motivation, lack of vocabularies, teachers’ unwillingness to support learners
in reading skills were found as common challenges. Moreover, students’ lack of
experience and lack of teachers training how to teach reading quickly and effectively
were also among the difficulties. Finally, to bridge the gap between what the literatures
transpires and what the survey has shown: Recommendations were put forwarded for
EFL teachers and other stakeholders based on the findings of the study.
