ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The objective of this study is to test the effectiveness of 2RT (Repeated Reading Technique) in improving the oral reading performance of selected Grade 8 students of Perez National High School and to help the school address problems in reading among students. This study also aims to help language teachers develop one effective tool in helping students cope with problems in reading.
DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: This research used experimental design as an intervention tool to improve oral reading performance of Grade 8 students of Perez National High School using 2RT (Repeated Reading Technique). The researcher used purposive sampling technique to get the number of respondents. He divided the respondents into two equal groups, one experimental group and the other is control group with a total of 94 respondents. A self-made tool was used in identifying the level of oral reading performance of the two groups of respondents before and after using the 2RT. Two formulas such as sample mean and t-test were used to analyze the data, to get the oral reading performance of the respondents and to measure the significant difference of pre-test and post-test results of the experimental and controlled groups.
FINDINGS: The administration of 2RT revealed that the average reading miscues on the pre-test of the control group is 37.17 (Very Poor) while the average reading miscues on the post-test of the same group is 35.94 (Very Poor). Data revealed that the average reading miscues on the post-test is 1.23% slightly lower than the pre-test, but the reading performance of the students in control group is still very poor.
However, the average reading miscues of the experimental group on the pre-test is 34.13 (Very Poor) and the post-test is 11.43 (Average). The data showed that the average reading miscues on post-test of the experimental group had decreased by 22.7%. This revealed that the reading performance on the post-test of the experimental group had greatly improved. It only indicates that the use of 2RT (Repeated Reading Technique) as an intervention in improving oral reading problems among the students is effective.
In addition, the data showed significant difference on the reading performance of the experimental group before and after using the study with the computed t-value of 19.38 and critical t-value of 2.013. Thus, the researcher rejected the null hypothesis since the computed t-value of 19.38 is greater than its critical t-value of 2.013.
However, the computed difference on the reading performance of control group shows that the computed t-value is 1.99 and the critical t-value is 2.013. Therefore, the researcher accepted the null hypothesis for the control group since the computed t-value of 1.99 is lower than its critical t-value of 2.013.
The findings of the study imply that the 2RT (Repeated Reading Technique) is an effective intervention tool to improve reading performance of the struggling Grade 8 students of Perez National High School in oral reading since results showed significant decrease of miscues in the post test results. And that the same technique must be applied using more reading passages for oral reading fluency.
These findings correlate to the research made by Vadasy and Sanders (2006). Their study revealed that repeated reading of the same passage has been advocated as a remedial technique for children with reading problems. They proved in their research that repeated reading improves comprehension of students.
RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: There was only major limitation this study had encountered. That was the time constraint in the administration of the intervention especially that the closing of school year was approaching and the teachers were preparing the school year end reports. But, since the researcher was the subject teacher, he religiously followed what was planned and continued applying the intervention and did the school-related work beyond school hours just to make sure the 2RT would be administered successfully.
ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This research is not new at all since there were several studies already conducted to aid struggling readers. This method follows heuristic approach, i.e., repeated reading some passages through trial and error until fluency in reading those passages is achieved. It was adapted from other reading interventions because the researcher believed that this is applicable among the struggling readers in Perez National High School in Perez, Quezon.
Keywords: 2RT, Repeated Reading, Reading Ability Survey, Echo Reading, Choral Reading, Reading Performance