ABSTRACT
This descriptive-qualitative study determined the reading difficulties in English of stage one learners and teachers’ involvement as input for a supervisory plan on literacy in the Schools District of Dumangas I. It was found out based on the results of the in-depth interview that the reading difficulty of Grade 1 learners was the difficulty in pronouncing/sounding out words. It was found out that the reading difficulties of Grade 2 learners were difficulty in pronouncing/sounding out words, confusing letters, and trouble in understanding/remembering what was read. The reading difficulties of Grade 3 learners were confusing letters, difficulty in pronouncing/sounding out words, and trouble in understanding/remembering what was read. The results of the study also revealed that teachers involved themselves in the process through providing instructional materials, providing quality time for reading, providing games and activities, and providing guidance. Moreover, teachers maximized their involvement by encouraging school-home reading activity, analyzing results and providing feedback, making reading as a priority, and providing variety of reading strategies.
Keywords: Teachers, Involvement, Stage One, Learners, English, Reading Difficulties, Supervisory Plan, Literacy
INTRODUCTION
The Department of Education emphasizes that the basis of all academic learning is reading. For a child to achieve academic and personal success, they must learn to read, write, and count. One of the Department of Education's (DepEd) top focuses is literacy improvement. Learning to read is a quite complex task as it involves many steps that need to be acquired before the task can be mastered.
In both our social and educational life, reading in any language is crucial. Other English skills like writing, vocabulary identification and usage, grammar development, and flawless spelling are all made possible through the reading process (Chandran & Shah, 2019).
Reading is the most crucial of the four language skills—speaking, writing, listening, and reading—because it can improve one's overall language proficiency. Speaking and listening are not the same as reading (Krashen & Brown, 2007). It is also linked to a person's achievement since it enables them to understand printed or written materials that support their interactions and engagements in the workplace.
A person who is proficient in both reading and writing may accurately comprehend a variety of material that is written down (Saonah, 2018). Reading, which includes both content and reading comprehension, is one method of gaining knowledge. Reading is one of the most important abilities a student may have (Pratiwi, 2020).
Since reading comprehension is closely linked to the entire learning process, it is a skill that elementary school pupils must acquire. When students can pronounce the letters in the object's name, they are considered ready to read (Pratiwi & Ariawan, 2017).
Beginning reading, often known as the early stage of reading learning, is taught in elementary schools at the first-grade level. Early reading proficiency is strategically important for mastering other elementary school topics. As a result, reading proficiency and fluency are essential for all elementary school pupils.
Students' achievement in their academic pursuits is said to be influenced by their reading proficiency. The reason for this is that every topic instructed in classrooms necessitates an awareness of theories and concepts that can only be grasped by reading exercises. Students who can read correctly and consistently have the foundational skills and are the primary predictors of success in a variety of disciplines; on the other hand, if they are unable to acquire literacy, it will be a barrier or even a cause of their academic failure (Fauzi, 2018).
Students must be able to read when they start primary school, but in practice, many of them struggle with reading and even don't know the alphabet or letters.
Children's reading difficulties can be caused by a variety of factors, including hurrying through reading, mispronouncing words, moving locations, and errors in letter and word recognition. Additionally, students face barriers to reading when they exhibit behaviors like sobbing, refusing to read, or attempting to argue with parents or teachers.
Students who struggle with reading also perform poorly in different classes. This indicates that poor student learning outcomes are connected to reading challenges in other domains. The most common reading problem that all students face is reading comprehension problems (Fauzi, 2018).
Considering these findings, the researcher hopes to ascertain the reading difficulties in English of stage one learners as input for a supervisory plan on literacy.
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