Abstract:
There has been a consistent decline in students' performance in the Kenya Certificate
of Secondary Education (KCSE) in the English Language, as reported in the KNEC
report of 2019. The KCSE results from 2015-2019 fell short of the mean of 50%
nationally, mainly attributed to poor comprehension skills among learners. The main
aim of reading is comprehension; students need to internalize what is being read and
analyze it. Reading involves silent and loud reading modes. The study strived to
determine the effects of reading modes on students' English reading comprehension
proficiency among secondary school students in Kakamega County. The research
objectives were; to find out the procedures teachers use in class to teach silent and
loud reading, to compare students' achievement when taught by silent and loud
reading, to identify the challenges faced when teaching using silent and loud reading,
and, to examine the strategies to use for effective teaching of reading comprehension.
The study used the schema theory by Bartlette. It was conducted in public secondary
schools in Kakamega County on form three students as they have already been
exposed to form one and form two English content, hence expected to have gained
comprehension proficiency, and teachers of English are the curriculum implementers.
The study population was 40702 form three students and 1811 teachers of English in
Kakamega County. The study sample size was 380 students and 7 teachers, calculated
using the Krejcie and Morgan table for sample size calculation. Random sampling
was used to select the schools and students who participated in the study. Teachers
were purposively sampled; one teacher per sampled school. Qualitative and
quantitative approaches were used to adopt a mixed approach paradigm, specifically
the convergent mixed methods research design, to find points of divergence and
convergence in the data collected qualitatively and quantitatively. Data was collected
using a comprehension test for students and questionnaires for the students and
teachers. The data from the questionnaires was modeled and analyzed using
descriptive statistics, t-tests, and narration. The study found that learners taught using
silent reading (M=5.689) had higher scores than those taught with loud reading
(M=4.721). Results from the t-test indicated that silent reading resulted in higher
comprehension scores compared to loud reading (t (378) = 3.605, p= 0.000177). The
procedures teachers use in teaching comprehension include guiding the students by
demonstrating expectations, providing class readers, allocating time for silent and
loud reading, and giving comprehension questions. Teachers faced challenges when
teaching reading comprehension: inadequate exposure to reading materials,
differences in reading abilities and vocabulary, distractions, and lack of confidence
due to inadequate mastery of content. Loud reading was the most commonly used
strategy for teaching reading. However, a combination of silent and loud reading,
technology and audio-visual materials can help improve students' reading
comprehension proficiency. The study concluded that silent reading is more effective
in developing students' comprehension skills than loud reading based on the results
from the reading scores. Also, teachers should actively engage in both approaches to
maximize the effectiveness of their instruction. This study has recommended using a
combination of silent and loud reading modes, incorporating technology and audio visual materials, and providing reading materials while teaching reading.