Effect of pre-reading activities on english language learners’ performance in reading comprehension tests in selected secondary schools in Kakamega Central Subcounty, Kenya

Abstract

Reading comprehension is an examinable skill in English language curriculum of Kenya. The skill is taught to enhance performance of learners in language reading tasks. Empirical findings revealed that learners’ performance in reading comprehension tests remained below average. This requires appropriate instructional strategies such as pre- reading activities. However, no major study in Kenya has documented findings on effect of pre-reading activities on English Second Language (ESL) learners’ performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine effect of pre- reading activities on reading comprehension performance of Kenyan learners. The objectives of this study were to: establish differences in the nature of teaching and learning processes between classrooms exposed to pre-teaching vocabulary and those that were not exposed to any pre-reading activities; examine differences in the nature of teaching and learning processes between classrooms exposed to brainstorming and those that were not exposed to any pre-reading activities; assess if there was a difference in performance of the reading test between learners that used pre-teaching vocabulary and those that used brainstorming; determine if pre-teaching vocabulary and brainstorming had a significant effect on performance in reading comprehension in selected schools in Kenya; and, determine which, between pre-teaching vocabulary and brainstorming, was the pre-reading activity with a more significant effect on performance of ESL learners in reading comprehension. The study adopted Ruddell and Ruddell’s Reading Comprehension as a Socio-cognitive Processing model, and Goodman’s Reading Comprehension as a Transactional-Socio-psycholinguistic model. Guided by pragmatic philosophical paradigm, the study adopted convergent parallel mixed methods design. Target population comprised of 14346 students and 700 teachers in 23 public secondary schools in Kakamega Central Sub County. Stratified and purposive sampling techniques were used to select 852 form (2) students and 21 language teachers from a sample size of 7 schools. Data was collected using structured observations of pre-teaching sessions, and researcher-made test. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically and presented as narrations. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, followed by inferential statistics using ANOVA at P˂ 0.05 and presented using ANOVA tables. Findings revealed differences in instructional processes between vocabulary pre-teaching and control classrooms. Differences were also found in nature of teaching and learning between brainstorming and control classrooms. The difference in performance between learners who used pre-teaching vocabulary (M = 10.21, SD = 4.429) and those who used brainstorming (M = 9.45, SD = 4.489) was negligible. At p< .05 level, both pre-teaching vocabulary [F (2, 901) = 11.562, P = .000] and brainstorming [F (2, 901) = 11.562, P = .020] had a significant effect on performance in reading comprehension tests. Then, neither pre-teaching vocabulary nor brainstorming [F (2, 901) = 11.562, P = .092] had a more significant effect on reading comprehension than the other. Based on the findings, the study concluded that pre-teaching vocabulary and brainstorming instructional activities had a significant effect on Kenyan learners’ performance in reading comprehension tasks. The study recommends that language teachers embrace, plan and use vocabulary pre- teaching and brainstorming as instructional strategies for teaching reading comprehension; accord learners sufficient opportunities to use these pre-reading activities. Language resource materials such as course-books and guides should include vocabulary and brainstorming activities. This study advances research in English Language Teaching (ELT) by assessing the effect of pre-reading activities as instructional strategies on performance of English Second Language learners.