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Influence of Reading Emotions on the Reading Comprehension of Elementary Pupils
- Jolina A. Abejo
- Sarah Jane S. Arriola
- heila E. Amoroso
- Kuh V. Paterno, PhD
- 1723-1727
- Oct 19, 2023
- Education
Influence of Reading Emotions on the Reading Comprehension of Elementary Pupils
Jolina A. Abejo, Sarah Jane S. Arriola, Sheila E. Amoroso, Kuh V. Paterno, PhD,
College of Education, Partido State University, Goa, Camarines Sur, Philippines
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2023.71039
Received: 24 August 2023; Revised: 08 September 2023; Accepted: 12 September 2023; Published: 19 October 2023
ABSTRACT
The disproportionately high percentage of underachievers in the Philippines, students fell short of the required reading proficiency and the reports that most of students have lack reading comprehension for both English and Filipino are among the problems faced by educators.
This study investigated the influence of reading emotion on reading comprehension in the intermediate grade school students. The respondents to this study were the 100 students from grades 4, 5 and 6 of Tagas Elementary School. The data was obtained using the descriptive survey method, a questionnaire with a rating sheet, checklist and a reading test adapted from Phil IRI. The data were analyzed through weighted mean, and correlation. Which results that most of the pupils possess frustration level on reading comprehension and minimal fall under independent reader. Also the high levels of enjoyment are beneficial for reading comprehension as they typically indicate engagement, motivation, and a willingness to immerse oneself in the reading material. It is encouraging to note that the learners derive enjoyment from their reading experiences, as it may contribute to their overall reading comprehension abilities and foster a love for reading. While moderate levels of anxiety may not significantly hinder reading comprehension, it is important to address and support learners who experience higher levels of anxiety.
Nonetheless, ceating a supportive and low-stress reading environment, providing students with strategies to manage anxiety, and addressing individual needs are important considerations to mitigate anxiety-related obstacles to reading comprehension. Educators must ensure that reading materials are diverse, relevant, and cater to the learners’ interests and reading levels, thus reducing boredom and promoting active engagement during reading sessions.
Keywords: influence, reading emotion, reading comprehension, enjoyment, anxiety, boredom
INTRODUCTION
Reading encompasses the capacity and practice of extracting information, as well as how one comprehends written material. According to Sandhu and Blakeley (2022), reading refers to decoding symbols to arrive at meaning, and it is part of the cognitive process of reading. Reading is a deliberate process that involves creating word meanings. Reading with a purpose enables the reader to focus their attention and guide information towards a specific objective. Although reading can be done for a variety of purposes, the main one is to grasp the material. Reading involves thought and allows the reader to utilize any past knowledge.
According to DaCosta and Gutierez (2020) the reading comprehension is an intentional, active, and interactive process that occurs before, during, and after a person reads a particular piece of writing. And successful societal functioning requires the ability to read and comprehend. Finding the meaning or message of the text at hand is almost always the aim of reading. This calls for the implementation and fusion of numerous procedures. According to Osika et al. (2020) it can be contagious and can both facilitate and obstruct learning. To create learning and teaching experiences that are more effective, educators should be aware of the role that emotions play in both. The most difficult part of reading is reading comprehension, which calls for the reader to use critical thinking abilities. It takes more than just being able to grasp words on their own to put them together and create meaning using prior knowledge. And Also Reading comprehension is one of the most intricate cognitive processes that people use, making it challenging to teach, assess, and study.
The phrase “reading difficulties” was coined by Claessen et al. in 2020. According to the Programmed for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 results, reading is one of the subjects in which fifteen-year-old students in the Philippines performed worse than students from the majority of the nations and economies that took part in PISA 2018. The average reading score for the nation was 340, which put it on par with the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic and the Philippines had the lowest scores of any nation. Students in the Philippines achieved 353 and 357 points in math and science, respectively, matching Panama’s results. In science and mathematics, the Philippines performed better than the Dominican Republic.
Among all the nations and economies that took part in PISA, the Philippines had a disproportionately high percentage of underachievers. In other words, 80% of Filipino students fell short of the required reading proficiency. The pupils’ deficiency in fundamental reading and comprehension skills is to blame for their subpar performance in the subjects of English, mathematics, and science. Due to this, the Department of Education (DepEd) has introduced the Hamon: Bawat Bata Bumabasa (3Bs Initiatives), which aims to make every learner a reader at the level appropriate for his or her grade.
Less than 15% of Filipino pupils, or roughly three out of every 20 students, can read simple texts, according to UNICEF. This is as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic’s longest school closure, which had lasted more than 70 weeks as of the middle of February. A learning poverty rate of more than 85% is calculated based on the most recent UNICEF evaluation. According to the World Bank, this is the percentage of 10-year-olds who are unable to read or comprehend a straightforward story. Even with the high grade, it is still significantly below the World Bank forecast from November of last year, which was 90%. Prior to the epidemic, the World Bank’s rating was 69.5% in 2019.
The primary goal of reading is comprehension, making it a crucial language skill. Throughout the reading process, the brain must register and interpret visible symbols. As reading is mastered, it can be used as a tool for having access to data, as well as its analysis and interpretation. These all rely on the ability to comprehend what is being read. Hence, one of the topics that are given a lot of weight is the examination of reading comprehension. In particular, the assessment of pupils’ reading comprehension levels is a topic that many scholars are very interested in. In this regard, the current study sought to ascertain how the reading proficiency of Turkish primary school student’s comprehension and inspiration for reading. There was discovered to be a positive, medium-sized, and substantial association between reading motivation and the students’ levels of reading comprehension as measured by open-ended questions made up of both narrative and informational texts. An increase in pupils’ reading motivation has a good and significant impact on their reading comprehension. Moreover, 12–13% of the total variation in their reading comprehension is explained by reading motivation (Kusdemir and Bulut 2018).
The Department of Education (DepEd), citing preliminary findings of a 2019 research, reports that more than 70,000 elementary pupils in Bicol are unable to read in both English and Filipino. According to information provided by Grace Rabelas, education supervisor for DepEd Bicol’s curriculum and learning management division, 18,143 of these students are in Grades 3 through 6.The remainder of the “nonreaders,” as Rabelas referred to them, were in Grades 1 to 2.The data were based on the outcomes of pretests given between July and August 2019 by the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI) at Legazpi City, Albay, Philippines.
Base from the residents in barangay Tagas, there are some primary school students who does not grasp what they read or worst is do not know how to read. This under development of reading skills and competencies of the students remains unresolved to which problem have been add up during the time of pandemic wherein education and learning was disrupted.
METHODOLOGY
Research Design
This study employed a descriptive correlational design to examine the relationship between reading emotions and pupils’ reading comprehension.
Respondents
The study’s respondents were 100 pupils from the intermediate grade levels at Tagas Elementary School in San Jose, Camarines Sur, Philippines.
Research Instruments
The study used two sets of instruments to collect the necessary data. The first instrument used was the Phil IRI, adopted from DepEd instructional materials, to assess the reading comprehension of the respondents. The second instrument, adapted from Hamedi et al. (2020), comprised three dimensions: reading anxiety, reading enjoyment, and reading boredom. This instrument underwent validation and reliability testing to establish internal consistency. The results of the reliability tests demonstrated that the instrument is reliable, with the following acceptable reliability coefficients: reading anxiety (0.71), reading enjoyment (0.77), and reading boredom (0.63).
Data Gathering Procedure
The researchers initially sought permission from the school principal to conduct the study. Once the school principal granted approval, the researchers proceeded with data collection with the assistance of the class advisers. They evaluated the reading comprehension of the respondents using the Phil IRI tool and assessed their reading emotions using the Reading Emotion Scale. Subsequently, the collected data were organized and tabulated in preparation for the data analysis phase.
Data Analysis
The study employed Statistical Package for Social Sciences (version 21) to analyze the collected data. The researchers utilized frequency count and percentage to assess the reading comprehension of the respondents. Additionally, mean and standard deviation were employed to evaluate their reading emotion. Lastly, Pearson’s r was used to examine the relationship between the reading comprehension of the respondents and their reading emotion.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The pupils reading comprehension performance in terms of independent it has 3 percent with the frequency of 3, then in instructional the frequency has 12 with the 12 percent and for the frustration it has 85 frequencies with 85% percent.
The level of reading-related emotion of learner in terms of reading enjoyment the ground weighted mean is 3.70 and interpreted as Agree, in reading anxiety the weighted mean is 2.93 and interpreted as Neither Agree or Disagree. On the other hand, the reading boredom weighted mean is 2.64 that interpreted as Neither Agree or Disagree.
The computed value of reading emotion is higher than the reading comprehension. This leads to the rejection of null hypothesis, which means that there is a significant influence of reading emotion and the reading comprehension performance.
CONCLUSION
The study shows that most of the pupils possess frustration level on reading comprehension and minimal fall under independent reader. Also the high levels of enjoyment are beneficial for reading comprehension as they typically indicate engagement, motivation, and a willingness to immerse oneself in the reading material. It is encouraging to note that the learners derive enjoyment from their reading experiences, as it may contribute to their overall reading comprehension abilities and foster a love for reading. While moderate levels of anxiety may not significantly hinder reading comprehension, it is important to address and support learners who experience higher levels of anxiety.
It appears that boredom and anxiety, have limited direct influences on reading comprehension among pupils, as indicated by non-significant p-values. However, enjoyment has significantly affect the reading comprehension. It is essential to acknowledge that these findings are based on a narrow set of correlations and p-values alone, and further research is needed to gain a comprehensive understanding of the relationships between reading emotions and comprehension. Nonetheless, considering the potential indirect impacts, educators should strive to create engaging, supportive, and enjoyable reading environments to facilitate optimal reading comprehension outcomes for students.
Students who experience anxiety may have difficulty focusing on the text making it challenging to comprehend the material effectively. Creating a supportive and low-stress reading environment, providing students with strategies to manage anxiety, and addressing individual needs are important considerations to mitigate anxiety-related obstacles to reading comprehension.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Encouraging a love for reading, selecting texts that align with students’ interests, and promoting positive reading experiences can foster enjoyment and enhance reading comprehension. Educators must ensure that reading materials are diverse, relevant, and cater to the learners’ interests and reading levels, thus reducing boredom and promoting active engagement during reading sessions. Curriculum designers should consider implementing strategies to make reading materials more engaging and appealing to prevent boredom-related negative impacts on reading comprehension.
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