ABSTRACT
This qualitative-phenomenological study was conducted to identify learners’ oral communication and reading comprehension difficulties as bases for formulating a school-based reading program. It was found that learners’ oral communication difficulties include pronunciation challenges, grammatical-usage errors, difficulty in expressing thoughts clearly, limited vocabulary, and low confidence. English teachers observed that learners’ oral communication difficulties included pronunciation issues, grammatical and sentence construction mistakes, limited vocabulary, and low confidence in speaking. On the other hand, learners’ reading comprehension difficulties included limited vocabulary, difficulty in expressing ideas, and difficulty making inferences. Learners’ reading comprehension difficulties were also observed by teachers. These were limited vocabulary, difficulty with expressing ideas, poor at making inferences, poor retention, lack of interest, inadequate reading strategies, and slow reading rate. A school-based reading program was formulated based on the results of the study.
Keywords: Oral Communication Difficulties, Reading Comprehension Difficulties, School-based Reading Program
INTRODUCTION
Language is power. Language has been part of our daily lives, from the sentences in public places, social media, and in the things we use. This illustrates the profound impact of language on our lives. However, effective communication requires that both parties understand. The ability to communicate effectively in oral discourse is an essential twenty-first-century skill for connecting with the rest of the world. Learners must develop this ability for the efficient value of oral communication and reading comprehension, and their proficiency in the modern world. The world has increasingly become a global village (Su, 2021), where individuals from different linguistic backgrounds rely on English as a shared language to conduct business, carry out research, study overseas, and pursue various personal, academic, and professional goals. Proficiency in English is commonly viewed as an advantage in obtaining employment, scholarships, and other academic or career opportunities. Nevertheless, expressing ideas effectively in a language that is not one’s mother tongue remains a significant challenge for many learners (Amoah & Yeboah, 2021), and teaching English communication skills in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) setting is also considered demanding for educators (Ibna Seraj & Habil, 2021).
Effective communication plays a crucial role in achieving both personal and academic success. Strengthening reading comprehension skills enables learners to better understand language and its subtleties. As a result, this enhanced linguistic competence leads to better oral and written communication skills, which are essential for building meaningful interpersonal relationships and performing well in academic settings (Williams, 2023). This defines the crucial role of reading skills, especially in learners’ communication and comprehension skills, allowing them to effectively express ideas clearly across different contexts.
Most emerging global studies emphasize English reading fluency and decoding skills (Lonigan & Burgess, 2020; Schwanenflugel & Kuhn, 2022), leaving a need for localized inquiry into language-based reading development in Philippine classrooms.
The Department of Education has established the organization of reading programs with the goal of increasing learners’ comprehension and eventually making them acquire basic English proficiency to become successful in other learning areas. Despite these initiatives, the findings from the 2022 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) reveal that Filipino students continue to lag considerably behind their global counterparts in reading, mathematics, and science (OECD, 2022). In PISA 2022, the Philippines placed 77th out of 81 participating nations, highlighting a significant deficiency in English Communication Skills (ECS) compared to learners from other countries.
As a language and reading teacher, the researcher observed that learners were challenged in expressing and comprehending the English language, especially in daily classroom settings. Therefore, the researcher believed that this study was essential to determine the oral communication and reading comprehension difficulties of learners in order to formulate a school-based reading program that would improve their oral communication and reading comprehension abilities.
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