Improving the Reading Difficulties of Pupils Using Phonic and Syllabic Method
CHAPTER ONE
Purpose of the Study
Generally, this research work aims at building the reading skills, involving the use of the phonic method. The reasons to undertake this research among others include the under-mentioned. The reason of the study is to help pupils blend sounds to help them develop words attack skills.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
The History of the English Language in Ghana
The Europeans who colonized Ghana came as conquerors and invaders. The purpose of their journey was very specific, as such; they would employ almost any means to make their excursion more expedient, no matter what the cost to the indigenous people.
Training in literacy of the English language in Ghana was historically been targeted to select groups of Ghanaians. The earliest recorded teaching of the English language to Ghanaians was to train them as interpreters to assist the British colonists in trade. It is also documented that the colonists went so far as to send a small number of Ghanaians to Britain to receive this training. (J. A. Sackey 1997) pp129
The second major purpose of educating Ghanaians was to make them literate so that they could read the bible. European missionaries came to Ghana with the purpose of imparting religion and morality upon the ‘pagan’ African. According to writer K.A. Sey, ‚English in (Ghana) has from the very beginning been associated with Christianity…all schools were run by Christian missionaries.” (K. A. Sey, 1973), 5
However, other schools opened to train people for jobs. Also, “…the main objective of promoting the European languages was to train cheap manpower for the administration of the colonies.‛ K. A. Sey, (1973), 5
Based on this policy, it can be inferred that the goal of the colonial administration was not to provide nationwide literacy to give people the tools they need to participate in development, but to train as many people as were needed to satisfy their personal needs.
The Importance of English Language to Ghanaian
The importance of English language in Ghana cannot be overemphasized. English is the official language of the country. It is the language of the government. It is use to perform all official function of the government. It is the language of Parliament, Judiciary and the Offices, Jackson college education. ‚Practical English Methodology for diploma in basic education‛ (by distance)
English is the unifying force in the country. Ghana is a small country, it can boast of over thirty ethnic groups with each group speaking different dialects, M.E. Kropp Dakubu. ‚Languages and Community‛ (Accra: Ghana Universities Press, 1996). No ethnic group would like a particular language from another group to be imposed on it. The use of English binds the people together.
English makes communication in the country very easy. This is because people from different ethnic groups use English easily to communicate with others from other groups.
English being an international language enables citizens of Ghana to interact freely with people all over the world.
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
Introduction
Methodology is the theoretical analysis of the method applied to a field study. This chapter deals with the process used in conducting the research. It has been divided into five sections. These are research design population and sample selection, research instruments and the intervention processes as well as data collection procedures and data analysis plan.
Research Design
Research design refers to the strategy used to integrate the different components of the research project in a cohesive and coherent way. Rather than a “cookbook” from which one chooses the best recipe, it is a means to structure a research project in order to address a defined set of questions (Trochim and Land, 1982)
This work is an experiment that seeks to expose a sample group to a chosen intervention (phonic method) to find out if the people will response to it. The use of the action research was appropriate because it offers the teacher a practical experience in dealing with a classroom problem.
Population and Sample Selection
The population was focused on Techiman Senior High School form One ‘Art 2’ Pupils. The number of the pupils used for the research was thirty-five (35).Out of these thirty- five (35) pupils, eleven are (15) boys and the rest twenty (20) were girls. The samples selection was done using the whole class of Techiman Senior High School form One ‘Art 2’ pupils.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
Introduction
This chapter outlines and discusses the results of the study. A test was used in gathering information from the entire class. The statistical tool was the frequency distributive table alongside percentage.
Discussion of Findings
Pre-test Results
All the pupils wrote the pre-test conducted on 26th February, 2016.
Discussion: from the table 1 above, the mean marks of the pupil was 2.24 which is approximately 2-5 marks out of the total 10 marks. Out of twenty-five pupils, only two (2) were able to score marks from 5-10 which represent 8% of the sample. This gives a clear indication that most of the pupils could not blend five (5) and six (6) letters of the alphabet to form a word.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Introduction
This chapter gives a summary of the study. It includes where the study was conducted, the sample used, how the data was collected and the instrument used for the analysis of the data. The chapter finally concludes with a conclusion and recommendations of the research.
Summary of Findings
The research looked at teaching reading in secondary school form one ‘Art 2’ using the phonic method. It involved twenty-five pupils in form one from Techiman Senior High School in the Techiman District in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana.
The twenty-five pupils were taken through a series of activities involving the teaching of blending five and six letters to form a word. A pre-test in blending five and six letters was done through. The pupils were given exercises base on which they were scored.
Then came the intervention after the marking of the pre-test. It took about four weeks. This was done individually and then in groups.
A pre-test exercise was done after teaching the process to check whether there was an improvement. Although, the improvement was very limited. Post-test was conducted to find out how individuals had fared during the intervention process and it was also scored.
The study portrayed a significant difference in the overall exercise. The differences were not due to chances on a silver platter. The research literature recommends the type of teaching techniques used in the intervention. In totality these lend credence to the researcher’s use of phonics method as an effective intervention and very worthwhile. The scores for the post-test showed an immense improvement and a step in the right direction.
Conclusion
The study, which sought to teach blending five and six letters to form a word (phonic method), was conducted at Techiman Senior High School ‘Art 2’ in the Techiman District. The study tried to intervene by instituting strategies to enhance it through various activities organized to arrive at this point, the researcher is of the firm conviction that the study was worth time spent and timely too.
Recommendations
It is the researcher’s heart desires that the following under listed recommendations and suggestions are given a second thought to help improve the standard of pupils’ phonics at the secondary level.
Future researchers can use this research as a stepping stone to conduct further researches to help the Ghana Education Service.
The following are the recommendations made:
- Teachers as role models should develop a positive attitude to the teaching and learning of English language especially phonics in the Secondary school so that pupils will emulate them.
- A different approach or technique and use of varied models should be adopted by teachers in the teaching and handling of phonic especially at the secondary level.
- Teachers should always bear the pain and anxieties of attending to each pupil and give him or her the needed assistance when appropriate so that they can all benefit from lessons.
- In conclusion, parents should not make the education of their wards the sole responsibility of teachers. But see themselves as partners who have a role to play for the successful development and the attainment of their children’s potentials.
- They should continually be encouraged to provide basic materials like exercise books, pencils, textbooks and others to enable their children to enjoy composition writing and the entire educational process as a whole.
References
- Akpo, S. (2006). Research Methodology: Module RMA411S. Polytechnic of Namibia. Windhoek.
- Australia. Department of Education, Science and Training. (2005). Teaching reading: Report and recommendations. National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy. Commonwealth of Australia.
- Australian journal of language and literacy, 28(3). Special monograph edition.
- Block, E. L. (1992). See how they read: comprehension monitoring of L1 and Collis, J. and Hussey, R. (2003). Business Research: A Practical Guide for Undergraduate Students. (2nd Edition). New York, USA: Pelgrave-Mcmillan Publishers.
- Dilbeck, D. (undated). Journey to Reading Theories. Retrieved October 30, Dole,J. A. Duffy, G. G., Roehler, L. R., and Pearson, D. D. (1991). Moving from the old to the new: research on reading comprehension instruction. Edition). Pearson Education International. New Jersey
- Harris, P., Turbill, J., Fitzsimmons, P., & Mckenzie, B. (2006). Reading in Primary School Years. (2nd ed.). Australia: Ligare Book Printers.
- Harris, P., Turbill, J., Fitzsimmons, P., & Mckenzie, B. (2006). Reading in Primary School Years. (2nd ed.). Australia: Ligare Book Printers http://msit.gsu.edu/Readingconsortium/Literacylens/html/Dilbeck%20Journey%2 0to%20Reading.pdf
