THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GRAMMATICAL COMPETENCE AND PERFORMANCE IN READING COMPREHENSION OF SELECTED SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN JALINGO METROPOLIS
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GRAMMATICAL COMPETENCE AND PERFORMANCE IN READING COMPREHENSION OF SELECTED SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN JALINGO METROPOLIS
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Date
2011-07
Authors
AUYU, BakojiMbiko
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Abstract
This study entitled "The relationship between grammatical competence and performance in
reading comprehension of selected senior secondary school students in Jalingo metropolis"
investigated the extent to which grammatical competence affects reading at different
comprehension levels. Most especially, reading for literal comprehension level, reading for
inferential comprehension, reading for critical evaluation and the effect of location on
performance of both rural and urban schools in the two variables measured. A sample size of
four hundred and forty (440) students was drawn from eight (8) were senior secondary
schools in Jalingo metropolis and its environs. Senior secondary schools (SSIII) was the focus
of the study because they are the most affected in terms of language learning theory and
standard set by West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). The
method used for data collection was reading comprehension and grammar tests at 0.05
significant level. These instruments were submitted to experts in the field of linguistics and
later pilot tested to ascertain their content and face validity. The test of grammar and reading
comprehension were administered at two different periods. Most of the questions for the test
of grammar were set in structures like elements of sentence structure and word class
identification test format. The questions for reading comprehension tested all levels of
comprehension stated in this study. The reliability of the instruments was measured using
Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMC) and two-tailed test. The computed
r-value for the correlation coefficient and t-value did not show any significance difference.
The overall findings revealed that grammatical competence affect reading at various
comprehension levels. It was also noticed that students from the study area could comprehend
reading without understanding the structures of English sentences. Therefore the study
recommends that second language readers should be given thorough exercises in grammar
before they are introduced to reading at various comprehension levels. This will help
secondary school students to get over the grammatical problems that affect their performance
in reading comprehension
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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GRAMMATICAL COMPETENCE AND PERFORMANCE IN READING COMPREHENSION, OF SELECTED SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN JALINGO METROPOLIS