Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter gives a review of literature and studies related to the
present study which is a study on the low reading performance of the
Grade III pupils in E.B Tomaneng Elementary School, San Fermin, Cauayan
City , Isabela during the year 2014- 2015.
Foreign Literatures
Dimensions in Reading. Authorities generally agree that reading has
the following dimensions:
First, perception of words; second, a clear group of the literary
meaning of what has read; third, an understanding of supplementary
meaning as implied by ideas and to their manner of presentation; and
fourth, the application of ideas to read to the solution of a problem or
problems.
Hence, a perfect recognition of all words should not be taken to
mean the child is an excellent reader. Of these many dimensions reading,
he is only in the first. But this is a good start, from then on the teacher can
gradually take him to the other dimensions and open the door to a greater
wonder of reading.
The first two dimensions of reading mentioned by Richard and
Elizabeth Fuller seem to correspond with the initial stage of learning with
emphasis upon the rudiments or word identification and word recognition
and upon reading for meaning mentioned by Burns and Broman.
According to these authorities, there are stages of reading.

Stage in Reading. Burns and Broman identified four stages in the

elementary school reading program which overlap each other. They are:
1. The period of reading readiness.
2. The period of instruction in beginning reading with emphasis upon
the rudiments of word identification and word recognition and upon
reading for meaning.
3. The period of stimulating rapid growth in reading power,
particularly in those skills essential to the development in word
identification, in the attitude of demanding meaning, and in those
understanding and skills which constitute the beginning of independence
in coping with meaning difficulties.
4. The period of establishment reading power with emphasis upon
the achievement of independence in word identification, of a high degree
of skill in word recognition, of the attitude of demanding meaning, and of
independence in coping with meaning difficulties.
Anita San Juan, a Filipino writer, claimed that there are five stages
instead of only four. They are (1) Development of Reading Readiness; (2)
Initial stages of learning to read; (3) Rapid Development of Reading Skills;
(4) The stage of wide reading; and (5) Refinement of reading.
Both authorities, however, agree on the first two stages the
development of reading readiness and the first stage of beginning to read,
which are the main concerns of teachers in the lower primary grades. The
later stages are taken care of by the teachers who are teaching in the
higher grade levels.

Principles in teaching reading.According to Burns and Broman,

teachers should remember the following basic principles when teaching
reading:
1. Since reading is a language process, reading instructions are built
upon past and present language experience.
2. Reading instruction is a part of the language activities in other
curricular areas;
3. Reading instruction focuses upon meaning at all stages of
instructions. Reading is more than a mechanical process even though
some skills are mechanical part of the process.
4. Reading instruction demands a variety of approaches, since any
procedure is likely to work better with some children than with others.
Authorities need materials for teaching reading. For this reason, flexibility,
ingenuity and creativity are essential on the part of a teacher;
5. Reading instruction should be diagnostic in the sense that it is
appropriate for each childs weaknesses and strengths.
6.

Reading

instruction

should

be

diagnostic

throughout

the

elementary school and beyond since it is a long term development

process.
Approaches in teaching Reading. Aside from the principles of
teaching reading, Burns and Broman also mentioned some major
approaches in the teaching of reading.
According to Grabe (1997) reading is an interaction between reader and
text. Grabe claims that reading requires efficient knowledge of world and

a given topic also an efficient knowledge of the language. As it is stated,

reading requires a rich background, and also some ability to comprehend
the texts. On the other hand Rebecca& Sadow (1985) claim that reading is
related to language and it requires being efficient in L2.
Also other writers agree on that good readers have to do some other
jobs in order to comprehend a text: they should connect new text with
past experiences they mean background knowledge-, interpret, evaluate,
synthesize, and consider alternative interpretations (Pressley &
Afflerbach ,1995). While doing this task, students need also some
strategies to help them make their reading comprehension easy.
According to Grabe (1997) reading is an interaction between reader
and text. Grabe claims that reading requires efficient knowledge of world
and a given topic also an efficient knowledge of the language. As it is
stated, reading requires a rich background, and also some ability to
comprehend the texts. On the other hand Rebecca& Sadow (1985) claim
that reading is related to language and it requires being efficient in L2.
According to Gardiner, classrooms in the United States have had
sustained silent reading programs for more than 25 years proposed by
Lyman Hunt at the University of the Venmont. He became interested in
those programs when he realized that many students could not tell when
they had last finished reading a book. They blame their inability to finish a
book on a lack of leisure time and on their belief that most books were
boring. He began setting aside time for his students to read in class every

day. He also conducted surveys about their reading habits, asking such
questions as:
1. How many books have you read in the past year?
2. Do you have a bookshelf in your house? If so, how many books
are on it?
3. Do you have your own bookshelf? If so, how many books do you
personally own?
4. Have you seen your parents read books?
5. Do your parents read magazines or newspaper?
6. Have your parents even recommended a book to you?
According to him, he learned that students who read frequently on
their own had better literacy and better grades in the English class. They
quickly found books that they enjoyed and looked forward to reading.
Improving students attitudes toward reading is just one of the many
benefits of sustained silent reading programs.
Unfortunately, as students move into the middle grades and high
school, they often received little or no instruction on how to use reading
strategies
incorporate

to

learn

with

content

texts.

literacy

Although

practices

individual

into

their

teachers
subject

may

matter,

instruction, literacy programs are usually limited to specialized courses for

low achieving students.
Tamkersley, noted that comprehension requires making meaning
from words when listening, speaking and writing. Good readers have a
purpose for reading and use their experiences and background knowledge

to

make

sense

of

the

text.

Making

connections

is

the

key

to

comprehension. We dont comprehend unless we make connection and

are able to process the words that we read at the thinking level.
In the book of Tamkersly cited by Elliot-Faust and Pressley,
comprehension is the center of reading. Up to the end of 3 rd grade,
children are learning to monitor their own level of comprehension while
reading.
Research is clear that these skills can improve with explicit
instruction and training. As cited by Polincsar and Brown, Baris, Cross and
Lipson, strategies are what we provide to the learner to help him organize
and make meaning as he is reading. Marie Clay states that a strategy is
an operation that allows the learner to use, apply, transform, relate
interpret, reproduce and reform information for communication.
Reading comprehension is dependent on three factors. The first
factor is that the reader has command of the linguistic structures of the
text. The second factor is that the reader is able to exercise metacognitive
control over the content being read. This means that the reader is able to
monitor and reflect on his or her own level of understanding while reading
the material. The third and most important criterion influencing,
comprehension is that the reader has adequate background in the content
and vocabulary being presented.
When

an

effective

reader

reads

for

comprehension

and

understanding, it is an actively engaged and thoughtful process. One of

the things that good readers do during the reading process is to make
connections between background knowledge and the new information in

the text. Readers filter interest. The information that one gets from
reading will help him answer his questions, solve his problems and
increase his proficiency. Through reading, one develops his imagination,
his ability to reason, his judgement and other types of thinking. As his
reading ability improves, his experiences and enjoyment will be enhanced.
Reading then is a functional instrument of learning and living.
Rethid stated that in the primary grades, skilful teaching of reading
is of the highest importance. The reading ability of a child is greatly
influenced by language experience. It is a technique for helping children
explore, talk, understand, write and read about their social and physical
environment. It also provides opportunity for expressing observations,
feeling and ideas, solve problems and draw conclusions. It links the
symbols of language with real world. The child comes to realize that
thoughts can be talked about, written about, and read about. Through
reading these thoughts can be shared with others.
According to Musell, he emphasized that reading is conceived as an
active process in which the reader makes an interpretation of what he
sees on the printed page. It is here that the learner will think of the
responses he
The role of teachers in the molding of the personalities of the youth.
Highet challenged teachers to be vigilant and alert when said, the
teacher should see more, think more, and understand more than the
average men and women of the of the society where they live. It is
enough that they have a better command of the language and knows their
subject matter. More than those they should know more about the world,

have a wider interest, keep a more active enthusiasm for the problem of
the mind and the inexhaustible pleasure of the art.
This comment is a challenge to the teachers to widen the horizon of
their career so as to keep them abreast to the new trend in the teachinglearning processes.
The most perennial setback of many teachers is they settle down, a
phrase which implies stagnation, which will gradually result to a stereo
type of teaching. No matter should dream of doing if they have the guest
for effective teaching especially in language teaching.

Local Literature
Through reading, a childs horizons are widened, and according to
Juanino, he learns many things, important events, stories of people and
places. She says that school never be dull as long as there are stories to
read and learn about the sky, sea or the plants and animals around.
Reading among the Filipinos has not changed much if anything, it
has been declining throughout the years. A study made in 2003(Are We
Reading?, 2012) by The National Book Development Board (NBDB), an
agency of the government responsible for the publishing industry in the
Philippines, in collaboration with Intellectual Property Office of the
Philippines, have found that 90% of Filipinos do read.
However, as the years went by, the rate of Filipino readers kept
declining. Comparing the data they have gathered from 2007 and the one
they have from 2012, there has been a decrease by -6% of Filipino

readership from 94% to 88%. And as the readership of Filipinos

decline, the more it affects the amount of audience for the literature
written in English by national writers, to decrease as well. It is somehow
alarming, for the possible reason that not all of those Filipino who read, do
actually chose titles that are written in English by Filipino writers. Most of
the Filipino readers today would rather read books that are either written
by foreign writers. And if the titles are written by national writers, it would
be likely preferred to be written in Tagalog, not English.
Roilanda said that reading is the receptive phase of written
communication. In decoding the written language, the reader actively
utilizes

his/her

conceptualize

knowledge

attainments.

of

language,

Reading

past

therefore

is

experiences
regarded

as

and
an

interaction between the reader and the written language through which
the reader attempts to travel into the world of fancy and wonders. Thus
when the child is given the correct training in reading, he will find reading
as an enjoyable experience which he brings along with him toward
maturity.
Esquerra pointed some of the disturbances in reading which are:
motor disturbances and glandular disjunctions, 2. Medical factor, 3.
Intelligences, 4. Emotional factor and personality, 5. Environment
influence and 6. Methodological causes.
According to Gregorio, et.al. learning to read can be made satisfying
to the students by avoiding too much emphasis upon mechanics, by

allowing a reasonable amount in their voice of reading materials; by

gradually developing interest in the better forms of literature.
Eronico states that the kinds of teachers we hope to be able to
provide knowledge for our children are those who are most effective in
guiding the children toward the goals of democratic living. Teaching is
effective to the extent that the teacher does things or behaves in ways
that are favourable to the development attitudes, and adequate personal
adjustments on the part of the pupils.
The following are qualities of a good teacher:
a. love to teach
b. fond of children and young people
c. friendly and democratic in all that he does
d. believe that his work is vital and important
Rionda said that speaking is a first result of acquisition and not a
cause. Speech cannot be taught directly but emerges on its own as a
result of building competence via comprehensible input. Thus speaking
English while one prepares to go to school will not help one acquire more
English. However, listening to newscast on radio or TV might help a great
deal, if these are comprehensive.
Villamin stressed that reading is the key that unlocks the door to the
world of enlightenment and enjoyment, the basic tool for learning in the
content field.
During the pre-primer period, Cordovon pointed out that the reader
is guided in her work by the following objectives:

1. To establish absolute reading readiness

2. To understand the relationship between the spoken and pointed
word, phrase and sentence.
Hemphill suggested that the reading should begin when the class is
ready. In learning to read English, the child is ready when he has enough
oral-aural activities to familiarize him with the essential sound sentence
structure of the language.
Manuel stresses the importance of reading as a tool subject. He
further
states that one of the many ways of checking the deterioration in pupils
arithmetic and writing ability is to give greater attention to the basics. It
means

reducing the educational fields

and concentrating

on the

development of reading skills and ability.

Foreign Studies
Moshe Anishfield and Lambert in 1961 used the Junior High School
students learning Hebrew at various parochial schools in different sectors
of Montreal.
Another study was conducted by Miles Z. Zinta who reveal that oral
reading is one of the most abused aspects of the reading program. She
add that when the teacher asks the child to read by turns for the benefit
of the group, he has to read one page without serving any other purpose.
The study of Sparkers Butt intended to train parents how to help
more effectively their children with reading. The program was based on
the finding of past research on parental involvement in literacy

development of children, including revealed parents-child interaction and

techniques of parental involvement. Its effectiveness was determined by
comparing gains made in reading comprehension, receptive vocabulary
and slight vocabulary of the experimental and control group.
Provisions are also made to discover effects the program had on
childrens attitudes towards reading and to determine parents reactions to
the program. The program proved to be successful in helping parents
develop the know-how to enhance the reading levels of their children
and to develop in them in increasing desire to read.
Sparkers study and currents study are related in term of subject area
which is reading although they are differ in respondents. Parkers had
parents as respondents while the current study had teachers as
respondents.
Many researchers have conducted study in reading in almost all in
Grade levels in the Elementary level of education and which even
extended up to high school. One of the studies related to the present
study was that of Harrington. His study was about the Read-Aloud events
in a third Grade classroom. He said that about the Read-Aloud Events in a
third Grade classroom activities are enhanced by teachers and students
involvement in the story. He has arrived at the following conclusions:
1. Students immersion into a story was facilitated by the readers
style.
2. Non-verbal behaviours on the part of the reader were as much as
part of the read-aloud events to the listeners as the readers verbal
behaviours.

3. Childrens responses and attentiveness were closely link with where

they sat in proximity to the reader.
4. Childrens critical thinking skills were enhanced by the rich
discussion before, during and after read-aloud events.
In reading workshop. Towle have the following suggestions (1) that
students must spend their time reading and writing to construct meaning.
(2) that students respond to their reading verbally; (3) that the teacher
can create opportunities for regular demonstration of reading strategies;
(4) evaluating the pupils in the reading progress.
The study of Towle and the current study both focused on reading and
respondents of both are teachers.
Gay recommended the three principles of good instruction (1) provide
students friendly materials; (2) show students how to read difficult texts
through teacher read-aloud; (3) create time for students to read.
The study of Gay and the current study are both about reading and
both have teachers as respondents.
Hawkins study and the current study are closely related since both
were undertaken in the elementary. They are different because his study
is on reading difficulties of pupils and its causes, while the current study is
on the status of reading program for Grade II towards the development of
an enhanced Reading Program.
Based on the findings of the study of Snow, 3 rd grade pupils learn to
read. They become familiar with the roles that literacy can play in various
contexts. He came up with the following conclusions: (1) pupils in the 3 rd
grade build their vocabulary; (2) acquire conceptual knowledge; (3) learn

about letter sound relationships; (4)nthe relationships between oral and

written language; and (5) practice the skills necessary to become
automatic and fluent readers.
The present study and that of Snow are relatively similar for both
are centered in reading. They differed, however, in respondents. The
present study dealt with grade 2 pupils while Snows study dealt with
grade 3 pupils.
In the study of Band, he discovered that teachers should be
provided with the resources and time to explore the new and interesting
trade books related to their discipline that can make them become
experts in the information like rich materials that their students can read
and will want to read. He also recommended that in order to instill
confident

in

content-area

teachers

understandings

of

reading

comprehension, they must have to study, identify and reflect on their own
reading processes, give individuals teachers or group of teachers who
teach the same subjects the option of spending that time reading and
discussing professional materials specially focused on the teaching of
reading and writing within their discipline.

Local studies
Four (4) recognition of words and identification of its meaning while
reading comprehension is all about the knowledge or understanding of
what has been read the first step of which is recognizing and giving
meaning to words. Just like reading comprehension, vocabulary of children
differs. Most children acquire vocabulary during the preschool years but

the said acquisition is more arduous (Anglin, 1993; Hargrave & Senechal,
2000;) and given its importance wherein childrens vocabulary can be a
predictor of their overall reading ability (Hargrave & Senechal, 2000), the
need for a tool to assess it seems imperative.
Studying reading is synonymous to studying reading disabilities or
problems associated with reading. Despite efforts to have a highly literate
population among children, there has been a rise in the number of cases
of children with reading problems or disabilities. In
the United States, many children exhibit reading difficulties as reported by
the National Assessment for Educational Progress (2005). In the
Philippines, the Department of Education has reported a number of cases
of children with learning difficulties. Its impact is not only limited to poor
reading achievement because studies have shown that poor readers are
at significantly greater risk than good readers for developing attention and
behavioural problems (Adams & Snowling, 2001; Maughan &
Carroll,2006). Thus stressing the notion and importance of assessing
reading ability or achievement early in order to identify those children that
would need intervention. Aside from using reading tools to assess reading
problems or difficulty, it can also be used to gauge reading achievement
or accomplishments of children. This is of equal importance as reading
achievement have been linked to many research variables. Reading
achievement was found to be related to higher levels of self-esteem
among students (Kaniuka, 2010), reading achievement was also related to
extrinsic motivation (Chiu, Chow, & Mcbride-Chang, 2007), and significant

predictors of scholastic achievement (Savolainen, Ahonen, Aro,Tolvanen, &

Holopainen, 2008; Meneghetti et al., 2006).
(The Assessment Handbook, Vol. 9, 2012; ISSN 2094-1412, PEMEA,
December 2012)
In the study of Carino found out that the average reading speed of
pupils in Grade IVV was two years behind Philippine norm. Her study
further revealed that pupils comprehended difficulties are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Inability
Inability
Inability
Inability
Inability
Inability
Inability

to
to
to
to
to
to
to

get the main idea of a selection;

predict outcomes;
infer;
note ideas;
follow-sequence of events;
get the main idea;
follow direction.

The reviewed study dealt mainly on the pupils comprehension

difficulties which the present study deals on reading difficulties of primary
pupils. Both are similar to each other on the forms of the investigation but
differ on the kind of respondents involved.
In the study made by Sanchez, one described the reading difficulties
encountered by the Grade III pupils in oral reading in her respond school.
Her findings showed that the errors commonly committed by the pupils in
the rank of their orders were: mispronunciation, hesitation, repetitions,
substitutions, not paying attention to punctuation marks. Among the
difficulties noted were poor pronunciation, poor phrasing, lack of reading
readiness, too soft volume of voice, poor posture syllable reading, reading
too rapidly, nervousness, unnecessary head movements. She identified
also the following causes: mental retardation, physical handicaps,

direction confession, special brain defect, emotional causes, accidental

interferences, poor instruction, lack of reading materials at home and
school, change of medium of instruction shifting from English to Filipino or
vernacular and vice versa, poverty and lack of self-confidence.
Agcon, in her study on the problems encountered by the upper
primary grade teachers in Reading which is one of the problems
looked into by the present study. Both studies focused in the
elementary, but Agcons had Grade IV an the present study had
Grade II as respondents.
Dela Cruz investigated the learning competencies in Reading
of Grade II pupils in Ilagan South District. He administered the
interview technique. His pattern using spelling pattern was the
easiest for the children and skills in recognizing words with suffixes
using structural analysis was the most difficult. In the present study,
skills on associating names of objects, pictures with printed
symbols, recognizing words with the Dolch List are overwhelming.
Dela Cruz recommended the following:
1. There should be adequate tools of learning to attain the
educational objectives of learning like pictures, flash card, on pocket
charts, which when used appropriately will enrich the learning
experiences.
2. Instructional materials aimed to developed the different
reading skills among the school children should be provided by the
teacher.

Dela Cruz study and the present study had Grade II teachers
as respondents. But the research design were different especially in
data

gathering.

The

present

study

used

questionnaire

and

documentary analysis while Dela Cruz used the interview technique.

Pordillo believed that the ability to read with comprehension
can be developed gradually and effectively by giving the children
short practice test exercises based on materials suited to their own
grade levels. He further said that due to an increased power in
reading comprehension, the children would obtain good grades in
other subjects.
Anothervstudy on reading readiness difficulty was conducted
by dela Pea. She disclosed the following:
1. the most frequent type of errors commited by Grade II
children was mispronunciation. The other types of error in the order
of frequency were repetition, emission, substitution and insertion.
2. The words in which the pupils encountered difficulty in
recognition as well as in pronunciation were usually the reading of
long words with consonant blends.
3. Measures of the oral reading test revealed that the pupils
were weak in reading.
In silent reading, the pupils in both studies were observed to
be weak as revealed by the reading difficulties the pupils in
elementary schools have manifested. They differed, however, on the
grade level of teacher

Razote, who after giving a diagnostic test in oral reading to

the First Year Students of Cagayan National High School, concluded
that (1) the reading skills of first year students are not yet fully
developed; (2) the first year students are poor in reading; (3) the
existing reading program is inadequate. It does not provide for all
aspects of a sound reading program.
She introduced the following solutions to minimize students
oral reading difficulty.
1. Always present speech improvement lesson ahead of any
reading activities.
2. Model the reading first, emphasizing phrasing and correct
pronunciation. Then make the students read by group and
individually.
3. Provide phrase drills.
4. A good audio visual aid is the tape recorder. Make them
listen to their own voices and
5. Give drills on the use of punctuation marks.