Chapter Two; Review Of Related Literature
The following are the sub – topics treated under this chapter.
1) The meaning of reading.
2) The importance of reading.
3) Suggested approaches for teaching reading aloud. And the
4) Summary of the literature review.
The Meaning of Reading
The term, reading, has been defined by many writers in various ways. In spite of the different perspectives from which each writers sees it, reading plays a very significant role in the up – bringing of pupils.
It will be very significant for us to know what reading means in the first place. Reading is the skill or the ability of an individual to get information from printed materials. Reading is a very complex aspect of language study which covers reading aloud, reading comprehension and silent reading.
The following are the varied ways in which different writers defines the term reading.
Teacher Education Division, (Teaching English in Basic Schools) (2003) defines reading as “the ability to gather information from prints i.e. (a written materials) it went further to state that “unless our pupils cannot recognize the word in print, reading cannot take place. This implies that the process of identifying written words and extracting meaning from them is the main concern as far as reading is concerned.
R.T. Agboglati (2004, unpublished) also defines reading as “reading a text with the objectives of extracting full meaning. “In order to understand what the text entails. it is very important to read”. The message, the purpose, attitude as well as the mood of the writer is all attained after reading.
S.W.K. Tsadidey (2002) also adds that “reading is the ability of the individual to hold converse with written materials or to get a message that has been set out in a special code”.
He added that, reading as an educational activity is a message and the practice has been with man since the invention of calligraphy (the skill of writing), and more specially, since the invention of printing and the printing machine by William Caxton.
Macmillan (2002) (English Dictionary Advanced Learners) also defines reading as the process of recognizing written or printed words and understanding their meanings.
From the above views, the subject has been defined in many and various ways but they all seem to be talking about the same thing. That is the ability of the individual to look at a written or printed language and to extract meaning from it.
Importance of Reading
According to E. Fianu (2005), “reading no doubt forms a very important aspect of language learning”. Teachers need to be convinced of this fact in order to be motivated to teach reading well.
He went on to say that “for success in school, for child growth and development and for success in adult life a large emphasis must be laid on reading”. This is the exact problem that pupils will be entangled with in the near further if not solved quickly.
S.W.K. Tsadidey (2002) also states that “reading as an educational skill is important because it is the most effective self – reliant tool for learning. It is a skill that opens the door to physical, emotional intellectual and moral self – improvement”.
Reading is the greatest tool for learning. Without it, pupils cannot do well in the academic field. This is true as far as Apeyime R.C Primary Six (6) is concerned. Because they could not read well, the whole examination they took was poor and nothing to write home about.
Reading is no doubt indispensable in the child’s educational development. Fianu E. (2005) says that “indeed, there is no replacement for reading”. He went on to say that “is arguably second to only speech as the major strategic way of conversing”.
This implies that, reading is a very important means of assessing information. Without speech, reading is the most viable means of communication. Therefore, children who cannot communicate effectively lack the habit of reading.
According to curriculum designers, (2003) “laying a firm foundation for the child to acquire literature, reading requires a very great deal of competencies”, NB: what are the competencies?
Academic success is also largely dependent on reading ability. Fianu E. (2005) said, “The child who cannot read becomes backward in almost everything in the school”. Through reading, the child perceives, interprets and evaluates life. It is no denying in the school.
All the academic subjects studied in the school required to be read before one become conversant with them. It is a fact that a failure in reading is an automatic failure in the rest of the subjects.
Last but not least, “reading gives avenues for pleasure and relaxation and a person who has books around him is never without company even though he may be alone”, Tsadidey (2002). Sir Francis Bacon says, “Reading no doubt is a complex educational activity”.
Through reading, the child will always fill in a company of people and will enjoy his leisure effectively by reading.
It is based on these numerous advantages that the current situation whereby our own pupils, after leaving school, cannot read is very unfortunate situation needs to be rectified (corrected).
It is against this background that the writer is undertaking this research in order to suggest the effective’s ways to teach reading.
Suggested Approaches for Teaching Reading Aloud
Reading aloud as the name suggests, involves pupils reading loudly in a class. Reading aloud is usually used as a prelude (introductory) to reading comprehension. In the reading aloud lesson, pupils are given grounding in pronunciation before moving to reading comprehension which is basically entails silent reading.
However, there are some vital reasons why knowledge of reading aloud is very important and thus pertinent for teachers to teach it. Hence, many writers have expressed their views on it.
These are as follows;
Teachers Education Division (2003) believes that “reading aloud helps to check pupils’ recognition of words as they moved from single sentences to passage”. In primary one and two, pupils are taught to read words in unconnected sentences.
Therefore, it is very important to check their words recognition and correct them.
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