Early diagnosis of esl learners' reading levels

RASHIDAH BT RAHAMAT

PARILAH BT MOHD SHAH

SHARIFAH NOR BT PUTEH

ROSSENI BT DIN

Ong (1999) : reading book habits have lost its charm

The essence of reading is to understand what is read.

However, not many students enjoy reading especially the materials written in the language which is not their native language.

Steinberg (1986) highlights 5 principles of reading:-

A) involve only meaningful words, phrases, and sentences

B) depend on speech understandingC) not depend on teaching new language or

conceptD) do not depend on teaching writingE) enjoyable

…a process which involve a lot of “ sensory, perceptual and linguistic abilities..and takes years to fully master ( Cats et al and Nation 2005)

2 components of reading :

Decoding printed words

Understanding the

message

Form continuou

s hypothese

s about the words

seen

Form continuou

s hypothese

s about the words

seenVisual

ize the

written

info, Identi

fy meaning of words

Reading Processes

READERS

Knowledge

Interest

Purpose

Ability

MATERIALS

No of words Length

of words

Syntax

• 1) identify the reading levels among the secondary school students

•2) identify their attitudes towards reading in English.

1) What are the reading levels among the secondary school students?

2) What are the students’ vocabulary level based on the diagnostic tests?

3) What are the students’ grammatical level based on the diagnostic tests?

4) What are the students’ attitudes towards reading in general?

Samples Instruments

*37 Form Four Students •Daily school

•Mixed English language proficiency

•Convenient sampling

1)Diagnostic Reading Test by KPM (1994) for CRP Program

2)Mikulecky Behavioral Reading Attitude Measure by Richardson et al (2006)

Data collection : administered collaboratively with the

English language teacher in the schoolDone twice: a) the diagnostic test and b)

reading attitude surveyData Analysis: descriptive analysis -

percentages

Levels N %Elementary 27 72

Intermediate 10 27

Advance 0 0

Range of correct answers

N %

0-5 30 81

6-10 7 19

11-15 0 0

16-20 0 0

Range of Correct answers

N %

0-5 14 38

6-10 15 41

11-15 8 22

16-20 0 0

21-25 0 0

26-30 0 0

31-35 0 0

36-40 0 0

41-45 0 0

46-50 0 0

51-55 0 0

Attitudes Levels N %

Above Average 15 36

Average 14 33

Below Average 1 2

Not Available 7 29

Respondents generally have a very limited vocabulary and weak grammar foundation for English language

These tend to affect understanding Irujo (2005) : problem of ELL in reading is the kind of support

givenLack of proficiency due to external factors which

would eventually “cure” with time and supportTeachers shape their approaches and materialsTeachers are the key success to their students’

success in the classroom

Diagnosing the students’ reading level shall give a lot of benefits to teachers in planning a suitable instructions and resources that would fit in the students’ ability

It shall help teachers to choose the right channel to make the students be motivated to read and understand reading materials in the target language