Browsing by Author "Peter L. Barasa"

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    Effect of Pre-reading Activities on Learners’ Performance in Reading Comprehension in Kenyan Secondary Schools
    (2024-07-17) Solomon Manjinji Mutaliani; Carolyne Omulando; Peter L. Barasa
    The goal of teaching the reading skill is to improve achievement for learners, yet the learners' reading comprehension test results in Kenya remain a challenge that requires appropriate intervention strategies. Previous studies have shown that pre-reading activities are facilitative pedagogic strategies that activate readers’ prior knowledge, hence comprehension of new text. Thus, the purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to establish if pre-reading activities had a significant effect on reading comprehension performance in selected secondary schools in Kenya. The study objectives were to assess if there was a difference in performance between learners that used brainstorming and those that used pre-teaching vocabulary; determine if pre-teaching vocabulary and brainstorming have a significant effect on the performance of English as Second Language (ESL) learners in reading comprehension; and, compare the effect of pre-teaching vocabulary and brainstorming on achievement in reading comprehension to determine which of the two pre-reading activities affects the performance of learners in reading comprehension more significantly. The study was underpinned by Reading Comprehension as a Socio-cognitive Processing Model by Ruddell and Ruddell; and Reading Comprehension as Transactional-Socio-Psycholinguistic Model by Goodman. These models respectively propagate the view that through the influence of the language teacher on the readers, and the individual transactions between a reader and the text, meaning is constructed. The study used a quasi-experimental group design. Stratified and purposive sampling techniques were used to select 7 schools, 21 English second language classrooms and 21 language teachers. Data were collected using a reading comprehension test. These data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA. The results of ANOVA showed that at p< .05 value, both pre-teaching vocabulary and brainstorming had a significant effect on the performance of Kenyan English Second Language learners in reading comprehension tests, though pre-teaching vocabulary was comparatively more impactful than brainstorming. The study concluded that teachers need to pre-teach unfamiliar words and/or brainstorm topics in the new text since they are effective pre-reading pedagogic strategies. The study recommended that teacher trainers, relevant Ministry of Education agencies, language teachers, and learners vouch for the use of pre-reading activities as a pedagogic strategy for enhancing reading comprehension.
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    Towards Using Multiple Languages of Instruction to Enhance Comprehension andParticipation in Linguistically Diverse Schools in Uganda.
    (International Journal of Education and Research, 2024-07-17) Muhammed Nyanzi-Kabanda; Carolyne Omulando; Peter L. Barasa
    Primary schools in Uganda have to choose one medium of instruction (MOI) to be used by teachers in the lower primary classes under a Mother Tongue-based Multilingual Education (MT-MLE) model. The national Language of Instruction (LOI) policy requires all schools to choose between a familiar indigenous language and English (the second language) except those in urban areas that may use English right from the start. This paper discusses how choice and use of the languages chosen as MOI impacts on the level of learner comprehension and participation. The objective of this paper is to investigate the degree of learner participation when different MOI types are used for instruction. A qualitative approach was used to collect and analyse data from participants in purposively selected case schools. Data were generated and collected, using lesson observation and documentary analysis from lower primary classes in purposively selected schools located in linguistically diverse communities. Analysis of data was done and the findings indicate that effective learner participation varies with the degree of familiarity of the language(s) used as MOI to the pupils. The paper makes recommendations on how effective learner participation can be realised using different combinations of pedagogical practices and MOI choices under the prevailing LIE policy.