FACTORS AFFECTING READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS IN

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AMONG GRADE 10 LEARNERS OF

MALASIQUI CATHOLIC SCHOOL, INC.

A Quantitative Research Proposal

Presented to the Faculty of
Senior High School Department
MALASIQUI CATHOLIC SCHOOL, INC.
Bonifacio St., Malasiqui Pangasinan

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements in the Course
PRACTICAL RESEARCH II
12- Blessed Carlo Acutis

Devera, Dafne Nicolle Bautista

Gonzales, Lenar Sydrick Fernandez
Panoringan, Danica Orenza
Golfo, Lara Ruth Perreras
Aragon, Gebby Reyes
Soriano, Zedrex Escat
Manikan, Fatima Bugayong
Rufino, Erlyn Adviento
Devera, Mark Palaganas
Mondares, Axel Bautista
Ferrer, Kitz Douwelle

DECEMBER 2023
 Chapter I
THE PROBLEM
Background of the Study

Reading comprehension is one of the essential skills and serves as a

starting point for individuals to understand everything around them. According

to Farha and Rohani (2019), reading comprehension is a skill that individuals

must learn. Grabe and Stoller (2013) defined "reading comprehension" as the

process of drawing meaning from a written text while including social and

cognitive components. The social component involves understanding the

author's perspective, background, and purpose, while the cognitive

component involves processing and comprehending the information

presented in the text. Readers had to be able to read critically to understand

the author's messages, and an in-depth understanding of reading

comprehension significantly helps learners understand the various types of

reading materials provided by instructors. Consequently, improving reading

comprehension is necessary because it is one of the most significant English

language abilities (Nurjanah, 2018).

By and large, academic achievement was strongly predicted by

comprehension. In fact, large-scale international literacy achievement studies,

such as the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA),

emphasized the relevance of students' ability to apply their knowledge and

abilities in real-world circumstances. Students had to use skills taught through

the perspective of comprehension to be effective in their reading, such as

retrieving, interpreting, integrating, reflecting, and evaluating material

(Thomson et al., 2013).

 Over the past few years, Filipino students’ reading proficiency has

been declining. Recent studies revealed that many students still needed

assistance with reading comprehension, vocabulary expansion, and critical

thinking skills despite government initiatives to raise literacy rates in the

Philippines (Idulog et al., 2023). The Philippines' educational system is

currently facing difficulties in producing proficient readers. Statistics from the

2019 PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) had shown that

Filipino students had under-performed their international counterparts in

reading comprehension. This implied that it was due time to address the

challenges and potential areas for growth in the reading skills of Filipino

children.

Mubashir et al. (2015), entitled "Factors Responsible for Poor English

Reading Comprehension at Secondary Level," aimed to identify factors that

contributed to poor comprehension of English at the secondary level and

provided recommendations for improving teaching methods and techniques.

The researchers only included 60 learners as their respondents for their

sampling size and used a descriptive research design.

In the study of Torres (2019) entitled, "Factors Affecting the Reading

Comprehension of Intermediate Level Learners: Basis for an Intervention

Program," In order to build an intervention program, the study sought to

identify the variables influencing the reading comprehension of intermediate-

level learners at the City of Malolos Integrated School-Babatnin. In this study,

the researchers used a descriptive research approach.

Both studies conducted by Mubashir et al. (2015) and Torres (2019)

provided valuable insights into understanding the factors influencing English

reading comprehension, albeit at different educational levels, employing a

descriptive research design. Therefore, the primary objective of this research

study was to broaden the respondents and enhance the research

methodology by implementing a descriptive-correlational design to

meticulously examine the relationship between the reading level of the

respondents and the factors that affect reading comprehension skills.

Reading comprehension skills were essential for understanding STEM

concepts and helped students succeed in all academic fields. Students who

were proficient in STEM were able to contribute to the technological

improvements in our environment. However, they are frequently seen as two

distinct educational goals; STEM and literacy actually complement each other.

One had first to master good literacy skills if they were to become a

successful scientist or engineer. The STEM fields necessitated the

interpretation of technical literature, extensive vocabulary knowledge relevant

to the subject matter, critical thinking, and the capacity to articulate these

problematic ideas to others both in speaking and writing. These abilities were

all developed through training that emphasized literacy. Children could

become great readers while investigating subjects that interest them by

combining literacy and STEM (Kaczmarek, 2016).

In conclusion, reading comprehension is essential to achieve success

in education, careers, and life because it plays a vital role in understanding

and interpreting information. Individuals could increase their knowledge,

improve their critical thinking abilities, and comprehend the world around them

better by developing strong reading comprehension abilities. The purposes of

this study were to address mainly the gaps that the researchers found and to
investigate the factors that affected the learners' reading comprehension skills

that could help them be thoroughly equipped for the challenges they would

face in the STEM strand.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to examine the factors affecting reading

comprehension skills in English Language among Grade 10 Learners of

Malasiqui Catholic School, Inc.

Specifically, it seeks to answer the following sub problems:

1. What is the demographic profile of respondents in terms of:

1.1. Sex and

1.2. Socioeconomic status?

2. What is the reading comprehension level of the respondents?

3. What is the level of the respondents towards the factors that affect reading

comprehension skills of the respondents in terms of the following:

3.1. Cognitive factors,

3.2. Reading Strategies, and

3.3. Environment?

4. Is there a significant relationship between the reading level of the

respondents across the factors that affect reading comprehension skills?

5. What project proposal can be proposed to Malasiqui Catholic School Inc. to

improve the reading comprehension skills of the learners?

Null Hypothesis

The following hypothesis is tested at 0.05 margin of error:

1. There is no significant relationship between the reading level of the

respondents across the factors that affect reading comprehension

skills.

Significance of the study

This study was undertaken to identify the factors that affected the

reading comprehension skills in English Language of Grade 10 learners of

Malasiqui Catholic School Inc. The following benefited from the research

findings.

Learners. The study made them aware of the factors that affected their

comprehension abilities. The solutions that the schools implemented and the

teachers' teaching approaches based on the study findings will significantly

help them become more imaginative and critical thinkers, more eloquent

communicators, and more cooperative individuals. Learners' academic

performance and conceptual understanding improved.

Teachers. The findings in this study gave them insight into the issues

that their learners were struggling with, and they could quickly come up with a

solution. They designed activities anchored on improving students'

comprehension skills, such as reading aloud and engaging in analytical

activities.

School Administrators. The study informed the school administrators

about the learners' current reading comprehension levels. As a result, the

school was able to assist its learners in strengthening their deficiencies in

comprehension. To help students progress, the school ran programs,

engaged in activities, or even gave out books.

Future Researchers. This research was a helpful reference for future

researchers as they carried out their own research that is related to this study.

They expanded this research's scope by providing additional relevant

information or filling in the gaps that this research had not addressed yet. It is

now easier for them to start or develop an idea about their own study since

they already have the references and knowledge gained from this research.

Scope and Delimitation

This research examined the factors affecting reading

comprehension skills in English Langugae among Grade 10 Learners of

Malasiqui Catholic School, Inc. in the academic year 2023-2024.

The study included the measurement of the learners’ reading level

through a silent reading comprehension test. Additionally, the study delved

into the relationship between the reading level of the respondents across the

factors that affected reading comprehension skills. The study was delimited to

the Grade 10 learners of Malasiqui Catholic School, Inc.

Definition of Key Terms

The following terms are defined technically and/or operationally for

clearer understanding and better grasp of information.

Cognitive Factors. According to Hussman & O'Loughlin (2019),

cognitive factors including attention, memory, perception, and reasoning,

interact with learning styles to influence the way individuals learn and retain

information. In this study, it refers to the factors affecting mental processes

involved in reading comprehension skills.

Comprehension. According to Richards (2016), comprehension is

making sense of what someone reads and connecting ideas in the text to

what he already knows. It is also the identification of the intended meaning of

written or spoken communication.

Environment. The term environment is used to describe, in

aggregate, all the external forces, influences and conditions, which affect life,

nature behavior and the growth, development and maturity of living organisms

(Douglas 2018). In this study, it refers to the setting/area like home and school

that strongly affects a learners' reading skills.

Factor. According to Collins Dictionary, a factor is one of the things

that affects an event, decision, or situation. Factors are the variables in the

study that the researchers affirm to have influence over the results.
 Frustrated Level. It refers to learners who can read words, but they

do not have the desire and the ability to comprehend (Bermejo, 2020). This

level includes text for which a reader does not have adequate background

level for a topic and/or cannot meet criteria for instructional levels of accuracy

and rate.

Independent Level. It is the highest level at which a reader has

adequate background knowledge for the topic, and can access text very

quickly and with very few errors. University of (Utah Reading Clinic, 2020). It

is the level at which a student function on his/her own.

Instructional Level. It means learners are not independent but have

adequate background knowledge for a topic, and can access text quickly and

with no or few errors. (University of Utah Reading Clinic,2020). In this study, it

refers to the learner's reading and understanding as desired with the help of a

teacher or an adult.

Reading Comprehension. Reading comprehension is defined as the

process of constructing meaning from the printed text, involving cognitive

factors (Kusumarasdyati, 2023). It is a process and an ability to understand

and interpret written text in English Language.

Reading Level. It pertains to the level at which a reader understands a

text. In this study, the respondents are classified into three kinds of reading

levels; namely, frustrated level, instructional level, and independent level.

Reading Strategies. Reading strategies aim to build vocabulary and

help integrate the existing knowledge of the readers/learners with the new

knowledge through analysis and critical reflection on textual form and content
(Farid, 2021). This refers to one’s approaches by the learners in reading a text

such as predicting, summarizing, visualizing, connecting, and inferring.

Skills. It refers to the abilities to use one's knowledge effectively and

readily in execution or performance (Merriam-Websters, 2016). In this study, it

refers to the ability to apply knowledge and ability to perform reading activity.

Socioeconomic status. Socioeconomic status. It is the social standing

of an individual measured by the yearly income of their household (The

American Psychological Association, 2017) It includes the individual's position

in a society which is determined by wealth, educational attainment,

occupation and social class.

 Chapter II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter reviewed the related literature and studies which

substantiated and supported the details of this comprehensive study. It also

provided a synthesis of the reviewed related studies and a discussion of the

gaps bridged by this research.

Reading Comprehension: Sex profile

According to Danielle (2019) in his article “Gender Differences in

Reading Comprehension (Complete Guide)”, males and females have been

shown to differ in reading abilities over a considerable time. According to

international reading studies like the PIRLS and PISA, females are generally

more successful readers than males. Several theories are attempting to

explain why there is a clear gender difference when it comes to reading

comprehension, as evidenced by the PIRLS data for 10-year-olds which has

also shown that it is even more apparent among 15-year-olds participating in

PISA.

The main reason for the change in achievement, according to Ohio

State University sociology professor Claudia Bauchmann, is that in the past, a

male’s performance in school carried no significant consequences for his

future. Despite his poor academic record, he could still get a well-paying blue-

collar job. However, these jobs have diminished over time.

Socioeconomic status
 Zoleta (2022), stated that people who make between two and twelve

times the poverty line are classified as middle class in the Philippines. This

implies that learner’s family would be classified as middle-class if the income

ranges from roughly Php24,000 to Php145,000. It is vital to keep in mind

nevertheless, that because of their limited access to cheap housing and social

services, members of the middle class remain susceptible to poverty.

According to the most recent Family Income and Expenditure Survey carried

out by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), approximately 40% of the

population is classified as middle class, with the majority (58.4%) falling into

the low-income category.

As indicated by Meron (2018), poverty is a major factor contributing to

the Philippines' low ranking in terms of reading comprehension. In the

Philippine education system, students from low-income families often prioritize

work at a young age instead of attending school regularly. This lack of

consistent formal schooling, coupled with poverty and limited access to

academic resources, hinders their cognitive development and ability to

interact with people in the academic community. On the other hand, a child

who grows up surrounded by teachers, books, and other reading materials

gains a clear understanding of the importance of education.

Cognitive factors

If learners can evaluate critically, they are more effective at responding

to the text. When learners read, they can define the text's core idea and its

supporting facts, as well as the sequence of events and overall structure. In

addition, students are also capable of identifying literary tools and their effects
on the text. By having critical thinking skills, learners will be better able to

understand text and have a positive reading experience (Hart, 2021).

According to the Department of Education (2019), the ability to read is

undeniably one of the most crucial educational outcomes in primary

education. It serves as the foundation for children’s learning and development

of broader literacy skills. Reading not only enables children to acquire

knowledge but also empowers them to engage actively in society, including

the workforce. Proficient reading skills allow children to access a wealth of

information from various sources, fostering their intellectual growth and

expanding their horizons. Moreover, reading proficiency equips children with

the tools to comprehend complex texts, think critically, and express

themselves effectively. These skills are essential for success not only in

academic pursuits but also in future careers and active participation in society.

By nurturing strong reading abilities early on, primary education sets the stage

for children to become lifelong learners and active contributors to their

communities.

According to Elleman et al. (2019), improving comprehension requires

early and continuous attention to strengthening background knowledge,

vocabulary, inference, and comprehension monitoring skills throughout

development. Prior knowledge of a reader is required to construct a coherent

representation of a text. On one hand, vocabulary is a strong predictor of

reading comprehension across development. Adolescents' stagnant scores

are likely the result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in this

article. Improving adolescent reading comprehension will necessitate a

collaborative effort by researchers, educators, and policymakers to forego

short-term gains on low-level comprehension tests to achieve long-term

solutions that will take years to develop.

Sage Journal (2019), stated that the cognitive process of reading

comprehension requires several skills and strategies. It is composed of

different factors, such as background knowledge, vocabulary and proficiency,

active literacy skills, and critical thinking that need to work together. In reading

comprehension, prior knowledge plays a crucial role. Students use their

previous knowledge as a means of connecting what they already know with

the texts they read, to make this text comprehensible. The reader's

experience in the real world and literary knowledge are both covered by prior

knowledge. To help students become more active readers and improve

reading comprehension, it is important to draw connections between

background knowledge and texts.

Reading comprehension depends on whether a student knows how to

use the vocabulary. In every text, students need to be able to comprehend the

familiar word as well as its relationship with other words. Mastering

vocabulary includes recognizing a word’s part of speech, definition, useful

context clues, and how it functions in a sentence. It is possible to help

improve comprehension using these vocabulary strategies.

According to the guidebook “Understanding and Teaching Reading

Comprehension” by Oakhill et al. (2014), reading comprehension is critical for

broader learning, success in education, and employment. It has become

much more important in our social lives with the emergence of E-mail, texting,

and social networking sites. Reading comprehension is a complex process

that requires the coordination of a wide range of cognitive abilities and skills.
Of course, adequate word reading is essential for reading comprehension:

readers cannot comprehend an entire document if they are unable to

recognize (decode) the words within that text. Similarly, a deep understanding

of language is necessary for successful reading comprehension. This needs

comprehension of both the individual words and the sentences that they form.

Reading strategies

The reader will have an effective understanding of the text by reading

strategies as a mental process. They are, in other words, the tools used by

readers to understand what is written on the page. Students can directly

benefit from such strategies, which are crucial for developing literacy skills.

Reading strategies include actions that readers are engaged in, to help

determine the meaning of words. Reading comprehension is the

understanding of what is being read (Reading Rockets, 2023).

The use of reading strategies has four steps: First, understanding how

to organize the text can help children figure out what they are reading. Before

reading and applying this information, it may be useful to review the text

organization through a reader strategy such as previewing. On the other

hand, reading can make it easier to read part of a passage or merely skim its

content. Second, by monitoring what children understand during and after

reading, reading strategies can help to monitor comprehension. Asking

questions during reading allows them to check their understanding. After

reading, summarizing and retelling are helpful to review understanding. Third,

to enhance comprehension, there are several ways to retrieve information

from memory. For example, when children use some kind of mnemonic device

to create a link between new information and familiar information stored in

their long-lasting memories, it is easier to retrieve data from the text. Fourth,

students may be able to gain access to information that is not explicitly given

using reading strategies. They are useful for readers to infer meaning, make

inferences and generalize information. For texts that have complex ideas and

vocabulary, reading strategies are helpful. They can be used by students to

improve their reading and comprehension skills (Cruz, 2023).

Environment

According to Mindedge (2023), Noise has a significant impact on a

student's ability to learn. We have all had experiences where we tried to

concentrate on a task but were constantly distracted by someone's music or a

noisy radiator. According to the World Health Organization (WHO),

background noise negatively affects reading comprehension, memory, and

performance on standardized tests.

Adams Teaching 2022, stated that chronically stressed-out students

typically score poorer on aptitude, immunity, understanding, and

comprehension skills. Everything the people say and do in the learning

environment has the potential to positively or negatively impact student

competence, confidence and comprehension. Hence, strategy and cultivating

a positive and healthy learning environment are learners’ needs.

Foreign Studies

Banditvilai (2020), in the entited "The Effectiveness of Reading

Strategies on Reading Comprehension," sought to investigate the

effectiveness of reading strategies on reading comprehension of second-year

English major students enrolled in English Reading at Kasetsart University's

Faculty of Liberal Arts and Science. It is a required course for English majors.

They were 59 respondents consisting of 13 males, and 46 females. All of the

students were approximately 18 to 20 years old, and came from comparable

backgrounds. Moreover, they had all spend at least ten years in basic and

secondary school acquiring English. The findings revealed that reading

strategies had a positive effect on the students' reading comprehension. The

students had positive attitudes regarding skimming, scanning, generating

predictions, and questioning, and they were able to apply these tactics to their

reading processes, which improved their comprehension of the text. It is a

required course for English majors.

According to Martin et al. (2019), "Factors Associated with Reading

Comprehension of Secondary School Students," the teacher, family, and

student's individual all had an impact on how well students read. However, it

was not understood how these important aspects collectively affect learners’

reading comprehension. The goal of this study was to create a multilevel,

comprehensive model that illustrated the vital significance of correlating

Chinese high school students' reading comprehension according to these

characteristics. 1,322 learners, clustered in 27 classes, were selected

randomly from five secondary schools. The study's design was descriptive-

correlational. The findings showed that reading comprehension was related to

student gender, reading motivation, meta-cognitive awareness of reading

strategies (MARS), and home wealth. In addition, compared to class-level

variables, these student-level variables predicted a greater amount of

variation in students' reading comprehension. These findings demonstrated a

crucial significance of student-level correlations. According to the current

study, female students of the same age group performed better on reading

comprehension tests than male students. All the individuals in the sample

were only in grades 7 and 8. However, there is a limitation in this study, which

is all the individuals in the sample were only in grades 7 and 8. Hence, the

findings cannot be applied to learners in other grades of high school.

Additionally, this study did not cover some potentially significant variables,

such as, the education level of the parents, the teacher’s attitude about

teaching and learning, instructional methods, and the school types.

Jingblad and Johansson (2017) in their study entitled "How to Create

an Environment in which Students are Self-Motivated to Read Fiction in

English in the ESL classroom" implied that lack of motivation prevails in

students, due to which students are required to be intrinsically motivated to

develop autonomous and engaging reading habits. However, if the teachers

can create an environment where the learners are intrinsically motivated, they

will more likely encouraged to be self-motivated to read fiction in English. The

survey was constructed by mixed method designs, Quantitative and

qualitative method. They created a survey where the reply alternatives are

close and open-ended questions. It answered the questions about the reading

habits, attitude towards reading, and experienced motivation regarding

reading fiction in English. The survey was collected from two different

secondary schools in Sweden, the private and the public schools. For the

sample size, 134 learners including 71 girls, and 62 boys, and one student

defined as the other. The result of the study showed that the learners feel

more motivated to read when they are the one who choose their own novel to

read and if there is a quiet and relaxed classroom environment.

 Mubashir et al. (2015) conducted a study entitled “Factors Responsible

for Poor English Reading Comprehension at Secondary Level” Emphasize the

factors that blocks the reading comprehension of the learners in English

language. These key factors include the, first, lack of vocabulary mastery.

Second, learners habit to cramming rather than learning and understanding;

the mission is to pass the exam rather than to develop skill. Fourth, weak

sentence structure and tenses. Fifth, lack of trained to infer meaning from

context, a lack of interest in reading newspapers, articles, novels, and the

other books. Lastly, lack of interest on both sides: from teachers and students.

Moreover, learners were not taught multiple sorts of reading skills and reading

strategies such as, loud reading, intensive reading, extensive reading and

silent reading. And reading strategies like, skimming, scanning, previewing,

forecasting, anticipating and chunk are still unknown to the learners

This research was descriptive in nature. For the sample size, 60 students

were taken from 10th class randomly from each school to gather the data for

this research. Twenty students were interviewed for this study. Twenty

teachers will be selected in total for the purpose of research and questioning.

Systematic, random techniques were used for all types of selection. This

research was only limited to Dinga City and its surroundings. Some schools

are selected from Dinga City, and some were selected from the nearby

villages. The findings of the study revealed that there were numerous crucial

aspects that influence reading comprehension.

Khairuddin (2013) conducted a study entitled "A Study of Students'

Reading Interests in a Second Language." This study used quantitative

research to establish links between variables and seek explanations for the
foundation of such relationships. This research was carried out at SMK Belara

in Kuala Terengganu. A simple random selection procedure was used to pick

the sample for this study; 86 Form Four students were chosen at random from

a list provided by the school's administrator, with 22 male students and 64

female students. Results found that, students have poor interest in reading

English materials, and there is a substantial difference between male and

female students.

Local Studies

In the dissertation of Buraga (2022) entitled, “The Relationship of

Academic Performance to Reading Ability Among Grade 7 Students in The

City Division of Makati Towards a Comprehensive Intervention Program”, the

main goal of this study is to determined the relationship between the reading

comprehension of the learners to the academic performance of Grade 7

learners in the City Division of Makati in the school year 2020- 2021. Based

on the result of the study, reading comprehension has a significant impact on

learners-respondent academic success. Furthermore, it is revealed that

learner’s reading ability had significant relationship in academic success. It

revealed that learners with better reading skills, perform better academically.

the researcher used a descriptive correlational approach, and the

respondents were selected by means of stratified sampling. Based on Slovin's

formula, eight hundred sixty-five (865) student-samples or 12% of the 7,416

students' reading ability as measured by the Phil-IRI Comprehension Test

were included. This study was carried out in the following nine (9) public high

schools in the Makati Division: Fort Bonifacio High School (School A), Pitogo

National High School (School B), Makati High School (School C), Tibagan
High School (School D), Benigno Ninoy Aquino High School (School E), San

Antonio High School (School F), Pio Del Pilar High School (School G),

Bangkal High School (School H), and San Isidro High School (School I).

The results showed the reading level of the learners involved in their

study. 330 or 38% belonged to independent level, 369 or 43% are under

instructional level, and 166 or 19% are belonged to frustration level. The basis

for identifying the reading categories of students was the application of the

Phil-IRI Comprehension Test, which determined the level of reading

comprehension. Further analysis revealed that students with high GWA may

anticipate high levels of reading comprehension, whereas students with low

GWA may anticipate medium or low levels of reading comprehension.

Overall, the student-respondents' performance was at a "very satisfactory"

level.

Menoza and Montero (2019) in their study entitled “Reading

Comprehension Level Among Intermediate Learners” aimed to determine the

comprehension level of the learners and to identify the teaching reading

practices of the teachers to draw implications for the development of a

reading program. The study utilized the Descriptive-Correlational research

design, 271 intermediate learners were sampled in this study. This study was

conducted at the Integrated Laboratory School – Elementary Department of

the Western Mindanao State University. The levels of comprehension of

learners in terms of Silent Reading(SR) and Oral Reading(OR) were analyzed

using descriptive statistic (M and SD). The scale for SR(Silent Reading): 0-

5.33 for Low, 5.34-10.67 for Average, and 10.68-16 for High. The results in

Oral Reading has q 3.165 M and 1.8 SD, indicated for Average. On the other
hand, the result jn Silent Reading(SR) has 8.822 M and 3.2 SD, which result

for average. Hence, it indicates that the respondents are performing similarly

in terms of comprehension in two kinds of reading. However, it must be

stated that learner’s scores in silent reading are more evenly distributed when

compared to their oral reading scores. The study revealed that it is safe to

conclude that SES influences the comprehension of students favoring those

with high SES. Further, it is concluded that teachers give prime importance to

assessment as an initial step for the teaching of reading. The study also found

that teachers place a premium on experience as an essential resource for the

effective teaching of reading with regular students and as well as with

students at risk.

Canono, (2013) in his study entitled, "Attitude Towards Learning the English

Language and the Reading Comprehension of The Second Year Engineering

Students of The University of the Immaculate Conception" that English is

relevant as it is used all over the world. Being able to speak English allows

people to enjoy their lives and work wherever they are. However, the attitude

towards this language may have an impact on how learners learn it.

Therefore, this study sought to establish whether there is a strong correlation

among attitudes toward English language learning and the reading

comprehension of second year engineering students at UIC. The descriptive

correlation method of research was used by the researchers. The selection of

71 respondents was based upon the Slovin's formula, out of a total of 86

second year engineering students at the University of the Immaculate

Conception.
 The researchers found that respondents' attitudes toward the English

language were high. This means that respondents have a positive attitude

towards the English language, which is of interest to them. However, there

was a rather low level of reading comprehension. This implied that the

respondents are having difficulty with their understanding of the written text in

respect of a given selection. Positive correlation is apparent in relation to

attitude and comprehension of the text. It means that there is a strong

relationship between respondents' attitude towards English and their reading

comprehension. Therefore, reading comprehension is influenced by one's

attitude towards learning the English language, whether positive or negative.

Synthesis

All the studies reviewed and presented were contributory to the present

study in one way or another. They enriched the study in the sense that they

served as a support and background to the present study. The studies

referred to above are linked to the present study since they indicated the

factors that are found to be affecting the reading comprehension of learners.

Jingblad and Johansson (2017) stated that students must be

fundamentally motivated to develop their reading-related learning skills. There

is a higher probability that students will be encouraged to develop their

reading comprehension if the teaching methods of the teachers are able to

create an environment where the students are naturally inspired and if there is

a quiet and relaxed classroom environment. Furthermore, Canono (2013)

stated that there is a strong relationship between respondents' attitudes

towards English and their reading comprehension. They are influenced by

one's attitude towards learning the English language, whether positive or

negative. For instance, Khairuddin (2013) and Martin et al. (2019) highlighted

the substantial difference between male and female students; female students

performed better on reading comprehension tests than male students

because females have more interest in reading English material than males.

The study by Banditvilai (2020) revealed that reading strategies had a positive

effect on the students' reading comprehension. However, in the study of

Mubashir et al. (2015), he stated that learners are not taught multiple sorts of

reading skills and strategies. The findings of the study revealed that there

were numerous crucial aspects that influenced reading comprehension. In

addition, Menoza and Montero (2019) asserted that socioeconomic status

influenced the comprehension of students, favoring those with high

socioeconomic status, similarly to the study of Martin et al. (2019), which

included home wealth as one of the related factors in reading comprehension.

In the study of Martin et al. (2019), factors related to secondary school

students' reading comprehension have an impact on how effectively students

read; likewise, Mubashir et al. (2015) pointed out the factors contributing to

poor English reading comprehension at the secondary level. The learners'

inability to comprehend what they read is due to a lack of vocabulary

competence. Hence, a student's ability to read affects their academic

performance. Through further analysis, students with a high GWA could

indicated high levels of reading comprehension, whereas students with a low

GWA could indicate medium or low levels of reading comprehension (Buraga,

2022).

Theoretical Framework
 This chapter was aimed to support this study. There are three

presented theories below specifically; Schema Theory, Theory of Mind, and

Reader Response Theory. These are known to be relevant and underpin this

study. All of these theories are important in this study as the researcher seeks

an answer to the problem.

First, the study was on anchored Frederic Bartlett’s “schema theory,”

which describes how knowledge is acquired, processed, and organized.

Schema theory is one of the cognitive psychology theories influencing our

understanding of reading that explains how individuals acquire knowledge,

store it, and use it to read. This theory says that the reader is only capable of

understanding what he/she is reading, when it has something in common with

what he/she knows. The reader attaches the information contained in the text

to its background knowledge, so that it can infer meaning from the text

(Ambruster & Osborn, 2002 as cited by Torres, 2019). Learners who have a

higher level of prior knowledge are better able to understand and remember

what they have read because they are capable of forming connections

between things are reading and what they know (Torres, 2019).

Overall, Schema theory should be considered an important theory for

all students use their background knowledge as an active response to

understanding what they are reading.

Second, this study is anchored to the Theory of Mind which is the

knowledge that others may have mental states that influence their actions

alongside one's own, and that these mental states may differ from one's own.

Reading and comprehending narrative texts may be difficult for young readers
if they lack theory of mind comprehension and the capacity to consider other

perspectives. This study suggests that current theories of reading

comprehension may be incomplete if children's understanding of other

people's thoughts is not integrated. In fact, the growth of narrative processing

skills is closely correlated with the regular expansion of children's theory of

mind abilities throughout childhood. In addition, new research demonstrates

that theory of mind and narrative processing are both simultaneously and

longitudinally predictive of children's reading comprehension. Researchers

present a potential justification for the existence of this relation and suggest a

causal structure of this relationship in which improved theory of mind results in

improved comprehension of and inference about characters' mental states.

The ability to comprehend characters' thoughts then improves reading

comprehension. The framework provides guidelines for future study and

makes novel, testable predictions.

Lastly, Formalistic Approach Theory is a critical approach that

examines, interprets, or evaluates the text's intrinsic qualities; in other words,

it focuses mainly on the literary work's form to ascertain its meaning. As a

counteraction to the Reader-Response theory, that attempts to explain the

interaction between a text and the reader and claims that the true meaning of

the text is created independently from the connection with the thoughts of

both the author and the reader. On the contrary, English professors began to

advocate a different theory that has come to be known as Formalism(or New

Criticism), it emphasizes the importance of the author and reader interaction

and argues that the author's intention in the text should be read as is and in its

context apart from outside influences, such as the author's background,

motives, feelings, and biases and reader's feelings, experiences, and form an

interpretation in the text (Pennington,2018). It concluded, that this approach

has been found to positively impact learners' reading processes,

comprehension, perception, and thinking with learners who express a desire

to similar approaches in evoking meaning in a text through its form and

structure.

Conceptual Framework

The conceptual framework that was used in the study is the Input-

Process-Output Model. In the IPO model, a process is viewed as series of

boxes (processing elements) connected by inputs and outputs. Flowcharts

and process diagrams are often used to represent the process (Harris &

Taylor, 1997 as cited by Michico, 2015)

The researcher adopted the Input-Process-Output (IPO) model. It

includes all the materials and the information that are required in the process,

the specific details of the process itself, and the output of the study.

For input, it consists of the respondent’s demographic profile in terms

of sex and socioeconomic status. It also includes the reading level of the

respondents and the factors that affect the reading comprehension skills in

English Language of Grade 10 learners.

For the process, it consists of the data collection gathered through

surveys, giving the participants questionnaires, and organization of the

learners. Data tabulation, analysis, and interpretation are also included. It

includes necessary procedures from the initial gathering of information or

data to the results and recommendations of the research.

Lastly, the output includes the action taken after interpreting the result

of the study. Proposing project in reading and other related things taken into

consideration. From this, the researchers will conceptualize recommendations

that are of great to improving learners’ reading comprehension skills and will

have determined the reading level in relation to the factors.

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

1. Profile of the
Respondent
a) sex
b) socioeconomic
status

2. Reading level of
the
respondents. • Data collection
gathered
3. Factors through
affecting surveys.
reading • Giving the - Research paper
comprehension participants 
skills questionnaires. - Propose a
a. Cognitive factors • Organization of
Þ project
b. Reading strategies the learner’s
proposal in
c. Environment responses.
• Statistical Reading
4. Significant analysis and
relationship interpretation of
between data
reading level of
the respondents
and the factors
that affects
comprehension
skills.
.
Figure 1. Research Paradigm