ABSTRACT

This study determined the vocabulary knowledge and

reading comprehension of forty (40) Grade 8 students

along (a) vocabulary knowledge and (b) reading

comprehension. The participants of the study were forty

(40) Grade 8 students from two (2) secondary schools in

Bacon District, Sorsogon City which are Sawanga National

High School (East) and Osiao Paglingap National High

School (West). Descriptive developmental was employed in

this study since it determined the performance level and

difficulties of students in vocabulary knowledge and

reading comprehension and an instructional material was

developed based on the findings of the study.

The participants were administered with an

assessment test which determined their difficulties in

vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. Focus

group discussion and interviews were also applied in the

study.

Based on the results, the researcher found out that

vocabulary knowledge of the students is one of the

problems in reading. It was revealed that students met

difficulty in understanding the words that they read.

Reading doesn’t only require understanding of the text,

but it requires a lot of skills and strategies to be able

to analyze what you are reading. Having a wide vocabulary

contributes a lot in reading and it is one of the keys to

becoming an effective reader.

Furthermore, limited vocabulary knowledge has an

effect in the reading comprehension of the students.

Results revealed that students exhibited low performance

in both vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension.

The students’ performance in vocabulary knowledge showed

that they only understood the word if it’s familiar to

them. Reading comprehension result revealed that students

perform well if the answers to the questions are directly

stated in the text. This means that students rely on the

literal meaning of the selection they have read.

Moreover, in some items, the result did not meet

expectations. There are unfamiliar words in it and these

words affect the students’ understanding of the text.

Based on the findings, the researcher concluded that

the performance of the students both in vocabulary

knowledge and reading comprehension is rated as did not

meet expectations. This means that the respondents met

problems in analyzing the statements and passages given

during the assessment test.

The strategies and instructional materials employed

by the teachers do not cater to the needs of the

students. An instructional material in vocabulary

knowledge and reading comprehension is herein proposed.

 Based on the conclusions drawn, the present study

recommends that students should read more often to widen

their vocabulary knowledge. An individual copy of the

learning material should be prepared for the discussion.

Furthermore, subject teachers may allot at least one hour

in a week for reading activities and evaluate students if

there are improvements with regards to their vocabulary

knowledge. In addition, the teacher may have to be

innovative in using instructional materials and

strategies that will make the discussions of the literary

texts more creative, realistic and interactive.

It is also recommended that the teacher may give

take home activities and require students to make a mini

dictionary which can be used in reading literary texts to

enhance their reading skills. And lastly, the developed

instructional material from this study may be utilized by

the teacher and the students.