Oral Reading Difficulties and Reading Behaviors of Alternative Learning System (ALS) Learners

Abstract

This study determined the oral reading difficulties and reading behaviors of Grade 11 students who graduated from Alternative Learning System (ALS) Program in relation to some select profile variables. It determined the profile of the respondents in terms of their sex, their age, their track or strand and the number of reading materials they have at home. Moreover, it aimed to find out whether there is a significant difference between the reading difficulties and reading behaviors of the respondents along sex, age, SHS Strand, number of reading materials at home and school year last attended. It also tested whether there is a significant relationship between oral reading difficulties and reading behaviors of the respondents and their socio-demographic profile. The descriptive-correlational research design was mainly used in this study with structured questionnaires and the reading passage for Grade 11 and Oral Reading Checklist from the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI) as main data gathering instruments.  The major oral reading difficulty of the respondents in terms of word recognition is mispronunciation of words, followed by repetition of words and phrases. The results further show that there is no significant relationship between the socio-demographic profile of the respondents and their oral reading difficulties. However, sex and number of reading materials available at home are significantly related to their oral reading difficulties in word recognition and speed. 

Key words: Alternative Learning System (ALS) students, language and communication, oral reading difficulties, reading behaviors