Teachers’ perspective on tackling the problem of poor reading skills in students of English at secondary schools of Kohat, Pakistan

Abstract

Reading skill has been observed to be underdeveloped in secondary school students. To address this issue and locate the responsible factor, the stance of the teachers is of no less importance. Unfortunately, while framing educational policies, the policymakers depended less on the input of the teachers, who are well-versed in such problems. To address the under-developed English reading skill from the teachers’ perspective, a sample of twenty secondary-level teachers was chosen from the population of teachers of English in public and government schools of Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, which were affiliated with the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Islamabad. Forty-six items related to professional, environmental, instructional, and assessment categories were set in the questionnaire and answered on a Likert scale. The researchers concluded that the stunted growth of students’ reading skills in English could be attributed to the lack of emphasis on the reading skill in the teachers' training programs, teachers’ ignorance about the habit of regression, avoidance of teaching about techniques like previewing and reading in chunks, low participation in professional training, the emphasis over on-spot correction, and lack of knowledge and resources for arranging proper lighting for learners’ reading.