EFFECTS OF COMPUTER TEXT GLOSS STRATEGY ON SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT AND INTEREST IN READING COMPREHENSION IN ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

The study was designed to investigate the effects of computerized text gloss and computerized text/pictorial gloss instructional strategy on secondary school students’ achievement and interest in English language reading comprehension; it also determined the influence of gender and location on students’ achievement and interest in English language reading comprehension. The achievement and interest of students taught with computerized text gloss were compared with those of students taught with the computerized text/pictorial gloss. Ten research questions and ten research hypotheses guided the study. A quasi-experimental factorial research design was used. Specifically, the non-randomized control group design involving four intact classes was used. The sample for the study consisted of 120 SSII students from four co-educational secondary schools in Nsukka Local Government Area. A purposive sampling technique was used. Two instruments used for this study were English Language Reading Comprehension Achievement Test (ELRCAT) and English Language Reading Comprehension Interest Inventory(ELRCII) and were validated. The internal consistency of ELRCAT was computed and found to be .64 using Kendall’s coefficient of concordance, while the ELRCII was 0.84 using Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient method. Before treatment commenced, the ELRCAT and ELRCII were administered as pre-test to the two groups in each of the sampled schools. The treatment lasted for six weeks. After the treatment session, another instrument was administered to the students to obtain the post-test scores. The data obtained were used in answering the research questions and testing the hypotheses. The research questions were answered using mean scores, while hypotheses were tested using Analyses of Covariance (ANCOVA) at 0.05 level of significance. The results indicated that computer text gloss strategy had significant effect on students’ achievement and interest in English language reading comprehension. It was also found that gender and location had no significant effect on students’ achievement and interest in English language reading comprehension. The result also showed that there was no significant interaction effect of instructional method by gender and location on students’ achievement and interest in English language reading comprehension. Based on the findings, it was concluded that the study provided evidence of the effectiveness of computerized text/pictorial gloss in improving students’ achievement and interest in English language reading comprehension. This also implies that, if teachers of the English language adopt computerized text/pictorial gloss and practice it in their different schools, students’ achievement and interest in English language reading comprehension may be enhanced. It was recommended among others that information and communication technology (ICT) unit in various schools should organize seminars, conferences, and workshops to educate the teachers on the use of the computerized text/pictorial gloss in teaching reading comprehension.