Figure 4.2 shows the students‘ reasoning scores from the outcome assessment given by their English teacher each term. Six of
the ten students in this study improved their reasoning scores on their outcome assessments between Januarys to March. These independent
findings indicate that the students‘ reading ability improved during this time.
When the writer compared the students in this study with other Grade 7 students there was not enough evidence to conclude
that the students in this study group had improved any more than the students who were not part of the Grade 7 study.
2. Students‟ Attitudes
In this section, the researcher will discuss areas where the students‘ attitudes about Local text.
a. Timely feedback
It is interesting to note that Amora, Blandina, Nela, and Zion‘s level of engagement increased when they received positive feedback
immediately after completing a task. The students attempted to write more and speak more in the discussions when given positive
feedback. Conversely, Amora and Olivia were affected if they received criticism from the other students. In one case, Amora could
not settle down to focus on the task and failed to complete the assignment because of the negative feedback he received.
b. Oral discussion
Seven of the students were able to complete a written retell of a text independently after we talked about the text as a group. These
same students were not capable of completing the task without the oral discussion. Thi
s oral discussion or ―accountable talk‖ seemed to help organize their thoughts and clarify what they had learnt. Zion
and Herry said that they did not like to talk about what they learnt, even though they were more successful when they engaged in an oral
discussion before writing.
c. Use of technology
Three of the students showed engagement to initiate and complete tasks when they were able to use technology. The computer
is another tool the researcher used to maintain engagement. For example, the completion of the learning reading interest study given
in March on paper required more supervision and assistance to complete than the same study, delivered via an electronic format, in
April. The students quickly finished the study because it was on the computer i
nstead of being a ―paper and pencil task.‖ When the students were asked to learn stories on a specific website, they were
also quick to begin. The engagement level of the students was also greater when they could use the computer to complete their retells
about what they had learnt.
Some students showed an improved attitude toward learning reading in these situations. When the writer provided positive timely
feedback, gave them more time to talk about what they had learnt, and integrated the use of technology, the researcher observed that
some students were more interested in learning reading. These tools seemed to engage participants and improve their level of
understanding of the text. These are important findings that the researcher can incorporate into future English literacy lessons. There
is also evidence from other studies to support the writer findings that will be discussed later in Chapter Five.
D. SUMMARY
