CHAPTER 1

The Problem and Its Background

INTRODUCTION

Vocabulary in reading is an important focus of literacy teaching and refers to the

knowledge or words, including their structure (morphology), use (grammar), meanings

(semantics), and links to other words (word/semantic relationships). Children need to

have a rich vocabulary that continually grows through language and literacy

experiences, in order to comprehend and construct increasingly complex texts, and

engage in oral language for a variety of social purposes. Focusing on vocabulary is

useful for developing knowledge and skills in multiple aspects of language and literacy.

This includes helping with decoding (phonemic awareness and phonics),

comprehension, and also fluency.

Knowledge of vocabulary meanings affects children’s abilities to understand and

use words appropriately during the language act of reading. Such knowledge influences

the complexities and nuances of children’s thinking, how they communicate in the oral

and written languages, and how well they will understand printed texts. It is crucial that

children have explicit and robust instruction in vocabulary, to support their verbal and

written communication. The explicit teaching of vocabulary allows students to access

academic language and discourse, and facilitates their comprehension of increasingly

complex texts.

Reading is one of the basic learning competencies that a child must acquire. It is

one of the fundamentals that will pave the way to achieving general knowledge and
understanding about certainties and experiences. It will be the building blocks of every

child’s future to strengthen skills by developing fluency and the love for reading.

According to Steven Stahl (2005), “Vocabulary knowledge is knowledge; the

knowledge of a word not only implies a definition, but also implies how that word fits into

the world.” We continue to develop vocabulary throughout our lives. Words are

powerful. Words open up possibilities, and of course, that’s what we want for all of our

students. Limited vocabulary knowledge can negatively impact the development of a

student's reading comprehension skills. There is a strong relationship between

vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension; students need to understand the

meaning of critical words they will be reading to promote comprehension.

As Claessen et al. (2020) coined, reading difficulties are present in the world.

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Results from PISA 2018

revealed that reading is among the areas that fifteen-year-old students in the Philippines

scored lower than those in majority of the countries and economies that participated in

PISA 2018. The country's average reading score was 340 score points, on a par with

that of the Dominican Republic no country scored lower than the Philippines and the

Dominican Republic. In mathematics and science, students in the Philippines scored

353 and 357 points, respectively, on a par with performance in Panama. The Philippines

outperformed the Dominican Republic in mathematics and science.

The researcher noticed that pupils in the local setting struggle with

comprehension, which is crucial for learning. For instance, when it comes to assessing

and resolving accounting-related issues that are constantly spoken or written in English.
As a result, pupils' struggles with reading comprehension may have an impact on their

academic achievement.

A strategy-based program might be created to help the pupils improve their

reading skills based on their perceived obstacles, such as their lack of vocabulary in

reading and learning. Hence, in order to inform school objectives and agendas for the

improvement of reading programs, this study was carried out to evaluate students'

reading profiles and perceived reading problems.

Hypothesis of the study

It was hypothesized that there is a significant relationship between vocabulary

and reading comprehension.

Statement of the problem

This research will assess the lack of vocabulary and its effect to the reading

comprehension of 2nd year college level taking up Bachelor of Secondary Education

Major in English. Specifically, it seeks to answer the following questions:

1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents?

2. To what causes the learners to have insufficient vocabulary?

3. What are the hobbies of the respondents?

4. What is the vocabulary and reading comprehension level of the respondents?

5. What are the possible interventions or recommendations that can be used to help

improve the issue on the students’ reading difficulties due to the lack in their

vocabulary?
Conceptual Framework

The Lack of Vocabulary and its Effect on the reading

Comprehension of the 2nd Year College Students of
Daraga Community College

Profile of the respondents in

terms of:

Age

Sex

Hobbies

Causes the learners to have

insufficient vocabulary.

Recommendations or
interventions can be made
based on the causes and the
level of vocabulary and
reading of the students.
Scope and Delimitation of the Study

This study focuses on the 2nd year college level taking up Bachelor of Secondary

Education Major in English covering the assessment of the students’ reading

comprehension and their lack in vocabulary when reading texts. This will mainly

determine the effect of lack of vocabulary to reading comprehension encountered by the

students in terms of technology, family and lack of self-motivation.

The primary subject of this research study will be the 2 nd year college level taking

up Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in English in the present academic year

2022-2023. The scope of the study will be limited to fourthy (40) 2 nd year college level

taking up Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in English. Hence, this study does not

cover the 1st, 3rd and 4th year college level.

Significance of the Study

This study will be undertaken to find out the effect of lack of vocabulary to the

reading comprehension status of the 2nd year college level taking up Bachelor of

Secondary Education Major in English. Moreover, the results of the study will be

beneficial to the following:

Students. The result of this study will benefit the 2 nd year college level taking up

Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in English who suffer from difficulties in reading

comprehension.

Teachers. The teacher can strategize and be competent to handle and inspire

students by grasping the thoughts in their minds.

 School Administrator. This will help them in terms of enhancing the rules of the

school especially when it comes to creating programs that are related in enhancing the

vocabulary level of the learners.

Parents. Parents are eligible for benefits because they are the ones who give

financial, emotional, and physical support that could affect the students’ pressure

management status in terms of academic matters.

Researchers. The findings of this study will provide a foundation of knowledge

that will be helpful to their research.

Future Researchers. The findings of this study can be used as references in

conducting research.
 Chapter II

Review of Related Literature and Studies

This chapter present the local literature, foreign literature, local studies, and

foreign studies.

Local Literature

According to (J Santillian and Richard G. Daenos 2020), vocabulary

knowledge is crucial in the understanding of a material and in the development of the

macro-skills, most especially reading. When reading, a person may overestimate or

underestimate his/her vocabulary knowledge, thinking that she/he knows the meaning

of words in the text. Also, to repair the lack of knowledge of a word in the text and to

ensure comprehension, she/he may use vocabulary-learning strategies (VLS). This

basic qualitative study aimed to identify and compare the presumed vocabulary

knowledge and actual vocabulary knowledge and the VLS of grade 12 students of

Angeles City, Philippines.

Foreign Literature

Based on AI-AI Darayseh (2014) the combination of explicit and implicit

vocabulary strategies has proved to be effective in increasing students’ vocabulary size,

and as a result, in improving their reading comprehension skills.

Local Studies

(Ombra A. and Maripaz Abas Mastura et al. 2014) In "Reading

comprehension skills and performance in science among high school students in the
Philippines". The research work was carried out among randomly selected 666 first year

student-respondents from 18 identified public and private high schools in the Division of

Cotabato City, Central Mindanao, Philippines. The six elements of reading

comprehension skills, ie, understanding vocabulary in context, identifying main idea,

noting details, making inference, predicting outcomes, and drawing conclusion, and

students’ performance in science from the two school types were described and

correlated. A competency-based 50-item multiple choice achievement test for each of

the reading comprehension and science learning areas was utilized as the research

instrument. The test was developed based on the prescribed Table of Specifications

(TOS) and aligned with learning competencies formulated under the Restructured Basic

Education Curriculum (RBEC) of the Department of Education (DepEd). The study

results showed that the overall students’ performance in reading comprehension and

science was indexed at low mastery level. Generally, four out of six reading skills such

as understanding vocabulary in context, noting details, predicting outcome, and making

inference made up the overall reading skills that positively correlated with science

performance of students although the strength of relationship was considered weak.

Foreign Studies

Based on (Rula Mohammad Mahmoud Hmeidan 2021). This study aims to

find out the impact of the repeated reading strategy on improving reading

comprehension and development vocabulary in the English language of the sixth-grade

students in Jordan. The study was applied to 60 students of the sixth-grade students in

Wadi Al-Seer secondary girl's school. On section consisting of 30 students was

classified as an experimental group, whereas another section consisting of 30 students

was classified as a control group. The experimental group was taught a short story by

using the repeated strategy. To measure the effect this story on improving reading

comprehension and development vocabulary the researcher used two tools: they are

reading comprehension test, which is an essay test consisting of 10 questions and

vocabulary test, which also is an essay test consisting of 10 questions. After conducting

the study and conducting the appropriate statistical analyses, the results of the study

revealed that there is a statistically significant difference at the (α= 0.05) between the

two means for the performance of the participants in reading comprehension and

vocabulary. This result is ascribed to the teaching strategy and to the group members

who received teaching the story by adopting the repeated reading strategy.

According to Harshini (2021) not all the books are meant for academic and

research purpose. It also shows that there are some people who read for joy alone.

Reading skills is the way to develop individual's reading routine. Some ardent readers

make it a routine for bringing of joy in them. It is also one's own duty to make reading as

a hobby. We find that there is some inventive way to make it as a hobby in individual's

personal life. Usage of some remedy and technique can fetch a path to make it as a

regular routine.

Synthesis of the State of the Art

This chapter highlights the similarities and contrast between the compiled

literature and research studies and the current investigation. It also describes how these

linked efforts contributed to the development of the study.

 (J Santillian and Richard G. Daenos 2020). Vocabulary knowledge is essential

for understanding material and developing macro-skills, and this study aimed to

compare presumed and actual vocabulary knowledge and vocabulary-learning

strategies of grade 12 students in Angeles City, Philippines. On the other hand,

combined explicit and implicit vocabulary strategies improve reading comprehension

and this is according to AI-AI Darayseh (2014). For the review of the related studies,

(Ombra A. and Maripaz Abas Mastura et al. 2014), their study results showed that the

overall students’ performance in reading comprehension and science was indexed at a

low mastery level. Generally, four out of six reading skills, such as understanding

vocabulary in context, noting details, predicting outcomes, and making inferences,

made up the overall reading skills that positively correlated with the science

performance of students, although the strength of the relationship was considered

weak. Finally, based on (Rula Mohammad Mahmoud Hmeidan 2021), the study's

findings showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the two

averages for the participants' reading comprehension and vocabulary ability. This

outcome is attributed to the instructional strategy and the group members who learned

the story by utilizing the repeated reading technique.

The present study touches on The Lack of vocabulary and its Effect to the

Reading Comprehension of 2nd year college level taking up Bachelor of Secondary

Education Major in English and that make the study unique in terms of aims and scope.

The researcher will present the chapter 3 covering the methods and procedures.
 Chapter III

Methods and Procedures

This chapter present the Research design, Subjects of the Study, Sampling

Techniques, Research Instrument, Data Gathering and Statistical Treatment.

Methods of Research

This study used the survey approach of conducting research. Specifically, it

utilized the descriptive survey and correlation procedure. Gay (1976) defines descriptive

research as involving the current status of the subject of the study. This method is

research design gather information on condition existing at a particular period.

This study used the Cloze Test and Assessment to check and evaluate the

student’s vocabulary and reading comprehension levels. According to Melody Ann Ross

(2017) a cloze test is a way of testing comprehension by removing words from a

passage or sentence and then asking the reader/learner to supply the missing

elements. For this reason, it is also sometimes referred to as a gap-fill exercise.

Subjects of the Study

The respondents of this study were composed of 2 nd year college level taking up

Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in English for the school year 2022-2023. This

comprises 40 total respondents in a single block or section.

Sampling Techniques

The sampling technique used in this research is simple stratified sampling. Thus,

a group of 2nd year college students at Daraga Community College were chosen by the

researcher to take part in the study.

Research Instrument

This study employed a survey questionnaire which was distributed to the 2 nd year

college students for school year 2022-2023 in the Daraga Community College. The

questionnaire contained four parts: (1) Demographic profile of the respondents, (2)

Learners Hobbies, (3) Causes the learners to have insufficient vocabulary, (4)

Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension Level,

Data Gathering

The researcher obtained general information from the class regarding the

number of 2nd year college students for the school year 2022-2023 in a single block. The

researcher will ask permission from the principal through a letter of request to conduct a

survey questionnaire and a Cloze Test to know the reading and vocabulary level of the

students.

The number of 2 nd year college students for school year 2022-2023 is computed

using stratified sampling. Respondents are selected from 2nd year college students of
Daraga Community College. Upon approval, the checklist given to the respondents of

the researcher. Data collected will be summarized and analyzed.

Statistical Treatment

The data gathered in the study was subject to the following statistical treatment:

The frequency of each response will be determined by the number of respondents who

choose the particular items.

P= f

— X 100%

Where:

P= percentage

F= frequency

N= Total Number of respondents

The data gathered we summarized and interpreted through the use of descriptive

statistics.

The percentage of the respondents will be used to determine the causes of

learner’s insufficient vocabulary as well as their scores on the Cloze Test as the basis

for determining the reading and vocabulary levels of the students.

 The scale was used to determine how the level of students’ vocabulary and

reading comprehension can be measured.

Independent 95 % The students can read the text on his/her own

with ease. Very few errors are made during

Accuracy or above
reading and the students easily understand

what is read.

Instructional 90-95% The students need the support of the teacher

or parent. This is the level in which new

Accuracy
vocabulary and concept are introduced and

where the greatest progress in reading

occurs.

Frustration Below Decoding words, vocabulary and concepts

are too difficult for students. You may wish to

90%
read the text to the students so the learners
Accuracy
can be exposed to high level vocabulary as

well as listen to a fluent reader.

Next is the researcher will introduce and present the analysis and

intrepretation of the data.

 CHAPTER IV

Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation of Data

This chapter describes the analysis of data followed by the survey method, in

discussion of the questionnaire research. Data were analyzed to identify the students in

Daraga Community College, determine the survey question obtained from self-

administered questionnaire, completed by 40.

Table 1: Profile of the respondents in terms of Age.

The least number of respondents is composed of 10% of the sample size falling

under the age of 22 to 23 years old. Meanwhile, the highest number of respondents

were between 20 and 21 years old, which forms part of the 40% of the respondents. In

this study, there is correlation between age and vocabulary. A s the age of a person

increases, their vocabulary increases as well and develops.

Age Frequency Percentage Rank

18-19 years old 13 32% 2nd

20-21 years old 16 40% 1st

22-23 years old 4 10% 4th

 24 and above 7 18% 3rd

Total: 40 100%

Table 2: Profile of the respondents in terms of Sex.

In this study, there is a correlation of sex and vocabulary since women like to used

words that show politeness and used more euphemism. Men and women have their

own vocabulary choices in achieving emphatic effects. Most respondents are female,

with a frequency of 32 that composed 80% of the sample size, while males have a

frequency of 8 that composed 20% of the sample size.

Sex Frequency Percentage Rank

Male 8 20% 2nd

Female 32 80% 1st

Total: 40 100%
Table 3: Causes the Learners to have Insufficient Vocabulary

This table shows the causes of the learners to have insufficient vocabulary. The

findings of the study observed that there is a correlation between these causes because

these factors affect their emotions and focus in terms of vocabulary. Based on the

rankings, most of the respondents say that they are experiencing a lack of self-

motivation, with a frequency of 15, which forms part of the 37.5% of the respondents.

While the least number of respondents have chosen the limited access to technology

with an approximate frequency of 4, containing the !0% portion of the sample size.

Causes Frequency Percentage Rank

Limited access to 4 10% 4th

technology

Lack of family 10 25% 3rd

support

Lack of self- 15 37.5% 1st

motivation

Insufficient/Infective 11 27.5% 2nd

 learning strategies

Total: 40 100%

Table 4. Learner’s Hobbies

This table shows the hobbies of the respondents. The majority of the respondents

have chosen the reading as their hobby, with a frequency of 18 and a percentage of

45% making it rank 1 in the given tally. Meanwhile, the least number of respondents

have chosen watching TV as their hobby, comprising 7.5% of the sample size. This

observed a correlation between vocabulary and hobbies, when a person has a hobby, it

decreases or increases the vocabulary when reading. The more they see or read new

words, the more they will increase their vocabulary and improve reading ability.

Hobbies: Frequency Percentage Rank

Reading 18 45% 1st

Watching TV 3 7.5% 4th

Playing Games 6 15% 3rd

Studying 13 32.5% 2nd

Total: 40 100%
 Table 5: Learner’s Scores to the Cloze-Test.

The table shows that out of 40 respondents, 20 or 50% of the learners got scores of

16-20 points. Meanwhile, 4 or 10% of the respondents got scores of 6-10 points. Hence

that the majority of the respondents got scores of 16-20 it means that 50% of the

respondents are in the instructional level ranging 90-95% accuracy with a frequency of

20, while the 10% of the respondents who got the lowest score of 6-10 are in the level

of frustration ranging below 90% accuracy with a frequency of 4.

Scores Frequency Percentage

1-5 0 0%

6-10 4 10%

11-15 16 40%

16-20 20 50%

Total: 40 100%
 CHAPTER V

Summary of Findings, Conclusion and Recommendation

This chapter present the summary of findings, conclusion and recommendation.

Summary

The study focused on the lack of vocabulary and its effect on the reading

comprehension of the learners, specifically it highlights the causes in which the learners

are experiencing insufficient vocabulary and emphasizing the relationship between

vocabulary and reading.

Findings

The following findings were gleaned based on the analysis obtained from the

survey:

1. Most of the respondents fall under the age of 20-21 years old and the least

portion fall under 22-23 years old. Also, majority of the respondents were

female.
 2. Most students say that a lack of motivation is the main reason why they

experience insufficient vocabulary and have reading difficulty.

3. The majority of the respondents have chosen reading as their hobby.

4. Majority of the respondents are at the instructional level, ranging from 90 to

95% accuracy. Moreover, some of the respondents fall under the frustration

level with below 90% accuracy.

Conclusion

This research investigated how vocabulary affects the reading comprehension of

the 2nd year college level students at the Daraga Community College. The data obtained

from the survey conducted was thoroughly analyzed, and the subsequent conclusions

were drawn based on the findings. It was observed that a significant proportion of the

respondents fell within the age-bracket of 20-21 years old, with a relatively smaller

portion being 18-19 years old. Additionally, the majority of the respondents were found

to be female, which may have significant implications on their vocabulary and reading

ability and since women like to used words that show politeness and used more

euphemisms. Men and women have their own vocabulary choices in achieving

emphatic effects. Lack of motivation was observed as the main reason as to why the

learners have insufficient vocabulary, students who are less self-motivated start to avoid

reading, which negatively impacts their reading comprehension. Since then, the majority

of the respondents have chosen reading as their hobby. It has been observed and

analyzed that reading habits improves brain connectivity and increases learner’s
vocabulary and comprehension. Even if those students are doing the assigned reading,

it does not mean that they comprehend what they are reading due to a lack of self-

motivation. Furthermore, the study indicated that majority of the respondents are at the

level of instruction at which the student needs the support of the teacher and parent.

This is the level at which new vocabulary and concepts are introduced and where the

greatest progress in reading occurs. Moreover, a few of the respondents fell under the

frustration level at which vocabulary and concepts were too difficult for them to

understand.

In conclusion, this research provides crucial insights into the lack of vocabulary

and its effect in reading comprehension of 2 nd year college level taking up Bachelor of

Secondary Education Major in English. The outcomes of this research can be utilized to

enhanced thinking vocabulary of the learners, ultimately resulting and improve reading

ability among the students.

Recommendation

The following recommendations were formulated due to the above findings and

conclusions:

1.Take a student’s perspective.

2. Put new words into context.

3. Individualized Reading Instruction (IRI).

4. Guided Reading.

5. Encourage reading comprehension.