Effects of Sustained Silent Reading on Filipino Adolescents' Reading Motivation and Reading Comprehension

Abstract

Teenagers do not read enough if they read at all.

This statement is a common source of frustration for parents and teachers of adolescents. For teachers, teaching children how to read is not the end goal. There is that never-ending task of motivating them to read more, and to read deeply and widely so that they get better at it, gain confidence, knowledge, and experience to take their reading lives wherever their imagination and curiosity lead them. The question is how to do this: to raise motivation so that readers pick up the reading habit and continue it for the rest of their lives. There has been little research on this topic in the Philippines. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a sustained silent reading program (SSRP) on the reading motivation and comprehension of adolescents. The SRRP was based on the principles of pleasure reading and reading choice, using reading habits, interests, and preferences identified through a descriptive inventory. The sample was a heterogenous Grade 8 class of 37 students in a public laboratory high school, who was exposed to a thirty-minute SSRP for fifty (50) sessions, over three (3) grading periods. The subjects reading motivation and comprehension levels were measured before and after the intervention. In addition, after the intervention, a comparison group’s (an honors class) reading motivation and comprehension were measured and compared to those of the sample. After the 50-session SSRP, it was found out that not only did the sample’s reading motivation and comprehension significantly improve, but they were also higher than those of the comparison group. These improvements in the sample were confirmed through a qualitative analysis of data gathered from different tools administered at various points in the study. Based on the results, recommendations in connection to sustained silent reading, pleasure reading, and reading choice have been drawn.