Impact of Topic of Interest on Secondary School Students’ Performance in Reading Comprehension in Taraba State Nigeria

Abstract

This research examines the impact; topic of interest has on students’ performance in reading comprehension among SS II students in Jalingo Education Zone of Taraba State, Nigeria. Two research objectives were formulated which led to the answering and testing of two research questions and hypotheses at .05 level of significance. The design for the study is descriptive research design. The population of the study is 2,847 Senior Secondary School Two from 19 public secondary schools. Multistage sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 240 SS II students. Two instruments were adapted for data collection; Topic Interest Inventory (TII) and Reading Comprehension Performance Test (RECPT). Findings of the study revealed that there is significant difference in the mean difference scores of students who read topic of high interest (F(2,231) = 119.43, P = 0.000) and also there is significant difference in the mean performance scores in reading comprehension of high and low ability students who read topics of high interest (t.cal = 9.91 > t.cri. 1.91 at P > 0.05). It is concluded that; topic of interest should be used by the reading teacher to enhance students’ reading comprehension performance. Seminars, symposiums, workshops and conferences be organized to equip English language teachers with the strategy and approach of topic of high interest in reading comprehension.