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READING COMPREHENSION: THE IDEA AND REALITY. PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS' READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS BASED ON SELF-ASSESSMENT AND TEST RESULTS
Abstract
This paper aims to examine the reading comprehension skills of Hungarian bilingual primary school pupils in Slovakia. Hungarian is the largest ethnic minority in Slovakia therefore it possesses extensive native language school networks. The purpose of this research is to determine the pupils reading habits, and to discover the differences between the respondentsВ’ self-assessment and their actual performance in reading comprehension. The survey consisted of two parts. As a method of sociological data collection, we chose a questionnaire of 21 questions in which the respondents were asked about their sociological background, reading habits, and attitude to reading. In the second part of the survey, students completed a reading comprehension test which consisted of three sets of texts and questions. The reading comprehension tests for the two age groups contained different texts, but their structure was the same. Both tests contained three types of texts: a narrative, an expository, and an informative text. The results of the research are based on a nationwide sample, with a total of 655 participants: 352 respondents from the fourth grade and 303 respondents from the seventh grade participated in the survey. The results obtained show that reading occupies one of the last places in the ranking of leisure activities. Most respondents, regardless of age, say that understanding the text is not a problem for them, they understand everything they read. In contrast, the results of the reading comprehension tests show that students have difficulties in understanding the texts, and the rate of incorrect answers is considerably high when answering questions that require complex cognitive processes. Seventh graders had the greatest difficulty in understanding informative-type texts, which is a problem because this type of text is encountered most often in everyday life. These results have potential implications for further research to assess the reading comprehension skills of Hungarian pupils in Slovakia and design reading strategies which will improve their results.
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