By Noel C. Lacambra, Teacher III, Recuerdo National High School

The health crisis brought by the COVID-19 is like a massive earthquake and a super
typhoon at the same time. According to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO), the effect of this global pandemic extends to the closure of schools,
leaving roughly 1.5 billion learners around the globe affected. The Department of Education and
language teachers always have the means in finding ways in improving the reading abilities and
interests of young ones amidst Covid19 pandemic.
The number of students who struggle to read is on the rise, and educators are concerned.
Decoding and word recognition are the most common reading issues for students. Most people
who have trouble reading don't realize that specific letters and letter patterns correspond to
certain sounds in words. Many struggling readers are unable to grasp the alphabetic principle,
which is one of the causes for their difficulties. In order to assist students, educators must be
aware of the best reading methods. Direct instruction is one technique to achieve this goal. It's
sometimes better to explain things plainly and clearly, such as asking students to read, read, read
for their own welfare. Learn how to give emphasis to oral language to develop literacy. They can
also use visual organizers as well as effective modeling and practice of reading skills that can
boost their interest to love reading.
Role models are essential for learners. Having excellent role models who can explain the
purpose of reading and model fluency, expression, and intonation in Standard English can go a
long way toward helping learners improve their reading comprehension skills. Other factors can
make it difficult for struggling readers to understand what they're reading. Lack of fluency,
inability to transfer information to different settings, finding the main concept in a story, and
applying context cues while reading are examples of these issues. Educators can give a hands-on
experience that might assist struggling readers in gaining a common understanding of
background information.
Another strategy to help our learners is to teach learners, word families. It helps them use
their knowledge of a known word to decode an unfamiliar word with the same letter pattern. We
can model self-questioning during listening activities to focus the learner’s attention on the main
idea of the text. Learners can also be asked about a selection before, during, and after reading.
For instance, before reading, educators can preview the selection and activate learners'
background knowledge.
In reading, educators can ask learners to monitor for meaning and pose questions of
themselves about their reading. They can summarize the content and relate it to themselves or
something that they already know. Educators can also start with easy vocabulary first. Easy
vocabularies are helpful in developing the students’ reading skills. Giving them difficult
vocabularies during the first meeting of your classes would make them feel bored and
uninterested. Just have a vocabulary bowl every day before you start your English class. Give
them interesting links or materials connected with the lesson.
Remember that connections are important. Struggling readers, like all learners, learn in
different ways. A need for reading that includes kinesthetic, musical, or other modalities which
can enhance learning.