Comparison of Readability of English Text between the Students of Grade 11 of a Private and Public Sector Educational Institution of Rawalpindi

Abstract

The current study is conducted to investigate the reading skills of the students of grade 11 in private and public sector educational institutions in Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan. The participants of the study are judged for their ability of sub skills of reading such as speed or fluency, accuracy in pronunciation, phonetics, and marks of punctuation in the light of standards of reading set internationally. This study helps both the teachers and the students to evaluate their skill of reading a text from a textbook in the actual classroom in particular and in real-life contexts in general. The data for this research is collected through visits to the classrooms of the mentioned institutions. The students are made to read the texts aloud while their responses are recorded in real time. A total of 20 participants aged between 14-18 years have been selected 10 from each institution. The research is both qualitative and quantitative. The results of the study have revealed that the students of both institutions particularly the public sector institution lag far behind the standards of reading skills. This research can pave the way in the future to investigate the reasons why the students at these institutions and others fail to achieve the reading standards.