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Factors affecting English reading comprehension among seventh
grade “A” students at Rubén Darío School, Waslala, during the II
semester of 2025
To apply for the bachelor's degree in education sciences with a
major in English
Authors:
Br. Alexander Vanegas Hernández
Waslala, 2025
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Topic
Factors affecting English reading comprehension among Seventh Grade “A”
Students at Rubén Darío School
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Background
In 2022, Duvillier conducted a report entitled "Two Years Later: Saving a
Generation", in Mexico, where he explains that in urban towns of 32 to 100
thousand inhabitants, the lack of reading comprehension results in a significant
waste of time (46.7%) or loss of interest in reading (28.1%). Since 2016, literacy
levels have remained low, and 18-year-old students have experienced learning
losses that could cost today's students a reduction of 12 percent in their lifetime
earnings.
At least 79 out of every 100 children in the final stage of primary education in
Nicaragua have reading comprehension problems, according to the report
"Learning Poverty 2024", prepared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Bank (Redacción
Confidencial, 2024).
The Confidencial (2024) team points out that in the case of low- and middle-income
countries, such as Nicaragua (UNAN-Managua), "more than half of children cannot
read or understand a short text appropriate for their age by the end of primary
school." According to the report, with these data, Nicaragua is 27 percentage
points below the average for Latin America and the Caribbean, and 18 percentage
points worse than lower-middle-income countries worldwide.
In 2016, Peralta carried out a study entitled "Strengthening the Teaching-Learning
Process of Reading Comprehension of Seventh-Grade Boys and Girls of the San
Francisco de Asís Parish Institute" in the municipality of Siuna, in the Autonomous
Region of the Caribbean Coast, where he states that one of the problems that have
affected education from the beginning is the lack of reading comprehension in the
subject of English.
As a result of this study, it was observed that children have difficulties when
reading, skip lines, and repeat words, which causes them to lose reading practice.
The study also reveals that teachers are not very innovative or creative, and that
they do not dedicate time to transform and promote the habit of reading. They
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simply teach classes without developing a good reading process with the
appropriate methodological steps and levels (Peralta, 2016).
In the municipality of Waslala, in 2014, an action research study was carried out on
reading comprehension in students of the fourth year of Saturday Secondary
Education from the Rubén Darío School. The study states that the teachers of this
school have experienced multiple benefits, which are reflected with greater
emphasis in the analysis of texts (Manzanares & Rojas, 2021).
The study also refers to the need for more research on the subject to improve text
comprehension, emphasizing that important factors such as good reading habits
and proper literary analysis are necessary. This allows each student to learn how
to analyze texts, which is a crucial skill for understanding all subjects studied at
different levels of education, whether primary, secondary, or university
(Manzanares & Rojas, 2021).
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Justification
This study focuses on reading comprehension in English among seventh-grade “A”
students at Rubén Darío School, located in the 19 de Julio neighborhood of
Waslala. Its main purposes are to identify the factors that hinder reading
comprehension, analyze the consequences of these difficulties, and propose
strategies that can improve students’ reading skills.
Researching this topic is relevant because it will provide valuable information to
better understand the problem and guide its effective treatment, benefiting the
school, the Ministry of Education, and students at both primary and secondary
levels.
The results of this study will serve as a resource for the educational community of
Rubén Darío School, offering objective information that can be consulted to clarify
doubts and improve teaching practices.
Additionally, this study aims to enrich the university library and the academic
knowledge of English teaching students, while also providing methodological
strategies that can support the teaching-learning process in English.
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Problem Statement
This research deals with factors affecting reading comprehension in English among
seventh-grade students at Rubén Darío School in Waslala, in the classroom
context.
Talking about reading comprehension means addressing the challenges faced by
students in secondary education, particularly in the seventh grade, as many of
them come from communities where they have never been exposed to English
and, for them, it is a completely new subject.
Difficulties in the English subject have become a problem that affects the overall
development of classes. When students do not understand a text, it causes
confusion, and they tend to become discouraged and develop fear or anxiety
towards learning English.
Therefore, the following research question arises:
What are the factors affecting English reading comprehension among seventh-
grade “A” students at Rubén Darío school during the second semester of 2025 in
Waslala?
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General Objetive: To analyze the factors affecting reading comprehension in
English among seventh-grade “A” students at Rubén Darío School during the
second semester of 2025 in Vasalla.
Specific Objetives:
To Identify the types of reading involved in English reading comprehension.
To describe the factors that influence English reading comprehension.
To suggest methodological strategies that encourage and improve reading
comprehension in English.
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Reference List
Duvillier, L. (23 de Junio de 2022). Four out of five children in Latin America and
the Caribbean will not be able to understand a simple text. Retrieved November
14, 2024, from https://www.unicef.org/lac/ press-releases/four-out-of-five-boys-
and-girls-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean-will-not-be-able-a text simple
Gómez, L. P. (2015). Reading comprehension of English as a foreign language.
Journal of Education and Thought(22). Retrieved November 14, 2024, from
https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/article?code=5281898
Manzanares, F. A., & Rojas, X. C. (August 01, 2021). Methodological strategies for
learning the analysis of literary texts. Retrieved November 15, 2024,
http://repository.uraccan.edu.ni/1289/
Peralta, H. G. (February 2016). Strengthening the teaching-learning process of
reading comprehension of seventh-grade children of the San Francisco de Asís
Parish Institute, 2025, Siuna, RACCN. Retrieved November 15, 2024,
http://repository.uraccan.edu.ni/1412/1/Monograf%C3%ADa%20Hellen
%20Guillermina.pdf
Confidential newsroom. (September 12, 2024). 79% of students in the last grades
of primary school in Nicaragua have deficiencies in reading comprehension,
according to a report. Confidential. Retrieved November 14, 2024, from
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https://confidencial.digital/nation/student-of Nicaragua-have deficience-in reading
comprehension.
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