ISSN 1798-4769 Journal of Language Teaching and Research, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 55-59, January 2011 © 2011 ACADEMY PUBLISHER Manufactured in Finland. doi:10.4304/jltr.2.1.55-59 © 2011 ACADEMY PUBLISHER The Effect of Using Instructional Conversation Method in Teaching Reading Comprehension in Selected Junior Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis Hanna Yusuf Curriculum Section, Faculty of Education, Ahmadu Bello University, Samaru-Zaria, Nigeria Email: hannayusuf@yahoo.com Abstract—This study was designed to compare the effectiveness of the instructional conversation and the vocabulary methods in teaching reading comprehension in Junior Secondary Schools. The population for the study comprised all the Junior Secondary Schools in Kaduna State. The schools randomly selected within Kaduna metropolis were used for the study. The study was quasi experimental. G.S.S. U/Rimi was used as the treatment group, while G.S.S. Sabon Tasha was used for the control group. Both groups were assessed after six weeks of teaching, using three different reading assessment instruments namely cloze, word recognition and retelling tests. T-test was used to test the hypothesis raised in the study. The findings revealed significant differences in the performance of students taught reading comprehension using Instructional Conversation method. The study further revealed that students from both groups made appreciable gain in the pre-test. Based on these findings, teachers are encouraged to adopt a thematic integrated approach (i. e combining the salient features of the instructional conversation method and the vocabulary method) since both methods could complement each other, if effectively used. Index Terms—instructional conversation, reading comprehension, vocabulary method, cloze test, word recognition test, retelling test I. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY/PROBLEM Deficiency in the reading ability students has become a concern to specialists in reading. (Unoh, 1983, and Oyetunde 1989). The alarming rates at which such concerns are expressed have precipitated the need to continually carry out research in primary and post primary schools. It is hoped that the findings of this research will be useful in helping teachers to teach reading comprehension effectively and efficiently. Most of the studies so far conducted in Nigeria (Oyetunde 1989, Umolu 1990, Unoh 1983) have concentrated on examining reading difficulty of students at the primary and secondary levels. This study is based on the opinion that there are other non-text factors that can effect reading comprehension as well. Literature search reveals that such non-text factors as pedagogic factors have largely received little or no attention in Nigeria as far as this researcher is aware of. The absence of such crucial information as the actual effect of pedagogic factors on reading comprehension constitutes a problem, which has motivated the present study. Given the situation above, any effort to upgrade the quality of reading instruction is neither wasted nor misplaced. Such effort should be considered to step in the right direction since it constitutes an investment capable of yielding valuable dividends in the long run. A. Purpose of the Study The purpose of the study is to ascertain the difference in the performance of students taught reading comprehension, using vocabulary method and those taught using instructional conversation in cloze, word recognition test and retelling test. B. Research Question What is the difference in the pre-test and post test gain scores of students taught using the instructional conversation method and those taught using the vocabulary method in cloze word recognition and retelling tests? C. Hypothesis There is no significant difference in the post-test scores of students taught reading comprehension using instructional conversation and those taught using vocabulary method in cloze, word recognition and retelling tests. D. Research Design