Abstract

The performance of ESL students in English language public examinations may not be unconnected with lack of proper comprehension of what is read. More specifically, performance in the comprehension section in public examinations such as the School Certificate/Senior School Certificate Examinations in Nigeria is appalling. Students’ performance in the West Africa Examination Council’s conducted examinations confirms this fact and also points to the reality that the stereotyped method of teaching the language is no longer effective.  The method is not only drab, but has also failed to produce the expected result. In this paper, efforts have been made to look at the possibility of methods that have not been fully explored up till now. There are suggestions of gradual stages in the teaching of reading comprehension, right from the Junior School to Senior School in a six-year post-primary education system. The paper also considers the place of motivation in an ESL comprehension lesson and the teaching of different types of question that are often tested in the West Africa Examination Council’s conducted Senior School Certificate public Examinations. The different methods of teaching new words have equally been suggested. Finally, a suggestion is made on how the time allotted to the English Language on the school time-table can be effectively utilized for optimal value. It is concluded that if Nigeria and other countries that use English as a second language is not to be left behind in the technological revolution currently going on in the world, the teaching and learning of the language should be given more serious consideration, not only because it has become the second language of many developing countries, but because it is a tool in the successful acquisition of knowledge.

Key words: ESL classroom, reading, comprehension.