Improving Grade 8 Reading Comprehension Through Targeted Context Clue Strategies

Reading comprehension is an essential skill that enables learners to understand texts, interpret information, and determine the meanings of unfamiliar words. However, some Grade 8 learners experience difficulties in comprehending reading materials because of limited vocabulary knowledge and difficulty identifying context clues. This study, titled Improving Grade 8 Reading Comprehension Through Targeted Context Clue Strategies, aimed to improve learners’ reading comprehension by implementing targeted, structured context clue strategies. The study involved 33 Grade 8 learners and focused on five categories: definition and explanation clues, synonym and restatement clues, antonym and contrast clues, example and illustration clues, and inference and general context clues. A pretest and posttest were administered to determine changes in learners’ performance following the intervention. The pretest results revealed an overall mean score of 2.48, interpreted as Low, while the posttest results showed an overall mean score of 3.60, interpreted as High. A paired-samples t-test revealed a statistically significant difference between the pretest and posttest scores, t(32) = −10.615, p < .001. The null hypothesis was rejected, indicating that the difference between the learners’ pretest and posttest performance was statistically significant. The findings suggest that targeted, structured context clue strategies may help improve learners’ ability to identify contextual information, infer unfamiliar word meanings, and understand reading passages. The study recommends the continued use of context clue strategies, with additional instructional support for example and illustration clues and definition and explanation clues, to further strengthen learners’ reading comprehension skills.