Determining the Textual Characteristics of Pre-primary and Primary 3 Recommended English Textbooks Using Fog Index Requirements in Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study assessed the textual characteristics of recommended English language textbooks for nursery 3 and primary 3 pupils in Rivers State using Fog Index. The aim of any textbook, especially English language textbook is to help readers improve their competence in reading and understanding of the subject. This aim is defeated when learners cannot read such texts intended for them. One research question was used to measure the requirements of textual characteristics in terms of: pictorial illustration, font size, syllables count (mono syllables and multi syllables) and texts in its original form at the pre-primary level in Rivers State. This study used the ex-post facto research design. The instrument used to collect data were the Selected passages from recommended texts for nursery 3 using Readability Measurement Scales of Fog Index (FI). The internal consistency of the instruments yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.81. Results reveals that majority of the textbooks were ideal or not too hard, while few of the books were too hard or difficult to read. Specifically, out of the eight textbooks used for the study, six met the requirements using fog index while two did not. This result seems controversial in the sense that some authors followed the rules while some did not. It is therefore, recommended that schools should use the textbooks that met the requirements of fog index for their pupils in order to increase their level of readability and performance in English language.