Reading and comprehension presents a problem to many students due to several factors. Rural secondary school students face more problems than their urban counterparts. These are due to two main factors, namely environmental factors and problems of reading and comprehension. The home, school and societal environment all influence the achievements of students. This is all the more relevant in the case of English, which to many students is a foreign, rather than a second language. The home environment is very important to the achievements of a student. There seems to be a vicious cycle. Rural secondary school students, generally come from homes with little or no exposure to the English Language. Their parents do not speak or read in English and they in turn are influenced by them. When they go to school, they are below par and are not given much attention. This in turn does not improve their capabilities. To these students, the little exposure they get is from the television. This too, only if they watch programmes in English. In some homes, students are not encouraged to speak or read in English for fear of learning and adopting a foreign culture. Students have shown that parental and teacher models do influence the reading ability and habits of learners (Wigfield and Asher 1984). The phenomenon of more adults developing into non-reading models for their children can only serve to strengthen the vicious cycle as shown by Smith and Mikulecky (1978). The school too, just like the home, plays an important part in the reading and comprehension
of English. In schools, administrators, teachers and students’ peers al
l contribute to the learning of English, either positively or negatively. Many administrators and teachers do not use the English Language within the school compound. They also refrain from speaking in English to students in the assumption that they would not be understood. Teachers of English too, sometimes set very high targets for their students. Students, who cannot meet this target get de-motivated and remain where they are. They do not improve their reading and comprehension skills. Peers, too, tend to tease students when they attempt to speak or read in English and this causes them to shy away from the language. Urban secondary school students, on the other hand, have confidence and motivation to learn on their own. The society or community where the student lives also affects his learning strategies. Murdock (1965) and London (1978) show that patterns of behaviour are learned and shared