Nepali leseforståelse hos ungdom med ulik språkbakgrunn i Nepal

Abstract

In Nepal, many children have other languages than the majority language Nepali as their mother tongue, but receive all their education in Nepali and/or in English at school. According to Norwegian and international research, children with a minority language read worse than those who have a majority language as their mother tongue, and boys read worse than girls. In recent years, an increasing amount of students have not passed SLC (School Leaving Certificate in grade 10) in Nepal, including students with the majority language Nepali as their mother tongue. This study examines grade 10 student’s Nepali reading comprehension based on bivariate correlation analysis in relation to word decoding and sentence understanding. The study also illuminates reading research and theories about reading, and states that mother tongue learning and practicing in school has significance for reading comprehension. The survey has a quantitative methodical angle, based on a synchronous design. The data sample consisted of 362 grade10 students in both public and private schools in a city in Nepal, where the focus was on Nepali reading comprehension. A Norwegian reference sample was included in the study, which consisted of 138 grade 10 students in public schools in a city and close by districts in Norway, where the focus was on Norwegian reading comprehension. Bivariate correlation analysis shows that the variable word decoding and the variable sentence comprehension correlates significantly, and therefore measures reading comprehension. The mean scores show significantly low values in relation to both minority- and majority language respondents, but majority language respondents had a mean score a little bit higher than minority language respondents. Girls did significantly better than boys. In other words, the results show that both minority- and the majority language respondents in both public- and private Schools, have low Nepali reading comprehension. This findings, together with research and theories on the subject, can form the basis for educational interventions in school in Nepal, which can lead to better reading comprehension over time.