Ngcobo , Nokukhanya.Mhlongo, Bonakele.Adedoyin , Adeyiga Abisoye.2024-11-112024-11-1120242024https://hdl.handle.net/10413/23352Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.This study contributes to the literature on the teaching of reading for comprehension by adding to scholarship on how English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers in Ogun State, Nigeria, taught It looked at the methods used by ESL teachers to teach reading comprehension, as well as the reasons behind their chosen approaches to the subject. The study, which was qualitative in nature, oriented to Vygosky’s (1978) sociocultural theory. It utilised an interpretative paradigm to explore the lived experiences and perceptions of selected secondary school English Language teachers. Semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and focus group discussions were used to generate data among nine English Language teachers from four purposefully selected secondary schools in Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. The results showed that while some teachers had a basic understanding of teaching reading for comprehension by viewing it as little more than understanding a passage, others had an advanced understanding of teaching reading for comprehension which manifested in their use of prior knowledge activation, summary, questioning, and visualisation strategies. The study shed light on the challenges teachers encountered when teaching reading for comprehension, such as lack of basic amenities, lack of teaching resources, teacher shortage, large class sizes, and lack of time allocated specifically for teaching reading for comprehension. Additionally, the results demonstrated how the curriculum and syllabus impacted the teachers' teaching of reading for comprehension. The results also showed that there were insufficient textbooks and no access to libraries. The findings showed that the government, parents, and students all have an impact on how reading comprehension is taught in schools. Several recommendations were made to increase the efficacy of the teaching of reading comprehension in ESL secondary classes in Ogun State, Nigeria. The study recommends employing a variety of techniques, forming a team to oversee reading comprehension, and allocating additional funds. It also highlights how important it is for curriculum designers and textbook writers to produce interesting and developmentally relevant content to enhance student learning. Lastly, it recommends building more classrooms to reduce class sizes.enReading for comprehension.English Language teachers.Teaching reading for comprehension.Thesis