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READING & CULTURE; THE CONNECTION

Reading is one of the essential skills needed to be literate. Reading abilities allow learners to gain new information, widen knowledge and improve communication and language skills. However, the education system in Malaysia is still facing the issue of reading incompetency among pupils especially on reading comprehension. This case study aimed to identify the factors that affect reading comprehension ability of Year 3 Orang Asli pupils of the Temuan tribe. The respondents involved five years 3 pupils from a primary school located in Shah Alam, Selangor and one parent for each pupil. They were chosen through purposive sampling based on their background as Orang Asli and their low proficiency level. The research instruments used for this study were field notes, document analysis, and individual semi-structured interviews of the pupils and the parents. The main findings show that the cultural background does contribute to the reading comprehension challenges of the respondents. The implication derived from this study is that teachers need to be made aware of the reasons for reading comprehension challenges among the Orang Asli pupils in order for them to be able to integrate the suitable reading comprehension strategies in the ESL teaching and learning activity.