Prediction skill may be used in reading comprehension passages as encapsulated in interactive approach instruction. Prediction skills assist learners to decode the meaning of comprehension passages by constructing guesses about the contents of texts to be read in comprehension passages. Learners in Vihiga County register low achievement in English language examinations than peers in neighbouring counties over the years. The performance is much weaker in comprehension passages than grammar sections. Although there are low grades, the nexus between use of prediction skills and learners’ achievement in reading comprehension passages has not been assessed. This study applied the Solomon Four Non-Equivalent Group Design to obtain primary data from 279 primary school learners and 8 teachers in 2017. Multiple linear regression used generated two models, one for the experimental group (Model 1) and one for the control group (Model 2). Findings indicate that the influence of prediction skills on learner achievement in reading comprehension passages was significant in experimental, but insignificant in the control groups. However, influence was stronger in the experimental than in the control groups, suggesting that training English language teachers on correct application of prediction skills improves learner achievement in reading comprehension passages. The study recommends need to: sensitise teachers on textbook usage, while supplementing with improvised materials; guide learners through titles; as well as update teacher training curriculum by integrating inter alia, emerging instructional methods embracing Information and Communication Technology and entrenching innovation in resource mobilization and use.

Word recognition is one of the comprehension processing skills encapsulated by the interactive approach instruction. Word recognition skills enable readers to understand the meaning of comprehension passages by decoding the sound of new words. Learners in Vihiga County perform poorer in English language examinations than their peers in neighbouring counties. The performance is weaker in comprehension than in grammar sections of the English paper. Despite this, there is paucity of empirical information about the nexus between activation of word recognition skills and learners’ achievement in reading comprehension in the County. This study applied the Solomon Four-Group Design to source data from 279 primary school learners and 8 teachers in 2017. Multiple linear regression was used to generate two models, one for the experimental group (Model 1) and one for the control group (Model 2). Key results show that the influence of word recognition skills on learners’ achievement in reading comprehension was statistically significant in both groups. However, the effect was stronger in the experimental than in the control group, suggests that training teachers in the experimental group enabled learners in that group to perform better than their colleagues in the control group. Thus, activation of learners’ word recognition skills is likely to improve achievement in reading comprehension.

Prediction is one of the comprehension processing skills encapsulated by the interactive approach instruction.Prediction skills enable learners to decode the meaning of comprehension passages by making guesses about the contents of texts to be read. Learners in Vihiga County perform poorer in English language examinations than their peers in neighbouring counties. The performance is weaker in comprehension than in grammar sections. Despite this, no study has assessed the nexus between the use of prediction skills and learners' achievement in reading comprehension. This study applied the Solomon Four-Group Design to obtain primary data from 279 primary school learners and eight teachers in 2017. Multiple Linear Regression was used to generate two models, one for the experimental group (Model 1) and one for the control group (Model 2). Results show that the influence of prediction skills on learners' achievement in reading comprehension was statistically significant the experimental group, but insignificant in the control group. However, the influence seemed to be stronger in the experimental than in the control group, which suggests that training English language teachers on how to correctly apply prediction skills is likely to improve learners' achievement in reading comprehension. The study recommends the need to: sensitise teachers to use textbooks cautiously, while supplementing with relevant resource materials; sensitise teachers on the need to guide learners through titles; as well as update the teacher training curriculum by integrating inter alia, new instructional methods based on information and communication technology and entrenching innovation to enable teachers diversify instructional resources.