Effects of Two Methods of Instruction on Students’ Critical Response to Prose Literature Text in English in Some Secondary Schools in Benin City

This study investigated the effects of two methods of instruction on secondary school students’ critical response to Prose Literature text. The study adopted a pretest, posttest, control group quasi experimental design. The participants in the study were 84 Senior Secondary II students of Literature-in-English purposively selected from four Schools in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State. Two intact classes were randomly assigned to each of the treatment and control groups. Three hypotheses were tested at 0.05 alpha level. The instruments used were: Critical Response to Prose Literature Test (r = .75), Questionnaire on Home Background of Students (r = .82), and Critical Response to Prose Literature Test Marking Guide. Data obtained were subjected to Analysis of Covariance and graph. The results showed significant main effect of treatment on students’ critical response to Prose Literature (F (1, 77) = 44.731; p < .05). Students exposed to Engagement Strategies Method performed better than those exposed to the Conventional Method of instruction. Further, home background of students had no significant effect on students’ critical response to Prose Literature text (F (2, 77) = 4.902; p < .05). There was significant interaction effect of treatment and home background of students on students’ critical response to Prose Literature text (F (2, 77) = 3.508; p < .05). It was concluded that Engagement Strategies Method is effective in promoting students’ critical response to Prose Literature text. Teachers of Literature-in-English should employ Engagement Strategies Method in teaching Prose Literature to students in Senior Secondary Schools.