Fostering a Love for Reading among 9th Grade Students at Gomtu Higher Secondary School, 2022

In today's digital era, cultivating a reading habit has become increasingly rare among students, leading to a decline in their reading skills. Despite the significance of reading habits, many Bhutanese students remain unaware of their importance. This research paper addresses the need to nurture a love for reading among 9th grade students at Gomtu Higher Secondary School. Utilizing observation, survey questionnaires, and interviews as data collection tools, the study first assesses the current situation through pre-data collection. Subsequently, interventions such as situation analysis, guided reading sessions, book review compilations, book talks, and reader's theatre are implemented. Post-data collection is then conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions. The findings reveal that students develop reading habits when provided with opportunities to choose books based on their interests. Furthermore, the research underscores the importance of offering a diverse range of reading materials to stimulate student interest, highlighting the pivotal role of the school library in this regard. The study also identifies significant improvements in students' daily reading habits post-intervention, with 25.8% strongly agreeing and 48.4% agreeing to engage in daily reading practices, compared to 11.3% strongly disagreeing and 46.8% disagreeing during the preliminary phase. Moreover, 35.5% of students strongly agreed, and 38.7% agreed to read out of curiosity after the interventions, compared to 9.7% strongly agreeing and 35.5% agreeing during pre-intervention. Practical suggestions drawn from the study include tailoring book selections to individual interests, empowering students with autonomy in choosing reading materials, and optimizing the school library to provide a diverse range of genres and enjoyable reading materials. These findings emphasize the significance of fostering a love for reading among students and offer actionable insights to promote literacy initiatives effectively.