The main purpose of this study was to investigate factors hampering grade 5 learners’
reading comprehension in English Second Language in the Oshana Region. The study
employed mixed methods of both qualitative and quantitative research designs. The
study also used a triangulation procedure during data collection. A simple random
sampling procedure was used to select 40 schools from 88 schools with grade 5, 25
teachers and 60 learners from selected schools. A criterion purposeful sampling
technique was used to identify 30 learners from the selected 60 learners to participate in
the focused group interviews. The questionnaire, classroom observation checklist,
reading comprehension test and focused group interview were used to collect data. The
main findings of the study were that learners had reading comprehension difficulties due
to, amongst other things, language problems, inability to read and understand difficult
English words, reading without understanding and lack of exposure to reading in
English. The study also found that ‘reading the passage silently and answering the
questions’ was the most dominant teaching method used by the grade 5 English teachers
to teach reading comprehension in the Oshana Region. Finally, the study concluded that
learners were not exposed to a variety of reading materials in ESL. The study therefore
recommends professional development training in teaching strategies on reading
comprehension for grade 5 English teachers.