(A Quasi-Experimental Study at the Tenth Grade Students of SMA
Negeri 10 Kota Tangerang Selatan)
By:
Nurul Fatmawati
1111014000041
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TARBIYAH AND TEACHERS’ TRAINING SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY
i
Tenth Grade Students of SMA Negeri 10 Kota Tangerang Selatan). Skripsi, Department of English Education, Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers’ Training, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta 2015.
Advisor I : Drs. Nasifuddin Djalil, M.Ag. Advisor II : Dadan Nugraha, M.Pd.
Keywords : Directed Reading – Thinking Activity (DR-TA), Reading Comprehension, Narrative Text
This research was aimed to know the empirical evidence of the influence of using Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA) strategy on students’
reading comprehension of narrative text. Therefore, it was intended to get reliable
information whether there was a significant difference in the students’ reading
comprehension between the experimental class and the controlled class. Quasi-experimental study was used in this research. The sample was taken from the tenth grade students of SMA Negeri 10 Kota Tangerang Selatan by using purposive sampling, in which 38 students for the experimental class and 38 students for the controlled class. The experimental class was taught by using DR-TA while the controlled class was taught without using DR-DR-TA. Before giving the treatment, the students from both classes were given a pretest to know their ability in reading narrative text. At the end of the treatment, the students were given a posttest. The test used as the primary instrument were consisting of 25 multiple choice questions. The final mean scores gained from both classes were analyzed by using t-test. It was found that the mean score of students’ pretest in
experimental class was 51.74 and the posttest mean score was 68.74. Meanwhile, the mean score of pretest in controlled class was 52.74 and the posttest mean score was 60.95. It means the mean score of the posttest in experimental class (68.74) was higher than the controlled class (60.95). Based on the result of statistical calculation, it can be seen that degree of freedom (df) is 74, to= 4.33 and ttablefrom
the significance 1% and 5% are 2.64 and 1.99. It means that is 1.99 < 4.33 > 2.64. Thus, H1 was accepted that Directed Reading – Thinking Activity (DR-TA)
strategy gives influenceon the students’ reading comprehension of narrative text.
ii
Tenth Grade Students of SMA Negeri 10 Kota Tangerang Selatan). Skripsi, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Fakultas Ilmu Tarbiyah dan Keguruan, Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta 2015.
Pembimbing I : Drs. Nasifuddin Djalil, M.Ag. Pembimbing II : Dadan Nugraha, M.Pd.
Kata Kunci : Directed Reading – Thinking Activity (DR-TA), Pemahaman Membaca, Teks Naratif
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui bukti empiris tentang penggunaan strategi Directed Reading – Thinking Activity (DR-TA) terhadap pemahaman membaca siswa dalam teks naratif. Oleh sebab itu, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendapatkan informasi yang akurat adakah perbedaan pada kemampuan membaca siswa di kelas eksperimental dan kelas kontrol. Metode kuasi eksperimen digunakan dalam penelitian ini. Sampel diambil dari siswa kelas X SMA Negeri 10 Kota Tangerang Selatan dengan cara purposive sampling, dimana terdapat 38 siswa untuk kelas eksperimental dan 38 siswa untuk kelas kontrol. Kelas eksperimental diajarkan dengan menggunakan DR-TA sedangkan kelas kontrol tidak diajarkan dengan menggunakan DR-TA. Sebelum diberikan perlakuan, siswa dari kedua kelas diberikan tes awal untuk mengetahui kemampuan mereka dalam pemahaman membaca teks naratif. Pada akhir perlakuan, siswa diberikan tes akhir. Tes-tes yang digunakan sebagai instrumen utama terdiri dari 25 soal pilihan ganda. Nilai rata-rata akhir diperoleh dari kedua kelas dianalisis dengan menggunakant-test.Nilai rata-rata tes awal siswa di kelas eksperimental adalah 51.74 dan nilai rata-rata tes akhir siswa adalah 68.74. Sementara itu, nilai rata-rata tes awal siswa di kelas kontrol adalah 52.74 dan nilai rata-rata tes akhir siswa adalah 60.95. Dengan demikian nilai rata-rata tes akhir siswa di kelas eksperimental (68.47) lebih tinggi dari pada kelas kontrol (60.95). berdasarkan hasil dari perhitungan statistik, dapat dilihat bahwa derajat kebebasan (dk) adalah 74, t hitung = 4.33 and ttabelpada signifikansi 1% and 5% adalah 2.64
dan 1.99. Itu berarti bahwa 1.99 < 4.33 > 2.64. Dengan demikian, H1 diterima
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In the name of Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds who has given the writer His love and compassion to finish the last assignment in her study. Peace and salutation be upon to the prophet Muhammad, his family, his relatives, and his followers.
It is a pleasure to acknowledge the help and contribution from all of lecturers, institution, family, and friends who have contributed in different ways
hence this “skripsi” is processed until it becomes a complete writing to be presented to the Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers’ Training in a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of S.Pd (S-1) in English Language Education.
In this process of finishing this “skripsi”, the writer would like to express her deepest gratitude. The first ones are her family: her dearest parents, Toyota T.S. and Sri Klumpuk, who always give her support, love, affection, care, endless prayers, guidance, finance, spirit, motivation to finish her study in writing this “skripsi” and her brother Adiriansyah Puthaqin for his support, all the laughter and fun he shared.
Furthermore, the writer would like to express her great honor and deepest gratitude to her advisors, Drs. Nasifuddin Djalil, M.Ag. and Dadan Nugraha, M.Pd. for their valuable help, guidance, comments, corrections, and suggestions and who have been very patient to sacrifice their energy and time to assist the writer so that the writer could finish this “skripsi”.
The writer’s sincere gratitude also goes to:
1. All of the lecturers in the Department of English Education, for all the precious knowledge and tremendous inspiration they have shared.
2. Dr. Alek, M.Pd., as her academic advisor and the Head of Department of English Education.
3. Zaharil Anasy, M.Hum., as the Secretary of Department of English Education.
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7. All friends in Department of English Education 2011 especially the members of class A for the great friendship, support, happiness, togetherness, and knowledge they have provided unconditionally. May Allah the Almighty bless them all, so be it.
8. Her best friends; Imam, Riris, Mir, Oca, Eka, Ute, Zia, Yudhis for accompanying, supporting, and helping the writer in finishing this “skripsi”.
9. Everyone whose name cannot be mentioned one by one for the contribution to the writerin finishing this “skripsi”.
May Allah the Almighty bless them all, so be it.
Finally, the writer realizes that this “skripsi” is still far from being perfect. There are weaknesses in this “skripsi” that remain as the writer’s responsibility. Therefore, it is such a pleasure for her to get corrections and suggestions for a better writing.
Jakarta, November 2015
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ABSTRAK ... ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... v
LIST OF TABLES ... viii
LIST OF PICTURES... ix
LIST OF APPENDICES ... x
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ... 1
A. Background of the Study... 1
B. Identification of the Problem ... 3
C. Limitation of the Problem ... 4
D. Formulation of the Problem ... 4
E. Purposes of the Study... 4
F. Significance of the Study ... 4
CHAPTER II. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK... 6
A. Reading ... 6
1. The Understanding of Reading... 6
2. Purposes of Reading ... 7
3. Kinds of Reading ... 9
B. Reading Comprehension ... 11
1. The Understanding of Reading Comprehension ... 11
2. Levels of reading Comprehension ... 12
C. Narrative Text ... 13
1. The Understanding of Narrative Text... 13
2. The Purposes of Narrative Text... 14
vi
Thinking Activity ... 19
2. The Purposes of Directed Reading – Thinking Activity ... 20
3. The Procedures of Directed Reading – Thinking Activity ... 21
E. Teaching Reading Narrative Text Using Directed Reading–Thinking Activity (DR-TA) Strategy ... 23
F. Previous Related Studies... 24
G. Conceptual Framework ... 25
H. Research Hypothesis ... 26
CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY... 27
A. Place and Time of the Research ... 27
B. Research Design... 27
C. Population and Sample... 29
D. Instrument of the Research... 29
E. Data Collection Technique... 29
F. Data Analysis Technique ... 30
1. Normality Test ... 30
2. Homogeneity Test ... 31
3. Hypothesis Test... 31
G. Statistical Hypothesis ... 33
CHAPTER IV. FINDINGS AND INTERPRETATION... 35
vii
Class... 43
3. Normality Test ... 46
4. Homogeneity Test... 48
5. Hypothesis Testing ... 49
C. Data Interpretation ... 53
CHAPTER V. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION... 55
A. Conclusion ... 55
B. Suggestion ... 55
REFERENCES ... 57
viii
Table 4.3 Table of Data Description of Pretest Result of Experimental Class... 39
Table 4.4 Table of Frequency Distribution of Pretest Result of Experimental Class ... 40
Table 4.5 Table of Data Description of Pretest Result of Controlled Class... 41
Table 4.6 Table of Frequency Distribution of Pretest Result of Controlled Class... 42
Table 4.7 Table of Data Description of Posttest Result of Experimental Class... 43
Table 4.8 Table of Frequency Distribution of Posttest of Experimental Class... 44
Table 4.9 Table of Data Description of Posttest Result of Controlled Class... 45
Table 4.10 Table of Frequency Distribution of Posttest Result of Controlled Class ... 45
Table 4.11 Normality of Pretest Result between Experimental and Controlled Class ... 47
Table 4.12 Normality of Posttest Result between Experimental and Controlled Class ... 47
Table 4.13 Homogeneity of Pretest Result between Experimental and Controlled Class ... 48
Table 4.14 Homogeneity of Posttest Result between Experimental and Controlled Class ... 48
ix
Picture 4.2 Diagram of Pretest Result of Controlled Class... 42
Picture 4.3 Diagram of Posttest Result of Experimental Class ... 44
x
2. The Instrument of Validity... 61
3. The Blueprint of Pretest ... 68
4. The Instrument of Pretest... 69
5. The Blueprint of Posttest ... 76
6. The Instrument of Posttest ... 77
7. ANATEST Result ... 83
8. Syllabus... 94
9. Lesson Plan of Experimental Class... 104
10. Lesson Plan of Controlled Class ... 119
11. The Implementation of Directed Reading–Thinking Activity (DR-TA) Strategy in Learning Narrative Text ...134
1 A. Background of the Study
Reading is one of the most important skills because reading has become
parts of daily lives. Through reading, people are able to get knowledge,
information, idea, problem solution and pleasure. They cannot avoid reading
because they always find reading materials everywhere through magazine,
newspaper, academic books, fiction or nonfiction book, novel, internet and so on.
To understand those reading materials, readers must have capability of reading
comprehension so that they canget the writer’smean easily.
According to Savage and Mooney, “Reading comprehension is the process of acquiring or deriving meaning and understanding from printed language”.1 Reading comprehension is not only about how to get the meaning of each word or
sentence but the essential one is how the readers can conclude thewriter’swriting
and understand the writer’s idea. In other words, the readers do not only get the
information passively but also process the information in mind and understand
what thewriter’sintention.
However, reading comprehension of some readers is still low especially of
some students in high school. It is because they sometimes do not understand each
meaning of word in a reading text so that they cannot understand and get the
writer’s message. Furthermore, reading comprehension itself requires a process.
To get a good comprehension capability, students should be trained continuously
to understand the text entirely. Nonetheless, some teachers still give their students
tasks to be tested rather than help them to understand the text content. The tasks
given to the students which sometimes are too easy or too difficult do not help the
students gain their reading comprehension.
Practically, the tenth grade students in some classes at SMA Negeri 10
Tangerang Selatan were taught reading by that way in which they were asked to
1
John F. Savage and Jean F. Mooney, Teaching Reading to Children with Special Needs,
read and then do tasks related to the text. Since reading is one of competence
standards taught through English subject, students should comprehend reading
text such as descriptive text, narrative text, recount text, argumentative text,
procedure text. In further, based on the competence standards in Kurikulum
Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan (KTSP) 2006, the goal of the teaching reading in the
English subject for the tenth grade students is that students can understand the
meaning of simple functional texts and short essay in the form of recount text,
narrative text, and procedure text.2
As stated above, those kinds of reading text should be mastered by the
students meanwhile they still get difficulties in comprehending the texts. By
asking the students to only read the text and testing them by using task, they will
probably not improve their reading comprehension. Because in fact, some of the
students did the task by cheating their friends so that they did not know what the
text exactly told about. That happened for instance when the students learned
narrative text material.
Narrative text is the common text used in teaching reading. “A narrative is a text that tells a story and, in doing so, entertains the audience.”3 Narrative text focuses on a pattern of events with a problematic and unexpected outcome. It
contains of orientation, complication or problems and resolution. Narrative text is
also considered to be able to entertain the students or the readers so that they are
expected to comprehend the text easily.
Based on the writer’s experience when she did PPKTand taught the tenth
grade students at SMA Negeri 10 Tangerang Selatan, there are some difficulties
faced by the students in learning reading, especially in reading narrative text.
Reading narrative text is considered as a complicated activity for the students
because they feel difficult to comprehend the text and to conclude the idea of the
text by themselves. Unfamiliar words in the reading text are sometimes faced by
the students because they do not have adequate background knowledge of the
2
Badan Standar Nasional Pendidikan, Standar Isi untuk Satuan Pendidikan Dasar dan Menengah, Standar Kompetensi dan Kompetensi Dasar SMA/MA, (Jakarta, 2006), p. 128.
3
given text. Moreover, their teacher did not have varieties of strategy in helping the
students comprehend text because the teacher only asked the students to read the
text and to do tasks related to the text.
Based on the description above, there is an alternative strategy by using
Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA) strategy to help the students
comprehend narrative text. According to Ruddell, DR-TA strategy can stimulate
the students in understanding a text. DR-TA strategy is simple to do and can be
applied in reading many kinds of texts. In further, DR-TA strategy can construct
the students’ new knowledge either through reading or sharing with other
students.4 DR-TA consists of some steps; determine the text, look at the title or
first illustration, direct and activate students’ prior knowledge, read the text in which separated in preselected point then stop to think about the students’
predictions, share the students’predictions then continue to read the text to prove the predictions.5
Regarding to the explanation above and to solve the problem, the study is
intended to discuss about teaching narrative text using DR-TA strategy in order to
know whether using DR-TA strategy can help the students to comprehend
narrative text and give influence in teaching narrative text. So, the title of this
research is “The Influence of Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA)
Strategy on Students’ Reading Comprehension of Narrative Text.”
B. Identification of the Problem
Based on the explanation of the background of the study, there are some
problems which can be identified, such as:
1. The students feel difficult to comprehend narrative text.
2. There are many unfamiliar words in narrative text because the students do not
have adequate background knowledge about the narrative texts given by the
teacher.
4
Martha Rapp Ruddell, Teaching Content Reading and Writing, (Sonoma: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2008), p. 99.
5
3. The teachers have not been exploring more about other varieties of teaching
strategy of reading skill.
C. Limitation of the Study
In order to avoid misunderstanding in interpreting the problem, the study
is limited. In this research, the study is limited on the influence of Directed
Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA) strategy on students’ reading comprehension
of narrative text.
D. Formulation of the Study
Since there are many problems to be identified, the problems are
formulated as follows:
“Does Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA) strategy give influence on
students’ reading comprehension of narrative text?”
E. Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to know the empirical evidence of the
influence of using Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA) strategy on
students’ reading comprehension of narrative text, especially at the tenth grade
students ofSMA Negeri 10 Kota Tangerang Selatan.
F. Significance of the Study
This study is hoped to be beneficial to all people concerned:
1. Theoretical Significance
The result of this study is expected to be useful to give information for
English teachers about using Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA)
strategy in teaching reading, especially in teaching narrative text. This study is
to prove that using DR-TA strategy in teaching narrative text gives influence
on students’ reading comprehension. This study may also be a reference for
the next researchers who need to conduct a further research related to teaching
2. Practical Significance
a. By using DR-TA strategy, the students can be easier and more
interested in learning narrative text. The students are encouraged to
comprehend their reading of narrative text by using DR-TA strategy.
b. Stakeholder of a school could encourage its English teachers to use
DR-TA strategy to help them in teaching reading, especially for
6 1. The Understanding of Reading
Reading is one of language skills which is also called as receptive skill.
Through reading, the reader receives information and message from the text. It is
in line with Nuttall who said that reading is a process that involves transforming
meaning from mind to mind, transforming the information or message from the
writer to the readers.1
According to Grabe and Stoller, “reading is the ability to draw meaning from the printed page and interpret this information appropriately.”2Based on the definition above, reading is a process of a reader who gets the author’s message through a text, not only to read the words but also to obtain the author’s mean precisely. Harmer said that reading is an activity between the eyes and the brain in
which the eyes get information through reading the text and send it to the brain
then the brain processes the information to understandthe author’sintention.3 Moreover, reading is a form of communication. As stated by Aebersold
and Field“reading is what happens when people look at a text and assign meaning to the written symbols in that text.”4 During reading activity, there is an interaction between the written symbols in the text and the reader. As the reader
reads, the written symbols are forming information and ideas which the writer
tries to convey to the reader. There, information and ideas are exchanged between
the writer and the reader as an act of communicating.
1
Christine Nuttal, Teaching Reading Skills In Foreign Language,(Oxford: Heinemann, 1989), p. 18.
2
William Grabe and Fredricka L. Stoller, Teaching and Researching Reading, (New York: Routledge, 2013), p. 3.
3
Jeremy Harmer, The Practice of English Language Teaching: Third Edition, (New York: Longman Publishing, 1991), p. 190.
4
Furthermore, Farris, Fuhler and Walther explained that:
Reading means getting meaning from print. Reading is not phonics,
vocabulary, syllabication, or other ‘skills’, as useful as these activities
may be. The essence of reading is a transaction between the words of an author and the mind of a reader, during which meaning is constructed. This means that the main goal of reading instruction must be comprehension: above all, we want students to understand what is on a page.5
It means through reading, there is a transaction between the author or
writer and the reader in getting and constructing meaning form the printed word.
Moreover, the readers or the students should understand and comprehend what is
written on a text. Savage and Mooney said that:
Reading involves an interaction between a reader and a piece of written material. At the very basic level, the interaction starts with the reader seeing black lines surrounded by white space. These lines register on the retina of the eye and are transmitted to the brain. The reader recognizes these symbols – individually and in combination –
and attaches significances to them. The words create an image or an
idea in the reader’s mind.6
From the explanation above, it can be concluded that reading is not only
an activity to see the words printed in a text, but it also requires a process for
obtaining the writer’s intention, getting information and ideas from the writer’s
writing properly. Reading is also as a form of communication between the writer
and the reader through a text.
2. Purposes of Reading
People read something because they have their own purpose.7 Generally, the purposes of reading are to get information of the text and pleasure. For
instance, people read newspaper because they should have any information about
trending news or they choose to read novel because they search for pleasure.
5
Pamela J. Farris, Carol J. Fuhler and Maria P. Walther,Teaching Reading: A Balanced
Approach for Today’s Classrooms,(New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004), p. 324. 6
John F. Savage and Jean F. Mooney,Teaching Reading to Children with Special Needs,
(Boston: Allyn and Bacon Inc., 1979), p. 13. 7
As stated by McDonough and Shaw, reading activities are not merely to
get the information but also to give enjoyment.8It is in line with Williams, quoted by McDonough and Shaw, who usefully classified reading into; getting general
information from the text, getting specific information from the text, and for
pleasure or for interest.9
Beside two major purposes of reading; for getting information and for
pleasure, Harmer differentiates reading for several purposes:
a. Reading to confirm expectation,
b. Reading to extract specific information,
c. Reading for communicative tasks,
d. Reading for general understanding,
e. Reading for detailed comprehension (information, function, discourse).10
Meanwhile, Grabe and Stoller stated that reading has some purposes:
a. Reading to search for simple information and reading to skim
Reading to search for simple information is also called as scanning in
which the reader focuses on a specific word, or a specific piece of information,
or a few representative phrases. Meanwhile, reading for skimming can be said
as a combination of strategies for guessing where important information might
be located in the text, and then using basic reading comprehension skills on
those segments of the text until a general idea is formed.
b. Reading to learn from texts
Reading to learn from texts is when a reader needs to learn a considerable
amount of information from a text. The reader gets the main and supporting
ideas in the text and the reader connects the text to his or her knowledge.
c. Reading to integrate information, write and criticize texts
Reading to integrate information requires critical evaluation of the
information being read so that the readers can decide what information to
8
Jo McDonough and Christopher Shaw, Materials and Methods in ELT: A Teacher’s
Guide,(Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 1993), p. 102. 9Ibid.,
p. 102. 10
integrate and how to integrate it for the reader’s goal. Reading to write and to
criticize texts are tasks variants of reading to integrate information. Those
mean the reader reads a text in order to search information needed for his or
her writing task or making critique text.
d. Reading for general comprehension
Reading for general comprehension is when a reader reads very rapidly
and processes words automatically. Besides, the reader also gets a general
meaning representation of main ideas because he or she is not looking for
specific points, but rather for whatever is necessary to get an overall
understanding of the text.11
From the purposes of reading defined by some experts above, it can be
concluded that the readers have their own purpose in reading written text. It is
based on what they need to know and what they want to know. The goals of
readers in reading something are to get, to know and to understand the detail
information of a text or only to get some information that they need. Also, the
readers read because they want to get enjoyment.
3. Kinds of Reading
When people read, they have their own purpose and it determines how
people read a text. There are two kinds of reading described by Harmer, they
are:12
a. Extensive Reading
Extensive reading is a reading program conducted to the students outside
the classroom. The materials used in extensive reading are novels,
newspapers, magazines, or any other reference based on their interest because
the aims of this program is for giving the students pleasure.
11
Grabe and Stoller,op.cit., pp. 7–8. 12
b. Intensive Reading
Intensive reading on the other side requires the students to focus on the
reading texts construction; what kind of text they are reading, details of words
meaning, or usage of grammar and vocabulary. This program is usually
implemented in the classrooms, for instance a teacher and students work
together to analyze meaning and grammatical, sentence by sentence.
Beside those two kinds of reading, Grellet added two more kinds of
reading; skimming and scanning.13
a. Skimming, it is a process of reading in which happens quickly moving the
reader’seyes over a text to get the gist or general idea of the text.
b. Scanning, it is a process of reading in which quickly going through a text to
find a particular piece or a specific item of information.
Meanwhile, Broughton identified kinds of reading such as:14 a. Reading Aloud
The most important characteristic in reading aloud is oral matter, including
pronunciation, tone, speed and pause. Other activity improved in reading
aloud is conversation. Few people are required to read aloud as matter of daily
routine, radio newscasters, clergymen and even actor.
b. Silent Reading
The goal of silent reading is understanding. While the readers do silent
reading, there is no oral expression. In silent reading, they use their ability to
understand the meaning of the written sign.
13
Francoise Grellet, Developing Reading Skills, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010), p. 4.
14
B. Reading Comprehension
1. The Understanding of Reading Comprehension
Reading and comprehension are two things that cannot be separated.
Comprehension means understanding what is heard or read.15 It can be said that reading with comprehension means the understanding of what has been read.
Dechant stated that reading comprehension is a complex of abilities such
as understanding the meaning of words, sentence and whole selection units in the
context, capability on answering questions related to the passage and enable to get
implied meaning of what has been read.16 To comprehend a text, the reader has to remind the words, sentences, and pages in the text continuously.17 It means that if the reader does not have capability to recall what are in the text, he or she does not
have good reading comprehension.
Furthermore, reading comprehension is the process of acquiring or
deriving and understanding meaning of written text that the writer is trying to
convey.18It is a complex activity because so many occurs inside the reader’s mind
as long as he or she infers the writer’s intentionthrough the written text.
Based on the description above, it can be concluded that reading
comprehension is a complex skill in getting meaning or in understanding all
written texts about the author’s message who is trying to convey what the readers have read. Without comprehension, the reader has difficulties in getting information
and understanding the words or sentences included on a written text or material as
interaction between the reader and the text.
15
Sharon J. Crawley and King Merritt,Remediating Reading Difficulties: Third Edition,
(McGraw Hill-Companies, Inc., 2000), p. 40. 16
Emerald Dechant, Teacher’s Directory of Reading Skill Aids and Materials, (New York: Parker Publishing Company, Inc., 1981), pp. 175–176.
17
Judy Willis, Teaching to the Brain to Read: Strategies for Improving Fluency, Vocabulary and Comprehension, (Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2008), pp. 126–127.
18
2. Levels of Reading Comprehension
According to Schumm, one of the purposes in reading activity is to
comprehend through the process of decoding words.19 It means that the readers who have a desire for success at reading comprehension, they need to actively
process the words they read. In other words, the readers should be able to decode
words or recognize words and access text of integration processes to construct
meaning so that they will understand the whole of printed words.
Savage and Mooney specified reading comprehension skills into three
levels; literal reading comprehension (understanding and interpreting what the
writer has to say), inferential comprehension (reading between the lines to infer
meaning not specifically stated in a printed passage), and critical-creative reading
comprehension (extending beyond the lines to evaluate, relate, or apply what are
read.20Further explanations are described below: a. Literal Reading Comprehension
The literal level of comprehension is the process of deriving meaning or
understanding information directly presented in the text. 21 It can be said as recalling ideas from the explanation that is explicitly stated. It is considered to
the easiest level of reading comprehension because the readers are not
required to draw an inference or to make an evaluation based on the text. In
this level, the readers are usually able to determine the general idea of a text,
to determine the topic of a certain paragraph, to identify specific and detailed
information, to identify meaning of word/phrase/sentence, and to find out the
purpose of a text.
b. Inferential Reading Comprehension
The inferential level of comprehension is the process of deriving meaning
or understanding information indirectly presented in the text.22 It requires the readers to make a hypothesis or an inference from the idea explicitly stated in
19
Jeanne Shay Schumm, Reading Assessment and Instruction for All Learners, (New York: The Guildford Press, 2006), p. 119.
20
Savage and Mooney,op.cit.,p. 30. 21Ibid
., p. 5. 22Ibid
the text. In this level, the readers are required to find out implied/unstated
information, and to know the reference of a certain word. But, it does not
eliminate the possibility of general idea or topic paragraph questions because
the readers sometimes should determine the general idea or topic paragraph by
using their interpretation not explicitly printed in the text.
c. Critical-Creative Reading Comprehension
The words ‘critical-creative reading’ requires a higher degree of reading skill development and perception. It is a process of applying higher mental
functioning to what the readers read.23It relates to questioning, comparing and evaluating made by the readers. Moreover, the readers are required to make an
emotional reaction and response to the content of the text. Usually, the readers
interpret the moral value or moral lesson as an act of this comprehension level.
C. Narrative Text
1. The Understanding of Narrative Text
Based on Longman dictionary, narrative means a description of something
in a story.24 Narrative tells a story which is related to a sequence of events linked in certain time.25It can be said that narrative text is a text which tells or describes sequenced events of story in certain period of time.
Meanwhile, Anderson and Anderson defined that:
A narrative is a text that tells a story, in doing so, entertain the
audience. … Narrative can be presented as written or spoken texts.
Written narratives often take form of novels. The story is usually told by a narrator. If the narrator is one of the characters in the story, the story is said to be told in the first person. If a person outside the story is the narrator, then the story is being told in the third person.26
In further, Farris, Fuhler and Walther stated that “narrative text enables readers to make connections: personal, textual and with the world.”27It means that
23Ibid ., p. 3. 24
Longman,Advanced American Dictionary, (Harlow: Pearson, 2007), p. 1056. 25
Jane E. Aaron,The Compact Reader 7thEdition,(Bedford/Saint Martin’s, 2002), p. 43. 26
Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson, Text Types in English 3, (South Yarra: MacMillan, 2003), p. 3.
27
reading narrative text enables the readers to make connections as long as they read
such as they may find similarities between the story and their own lives, they may
make links between the story they are recently reading and another story they
have previously read, and they may relate the story to the real world.
Regarding to the explanation above, it can be concluded that narrative text
is a text which tells sequence or series of events in certain time. It tells the readers
about an amusing story which is able to entertain them. Moreover, by reading
narrative story, readers are able to connect the story to their personal lives, to
another story and to what are in their world. Also, the one who usually tells the
narrative story is called as narrator.
2. The Purposes of Narrative Text
Generally, a narrative is written to amuse the readers. So, the readers are
expected to enjoy the text while they are reading. It is in line with Anderson and
Anderson who stated that the purpose of narrative text is to construct a world view
to entertain the readers.28 Also, reading narrative text is often considered as aesthetic reading because the reader reads for enjoyment and pleasure.29 In addition, the goal of narrative, other than provides the readers an entertainment, is
able to make the readers think about an issue, teach them a lesson, or excite their
emotions.30
3. The Schematic Structures of Narrative Text
According to Anderson and Anderson, the schematic structures of
narrative text consist of orientation, complication, sequence of events, resolution
and coda.31
28
Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson, Text Types in English 2, (South Yarra: MacMillan Education, 1997), p. 6.
29
Farris, Fuhler and Walther,op.cit.,p. 477. 30
Anderson and Anderson,Text Types in English 3,…p. 3. 31
a. Orientation
This is the part in which the narrator tells the readers about who is in the
story, when the story is taking place, where the action is happening and what
is going on. It can also be called as introductory part of a story. So the readers
can figure out what will happen next and who are involved in it.
b. Complication
This is the part of the story where the narrator tells about something that
will begin a chain of events. These events will affect one or more of the
characters. The complication is the trigger. From this part the story begins.
This is the part where the characters totally play their role.
c. Sequence of Events
This is where the narrator tells how the characters react to the
complication. It includes their feelings and what they do. The events can be
told in chronological order (the order in which they happen) or with flashback.
The readers are given the narrator’s point of view.
d. Resolution
In this part of the narrative where the complication is sorted out or the
problem is solved. It means that this part explains how is the problem that is
created in the complication finally solved.
e. Coda
The narrator includes a coda if there is to be a moral or message to be
learned from the story. In this part, the readers may get moral based on what
In the following here is the example of schematic structures of narrative
text:32
The Fortune Teller
In the great city of Taipei, there lived a man called Lin and his wife. They had no children. Because of this, they were very unhappy. One day, they found a baby boy outside their door. He was wrapped in a blanket and crying. They took the baby into their house and called him Sau Ling. They loved him very much.
When Sau Ling was a young man, a fortune-teller came to the house. "You must send your son away," he said. "One day he will become a thief and cause you a lot of trouble." Mr and Mrs Lin were very sad to hear this. They believed what the fortune-teller said. They gave Sau Ling some clothes and money and sent him away.
Several years later, Sau Ling was having a meal in an inn several miles from Taipei. He put his bag on the floor near his table. After finishing his meal, he picked up his bag. "That's strange!" he thought, "It feels so heavy." He looked inside. It was full of small gold bars. Then he realized that someone had taken his bag by mistake and left another bag, in its place.
That evening, a young man came to the inn, "Has anyone seen my bag?" he asked. Sau Ling was very honest. He returned the bag to him. The young man thanked him. "You are really very honest," he said, "I shall ask my father to give you a job."
The young man's father was a rich merchant. He gave Sau Ling a good job. "But go home first," he said, "and take a holiday." Sau Ling returned to Taipei. Mr and Mrs Lin were delighted to see him again. The fortune-teller was also present. Sau Ling told them what had happened. The fortune-teller did not know what to say. He left the house without saying a word.
32
Achmad Doddy, Ahmad Sugeng and Effendi, Developing English Competencies for Senior High School (SMA/MA) Grade X, (Jakarta: Pusat Perbukuan, Departemen Pendidikan Nasional, 2008), pp. 40–41.
Orientation
Complication
Sequence of events
Mr and Mrs Lin never believed in fortune-teller after that. Sau Ling took them to live with him and they were very happy and contented until the end of their lives.
4. The Grammatical Features of Narrative Text
Narrative texts usually include the following grammatical features:33 a. Nouns that identify the specific characters and places in the story.
b. Adjectives that provide accurate descriptions of the characters and
settings.
c. Verbs that show the actions that occur in the story.
d. Time words that connect events, telling when they occurred.
In the following is the example of grammatical features of narrative text
related to the story above:
Figure 2.1
Grammatical Features of Narrative Text
No. Linguistic Features Example
1. Specific Participant Sau Ling
2. General Participants • Mr. Lin
• Mrs. Ling • Fortune Teller
3. Past Tense • There lived a man called
• They had no children • They were very unhappy
• Fortune-teller came to the house • They gave Sau Ling
4. Action Verb • Returned
• Took
• Wrapped
33
Anderson and Anderson,Text Types in English 3,…p. 3.
• Loved • Came
5. Adverb of Time • One day
• Several years later • That night
6. Adverb of Place • In the great city of Taipei
• The house • An inn • On the floor
7. Coordinate Conjunction • And
• So • But
8. Temporal Conjunction • After
• Then
9. Saying Verb • Asked
• Told • Called
10. Linking Verb Was
11. Modality • Will
• Shall
5. The Types of Narrative Text
There are some common types of narrative texts and those are usually
some popular ones:34 a. Humour
b. Romance
c. Crime
d. Real-life fiction
e. Historical fiction
34
f. Mystery
g. Fantasy
h. Science-fiction
i. Diary-novels
j. Adventure
D. Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA)
1. The Understanding of Directed Reading-Thinking Activity
Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA) was introduced by Russell
Stauffer in 1969 to develop higher level thinking while reading. According to
Ruddell, DR-TA has received considerable attention as a recommended
instructional strategy over the years. In further, it is such a sturdy instructional
approach and is adaptable for endless varieties of content areas and texts.35 This activity can be adapted for a variety of subjects and reading materials.
According to Bill Harp, “DRTA involves the readers in predicting, reading, and proving their predictions while the teacher is involved in asking what
the readers think, why they think so, and how they prove their answers.”36 It means that by using directed reading-thinking activity, it encourages active
involvement of the students to the reading text by being asked to make hypotheses
or predictions about what are in the reading text and the reasons for their
hypotheses or predictions, then checking the accuracy about their hypotheses or
predictions.
Using directed reading-thinking activity, “students are guided through the process of sampling text, making predictions based upon prior knowledge and
textual information, resampling text, and confirming or adjusting predictions in
light of new information.”37 Students’ prior knowledge is necessary to construct
35
Martha Rapp Ruddell,Teaching Content Reading and Writing Fifth Edition,(Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2008), p. 96.
36
Bill Harp, When the Principal Asks: How Are We Using What We Know about Literacy Processes in the Content Areas?,The Reading Teacher, Vol. 42, No. 9, (May, 1989), p. 726.
37
predictions of what they will read. Making prediction before the reading activity
stimulates them to use their background knowledge as their guidance in adjusting
their predictions to figure out the new information.
It can be concluded that the key terms of DR-TA are predicting, reading,
and proving. Questions are asked and answered, and predictions are made and
tested throughout the reading. Additionally, new questions and predictions are
formulated as the student progresses through the text. Moreover, in DR-TA, all
students can be actively involved and everyone has the opportunity to express and
share their predictions, expectations or ideas to others about the text.
2. The Purposes of Directed Reading-Thinking Activity
Directed Reading-Thinking Activity strategy engages students in a
step-by-step process that guides them through informational text. The students are able
to think even they should be stimulated to think.38It means that the use of DR-TA strategy helps students develop their critical thinking and logical predictions based
on the information they read.
Other purposes of using DR-TA are to elicit students’ prior knowledge of
the topic of the text, to encourage students to monitor their comprehension while
they are reading, and to set a purpose for reading in which the students read to
confirm and revise predictions they are making.39
Furthermore,Farris, Fuhler and Walther quoted Beck’s statement who said that “points out that making predictions based upon clues in text helps students to see how helpful text information can be when making inferences.”40 It means that the purpose of DR-TA is to help learners to comprehend the text and make
inferences thorough clues in the text. Here, teacher is able to give picture, chart or
sentence’s cluein which helping the students to comprehend the text. So, students would be able to make prediction about the story. Then after making prediction,
38
Robert Karlin,Teaching Elementary Reading Third Edition: Principles and Strategies,
(San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1980), p. 231. 39 Directed Reading - Thinking Activity,
Retrieved on September 21, 2015 from http://www.nea.org/tools/directed-reading-thinking-activity.html
40
teacher confirms the prediction by giving the next sentences. Those are done
repeatedly throughout the story in order to ease the students to find the conclusion
of the story.
In summing up, the purpose of directed reading-thinking activity is to
assist the students to comprehend the text or the story using clues of the text such
as some sentence clues, pictures and charts. Furthermore, this strategy helps the
students in activating their prior knowledge to develop their critical thinking,
logical predictions and their comprehension and to make inferences related to
what are printed in the text.
3. The Procedures of Directed Reading-Thinking Activity
In one source on internet, the main procedure of using Directed
Reading-Thinking Activity is divided into 3 steps:41 a. Direct
Teachers direct and stimulate students' thinking prior to reading a passage
by scanning the title, chapter headings, illustrations, and other explanatory
materials. Then teachers should use open-ended questions to direct students as
they make predictions about the content orperspective of the text (e.g., “Given this title, what do you think the passage will be about?”). Students should be encouraged to justify their responses and activate prior knowledge.
b. Reading
Teachers should have students read up to the first pre-selected stopping
point in the text. The teacher then prompts the students with questions about
specific information and asks them to evaluate their predictions and refine
them if necessary. This process should be continued until students have read
each section of the passage.
c. Thinking
At the end of the reading, teachers should have students go back through
the text and think about their predictions. Students should verify or modify the
41 Directed Reading-Thinking Activities: Classroom Strategies,
accuracy of their predictions by finding supporting statements in the text. The
teacher deepens the thinking process by asking questions such as “What do you think about your predictions now?”, “What did you find in the text to prove your predictions?”, “What did you find in the text that caused you to modify your predictions?”
Meanwhile, Walter proposed procedures to conduct DR-TA strategy in
teaching reading as follows:
a. Prepare the text. Pre-read the text and identify the segments that contain the
major events of the story. Try to divide the story into segments that will
promote deeper thinking.
b. Prepare the students. Prepare students for reading the text by developing
background concepts and language. Show the book cover and predict what the
story will be about.
c. Read a segment of the text. Read the first story segment. Have students
compare their predictions to the actual reading passage to either verify their
predictions or identify the parts of their predictions that were in accurate or are
still unknown.
d. Repeat and continue the process. Ask more predicting questions based on the
reading. Record the predictions. Read the next segment. Ask verifying
questions.
e. Review and reread the whole story. After completing the story, discuss the
predictions, reactions, and impression. Read or have students reread the story
as a whole.42
42
Teresa Walter, Teaching English Language Learners: The How – To Handbook,
E. Teaching Reading Narrative Text Using Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA) Strategy
First : The teacher determines the narrative text to be used and pre-select points for students to pause during the reading process. There should be 4-5
pauses or adjusted to the quantity of paragraphs in narrative text.
Second : The teacher asks the student to read only the title of the narrative text and then asks students to make predictions what the story tells about. The
teacher may use these questions: “What do you think a passage with title like this might be about?”; “Why do you think so?” and so on.
Third :The teacher lists the predictions on whiteboard and initiates a discussion with the students by asking them to respond to the following question:
“Which of these predictions do you think would be likely one?”; “Why do you think this prediction is a good one?” and so on.
Fourth:The teacher asks the students to read the story until the pause point only. The teacher may use these questions: “Now, what do you think?” or “Any other ideas?”
Fifth : The teacher asks the students to continue their reading until the next pause point (this step is repeated until the students have finished reading
the story). The teacher may use these questions: “Were your predictions correct?”; “What do you think now?”; “What else?”; “What will happen
next?”; “What made you think of this prediction?”; “What in the passage
supports this prediction?”
Sixth : The teacher asks the students to finish reading the story and reflect their predictions through responding to the following questions: “What predictions did you make?”; “Were your predictions correct?”; “Do you
still agree with this prediction?”; “What did you find in the text to prove
your prediction?”; “What did you read in the text that made you change
F. Previous Related Studies
The first study was conducted by Talal Abd Al-Hameed Al Odwan from
The World Islamic Sciences and Education University Amman, Jordan. His
research title is The Effect of the Directed Reading-Thinking Activity through
Cooperative Learning on English Secondary Stage Students’ Reading
Comprehension in Jordan. He conducted his research to two classes; experimental
group consist of 22 students and 20 students in control group. The DR-TA
through using cooperative learning is designed to teach four units to the
experimental group. The result of his research; there is a statistically significant
difference in reading comprehension in favor of the experimental group among
English secondary stage students in Jordan due to the instructional strategy.43 The second study was conducted by Muhtatimatul Halimah in her study
entitled The Effectiveness of Using Directed Reading-Thinking Activity Strategy
to Improve the Students’ Ability in Finding Main Idea and Word Meaning of the
Eleventh Grade Students of MAN Kutowinangun. The subjects of the study
consisted of 58 students which are divided into experimental group (class
XI.IPS1, 29 students) and control group (class XI.IPS4, 29 students). The result of
her research is using directed reading thinking activity is effective to improve the
students’ ability in finding main idea and word meaning.44
The third study was conducted by Teguh Satrio Hermawan in his skripsi
entitled Improving Students’ Reading Comprehension of Descriptive Text by
Using Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (A Classroom Action Research in the
First Year of SMA Muhammadiyah 25 Pamulang). The subjects of the study were
students of X-1. There were 28 students. At the end, the result showed that the
application of DR-TA the students were more active and interested in learning
reading activity in the classroom. There are 2 students passing the minimal level
43
Talal Abd Al-Hameed Al Odwan,The Effect of the Directed Reading Thinking Activity
through Cooperative Learning on English Secondary Stage Students’ Reading Comprehension in
Jordan, International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 2 No. 16, (Centre for Promoting Ideas: USA, August 2012).
44
Muhtatimatul Halimah,The Effectiveness Of Using Directed Reading Thinking Activity
Strategy To Improve The Students’ Ability In Finding Main Idea And Word Meaning Of The
criterion (KKM) before cycle test, 11 students passing KKM in cycle 1 test and 26
students passing KKM in cycle 2 test.45
G. Conceptual Framework
According to the theories, reading comprehension is an activity of
understanding and constructing meaning from written language into an organized
way to create representation of the text in readers’ mind. Narrative text is a text
that tells an imaginative story which contains some events in form of series and
also makes the readers have the messages of the text. Directed Reading-Thinking
Activity (DR-TA) strategy is a strategy that encourages students to use their
minds while reading a text. It guides students to ask questions based on what they
read, make predictions on the story line and read further to confirm if their
predictions were right.
The writer thought that those definitions have close connection to one
another. Based on some theories stated by many linguists, it can be said that
narrative text is effective to be used in teaching reading. Because narrative text is
a text telling a story, it can make the readers imagine the story so that the readers
will be easier in comprehending the story.
Directed Reading-Thinking Activities allow students to begin thinking
about the text before they actually begin reading. Since this strategy is set up as a
sort of predicting game, students are motivated to read and become engaged with
the text in order to determine whether their predictions are correct. DR-TA
strategy is usually used for narrative texts. As students predict the plot of one part
of the story, it often helps them figure out the next part of the reading. Based on
the explanation above, the writer thought that there will be significant influence
on students’ reading comprehension of narrative text by using DR-TA strategy.
45
Teguh Satrio Hermawan,Improving Students’ Reading Comprehension of Descriptive
H. Research Hypothesis
The hypotheses of this research can be seen as follows:
H1 : Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA) strategy gives influence on students’ reading comprehension of narrative text.
27 CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A. Place and Time of the Research
This research was conducted at SMA Negeri 10 Tangerang Selatan which
is located at Jl. Tegal Rotan, Sektor 9, Tangerang Selatan, Banten, on the first
semester. The school had 720 students divided into 21 classes. There were 7
classes for the tenth grade, 7 classes for the eleventh grade and 7 classes for the
twelfth grade, but the research was only conducted to two classes of the tenth
grade students. The research was conducted for three weeks. It began on August
30th 2015 and ended on October 23rd 2015.
B. Research Design
In this research, quantitative research was used. According to Creswell, in
quantitative research there are three design; experimental, correlation and survey.1 The experimental design was chosen in this research. Experiment is a procedure
for testing a hypothesis by setting up a situation in which the strength of the
relationship between variables can be tested.2 Also, it established possible cause-effect between independent and dependent variables.3
Specifically, this research used Quasi-Experiment Design. It was because
the research was conducted to two classes, experimental and controlled class,
which was not randomly assigned.4 Quasi-Experiment Design is one of approaches of a research that uses two groups; those are experimental class and
control class. Hadeli stated that quasi-experiment is used because the researcher
wants to know the students’ achievement difference by using “new” method rather
than the mostly teaching method used by the teacher. Precisely, the
1 John W. Creswell, Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating
Quantitative and Qualitative Reasearch – International Edition, (Boston: Pearson, 2008), p. 60. 2 David Nunan, Research Method in Language Learning, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992), pp. 24 – 25.
3 John W. Creswell, op.cit., p. 299.
4 John W. Creswell, Research Design Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods
experiment uses two groups in which experimental group as a group that is given
a treatment and the controlled group that is not given a treatment in order to know
difference between the “new” method and the mostly teaching method.5
The following is the design of the research:
Pattern:
Group Pretest Treatment Posttest
E O1 X O2
C O3 - O4
In which:
E = Experiment Class C = Controlled Class
O1 = Pretest Experiment Class O2 = Posttest Experiment Class
O3 = Pretest Controlled Class O4 = Posttest Controlled Class
X = Using Treatment
This research was done to the students from two classes that have the same
level. They were given different teaching approaches. Each class consisted of 38
students. The first class which was as experimental class was given reading
comprehension of narrative text by using (Directed Reading – Thinking Activity)
DR-TA strategy; DR-TA strategy was the treatment or “new” method. At the
same time, the second class – controlled class – was given reading comprehension
of narrative text by the method which was mostly used by the teacher to teach
reading.
This research was focused on giving treatment to the experimental class by
applying DR-TA strategy to measure students’ achievement and to find out the
influence of DR-TA strategy on students’ reading comprehension of narrative
text. Then, the results from reading test were calculated.
C. Population and Sample
The population of the research was the tenth grade students of SMA Negeri
10 Kota Tangerang Selatan. There were 7 classes of the tenth grade. The total
number of students or population was 266 students.
Meanwhile, the sampling technique used for this research was purposive
sampling because this research took the sample with any consideration. This
research was conducted to X.5 class as the experimental class and X.6 class as the
controlled class because of the suggestion of the English teacher in that school.
The teacher said that the two classes had the same level, and they were
appropriate to be the sample of the research. In other words, purposive sampling
was used because both classes were considered as knowledgeable and informative
so that those classes were able to be the sample of this research. This research was
conducted to those two classes in order to see whether the given treatment in
experimental class gives influence on students’ reading comprehension of
narrative text or not.
D. Instrument of the Research
The instrument of this research was a reading test of English consisted of
40 multiple choice questions taken from some books of English for the tenth
grade students of senior high school. The test that will be given to the students in
experimental and controlled class must be valid and reliable so that the 40
questions had been tested first to the students from other class in order to measure
the test’s validity and reliability by using AnatestV4. From the ANAVA result,
only 25 questions were chosen divided into 3 difficult questions, 1 easy question
and 21 intermediate questions because those were valid and reliable questions (for
further explanation can be seen on appendices).
E. Data Collection Technique
In collecting the data, pretest and posttest consisting of 25 questions in
multiple choice forms were given to the students. This type was chosen because it
their research especially in a school. This type was also chosen because narrative
text questions are usually formed in multiple choices. Both experimental class and
controlled class were given the pretest and the posttest. The pretest was given to
see the students’ capability in their reading skill before using DR-TA strategy. The posttest was given to measure which class had better scores.
F. Data Analysis Technique
After the data of the pretest and the posttest scores were collected, the data
then were analyzed by using statistic calculation of t-test formula in manual
calculation and software calculation using SPSS (Statistic Product and Statistic
Solution) version 22. The t-test was used to test the hypothesis. Before calculating
t-test, normality and homogeneity tests were done first.6
1. Normality test
Normality test is performed to show whether the data from the sample is
normal or not, the data are both pretest and posttest result taken from experimental
and controlled class. If the normality of the data is more than the level of
significance α (0.05), scores are normally distributed. The normality test is
performed by using Kolmogrov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk gained as follows:
Analyze → Descriptive Statistics → Explore. Insert Pretest/Posttest in Dependent
List and Class in Factor List. Click Plots and Checklist Normality plots with tests
→ Continue → OK.
This is the example of the data using SPSS:
Tests of Normality
Class
Kolmogorov-Smirnova Shapiro-Wilk
Statistic df Sig. Statistic Df Sig.
Pretest Experimental .110 38 .200* .969 38 .363
Controlled .133 38 .089 .975 38 .537
*. This is a lower bound of the true significance.
a. Lilliefors Significance Correction
2. Homogeneity test
Homogeneity test is performed to test whether the data from the two
groups, experimental and controlled class, have the same variant in order that the
hypothesis can be tested by t-test or not. Homogeneity test is calculated by using
Levine and gained as follows: Analyze → Compare means → One Way Anova →
Put Pretest/Posttest in Dependent list and Class in Factor List → Click option and
Checklist Homogeneity of variance test → Continue → OK. Here is the example
of homogeneity test result of the data:
Test of Homogeneity of Variances
Pretest
Levene Statistic df1 df2 Sig.
.140 1 38 .711
3. Hypothesis test
After getting the data from pre-test and post-test taken from experimental
and controlled class, it needs to find out the differences score in the students’
reading comprehension by using Directed Reading – Thinking Activity. Here, the
two classes are compared to the independent variable, the experimental class is X
variable and the controlled class is Y variable. Statistical calculation of the t-test
with significant degree 5% (0.05) and 1% (0.01) is used. The formula of t-testis
expressed as follows:7
𝑡𝑜=𝑆𝐸𝑀𝑥− 𝑀𝑦 𝑀𝑥−𝑀𝑦
In which:
Mx = Mean of variable X
My = Mean of variable Y
SE = Standard error
