The readability level of reading texts in pathway to english 2: a descriptive analysis on the textbook for the eleventh grade of senior high school students published by penerbit Erlangga

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High School Students Published by Penerbit Erlangga)

By:

N. YANI SANIYATUL AMANIY 1110014000027

THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH EDUCATION

THE

FACULTY OF TARBIYAH AND TEACHERS’ TRAINING

THE SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY

JAKARTA

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by Penerbit Erlangga. Skripsi of English Education at Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers’ Training of State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, 2014.

This study was carried out to find the readability level of reading texts in Pathway to English 2 textbook for the eleventh grade of senior high school students. The writer used Descriptive Analysis method in which the writer attempted to analyze, elaborate, and describe the readability level of the selected reading texts in Pathway to English 2 textbook by using the Flesch Reading Ease Formula. The data analyzed in this study were 19 reading texts that consist of 2 formal invitation letters, 1 personal letter, 3 procedural texts, 5 factual academic reports, 4 analytical exposition texts, 3 biographies, and 1 song. Based on the analysis by using the Flesch Reading Ease Formula, 1 text was classified into Very Easy Level, 2 texts were classified into Fairly Easy Level, 6 texts were classified into Standard Level, 4 texts were classified into Fairly Difficult Level, 5 texts were classified into Difficult Level, and 1 text was not classified into any level because it could not provide the relevant information about the readability score. The result of the data analysis showed there were only 4 texts that were basically suitable for the eleventh grade of senior high school students. Additionally, the 4 texts are classified into 3 levels of reading difficulty based on the Cloze Procedure Test, 1 text is in Independent Level, 2 texts are in Instructional Level, and 1 text is in Frustrational Level.

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by Penerbit Erlangga. Skripsi pada Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Fakultas Ilmu Tarbiyah dan Keguruan, Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, 2014.

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the Lord of the world who has given His Mercy and Blessing upon the writer in

completing this Skripsi. Peace and salutation always be upon the prophet

Muhammad shallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, his family, his relatives, and his faithful followers.

In this occasion, the writer would like to express her greatest appreciation,

honour and gratitude to her beloved parents (Masykuri, S. Pd. I. and Siti

Farichah), for their valuable supports and moral encouragement in motivating the

writer to finish her study. Then, the writer thanks to her beloved old and younger sisters (Zulfatul Khoeriyah, S. S, A’thi Inayati, and Vina Syakira Masykur) for their love and support to the writer in writing this Skripsi.

The writer also would like to express her deepest gratitude to her advisors,

Drs. Bahrul Hasibuan, M.Ed and Drs. Syauki, M. Pd, for their advices, guidances,

corrections, and suggestions in finishing this Skripsi.

Her gratitude also goes to:

1. All lecturers of the Department of English Education who have taught and

educated the writer during her study at UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta.

2. Drs. Syauki, M.Pd, the Head of the Department of English Education.

3. Zaharil Anasy, M.Hum, the Secretary of the Department of English

Education.

4. Dra. Nurlena Rifa’i, MA, Ph. D, the Dean of Faculty of Tarbiyah and

Teachers` Training.

5. Her academic advisor, Didin N. Hidayat, MA TESOL, for giving advices,

guidance, suggestions, and support.

6. Her beloved best friends, Solehah girls, Robi’atul Adawiyah, Ummu

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class A, for giving motivation and support.

8. Her beloved best friends in “Republik Nahel”, Ainul Arifatul Ulum, Aidah

Fitriyati, Siti Nurjannah, Dzurwatul Muna, Alfa Syifa, Luthfi Ahsanuddin,

Muhammad Fahmi, Gilar Rizqi Nugroho, and Abdul Latif Mahfudz for

giving motivation, support, and care.

9. Her beloved family in IMPP-J (Ikatan Mahasiswa Pelajar Pemalang

Jakarta) for sharing happiness, care, and help.

10.Her beloved seniors, Anisa Primadini, S. Pd. and Dewi Maria, S. Pd., for

giving love, care, and support.

11.All of her dorm-mates at “Oot Empire” for sharing happiness.

12.Any other person who cannot be mentioned one by one for their

contribution to the writer during finishing her Skripsi. The words are not

enough to say any appreciations for their help.

May Allah bless them for all of what they have done.

Finally, the writer feels that it is really pleasure for her to receive criticism

and suggestions to make this Skripsi better. She also hopes that this Skripsi would

be beneficial, particularly for her and for those who are interested in it.

Jakarta, October 15, 2014

The writer

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT ... iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... v

LIST OF TABLES ... vii

LIST OF APPENDICES ... viii

CHAPTER I : INTRODUCTION A. TheBackground of the Study ... 1

B. The Formulation of the Problem ... 4

C. The Limitation of the Problem ... 4

D. The Objectives of the Study ... 5

E. The Significance of the Study ... 5

CHAPTER II : THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK A. Textbook ... 6

1. The Understanding of Textbook ... 6

2. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Textbook ... 7

3. The Selectionof Textbook ... 10

B. Text ... 11

1. The Understanding of Text ... 11

2. The Types of Text ... 13

3. The Selection of Text ... 14

4. The Matching of the Texts to Students ... 15

C. Readability ... 16

1. The Understanding of Readability ... 16

2. The Methods of Readability Measurement ... 18

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B. TheMethod of the Study ... 32

C. The Source of the Data ... 32

D. The Technique of Data Collection and Analysis ... 33

CHAPTER IV : RESEARCH FINDING A. The Description of the Data ... 35

B. The Analysis of the Data ... 37

C. The Interpretation of the Data ... 53

D. The Discussion ... 54

CHAPTER V : CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION A. Conclusion ... 56

B. Suggestion ... 57

REFERENCES ... 58

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Table 2.2 The Flesch Reading Ease Score ... 22

Table 2.3 The English Curriculum for the Eleventh Grade of Senior

High School ... 24

Table 3.1 The Reading Ease Scale of the Flesch Reading Ease

Formula ... 33

Table 3.2 The Judgment of the Cloze Procedure Test Score ……….. 34

Table 4.1 The Description of Syllables, Words, and Sentences

Calculation of Reading Texts ... 36

Table 4.2 The Result of ASL and ASW Calculation of Texts ... 41

Table 4.3 The Readability Score of the 18 Reading Texts …………... 47

Table 4.4 The Texts Number and Types ... 51

Table 4.5 The Number of the Deleted Words of the Texts ……….…. 52

Table 4.6 The Score of Cloze Procedure Test and the Reading

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APPENDIX 2 The Cloze Procedure Test ... 85

APPENDIX 3 Answer Keys ... 90

APPENDIX 4 Table of the Frequency of the Students’ Right Answers ... 93

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1

A. The Background of the Study

In Indonesia, English is taught and used as a foreign language. It is

officially taught as a local-content subject at elementary school and a

compulsory subject at secondary (junior and senior) schools. One of the

objectives of English language teaching and learning in Indonesia is to

equip and prepare students to read English both in textbook and other

references.

English language teaching and learning includes the teaching of

four basic language skills; listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Those

basic language skills are taught integratedly by the teachers because they

cannot be separated.

In relation to the objective of the English language teaching and

learning, teachers need to facilitate students to achieve it. Teachers need to

provide good materials to create a successfull English language teaching

and learning. Further, those materials can be in the form of textbooks,

newspapers, magazines, journals, videos, audios, etc.

Michael W. Apple in Reed et al. states that 75 percent of time in

language teaching and learning. Beside the textbook that are published by

the Ministry of Education and Culture- Kementerian Pendidikan dan

Kebudayaan (Kemendikbud), there are also textbooks that are published by

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public publishers. These textbooks can be used as additional materials by

the teachers. Thus, teachers and schools need to choose and select suitable

textbooks for their students in order to match the students’ learning needs

because the suitability of textbooks and students’ reading level will help

students in comprehending the reading texts.

Furthermore, selecting textbooks carefully is important because

textbooks have dominant role in the success of foreign language teaching

and learning.2 Textbooks are used as a guideline by teachers to meet students’ need, especially in reading comprehension. Therefore, the effect of choosing unsuitable textbook can cause students’ low achievement in

reading comprehension because there is no suitability between the textbook and the students’ reading level.

To support the selection of suitable textbook, teachers need to see

if the texts in the textbook are readable and suitable with the students’

reading level. It deals with Nuttall’s statement that there are three points of

view in selecting text for reading material. They are readability, suitability

of content, and exploitability.3 Thus, readability becomes one of the points

that make the selection of reading materials is important. This also deals

with the statement that in the English language teaching and learning,

teachers have a role as the ones who provide materials, not the ones who

create them. Therefore, teachers have an important role in textbook

selection.

In addition, texts readability has to be analyzed in order to see their

level of suitability. Asem states in her article that since the beginning of

the readability study, many researchers believe that reading difficulty

relates to the reading materials.4 This statement implies that students’

assumption about the difficulty of a text relates to the text itself.

2

Roger Bowers and Christopher Brumfit, Applied Linguistics and English Language Teaching, (London: Macmillan Publishers Limited, 1991), p. 298.

3

Christine Nuttal, Teaching Reading Skills, (Oxford: Heinemann, 1982),p. 25. 4

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Additionally, Ornstein in Reed in terms of the benefits of textbooks states “the reading level and knowledge base of most textbooks match the developmental level of the students.” Therefore, the readability level of reading texts has to relate to the students’ reading ability in order to be

matching. To find out how all of these are interconnected, the writer would

like to investigate the readability level of reading texts in the textbook

used in English language teaching and learning.

Furthermore, as Indonesia applies the new curriculum this year and

Kemendikbud publishes the textbooks that are used in schools that apply

the curriculum, teachers do not need to worry about selecting a good

textbook as the main source in English language teaching and learning.

This is because the schools which apply the new curriculum are obligated

to use the textbooks published by Kemendikbud. Therefore, as the writer

states before that teachers are able to use commercial textbooks as the

additional materials, they still need to select the textbook carefully because

they need to select suitable ones for their students.

In addition, based on the writer and her friends’ experience when

doingIntegrated Teaching Profession Practice- Praktek Profesi Keguruan

Terpadu (PPKT), they found that there were many students who gained

low score in reading. It was caused by their low understanding of the

reading texts. In many classes, they found that there were some students

who understood the reading texts while others did not. Thus, students’ low

score might be caused by their low understanding of the reading texts. In relation to the students’ understanding of texts, Perekeme and Abgor state that one of the factors determining students’ understanding of

a text is text readability.5

Thus, this becomes the reason that the writer

decides to conduct this study on analyzing the readability level of selected

reading texts in the Pathway to English 2 textbook for the eleventh grade

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of senior high school students published by Penerbit Erlangga to see their

readability level.

Further, the writer chooses Pathway to English 2 as the textbook to

be analyzed because it is intentionally compiled to provide a framework

for teaching and learning English based on Kurikulum 2013. In addition,

the writer also chooses this textbook because this is claimed to allow

students to practice the four-skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing

in order to help them develop their discourse competence. This

competence, according to the textbook compilers, enables students to

express themselves in different kinds of texts.6

Finally, this study is aimed to know the the readability level of

reading texts in Pathway to English 2 textbook for the eleventh grade of

senior high school students published by Penerbit Erlangga.

B. The Limitation of the Problem

Based on the background of the study, the writer limits this study

on analyzing the readability level of selected reading texts in Pathway to

English 2 textbook for the eleventh grade of senior high school students

published by Penerbit Erlangga.

C. The Formulation of the Problem

Based on the limitation of the problem above, the writer formulates

the problem of the study as follows: how is the readability level of reading

texts in Pathway to English 2 textbook for the eleventh grade of senior

high school students published by Penerbit Erlangga?

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D. The Objective of the Study

Based on the formulation of the problem, the objective of this

study is to find out the readability level of the reading texts in Pathway to

English 2 textbook for the eleventh grade of senior high school students

published by Penerbit Erlangga.

E. The Significance of the Study

By conducting this study, the writer expects that this will have

some significant contribution in the process of English language teaching

and learning at the senior high school. First, this study may give the

teachers useful information in selecting suitable textbook as the additional

material for their students. Second, this may help the students in

improving their reading comprehension skill by providing suitable

textbook with readable texts. Finally, this study may become a guideline in

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A.

Textbook

1.

The Understanding of Textbook

The role of textbook in teaching and learning process is very

important because it dictates the content and form of teaching. 1 It is used

as a guideline for teachers to teach students in the teaching and learning

process and as a coursebook for students. Ornstein in Reed states “The

textbook has had the longest and most obvious influence on curriculum, to

the extent of, in effect, standardizing teaching and instructional

practices.”2 Thus, textbook is used to standardize the teaching and the

instructional practices and finally to influence the curriculum as it is said

that textbook has an important influence on it. In addition, textbook is said

to be a reflection of the curriculum and a form of curriculum package.3

That makes textbook has a very important role in educational pragram.

Many experts have defined textbook differently.4 This makes us

cannot specify textbook only by one definition beacuse all textbook

definitions cover what textbooks are. According to Reed et al., textbooks

are the instructional tool that is used mostly in the classroom. It deals with

their statement that 75 percent of time in the classroom is used with the

text materials.5 Thus, textbooks are used as instructional tool by the

teachers in the the teaching and learning process in most of the time.

Van Els et. al. define textbook as “a coherent body of teaching

materials which may consist of either just the course book (s), but also of a

1

Theo van Els et. al., Applied Linguistics and the Learning and Teaching of Foreign Language, (London: Edward Arnold Ltd., 1984), p. 298.

2

Arthea J. S. Reed, Verna E. Bergemann, and Mary W. Olson, In the Classroom: An Introduction to Education, (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998), third edition, p. 256.

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learning package consisting of several parts.”6

Textbook is a collection of

teaching materials that is used as the teaching sources or as a guideline for

teachers in the teaching and learning process. Textbook consists of

materials needed both in the course book and in the teaching and learning

gudeline.

Additionally, UNESCO in Kolahi and Shirvani defines “Textbook is the

core learning composed of text and/or images designed to bring about a

specific set of educational outcome; traditionally a printed and bound book

including illustrations and instructions for facilitating sequences of learning

activities.”7 As we find textbook that we usually see or use, it is a printed

book that consists of materials with instructions and/or illustrations that is

designed based on the sequence of learning activities. Textbook is intended to

be used as one of learning facilitations and to make a specific educational

outcome.

From those definitions, the writer concludes that textbook is a

coherent body consisting of some materials in form of printed text and/or

images that is used as an instructional material in the teaching and learning

process.

2. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Textbook

The important role of textbooks in the teaching and learning process

has caused many writers and publishers to publish a large number of

textbooks, and those published textbooks have now been commercialized

because of the high demand. However, since textbook has an important

role in the teaching and learning process, teachers have to pay attention to

its advantages and disadvantages in order to provide them the knowledge

of textbooks.

6

Van Els, loc. cit. 7

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There are some advantages and disadvantages of using commercial

textbooks in teaching and learning process. Those advantages and

disadvantages depend on how teachers use them and the context for their

use.8 The advantages of commercial textbooks are:

a. They provide structure and a syllabus for a program b. They help standardize instruction

c. They maintain quality

d. They provide a variety of learning resources e. They are efficient

f. They can provide effective language models and input g. They can train teachers

h. They are visually appealing9

As it is mentioned before, there are also disadvantages of commercial

textbooks. They are:

textbook for both teachers and students.

Good textbook often contain lively and interesting material; they provide a sensible progression of language items, clearly showing what has to be learnt and in some cases summarizing what has been studied so that students can revise grammatical and functional points that they have been concentrating on. Textbook can be systematic about the amount of vocabulary presented to the student and allow students to study on their own outside the class. Good textbooks also relieve the teacher from the pressure of having to think of original material for every class. Indeed there is a greater variety of published material for teaching and learning English than ever before.11

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From the statement above, the writer concludes that some of the

Moreover, Harmer also mentions some disadvantages of textbooks. He

states:

But textbooks can also have an adverse effect on teaching for a number of reasons. As we have already said they tend to concentrate on the introduction of new language and controlled work: a teacher relying too heavily on the textbook will often not be encouraged to provide enough roughly-tuned input or output practice. Textbooks also tend to follow the same format from one unit to the next. There are good reasons why this should be the case: they are thus easier to

„get to know‟ and to handle, both for teacher and student, and they are

also easier to design and write. But this similarity of format generally involves a rigid sequence. Alost all textbooks at the elementary level start by introducing new language, for example, and they then follow a sequence of practice combining the new language with language the students already know. Reading and listening generally have a set place in the sequence and each unit looks more or less like those that come before and after it.12

Teachers who rely so much on the use of textbook without using other

materials often find it difficult to improve the teaching of the language.

They tend to focus on what is written better than to provide other materials

that support the language teaching. This is one of the disadvantages of

textbook. Further, another disadvantage is textbook form a same format

from one unit to the next. This may make students feel bored for learning

in same sequence.

To sum up, the use of commercial textbooks in teaching and learning

process has advantages and disadvantages as mentioned before. Thus,

teachers have to be able to select a suitable textbook for their students in

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order to give the advantages and finally make students to be able to

achieve the objective of the learning especially in reading comprehension.

3. The Selection of Textbook

publishers‟ information, textbook reviews, checklists, and textbook

descriptions and the development of new descriptive tools. Furthermore,

the data obtained from textbook users means the data collection and

description on the effects textbooks have on their users. These effects

include the effects on teachers, students and the process of teaching and

learning. The sources of this data are users‟ judgements and experimental

research into the effects of textbooks.14

In addition, since teachers are not the ones who create materials (in

this case is in the form of textbook) but provide them and they need to rely

largely on commercial textbooks, they have to make a good decision on

selecting a suitable textbook for their students.

According to van Els et. al., there are two stages in the selection of a

textbook:

1. Global selection. This is a first selection of textbooks which have sufficient superficial appeal. The information needed to make such a choice can be obtain from textbook reviews, users‟ judgement,

information from authors and publishers, and the teahers‟ own global analysis (based, for intance, on a textbook typology).

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research into the effects of the textbooks in question can be very useful.15

In other words, there are two steps that teachers need to do in selecting

textbook for their students. The first step is obtaining textbook

information. Teachers can obtain the information from the textbook

reviews, user judgement, authors and publishers‟ information, or their own

global analysis. The second step is analyzing the textbook. After obtaining

the textbook information as mentioned before, teachers have to analyze the

textbook for further information. This analysis can be in the form of

checklists, comparative textbook description, detailed comments from

users, or reports on empirical research into the effects of textbooks.

Those steps can be done by the teachers in order to obtain good

information about the suitability of textbook for their students. Once the

teachers have done the two steps, they can decide whether they will use the

textbook for their students or not.

B.

Text

1. The Understanding of Text

Anderson and Anderson state that a text is words that are put together

to communicate a meaning.16

It is not only a form of words that are put

together but further, it reflects a meaning of those words.

In addition, according to Nuttall “The text is the core of the reading

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Further, it is not only written words that are called as a text but also

spoken words.18 The spoken words here mean the words that have been

transmitted. This is in line with statement that a text could be either written

or transcribed version of speech.19 In addition, Siahaan and Shinoda define

a text as a linguistic unit (phoneme, morpheme, phrase, clause, sentence or

discourse) that has a full meaning in its context.20 They also state that a

text is both a spoken and a written text. Thus, a text is generally not only a

form of written words that are put together but also a form of spoken

words that are transcribed.

Furthermore, Wallace in Hedgcock and Ferris defines a text as the

physical manifestation of language which includes autographic symbols

and non-verbal elements. Thus, a text is formed not only by words that are

put together but also by many elements. Those elements are non-verbal

and autographic symbols. Non-verbal elements here are such as

capitalization, punctuation, paragraphing, and format, and autographic

symbols include letters of the alphabet or characters.21

There is a number of parameters of texts that are considered in

expecting students to be able to read them. They are:

Text types include: text books, handouts, articles (in newspapers, journals or magazines), poems/verse, encyclopaedia entries, dictionary entries, leaflets, letters, forms, diary, maps or plans, advertisements, postcards, timetables, novels (extracts) and short stories, reviews, manuals, computer help systems, notices and signs.

Text forms include: description, exposition, argumentation, instruction, narration (these can be broken down further if it is thought appropriate: e.g. expository texts could include outlines, summaries, etc.)

Graphic features include: tables, charts, diagrams, cartoons, illustrations. and Contexts, (New York: Routledge, 2009), p. 79.

20

Sanggam Siahaan and Kisno Shinoda, Generic Text Structure, (Yogyakarta: Graha Ilmu, 2008), p. 1.

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Topics may be listed or defined in a general way (such as non-technical, non-specialist) or in relation to a set of candidates whose background is known (such as familiar to the students).

Style may be specified in term of formality.

Intended readership can be quite specific (e.g. native speaking science undergraduate students) or more general (e.g. young native speakers).

Length is usually expressed in number of words. The specified length will normally vary according to the level of the candidates and whether one is testing expeditious or careful reading (although a single long text could be used for both).

Readability is an objective, but not necessarily very valid, measure of the difficulty of a text. Where this is not used, intuition may be relied on.

Range of vocabulary may be indicated by a complete list of words (as for the Cambridge tests for young learners), by reference either to a word list or to indications of frequency in a learners‟ dictionary. Range may be expressed more generally (e.g. non-technical, except where explained in the text).

Range of grammar may be a list of structures, or a reference to those to be found in a course book or (possibly part of) a grammar of the language.22

Those parameters should be considered by teachers when they expect

students to be able to read a text. That is why teachers have to pay

attention to many aspects of texts such as readability, length, types etc.

when they select them for their students.

To sum up, a text is the physical manifestation of language that is

formed by words that are put together along with their non-verbal and

autographic symbols elements. Teachers need to consider some parameters

of texts when they are expecting students to be able to read them. Thus,

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other types of text in which each text has a common structure. It means

that those two categories, literary and factual, are general. More

specifically, there are some categories of texts that are covered by them.

The literary text types include narrative texts, poems, and drama

scripts.24 Those three kinds of text have function to entertain or elicit an

emotional response.

Further, the factual text types include explanation, information report,

discussion, exposition, recount, factual description, procedure, and

procedural recount.25 Those kinds of texts then have function to inform,

instruct, or persuade the readers by giving facts and information.

From the explanation above, we can state that each category of the

text has different function. Literary texts, according to Anderson and

Anderson, have function to entertain or elicit an emotional response by

using language to create mental image while factual texts is to inform,

instruct, or persuade by giving facts and information.26 Thus, texts that

entertain the readers or listeners and finally create their mental image are

categorized as literary texts. Other texts that give the readers or listeners an

information, instruction or facts are categorized as factual texts.

3. The Selection of Texts

Textbooks publishing are now handled by both government and

public publishers. Thus, although the government provides the books for

all schools that apply curriculum 2013, the government also allows

schools to use commercial ones. The difference is, students do not need to

pay for the textbooks published by government while they need to pay for

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Selecting comercial textbooks carefully is important because teachers

need to choose a suitable textbook for their students. They also need to

select a good one because students have paid for it. Since textbooks are not

only published by our government but also other publishers, teachers need

to know the suitability of the textbook for their students.

Furthermore, one aspect that support the selection of a suitable

textbook is the selection of the texts. Nuttal in his book Teaching Reading

Skills in a Foreign Language mentioned three points of view in selecting

texts. They are readability, suitability of content, and exploitability.

... we shall consider how to choose supplementary material for the reading lesson. You will need to look at possible material from three points of view... the combination of structural and lexical (i.e. vocabulary) difficulty is readability...One criterion for a class library therefore should be the inclusion of a variety of books on subjects known to appeal to the students....you really need to carry out an investigation of what your own students like before you order many books or select class reading materials.... We are using the term exploitation to mean facilitation of learning. When you exploit a text,

you make use of it to develop your students‟ competence as readers.27

In selecting a text, teachers need to know if the text is readable for

their students or not. Teachers also need to know if the text contains

something interesting for their students. Finally, teachers need to see if the

text they select will be able to comprehend students‟ reading ability.

4. The Matching of the Texts to Students

It is important to match texts as the reading materials to the students

as the readers. It deals with the purpose of readability assessment.28 In

readability assessment, beside the use of readability formula to measure

the readability of the texts, teachers also need to know the students‟

reading ability, students‟ background knowledge, and the purpose of the

texts in order to see the suitability between the texts and the students.

27

Nuttal, op. cit., p. 25-31. 28

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... to make a best match between readers and text it is necessary to obtain information about the intended readers, information about the readability of the material, and information about the purpose for its use.

Information on the intended readers might include – when available – their reading ability, their previous knowledge and interest in the topic, and how the material is to be read – whether independently or as part of instruction by a teacher.

A students‟ reading ability may be estimated by scores or bands on a recently administered reading test. If these are not available, estimates of reading ability may be made by noting readability of the books, magazines, and newspaper they read.29

Therefore, as there are some aspects that should be considered in

readability assessment, the writer would like to focus only on one aspect, it

is the use of readability formula n measuring the readability of selected

texts.

C.

Readability

1. The Understanding of Readability

Bidyarani Asem in her article Readability Assessment of Printed

Materials: Going beyond Readability Formulas points out, “Readability is

a term used to determine the ease with which people read and understand a

particular text. It is one of the most important factors that depict the

comprehensibility of the concerned text.”30

Readability, according to

Asem, is a term related to the comprehensibility of a text in which the

readers understand or not regarding to the ease of the text.

Furthermore, DuBay defines “Readability is what makes some texts

Bidyarani Asem, Readability Assessment of Printed Materials: Going Beyond Readability Formulas, International Journal of Environment, Ecology, Family and Urban Studies (IJEEFUS), Vol. 2, Issue 4, Dec. 2012, p. 45.

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George Klare in DuBay defines readability as “the ease of

understanding or comprehension due to the style of writing.” This

definition is based on writing style out of content, coherence, and

organization of the texts.32 In the same book, Gretcen Hargis et.al. defines

readability as the “ease of reading words and sentences.”33 They also add

that readability is an attribute of clarity. Thus, the clarity of words and

senetences leads to the ease of the texts. Further, G. Harry McLaughlin

points out that readability is “the degree to which a given class of people

find certain reading matter compelling and comprehensible.”34

When a

class of people find a text is comprehensible for them, they have met the

text‟s readability that suits their reading level.

Edgar Dale and Jeanne Call in DuBay define readability as “the sum

total (including all the interactions) of all those elements within a given

piece of printed material that affect the success a group of readers have

with it. The success is the extent to which they understand it, read it at an

optimal speed, and find it interesting.” 35

We can also say that when

students find a text is interesting for them and they are able to read and

understand it, then the text is readable for them.

In the book Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language, Nuttal

defines readability as the combination of structural and lexical difficulty.36

Thus, the term readability is not only refers to the lexical difficulty of a

text but also the structural difficulty. To sum up, readability is a

combination of the difficulty in vocabulary and the structure of the text.

From various definitions above, it can be concluded that readability is

the ease and difficulty level of texts related to students‟ reading ability.

(30)

2. The Methods of Readability Measurement

According to Smith, there are three ways in assessing the readability

of a text. They are comprehension testing, cloze procedure test, and

statistical readability.37

a. Comprehension Testing

Comprehension testing is conducted by asking students to do silent

reading and ask them questions about the author‟s message in the text.

The text is said to be readable when students understand it about 70%

to 80%.38

In addition, Harjasujana et.al. state that a reading text is easy

to read when readers understand 98% of the vocabularies used in the

text and master 75% of the content.39

b. Cloze Procedure Test

Cloze Procedure Test was introduced by Wilson Taylor in 1953.

He used this test to measure students‟ individual understanding of

texts.40 Originally, this Cloze Procedure Test was intended to measure

texts‟ reading difficulty level. This test was created to determine if a

text is suitable for a group of students or not.41 Hence, to measure

reading difficulty level of a text by using Cloze Procedure Test is to

measure students‟ understanding of the text.

Cloze Procedure Test, according to Alderson, is typically

constructed by deleting every n-th word. The n-th word is said to be

the words between every 5th and 12th. Cloze procedure test requires

students to restore the deleted words. To help students understand the

(31)

text, one or two sentences of the beginning and end of the text are

usually left intact.42

Furthermore, Nuttal states that Cloze Procedure Test is an indicator

of readability. It is a technique that involves the deletion of words in a

text. The deleted words are between every 5th and 10th word.43 The

cloze procedure test is used to assess the readability of a text in which

teachers give students a text that is deleted its some words and ask

them to fill the deleted words. The deletion of word is done

systematically by the teachers.44 If the teacher deletes the 8th word of a

sentence, then she/he has to delete the 8th word of the next sentence.

Additionally, according to Heaton, the most favoured deletion words

are the fifth, sixth, and seventh.45

f = frequency of the right answer

N = number of item.46

Furthermore, after finding the percentage of the Cloze Procedure

Test, teachers try to find out the cloze score. Heaton classifies the

cloze score level as below:

If the mean score of the group is over 53 percent, the material can

be used by the students for reading at „the independent level‟, the

text being considered easy enough for students to read on their own without any help. If the mean score obtained is between 44

42

J. Charles Alderson, Assessing Reading, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), p. 207.

(32)

and 53 per cent, however, the material is suitable for use at „the instructional level‟- i.e. with the help of the teacher. If the mean sore is below 44 per cent, the text is described as being as „the frusttational level‟ and should not be used even with the help of a teacher.47

Thus, a text is said to be at independent level when the score gained

by the students in Cloze Procedure Test is over 53 percent, a text is at

instructional level when the score gained by students is between 44

and 53 percent, and a text is in frustrational level when the score

gained by students is below 44 percent. From the explanation before,

we can state that the lower the score, the more difficult the text.

Furthermore, each level of reading difficulty determines what

treatment teachers need to give students in teaching reading

comprehension. Therefore, after finding the readability level of the

selected reading texts by using the Flesch Reading Ease Formula, the

writer would like to conduct Cloze Procedure Test to see the texts

reading difficulty level.

c. Statistical Readability Formula

There are nearly fifty different readability formulas that are

available to use, but Klare has summarized and updated them into

four. These four formulas are representative of those fifty that can be

used for classroom purpose.48 The four readability formulas are as

follow:

1) The Dale - Chall Formula

This formula was developed by Edgar Dale and Jeanne

Chall in 1948.

The steps in conducting this formula are as follow:

a) Select 100-word samples throughout the text (for books, every tenth page is recommended).

b) Compute the average sentence length in words.

47_Ibid. 48

(33)

c) Compute the percentage of words outside the date list of 3,000 words.

d) Compute this equation:

Score = .1579PDW + .0496ASL + 3.6365 Where:

Score = reading grade of a reader who can answer one-half of the questions on a passage.

PDW = Percentage of Difficult Words (words not on the Dale – Chall word list)

ASL = Average Sentence Length in words.49

The chart for correcting the grade-level scores at the higher

grades is as follow:50

10 and above Grade 16 and above (college

graduates)

2) The Flesch Reading Ease Formula

The Flesch Reading Ease Formula is said to be a

simple formula to assess the readability or the difficulty of

reading passage written in English.51 Chall and Klare in

(34)

reliable.”52

For this reason, the writer would like to use this

formula to measure the readability of selected texts.

The specific formula of The Flesch Reading Ease

Formula is as follows:

Score = 206.835 – (1.015 x ASL) – (84.6 x ASW) Where:

Score = position on a scale of 0 (difficult) to 100 (easy), with 30 = very difficult and 70 = suitable for adult audiences. ASL = average sentence length (the number of words divided by the number of sentence).

ASW = average number of syllable per word (the number of syllables divided by the number of words).53

The Flesch Reading Ease Score is as follows:

Table 2.2

procedure of this formula is as follow:

52

DuBay, op. cit., p. 22. 53_Ibid.

(35)

a) Choose three typical passages of 100 words each form near the beginning, middle and end of the text. b) Count the number of sentences in each passage to

the nearest 0.1 of a sentence. Add the three totals and divide by 3. The answer is A, the average number of sentences in 100 words.

c) Count the number of syllables in each passage. Add the three totals and divide by three. The answer is B, the average number of syllables in 100 words.

d) Plot the answer, A and B.55

Furher, DuBay also gives directions in applying this

formula. They are:

a) Select samples of 100 words.

b) Find y (vertical), the average number of sentences per 100-word passage (calculating o the nearest tenth).

c) Find x (horizontal), the average number of syllables per 100-word sample.

d) The zone where the two coordinates meet shows the grade store 56

4) The SMOG Index

This formula is developed by G. Harry McLaughlin

in 1969. McLaughlin believes that word length and

sentence length should not be added, but be multiplied.57

This formula is used by counting the number of words of

more than two syllables (polysyllable count) in 30

sentences. The simple formula of this SMOG Index is:

SMOG Grading = 3 + square root of polysyllable count.58

The procedure in applying this formula is as

follows:

a) Choose three passages of ten sentences each from near the beginning, middle and end of the text.

(36)

b) Count all words of three or more syllables in the 30 sentences. The total is DW (= difficult words). c) Calculate the square root of DW.

d) Add 3 to the square root: the total is the SMOG index.59

D.

The English Curriculum for Senior High School

In curriculum 2013, English materials that are taught is emphasizedin

language competence as the medium of communication. Students are also

made accustomed to reading and understanding texts, and to summarizing

and re-writing them using their own language. Furthermore, students are

made accustomed to arranging text systematically, logically and

effectively through exercises of text arrangement. Then, students are given

the knowledge of text structure to make them arrange the text correctly. In

addition, students are made accustomed to expressing themselves and their

knowledge using trusted language spontaneously.60

The statement above deals with English curriculum for senior high

school. Because the writer is going to analyze the English textbook for the

eleventh grade of senior high school students, the writer will only explain

English curriculum for the eleventh grade. The English curriculum for the

eleventh grade of senior high school is as follow:

Table 2.3

The English Curriculum for the Eleventh Grade of Senior High School 61

Kementrian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Kerangka Dasar dan Struktur Kurikulum 2013, (Jakarta: KEMENDIKBUD,2013), p. 39.

61

(37)

the values of honesty,

self-in solvself-ing various problems

in interacting affectively with

culture and humanities with

humanistic, nationalistic and

civilized insights in relation

to the causes of phenomena

responding a suggestion and

offer, according to the contexts.

features of expressing hopes,

according to the contexts.

3.4. Analyzing the social functions,

the structure and language

features of formal invitation

letters, according to the

(38)

features of personal letters,

according to the contexts.

conditional forms, according to

the contexts.

features of simple factual

academic report about persons,

(39)

4. Processing, analyzing and

features of simple biographies

of famous people, according to

texts to express and respond to a

suggestion and offer according

to its social functions, structure

4.5. Editing formal invitation letter

according to its social functions,

structure and language features.

4.6. Writing formal invitations,

(40)

personal letter.

4.8. Writing personal letters,

4.9. Understanding spoken and

written procedural texts, in the

4.11. Constructing spoken and

written text of stating and

asking about actions / activities

/ events without stating the doer,

4.12. Constructing spoken and

written text of conditional

expressions, according to its

social functions, structure and

language features.

4.13. Understanding message in

spoken and written academic

factual reports about persons,

animals, things, and natural and

social phenomena, according to

its social functions, structure

and language features.

(41)

short and simple biographies.

songs.

Based on the English curriculum above, there are 7 types of text that

students need to learn. They are: formal invitation letters, personal letters,

procedural texts, factual academic reports, analytical exposition texts,

biographies and songs. In learning those texts, students are asked to

analyze the texts‟ social functions, structure, and language features

according to the contexts. Further, students are also asked to understand,

construct, edit and finally write them.

In analyzing the readability level of the texts in Pathway to English,

the writer is going to select some texts based on the requirement of English

curriculum as mentioned above. The detail explanation will be presented

in chapter III.

E.

The Previous Study

The relevant previous studies that deal with the analysis on the

readability level of reading texts on the English textbook was done by Yuli

Darmayanti, Nur Afni Meilia, and Bertola A. D. Perekeme and Catherine

Alex Abgor.

The first previous study is done by Yuli Darmayanti. It is Analyzing

the Readability Level of Reading Texts on the English Textbook Entitled

‘Link to the World’. This book was used by students of grade X of MA Pembangunan UIN Syarif Hidayatullah. Yuli conducted the study based

on the problem that she found the teachers at MA Pembangunan found

their students encounter the difficulties in understanding the reading texts

(42)

readability level using the Flesch Reading Ease Formula and Cloze Test.

From her study, she found that there are 5 of 6 reading texts which are

analyzed of the total 12 texts in the textbook, are readable for the students

of grade X of MA Pembangunan UIN Syarif Hidayatullah after she

analyzed it by using Flesch Reading Ease Formula, but there is only one

text that is appropriate for the students‟ level. In analyzing the texts using

Cloze Test, she found that there are 4 texts categorized as independent

level and 2 texts as instructional level. 62

The second previous study was conducted by Nur Afni Meilia on

Analyzing the Readability Level of the Reading Texts on the Textbook

‘English on Sky’ published by Airlangga at grade VIII of MTs. Soebono Mantofani. The writer conducted this study because she found from the

observation that the eighth grade students of MTs Soebono Mantofani had

difficulty in understanding the reading texts written on the textbook.

Finally, this study was intended to see how the readability level of the

reading texts on the textbook English on Sky is. In this study, the writer

used two methods. They are Flesch Reading Ease Formula and Cloze Test.

As the result, she found that by using Flesch Reading Ease Formula, from

the total 14 texts that are analyzed, 6 texts are categorized in the Very Easy

Level, 3 texts are in the Easy Level, 1 text is in the Fairly Easy Level, and

4texts are in the Standard Level. Furthermore, in analyzing texts using

Cloze Test, she found that there are 9 texts in the Independent Level as the

scores are over 53%; this means that the texts can easily be understood by

students and can be learned independently by them, 5 texts are in the

Instructional Level as the scores are between 44-53%; this means that the

texts are suitable for the students, but still with the help of the teacher.63

62

Yuli Darmayanti, “The Readability Level of the Reading Texts on Link to the World:

an English Textbook for Senior High School”, Skripsi of Undergraduate of State Islamic University Jakarta, Jakarta, 2010, unpublished.

63

(43)

Another previous study was done by Bertola A. D. Perekeme and

Catherine Alex Abgor on Readability of Language Textbooks Prescribed

for Junior Secondary Schools and Students’ Performance in Reading

Comprehension in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. This study is conducted to

investigate the readability level of English Language Textbook prescribed

for Junior Secondary School for students‟ performance in reading

comprehension. Thus, this study is conducted based on the problem that

students from primary school become poor readers when they come to

secondary level because the reading materials do not match the students‟

reading level. The methods used in this study are Fry Readability Graph

and Cloze Test. The result of this study shows that English Language

Textbook that is prescribed for Junior Secondary School is Intensive

English for Junior Secondary Schools written by Oluikpe, B.O., Obah, T.

Y., Otagburuagu, E. J. and Onuigbo S. M. The researchers found that the

readability level of prescribed textbook, after they analyzed using Fry

Readability Formula, is on level 9. It means that the reading materials are

in frustrational level for the students. Furthermore, the result of Cloze Test

shows that there are 120 students who read at independent level, 178

students at Instructional level and 322 read at frustrational level.64

Those relevant previous studies show a strong relation to this study

because the variables are almost the same and the methods used are so.

64

Bertola A. D. Perekeme and Catherine Alex Abgor, Readability of Language

Textbooks Prescribed for Junior Secondary Schools and Students‟ Performance in Reading

(44)

32

A. The Object of the Study

The object of this study is reading texts in Pathway to English 2

textbook for the eleventh grade of senior high school students published

by Penerbit Erlangga. As the English curriculum for the eleventh grade of

senior high school requires students to learn 7 types of text, the writer

selects all those types to be analyzed. Further, the writer takes 19 texts out

of 32 as the representatives of all the types.

B. The Method of the Study

In this study, the writer uses Descriptive Analysis method in which

the writer attempts to analyze, elaborate, and describe the readability level

of the selected reading texts in Pathway to English 2 textbook. In addition,

the writer also conducts a library research to find more references that

support the data from the Descriptive Analysis method.

C.

The Source of the Data

The source of the data in this study is all the reading texts in

Pathway to English 2 textbook. It is 32 reading texts (3 formal invitation

letters, 2 personal letters, 5 procedural texts, 9 factual academic reports, 7

analytical exposition texts, 5 biographies and 1 song).

Further, the writer takes 19 texts (2 formal invitation letters, 1

personal letter, 3 procedural texts, 5 factual academic reports, 4 analytical

exposition texts, 3 biographies, and 1 song) to be analyzed. Those texts are

selected as the representatives of all types of text in the textbook.

In addition, as the writer conducts the Cloze Procedure Test, 29

students of the eleventh grade of MA AN-NAJAH are also become the

(45)

D. The Technique of Data Collection and Analysis

To collect the data, the writer firstly selects the textbook that is

used as the object of this study. After selecting the textbook, she analyzes

its content by finding the types and the number of text. Then, the writer

continues to select some reading texts to be analyzed in this study.

Furthermore, in analyzing the data, the writer uses the Flesch

Reading Ease Formula. The writer firstly counts the number of sentences,

words, and syllables of each text. The writer then continues to look for the

Average Sentence Length (ASL) and the Average Number of Syllable per

Word (ASW) of each text.

Reading Ease Scale of Flesch Reading Ease Formula.

Table 3.1

The Reading Ease Scale of the Flesch Reading Ease Formula Reading Ease Score Style Description Estimated Reading Grade

90 – 100 Very Easy 5th grade

Finally, the writer selects some texts that are basically suitable for the

eleventh grade of senior high school students and attempts to find out the

texts‟ reading difficulty level by using Cloze Procedure Test. The test is

(46)

word, then the students are asked to complete them with the words

provided in a list.

After distributing the test, the writer counts the students correct

answer and finds out the percentage by using the following formula:

x 100%

Finally, after finding the percentage, the writer determines the texts‟

reading difficulty level by referring to judgment of the Cloze Procedure

Test Score:

Table 3.2

The Judgment of the Cloze Procedure Test Score No. Percentage of the

Correct Answers

Score Judgment

1. Over 53% Independent level

2. 44% - 53% Instructional level

(47)

35

A. The Description of the Data

The textbook that is analyzed by the writer is Pathway to English 2

textbook for the eleventh grade of senior high school students, published

by Penerbit Erlangga. This textbook is compiled by Th. M. Sudarwati and

Eudia Grace and is claimed to be based on Curriculum 2013.

This textbook consists of 244 pages and 12 chapters for 2

semesters. In this textbook, each chapter presents its social function, skills

development (listening, speaking, reading and writing), cultural awareness

and ways to say words in English.

As it is claimed that this textbook is based on Curriculum 2013,

each chapter presents the 5 scientific methods in presenting the material to

the students. These 5 scientific methods are observing, questioning,

exploring, associating, and communicating. Therefore, teachers are able to

use them as a guideline.

This textbook contains 7 types of text with 32 reading texts. They

are 3 formal invitation letters, 2 personal letters, 5 procedural texts, 9

factual academic reports, 7 analytical exposition texts, 5 biographies, and

1 song. From the 32 reading texts, the writer selects 19 texts to be

analyzed. They are 2 formal invitation letters: Invitation 2 and Prof. Dr.

……… MBA, 1 personal letter: Dear Melodi, 3 procedural texts: How to Use Chopsticks, How to Make a Bookmark, and Tips of Treating a

Washing-machine Well, 5 factual academic reports: Auctions, The

Advantages of Broccoli, Mining Accident Again, Mobile Phones, and

Panda, 4 analytical exposition texts: Why Books are Important for Us?,

Save Your Money Now!, Script 1, and Cheating on the Test Doesn’t Take Any Benefits at All, 3 biographies: Cut Nyak Dhien, Abdul Haris Nasution,

(48)

Furthermore, the writer counts the number of syllables, words, and

sentences of each text in http://www.countwordsworth.com/. The

procedure in counting them is by typing the text in the column in the

website page. Then, the number syllables, words, and sentences of the text

are automatically detected. Finally, the writer finds the calculation result

as follows:

Table 4.1

(49)

B. The Analysis of the Data

After counting the number of syllables, words, and sentences, the

writer then analyzes the data by using the Flesch Reading Ease Formula.

Firstly, the writer tries to find out the ASL (Average Sentence Length) and

ASW (Average Number of Syllables per Word). The data analysis is as

follow:

1. Text 1

ASL = Number of Words: Number of Sentences

= 144: 12 = 12

ASW = Number of Syllables: Number of Words

= 217: 144 = 1.5

2. Text 2

= 151: 11 = 13.7

= 287: 151 = 1.9

3. Text 3

= 184: 10 = 18.4

= 254: 184 = 1.4

4. Text 4

= 179: 13 = 13.8

(50)

5. Text 5

= 151: 14 = 10.8

= 187: 151 = 1.2

6. Text 6

= 137: 19 = 7.2

= 218: 137 = 1.6

7. Text 7

= 182: 11 = 16.5

= 288: 182 = 1.6

8. Text 8

= 127: 9 = 14.1

= 234: 127 = 1.8

9. Text 9

= 135: 11 = 12.3

(51)

10. Text 10

= 342: 16 = 21.4

= 623: 342 = 1.8

11. Text 11

= 260: 14 = 18.6

= 432: 260 = 1.7

12. Text 12

= 249: 21 = 11.9

= 378: 249 = 1.5

13. Text 13

= 344: 26 = 13.2

= 564: 344 = 1.6

14. Text 14

= 137: 9 = 15.2

(52)

15. Text 15

= 294: 16 = 18.4

= 448: 294 = 1.5

16. Text 16

= 166: 8 = 20.8

= 261: 166 = 1.6

17. Text 17

= 331: 21 = 15.8

= 570: 331 = 1.7

18. Text 18

= 168: 13 = 12.9

= 249: 168 = 1.5

19.Text 19

= 157: 1 = 157

(53)

To make it easier, the writer presents the result of ASL and ASW

calculations of the texts in the following table:

Table 4.2

The Result of ASL and ASW Calculation of Texts

Text Average Sentence Length Average Syllable per Word

Text 1 12 1.5

Text 2 13.7 1.9

Text 3 18.4 1.4

Text 4 13.8 1.4

Text 5 10.8 1.2

Text 6 7.2 1.6

Text 7 16.5 1.6

Text 8 14.1 1.8

Text 9 12.3 1.5

Text 10 21.4 1.8

Text 11 18.6 1.7

Text 12 11.9 1.5

Text 13 13.2 1.6

Text 14 15.2 1.6

Text 15 18.4 1.5

Text 16 20.8 1.6

Text 17 15.8 1.7

Text 18 12.9 1.5

Text 19 157 1.2

Furthermore, after counting the ASL and ASW, the writer tries to find out

(54)

Text 1

Score = 206.835 – (1.015 X ASL) – (84.6 X ASW)

= 206.835 – (1.015 X 12) – (84.6 X 1.5)

= 206.835 – (12.18) – (126.9)

= 67.755

= 67.8

= 68

Text 2

Score = 206.835 – (1.015 X ASL) – (84.6 X ASW)

= 206.835 – (1.015 X 13.7) – (84.6 X 1.9)

= 206.835 – (13.9055) – (160.74)

= 32.1895

= 32.2

= 32

Text 3

Score = 206.835 – (1.015 X ASL) – (84.6 X ASW)

= 206.835 – (1.015 X 18.4) – (84.6 X 1.4)

= 206.835 – (18.676) – (118.44)

= 69.719

= 69.7

= 70

Text 4

Score = 206.835 – (1.015 X ASL) – (84.6 X ASW)

= 206.835 – (1.015 X 13.8) – (84.6 X 1.4)

= 206.835 – (14.007) – (118.44)

= 74.388

= 74.4