THE DIFFICULTIES FACED BY THE SECOND GRADE OF JUNIOR HIGH STUDENTS IN COMPREHENDING RECOUNT TEXTS AT SMP NEGERI 1 PRAMBON-SIDOARJO

(1)

THE DIFFICULTIES FACED BY THE SECOND GRADE OF JUNIOR HIGH STUDENTS IN COMPREHENDING RECOUNT TEXTS

AT SMP NEGERI 1 PRAMBON-SIDOARJO

THESIS

By:

MIA ARIFAH HUSNUDIN 07360217

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH MALANG

(2)

THE DIFFICULTIES FACED BY THE SECOND GRADE OF JUNIOR HIGH STUDENTS IN COMPREHENDING RECOUNT TEXTS

THESIS

By:

MIA ARIFAH HUSNUDIN

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH MALANG

(3)

THE DIFFICULTIES FACED BY THE SECOND GRADE OF JUNIOR HIGH STUDENTS IN COMPREHENDING RECOUNT TEXTS

THESIS

This thesis is submitted to meet one of the requirements to achieve Sarjana Degree in English Education

By:

MIA ARIFAH HUSNUDIN 07360217

UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH MALANG FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION

(4)

(5)

MOTTO AND DEDICATION

“ In every difficulty, there is an easiness” (Q.S. 94:5)

“Allah SWT would not change the one’s condition unless they change themselves”

(Q.S. 13: 11)

“ Science without religion is blind,

Religion without science is lame”

(Albert Einstein)

DEDICATION:

I dedicated this thesis to:

My beloved father and mother,

My beloved sister and brother,

(6)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Bismillahirahmanirrahim,

Alhamdulillah, all praises be to Allah, the most Gracious and Merciful, who has given guidance and blessing in finishing this thesis. Sholawat and Salam are also delivered to the Prophet Muhammad SAW.

The writer believes that without his blessing, she cannot do anything because she is nobody. Frankly, this thesis would not finish without other people’s help. In this occasion, she thanks to:

1. Her first advisor, Dra. Erly Wahyuni, M. Si and her second advisor, Dian

Inayati, M. Ed, for their suggestions, corrections, encouragements, kindness and patient that guided me in finishing this thesis.

2. Her beloved parents, Agus Husnudin, S. Pd and It Mamiyah who always pray,

care, support and give the affection during writing this thesis. She can’t

express with words anymore because it is not enough to reply their dedication to her.

3. Her lovely sister, Uni Barroroh Husnudin and her lovely brother, Moh. Barid

Isom Husnudin who give the motivation in writing this thesis.

4. Her Uncle, “De Parman” and his family who give love, care, and support.

Thanks for everything that you gave to me.

5. The Headmaster of SMP Negeri 1 Prambon-Sidoarjo, Drs. H. Achmad Sururi,

M. Pd and the English Teacher, Agung Wijanarko, S. Pd, who had gave the opportunity to conduct the research.

6. Her beloved, Angga Septiyawan, S. Hut and his family who always give love,

care and support in finishing this thesis.

7. The Second Grade students of SMP Negeri 1 Prambon-Sidoarjo, especially

class D and class H.

8. Her friends in “140 community and Amalia House 86A”, Ike, Vera, Dewi,

(7)

9. Her friends in English Department “07” Dewi, Vivi, Vina, Melyn, Nisa, Eka,

Estri, Intan, Miss Hore, and the other who didn’t mention one by one.

Finally, the writer realizes that this thesis is far from being perfect. Therefore, advices and critics are important to make this thesis be better.

Malang, July 2012

(8)

vii

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

5.1 Conclusion ... 36

5.2 Suggestions ... 37

5.2.1 Suggestion for the Teachers ... 37

5.2.2 Suggestion for the Students ... 37 REFERENCES

(11)

REFERENCES

Anonymous. 1996. Comprehension Skills. Greenwood: R.I.C. Publications.

. 2011. Perangkat Pembelajaran SMP Negeri 1 Prambon. Sidoarjo.

Arikunto, Suharsimi. 2006. Prosedur Penelitian. Jakarta: PT Rineka Cipta.

Ary, Donald et.al. 2002. Introduction to Research in Education 6ed. New York:

Wadsworth Thomson Learning.

Brassell, Danny and Rasinski Timothy. 2008. Comprehension That Works: Taking

Students Beyond Ordinary Understanding to Deep Comprehension. Huntington Beach: Shell Education.

Gillet, J. W and Temple, Charles. 1990. Understanding Reading Problems:

Assessment and Instruction 3rd ed. Virginia: HarperCollins Publishers.

Gunning, Thomas G. 1992. Creating Reading Instruction For All Children.

Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Lipson, Marjorie Y and Wixson, Karen K. 1991. Assessment and Instruction of

Reading Disability: An Interactive Approach. 1991. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

Mason, J. M. and Au, Kathryn H. 1990. Reading Instruction for Today 2nd ed.

Hawaii: HarperCollins Publishers.

McMillan, James H and Schumacher, Sally. 1993 Research in Education A

Conceptual Introduction. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

Mercer, Cecil D and Mercer Ann R. 1989. Teaching Students with Learning

Problems. New York: MacMillan Publishing Company.

Mutmainah. 2010. The Ability of the Students in Comprehending Recount Text at

SMP Negeri 3 Batu. Unpublished Thesis. Malang: FTTE University of Muhammadiyah Malang.

Nazir, Moh. 2010. Metode Penelitian. Bogor: Ghalia Indonesia.

Pardiyono. 2006. 12 Writing Clues for Better Writing Competence. Yogyakarta:

Andi Yogyakarta.

Sari, Agustina Permata. 2009. Students’ Difficulties in Comprehending Reading

(12)

Sudarwati, Th. M. And Grace Eudia. 2007. Look Ahead An English Course 1. Jakarta: Erlangga.

Surapranata, Sumarna. 2004. Analisis, Validitas, Reliabilitas dan Interpretasi

Hasil Tes. Bandung: PT Remaja Rosdakarya.

Tim Redaksi Fokusmedia. 2005. Standar Nasional Pendidikan (SNP) Peraturan

Pemerintah Nomor 19 Tahun 2005. Bandung: Fokusmedia.

Tjais, Juliza A. R. 2004. Reading Speed and Reading Comprehension of EFL

Students. Unpublished Thesis. Malang: FTTE University of

Muhammadiyah Malang.

Vacca, Jo Anne L, Vacca, Richard T and Gove, Marry K. 1991. Reading and

Learning to Read 2ed. New York: HarperCollinsPublishers.

Wardiman, Artono, Jahur Masduki, B, and Djusma M. Sukirman. 2008. English

in Focus for Grade VIII Junior High School (SMP/MTs). Jakarta: Pusat Perbukuan Departemen Pendidikan Nasional.

Wathoni, Abid Nur. 2010. Problems Faced by the Students in Learning Reading

at MTs As Syafi’iyah Pogalan Trenggalek. Unpublished Thesis. Malang:

(13)

1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents the background of the study, the statement of the problem, the purpose of the study, the significance of the study, the scope and limitation, and the definition of key term.

1.1Background of the Study

As an international language, English plays an important role in every aspect of the world’s society. It means that people should try to be able to speak English to

make relationship with other countries in the world. Therefore, English is to be taught as a foreign language in Indonesia. It is stated on the English School-Based Curriculum (Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan, 2011) of Junior High School. Basically, there are four language skills that students should master, they are speaking, listening, writing, and reading. In learning a language, reading has an important role in education. According to Anderson, et.al (1985, in Lipson and

Wixson, 1991:13), “Reading is the process of constructing meaning through the

dynamic interaction among the reader, the text, and the context of the reading situation”. Reading can also enrich knowledge and increase vocabulary. Realizing the

importance of reading, students are expected to be able to not only read but also understand the meaning. Carnine and Silbert (1979, in Mercer and Mercer, 1989:334)

(14)

2

of competency. It means students who read often their knowledge will increase and solve the problem.

Reading is an important skill in learning a language that should be mastered by students because it is a basic communication. In the School-Based Curriculum (Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan, 2011), students in Junior High are expected to reach functional level, meaning to communicate in English both oral and written language to solve the daily problems. They are expected to increase their knowledge by reading texts. In this case, the students must be able to comprehend types of texts which are taught in Junior High School.

Reading is not a new subject for students of junior high school. However, several junior high students still face difficulties in learning English, especially reading subject. This statement is supported by Sari (2009) in her research on difficulties faced by the eighth year students of Junior High in comprehending reading texts. The most common difficulty was in comprehending the whole selection. The second most difficulty was in comprehending words or vocabulary, followed by difficulties in comprehending paragraphs and sentences, respectively. A similar study is found in Wathoni (2010) which shows that students had lack of vocabulary, lack of background on knowledge about the text, and lack of grammar.

Based on the Standard of Competencies and Basic Competencies of, types of texts that should be taught at the second grade of Junior High are descriptive, recount, and narrative. Recount is a text which retells a series of events, usually in the order

(15)

3

contains chronological or occurred activities in the past. It is focus on retelling the occurred experience in the past. Therefore, the social function is to retell activities for

the purpose of informing or entertaining”. In other words, students can use their story

or experience to help understanding recount texts.

In this study, the focus is on the students’ difficulties in comprehending recount

texts because of their low ability in comprehending recount texts. This is based on the result of previous research conducted by Mutmainah (2010) in her research on the ability of Junior High students in comprehending recount texts. She found that the

ability in comprehending recount text was fair, seen from the students’ test result

which was only 61.7. This shows that several of the second grades of Junior High students still had difficulties to understand recount texts. Therefore, it is essential to

observe and analyze the student’s difficulties in comprehending recount texts and the

factors causing difficulties faced by the students.

(16)

4 1.2 Statement of the Problems

Based on the background of the study above, the problems are formulated as follows:

1. What are the difficulties faced by the second grade of junior high students in comprehending recount texts?

2. What are the factors causing the difficulties faced by the second grade of junior high students in comprehending recount texts?

1.3Purpose of the Study

Related to the problems of the study above, the purposes of the study are:

1. To know the difficulties faced by the second grade of junior high students in comprehending recount texts.

2. To know the factors causing the difficulties faced by the second grade of junior high students in comprehending recount texts.

1.4 Significance of the Study

The result of the study is expected to be useful for English teachers of Junior High Schools, particularly of SMP Negeri 1 Prambon-Sidoarjo in teaching reading especially, recount texts. They may know their students’ difficulties and the causes of

(17)

5

It is also expected that the result will be useful for the Junior High School students in learning types of texts and recount texts, in particular. They will know their weaknesses and the causes of the difficulties in comprehending recount texts. So, they would not get difficulties when they learn types of the texts, especially recount texts.

1.5 Scope and Limitation

The scope of this study is on the students’ difficulties in comprehending recount

texts at SMP Negeri 1 Prambon-Sidoarjo. The choice of recount texts is because of the low ability of students in comprehending recount texts. Therefore, it is essential to

observe and analyze the student’s difficulties in comprehending recount texts and the

factors causing difficulties faced by the students. This research only takes the second grade students of SMP Negeri 1 Prambon-Sidoarjo in academic 2011-2012 as the subject of the study because recount text is taught from this level.

1.6 Definition of Key Term

To avoid misunderstanding in terms and content in this study, the writer defines several of the key terms which are used in this study:

1. Difficulty is a condition that students unable to solve the problem in

understanding recount texts.

2. Comprehending is the students’ ability in finding out of detail meaning from

(18)

6

THE DIFFICULTIES FACED BY THE SECOND GRADE OF JUNIOR HIGH STUDENTS IN COMPREHENDING RECOUNT TEXTS AT SMP NEGERI 1 PRAMBON-SIDOARJO