THE EFFECT OF L1 MULTIPLE-CHOICE GLOSSES ON READING COMPREHENSION OF NARRATIVE TEXTS (An Ex-post Facto Study in 9th Grade Students at a Junior High School in Kabupaten Bandung).

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THE EFFECT OF L1 MULTIPLE-CHOICE GLOSSES ON READING COMPREHENSION OF NARRATIVE TEXTS

(An Ex-post Facto Study in 9th Grade Students at a Junior High School in Kabupaten Bandung)

RESEARCH PAPER

Submitted as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Bachelor’s Degree in English Education

By

Try AyuNuralamSetiawan

(1003155)

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH EDUCATION

FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE EDUCATION

UNIVERSITAS PENDIDIKAN INDONESIA

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Try Ayu Nuralam Setiawan, 2015

The Effect Of L1 Multiple-Choice Glosses On Reading Comprehension Of Narrative Texts

THE EFFECT OF L1 MULTIPLE-CHOICE GLOSSES ON READING COMPREHENSION

OF NARRATIVE TEXTS

(An Ex-post Facto Study in 9th Grade Students at a Junior High School in Kabupaten Bandung)

Oleh

Try AyuNuralamSetiawan

Sebuah skripsi yang diajukan untuk memenuhi salah satu syarat memperoleh gelar Sarjana pada

Fakultas Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra

Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia

Februari 2015

Hak Cipta dilindungi undang-undang.

Skripsi ini tidak boleh diperbanyak seluruhnya atau sebagian,

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TRY AYU NURALAM SETIAWAN

THE EFFECT OF L1 MULTIPLE-CHOICE GLOSSES ON READING COMPREHENSION OF NARRATIVE TEXTS

(An Ex-post Facto Study in 9th Grade Students at a Junior High School in Kabupaten Bandung)

APPROVED BY:

Main Supervisor

Prof. H. Fuad Abdul Hamied, M.A., Ph.D. NIP.195008211974121001

Co-Supervisor

Rd. Della N. Kartika Sari A., S.Pd., M.Ed. NIP.197704142001122003

Head of English Education Department Faculty of Language and Literature Education

Indonesia University of Education

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Try Ayu Nuralam Setiawan, 2015

Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu

ABSTRACT

The lack of vocabulary is one of the problems that is mostly encountered by students while reading. L1 MCG is one of the solutions to facilitate students in understanding some vocabulary while reading. The purpose of the research is to find out the use of L1 MCG on reading comprehension and to investigate students’ opinion on L1 MCG in the text. Employing ex-post facto design, this study involved 92 ninth graders in a junior high school at Kabupaten Bandung to accomplish two tests which namely grouping test and performance test. A grouping test is to classify students into two groups that are L1 MCG group and no gloss group based on students’ rankingscore. A performance test is to emphasize the difference in students’ reading comprehension of L1 MCG group and no gloss group. The questionnaires were distributed to collect students’ opinion in L1 MCG group. The result of the research presented the scores of L1 MCG group was higher than no gloss group and students suggested that L1 MCG has facilitated their reading comprehension, has motivated them to read and they agreed with using L1 MCG as media on learning activity. Finally, L1 MCG is suggested to facilitate students in understanding the text while reading.

Keyword: L1 MCG, Reading Comprehension

ABSTRACT

Kurangnya penguasaan kosakata merupakan salah satu masalah yang dihadapi bagi para siswa ketika membaca. L1 MCG adalah salah satu solusi untuk memfasilitasi para siswa dalam memahami kosakata ketika membaca. Tujuan penilitian ini adalah untuk mengidentifikasi penggunaan L1 MCG dalam pemahaman membaca dan untuk menginvestigasi opini siswa-siswa pada penggunaan L1 MCG di dalam teks. Menggunakan model ex-post facto, penelitian ini melibatkan 92 siswa kelas 9 di sebuah Sekolah Menengah Pertama (SMP) di Kabupaten Bandung untuk mengerjakan dua test yakni grouping test dan performance test. Grouping test adalah tes untuk menggolongkan para siswa menjadi dua kelompok yakni kelompok L1 MCG dan kelompok no gloss berdasarkan ranking siswa-siswa pada test tersebut. Performance test bertujuan untuk menilai perbedaan pada kemampuan membaca siswa dalam kelompok L1 MCG dan kelompok no gloss. Kuesioner didistribusikan untuk mengumpulkan opini siswa-siswa yang berada di kelompok L1 MCG. Hasil dari penilitian ini menunjukan bahwa nilai kelompok L1 MCG lebih tinggi daripada kelompok no gloss dan para siswa berpendapat bahwa L1 MCG memfasilitasi kemampuan membaca mereka, memotivasi mereka untuk membaca dan mereka setuju untuk menggunakan L1 MCG sebagai media dalam kegiatan belajar mengajar. Kesimpulannya adalah L1 MCG memfasilitasi siswa dalam memahami teks ketika membaca.

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter covers background, statement of problem, the aims of the study,

significance of research, clarification of terms and organization of the paper.

1.1 Background

Reading is one of the skills that is essential for students. Through reading,

students would be successful in the school. It leads to students who have a good skill

in reading would pass the examination besides, students who have less skill in

reading would find the complexity in the examination. A good skill in reading would

be reached if students had strong vocabulary. Therefore, a strong vocabulary is basic

need for students to improve their reading skill and make them successful in the

school. (http://esl.fis.edu/parents/advice/read.htm)

It is in line with Langan (2012) that students who have strong vocabulary will

make students successful in the school. Furthermore, Langan (2012) affirms that there

are three ways to strengthen the vocabulary. They are through regular reading,

vocabulary word sheet and vocabulary study books. Highlighting regular reading, it

proves that reading will enrich students’ vocabulary.

In fact, most students have had a limited vocabulary. It is supported by

Susanti (2002), an English teacher in SMUK V BPK Penabur Jakarta who found that

the students avoided answering the questions based on the text which is known as

reading comprehension because students’ vocabulary was not enough based on her experience in the learning activity at her class. In further, she found the relationship

between mastering vocabulary and reading comprehension. Her research previewed if

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contrast, if a student mastered less vocabulary, he/she would find the complexity

while reading.

Therefore, there should be a help for students in terms of vocabulary while

reading to make reading easier for students. One of suggested helps is vocabulary

glosses. Vocabulary glosses simply define as providing the definition of unknown

words that are put on the side or bottom margins in the text (Lomicka, 1998; Nation,

1983). In other words, while reading, students would find the definition of words

nearby from the text. It seems that vocabulary glosses could help students in

developing their reading comprehension. Foroogh (2012) has proved in his research

that glosses group was better than no gloss group in reading comprehension.

There are many kinds of vocabulary glosses in L1 or in L2. One of them is

multiple-choice glosses (MCG). According to Hulstjin (1992), MCG is more

effective than single gloss to decrease the wrong inferring when reading a text. MCG

and reading comprehension are considered to have a relationship because if MCG is

provided in the text, students should select the appropriate translation of the word

based on the context when constructing the text. It is predicted by providing MCG in

the text would affect to improve their reading comprehension.

Furthermore, vocabulary glosses could be defined in native language (Bahasa

Indonesia) (L1) or in English (L2). According to Miyasako (2002), L1 was more

appropriate for lower achieving students and L2 is good for higher achieving students

based on her research in one of senior high school in Japan. In this research,

multiple-choice glosses in Bahasa Indonesia (L1 MCG) were selected because students that

were in this research were ninth graders at a junior high school by means their

English skill was still developing.

MCG is often predicted that it will help students in reading comprehension.

Lin and Huang (2008) compared between meaning-inferred gloss and meaning-given

gloss. Lin and Huang (2008) confirmed if meaning-inferred gloss was better to

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Meaning-inferred gloss is same as MCG besides, meaning-given gloss is SG (single gloss). In

other word, Lin & Huang (2008) found MCG was more helpful to improve learner’s

reading comprehension than SG. In contrast, Miyasako (2002) compared between

three conditions that are SG, MCG and no gloss. Miyasako (2002) affirmed if there

was no significance difference between SG and MCG (vocabulary glosses) and no

gloss. As a result, MCG did not extremely facilitate learners in reading

comprehension.

In conclusion, vocabulary is an important need for students to improve their

reading comprehension. MCG is one of solutions to help students in terms of

vocabulary while reading. However, the effect of MCG on reading comprehension is

still not constant. Therefore, there should be another research to explore the effect of

MCG on reading comprehension.

1.2 Statement of Problem

To fulfill the development of research in MCG on reading comprehension and

to preview the effect of MCG on reading comprehension, this research was

guided by two research questions, they are as follows:

1. What differences in students’ reading comprehension are caused by L1 MCG?

2. What is the students’ opinion on the L1 MCG in the text?

1.3 Aims of Study

The aim of this research is to find out the effect of providing the L1 MCG on

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1.4 Significance of Research

The significance of this research is divided in two perspectives; theoretical

significance and practical significance. From a theoretical significance, it would be

analysed from two previous studies; Lin & Huang (2008) and Miyasako (2002) who

focused on MCG on reading comprehension. There are two aspects which are

emphasized. They are participants and the text. First, Lin and Huang investigated in a

senior high school in Taiwan. The texts that were selected as their research

instrument were Traditional Education and Single Mother. From the titles, they could

be categorized as report texts or description texts. Second, Miyasako (2002) did her

research for students at a senior high school in Japan. She selected a short story in her

research.

In this research, the participants who contributed were ninth grade students in

a junior high school in Kabupaten Bandung, Indonesia. The texts that were selected

to be one of research instruments were narrative texts. Therefore, this research can

contribute the development research of MCG on reading comprehension.

From a practical significance, as mentioned before students’ vocabulary

should be improved to help students in reading comprehension. MCG can be one of

solutions to help students in comprehending the text. Through providing MCG to

emphasize the words which have more than one definition on the text, it will help

students to understand the text.

1.5 Clarification of Terms

 Reading comprehension: a holistic process of constructing meaning from

writing text through the interaction. (Maria, 1990)

 Multiple-choice glosses: Multiple-choice glosses have multiple definition

options—typically one correct definition of the word in question and three

definitions of other words—and learners have to think about the meaning of

the word and choose the best one that would fit the context where the word

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 Narrative text: the text that covers the sequence of events which tells the

story by using imaginative language and express emotion in fiction or

nonfiction. (Sejnost & Thiese, 2010)

1.6 Organization of Paper

This research paper is previewed in five chapters. The first chapter is an

introduction part which embraces background, statement of problem, the aims of the

study, significance of research, clarification of terms and organization of the paper.

The second chapter is the literature review. This chapter covers

multiple-choice glosses, reading comprehension, narrative text, MCG in narrative text and

concluding remark.

The third chapter is methodology. It describes the description of research

design, data collection, data analysis and concluding remark.

The fourth chapter describes findings and discussion of the first research

question and findings and discussion of the second research question. In addition, it is

completed by concluding remark.

The fifth research comprises conclusion and suggestions. Both present the

interpretations of findings and discussions which are developed into conclusion and

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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

5.1. Conclusion

There are two conclusions that are drawn from this research. First, it is the

fact if L1 MCG can help students to improve their reading comprehension. Second, it is about students’ opinion while reading the text that is completed by L1 MCG.

L1 MCG is exceedingly beneficial for readers who have the less vocabulary.

When, L1 MCG is in the text, the readers are prevented from guessing the meaning

improperly or looking up the meaning in the dictionary which is time consuming.

Therefore, it is better to emphasize the effectiveness of L1 MCG in the text. This

research found out the fact if L1 MCG helped students to improve their reading

comprehension. It could be attained through finding out whether there was a

difference between L1 MCG text and no gloss text on reading comprehension or not.

While the result of performance test where the students have been categorized into

two groups was pointed out, it was found if the mean score of the L1 MCG text group

was higher than no gloss text group. It was also strengthened by the independent

t-test calculation which proved that there was a significance difference between L1

MCG text and no gloss text on reading comprehension. In other word, L1 MCG

provided positive effect for students in reading comprehension. By providing L1

MCG in the text, it has avoided students to guess the meaning of words improperly.

In addition, students can be prevented the time-consuming by finding out the

meaning of words in the dictionary. In conclusion, L1 MCG helped students to

improve their reading comprehension.

When the students found the text that was written in English (L2), they looked

mystified. Furthermore, the teacher would direct students to understand the text. In

contrast, when the students were simply asked to read the text loudly, it would be

hard for them to read word by word precisely, besides students should understand the

text, it is extremely harder for them. While there was L1 MCG in the text, the text

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emphasizes the students’ opinion on the advantages or disadvantages of L1 MCG in the text. Students’ opinion on the use of L1 MCG was positive. Students confirmed if L1 MCG helped them to construct the meaning of words in the text. They also

considered that L1 MCG motivated them to read the text and believed if L1 MCG

helped them to understand the text. Therefore, they suggested creating L1 MCG as

media in a learning activity.

5.2. Suggestion

The implication of these findings from this research will suggest providing L1

MCG in the text to improve reading comprehension. Therefore, it is better to present

the aspects that should be considered when a teacher selected L1 MCG as facilitation

to help students in constructing the text. In addition, the suggestion for future

research is also submitted.

The contact between text, reader and L1 MCG is believed to be able to

enhance the readers’ understanding of the text. Therefore, it is clear if L1 MCG is

beneficial for students to help them in constructing the text and also to motivate them

in reading text. However, if the teacher is interested to utilize L1 MCG in their

learning activity, there are some aspects that should be considered. First, from the

purpose of L1 MCG in the text, it is used to provide some translations of one word.

By means, L1 MCG focuses on the words which have several meanings. Therefore,

teacher should select the words that are multiple meanings. In further, teacher should

display the L1 MCG in the margin of the text. Second, providing L1 MCG in the text

is like indirectly to introduce the vocabulary to the students. It is better for teacher to

observe which vocabulary is new for students. Finally, L1 MCG can facilitate what

students need while reading. In addition, the use of L1 or L2 in MCG can be adjusted based on students’ English proficiency.

This research has fulfilled the development of vocabulary glosses research. In

fact, this research has the limitation. Therefore, the suggestions for future research

from some aspects are presented. First, from vocabulary glosses itself, vocabulary

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but also single glosses (SG). This research used MCG, which directs to words which

have multiple translations. However, future research can use SG which only provides

one translation of one word in the text. In addition, the future research also can

compare SG and MCG on reading comprehension or vocabulary retention. Second,

this research used L1 (Bahasa Indonesia) to translate the words. It is suggested to use

L2 to define the words in the text for future research. However, the decision of

selecting the language is adjusted by the students’ English proficiency.

Third, the selected text in this research was narrative text. In fact, all of the

texts can be facilitated by L1 MCG. Therefore, it is suggested to find out the effect of

L1 MCG in other texts like expository text, recount text, report text or another. The

present research used impromptu reading plus comprehension to measure reading

comprehension. Furthermore, it is suggested to use other methods to emphasize

THE EFFECT OF L1 MULTIPLE-CHOICE GLOSSES ON READING COMPREHENSION OF NARRATIVE TEXTS (An Ex-post Facto Study in 9th Grade Students at a Junior High School in Kabupaten Bandung).