An Analysis Of Students’ Problems In Finding Main Idea Of Reading Text At The Second Grade Of Mtsn 1 Kotabumi

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ABSTRACT

AN ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS’ PROBLEMS IN FINDING MAIN IDEA OF READING TEXT AT THE SECOND GRADE OF

MTSN 1 KOTABUMI By

RIMA MAULI AD.

The objectives of the research are: 1) to find out students’ problems in finding main idea of reading text, 2) to find out students’ perceptions toward a reading test. The researcher used purposive sampling in collecting participants of this research. The researcher chose the students in Class VIII A as the participants because they had good enough quality of study than the other class did. This research was non-experimental one. In this research, she used qualitative case study. The data were collected by administering reading test, interview and giving questionnaire.

The resultsof interview show that there are six problems faced by the students in finding the main idea, that is: 1). there were 19 students (61,2%) lack of the students interest, 2). there were 25 students(80, 6%) lack of vocabulary knowledge, 3). there were 17 students (54,8%) had problem in identifying the main idea of the passage with very long sentence, 4). there were 19 students (52,7%) poor reading strategy, 5). there were 18 students (58,0%) had problem in sentence pattern (grammatical confusion), 6). there were 21 students (67,7%) ignorance of paragraph components. And the results of students perception toward a reading test are that according to them, reading test is a difficult task.They said that the text given by the researchers was hard to understand, because many difficult words that they did not know.

Based on the conclusion of the research, the writer suggestes: The students should understand the meaning of word in complete sentence. So that, the students should not only focus on word in isolation, because the students will be difficult to find the meaning of word if they focus on word by word.The teacher should lead the students to think about the topic that will be discussed in teaching learning process. So, the students have schemata related to the passage.And the last, for the other researcher try to find other problems not only about main idea, but also about all components of reading. So that, the researcher can find more problems faced by the students in leraning reading.

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CURRICULUM VITAE

The writer’s name isRima Mauli Ad. She was born in Kotabumi Lampung Utara on September26st, 1992. She is the fourth child of the good couple, Drs. H.

Akhmad Hasan and Darmiyati. Like her father and her mother is a civil servant.

Se has four lovely siblings, three brothers and one sister:Hasroli, Ridho Akhmad,

Rahmad Arif and Febriyana.

She began her formal educational institution for the first time at Kindergarten

Tunas Harapan, Kotabumi in 1997 and graduated in 1998. Then she continued her

elementary level at MIN 1, Kotabumi in 1998 and graduated in 2004. She pursued

her study at MTSN 1 Kotabumi and finished in 2007. Then, she continued her

study at SMAN 3 Kotabumi and graduated in 2010.

In the same year, she was registered as a student at the English Education Study

Program, the Teacher Training and Education Faculty, Lampung University. She

accomplished KKN program at Candra Kencana Village, Tulang Bawang Tengah

district, Tulang Bawang BaratRegioncy and teaching practice program (PPL) at

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DEDICATION

Bismillaahirrohmaannirrohiim, By offering my praise and gratitude to Alloh SWT for the abundant blessing given to the writer, this piece of work is sincerely dedicated to:

1. My beloved parents:BapakandMamak, Drs. H. Akhmad Hasan and Darmiyati

2. My beloved brothers and sister:Hasroli, Ridho Akhmad, Rahmad Arif and Febriyana, also all my big family who cannot be mentioned all

3. My fabulous friendsBblers: Dhika, Wisnu, Karina, Devy, Garsinia, Rani, Reza, and Rio

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MOTTO

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Einstein-ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Alhamdulillahirobbil’ alamin,praise be to Alloh SWT, the Almighty and Merciful

God, for blessing the writer with faith, health and opportunity to finish this

research. This research entitled “An Analysis of Students’ Problems in Finding Main Idea of Reading Text at MTSN 1 Kotabumi” as one of the requirements to

finish herBachelor degree at the English Education Study Program, the Teacher

Training and Education Faculty, Lampung University.

Gratitude and honor are addressed to all persons who have helped and supported

the writer until completing this research. Since, it is necessary to be known that

this research will never have come into its existence without any supports,

encouragements, and assistances by several outstanding people and institutions.

Therefore, the writer would like to acknowledge her respect and sincrere gratitude

to the first advisor,Prof. Dr. Cucu Sutarsyah, M.A.,and also Drs. H. M. Ujang

Suparman, M. A., Ph. D. as the second advisor who have given their ideas,

questions, advices,motivations and carefulness in correcting the grammatical

structure of the writers’s research, paragraph by paragraph, sentence by sentence

and even word by word to the writer to finish this final work and for obtaining the

title of Bachelor of English Education (S.Pd.).

Her thank is also dedicated to Prof. Ag Bambang Setiyadi, M.A., Ph. D. as the

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improve this script better. Therefore, the writer is very thankful to Drs. Basturi

Hasan, M.Pd. as the writer’s academic advisor for his kindness and patience in guiding the writer during his study, and also the deepest appreciation for all the

lecturers of English Education Department. Then, the writer would like to

acknowledge her respect to Budi Kadaryanto, M. Pd, who have given his ideas

and motivations to the writer to finish this final work.

Her appreciation is also given to the principal and vice principal of MTSN 1

Kotabumi, Dra. Enna Maliana, M. Pd. Iand Irawan who haveproviding the chance

to conduct this research. Next, her thankfulness is addressed toMrHaris Wijaya, S.

Pd. I, MM for his guiding given to the writer during her research and also for the

other English teachers of MTSN 1 Kotabumi:Mr Dwi, Mr Budi, who are very

helpful. Then the writer also thanks to class VII A for being cooperative during

this research.

Another gratitude is given to my Fabulous friends Bblers : Putra Mahardhika,

Wisnu Wijaya, Karina Rabiula, Devy Emsa Nurdina, Garsinia Dwiranu, Fitriah

Wirani, Reza Ramanda and Rio Sanjaya. Thanks for all the support, inspiration,

and motivation which will never be forgotten. Then her KKN/PPL team,her

boarding house friends Agustin, Chandra, Muti, and Sefti, 2010 colleagues of

English Department in Lampung University such as Afini, Dian Setya Rini,

Nandita, Daniand some seniors such as Wirathama Hazera Putra and Intan

Hamzah who are inspiring.

Last but not least, her beloved father, Drs. H. Akhmad Hasan, and her mother,

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nights, are everything for her. Her special gratitude is also given to her beloved

siblings, Hasroli, Ridho Akhmad, Rahmad Arif, Febriyana, and also my big

family: Biksu Lili, Pak Tut, Dayeng Angga, Liza, Samsul, Adin Sodri, Fuzi, Tati,

Tini, for their help and support financially to the writer.

Hopefully, this script may contribute positively to development of education. The

writer is completely aware that this script maybe far from perfect. Therefore,

constructive input and suggestion are expected to compose better paper in the

future.

Bandar Lampung, 27 Oktober 2014

The Writer

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LIST OF APPENDICES

Page Appendices

1. Reading Test... 56

2. Result Reading Test... 68

3. Interview ... 125

4. Result of Interview... 126

5. Questionnaire ... 136

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ABSTRACT... i

CURRICULUM VITAE... ii

DEDICATION... iii

MOTTO... iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS... v

TABLE OF CONTENTS... viii

LIST OF APPENDICES... x

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1. Background of the Problems... 1

1.2. Identification of the Problems ... 4

1.3. Limitation of the Problems ... 4

1.4. The Formulation of the Research Question ... 5

1.5. The Objective of the Research ... 5

1.6. The Uses... 5

1.7. The Significance of the Research... 6

CHAPTER II THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1. Review of the Previous Research... 7

2.2. Review of the Related Literature ... 8

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2.2.2. The Concept of the Text... 11

2.2.3. Paragraph... 11

2.2.3.1 Main Parts of a Paragraph ... 12

2.2.4. Main Idea... 13

2.2.5. Where to Find the Topic Sentence………...14

2.2.6 Factors that Influence Reading Comprehension ... 17

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD 3.1. Setting of the Research ... 21

3.2. Research Design... 21

3.3. Research Participants ... 22

3.4. Research Instrument... 22

3.5. Research Procedures ... 23

3.6. Scoring System ... 25

3.7. The Criteria of Good Test ... 25

3.8. Data Analysis ... 27

CHAPTER IV RESULT AND DISCUSSION 4.1. Result of the Research ... 29

4.2.The Students’ Problems in Finding the Main Idea... 30

4.3.The Students’ Perception toward a Reading Test... 34

4.4. Discussion and Finding... 36

4.4.1. Discussion and Finding Students’ Problems... 37

4.4.2. Discussion andFinding Students’ Perception... 47

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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

This chapter deals with several sub chapters, that is 1). The background of the

problems, 2). The identification of the problems, 3). The limitation of the

problems, 4). The objectives, and 5). The significance of the research, as will be

elaborated in the following sections.

1.1. Background of the problems

Language is a means of communication which is very important for us to adapt to

the society. Language is used by human beings to interact with others and to

express feeling and thought. It is their tool for carrying on their affairs, working,

trading, and living together. So, we can say that language is very important to

individual to live in a society in order that they can survive.

As it known, language is an important tool used by the people in the world to

communicate each other. English is one of widely spoken languages in the whole

world, that is the reason today English becomes an international language. As an

international language, English is used in many fields all over the world. It is also

a fact that English is widely needed by people, for example to transfer new

modern science, technology, and information. Transferring new modern science,

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Reading is the process of looking at a series of written symbols and getting

meaning from them. When people read, they use eyes to receive written symbols

(letters, punctuation marks and spaces) and they use brain to convert them into

words, sentences and paragraphs that communicate something to them. Reading

plays an important role in developing knowledge, through reading students can

absorb all the information, experience and ideas provided in books.

Reading texts also provide some benefits in improving students skill, and

language teaching as well. It helps students to find new vocabulary in real context,

English grammar, punctuation and become good models for English writing,

when teacher teaches the skill of writing he/she will need to show students models

of what he/she is encouranging them to do. Moreover, good reading texts can

introduce interesting topics, which can stimulate discussion.

According Davenport (2007: 61) as quoted by Dewi (2013), common types of

question found in reading comprehension are included as follow:

1. Identifying main idea, main point, author purpose or an alternate title for the

passage.

2. Recognizing the tone of the passage or identifying the style.

3. Comprehending information directly stated in the passage (finding supporting

detail).

4. Answering relational questions about the author’s opinion, even if not stated directly.

5. Recognizing the structural methodology employed to develop the passage, for

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6. Extending limited information given by he author to a logical conclusion

using inference (inference meaning).

From the types of question found in reading comprehension, identifying main idea

is focused on the objective in this research. In reading for meaning, main idea will

always come first and deserves the top priority. It happens because main idea is

the essence of the paragraph that the author wants the readers to know and it is the

idea that the whole paragraph explains or supports. The author usually put this

main idea in some certain places, such as: at the first sentences of the paragraph,

middle of the paragraph, last of the paragraph, or just lets the reader to infer it

from the passage.

Based on the pre-observation, and interview the teacher,it was found several

difficulties encountered by the students in MTs N 1 Kotabumi.The researcher

found the students still got difficulties in reading skill, such as difficulties

understanding the content of the paragraph, difficulties understanding the idea,

and the teacher said the students also difficulties in determining main idea.

Realizing to the phenomenon, the researcher’s interested to conduct further research relating to the students’ problems in finding main idea. To find out the problems of students in finding main idea, the researcher gave a test to class VIII

A students which related with finding main idea and contained 20 questions.

Determining main idea is difficult to be mastered by the students because the

learners not knowing about the meaning of “main idea” and the learners can not

identify the main idea of reading text well. The researcher also found that the

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their perceptions in reading task was given by the teacher. Some students argued

that the reading taskwas very difficult. The text given was too long. Therefore,

this research will see thestudents’ perception toward main idea in reading test.

This research will be focused on identifyingstudents’ problems in finding the main

idea of the reading text and students’ perceptions toward reading test. Therefore,

this research is expected to find out whether there are any problems or not in

determining the main idea and students’ perceptions toward reading test.

1.2. Identification of the Problems

Based on the pre-observation and interview the students, there are several

problems that can be identified, that is:

a. Students get difficulties in mastering the text well.

b. Students get difficulties in understanding the content of the paragraph and

find the main idea.

c. Students do not have big motivation to read the text.

d. The topic of the text is not suitable for the students.

e. Students are bored to read long texts.

f. Lack of students’ confidence to determine the main idea.

1.3. Limitation of the Problems

By seeing the identification of the problem, the research will be limited on

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a. Students’difficulties in mastering the text well.

b. Students’ difficulties in understanding the content of the paragraph and

finding the main idea.

1.4. The Formulation of the Research Questions

In line with the limitation of the problems, the following research questions are

formulated:

a. What are students’ problems in finding a main idea?

b. What are students’ perceptions toward a reading test?

1.5. The Objectives

The objectives of the research are:

a. To find out and to describes the students’problems in finding a main idea.

b. To find out thestudents’ perception ona reading test.

1.6. The uses

The uses of this research are:

1. As the information for the teacher in order to improve students’ performance

in reading.

2. As the information for the readers about the causes that underlie the students

choose wrong answer about the main idea of the text.

3. As the information for the readers to conduct further research relating to main

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1.7. The Significance of the Research

The findings of the research are expected to be beneficial not only theoretically

but also practically:

a. Theoretically, as a verification of the previous theories in finding a main idea.

b. Practically, this research can be used to help the teacher to know about the

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CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

In this chapter, the researcher would like to discuss two major points, that is,

review of the previous research and review of related literature. They were

elaborated as the following section.

2.1. Review of Previous Research

In relation to this research, there is some previous research which has been

conducted by the some researchers, such as: Ramsay and Sperling, 2011; Leopold

and Leutner, 2012; Ji, 2008.

Ramsay and Sperling (2011) conducted the research related to the problems in

finding the main idea. They focused on electronic note taking. Whereas the

researcher would like to investigate the problems in finding main idea faced by

the students.

Leopold and Leutner (2012) conducted the research related to the problems in

finding the main idea. They focused on the strategy in facing main idea. But this

research focuses on the problems in finding main idea.

Ji (2008) conducted the research about what do paragraph divisions indicate in

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research will investigate not only in narrative text, but also other text especially

the text existing in national examination.

On the other side, previous research has been done by Dwiarti (2005) at SMU

Kosgoro Sekampung East Lampung. She conducts the research to investigate the

students’ problems meet in finding main idea of the text. The result of her

research is there are four problems that the students facing in finding main idea of

the text, they are: 1) lack of interest toward reading; 2) lack of background

knowledge; 3) lack of vocabulary; 4) unaware on the parts of the paragraph.

Whereas the researcher is attempting this research to reveal the problem in depth,

that the problems not only come from the students themselves, but also the

problems that arise from the future of the text. The research is conducted at MTs

N 1 Kotabumi.

2.2. Review of Related Literature

For the specific explanation about the main idea in reading, the researcher

explains some related literature as follows:

2.2.1. Reading

Reading is the process of looking at a series of written symbols and getting

meaning from them. When people read, they use eyes to receive written symbols

(letters, punctuation marks and spaces) and they use brain to convert them into

words, sentences and paragraphs that communicate something to them. Reading

plays an important role in developing knowledge, through reading students can

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defines that reading is the process of acquiring information from a written or

printed text.

Afflerbach (2007: 12-13) says as quoted by Dewi (2013) that reading is a dynamic

and complex process that involves skills, strategies, and prior knowledge. Reading

is also an active process of predicting what is likely to come next. When someone

is reading, her brain processes the visual information from our eyes. It uses our

critical thinking to make an image in our brain based on the text.

By seeing the explanation above, it can be stated that reading is one of important

skill the students should mastered in their language learning. Reading is important

because by reading the students may be able to absorb the information, experience

and ideas provided in books.

Reading may also open thestudents’ minds by using and developing their critical

thinking. In reading the reader needs the comprehension. Reading comprehension

is very important for the students at Senior High School. According to Cooper

(1986:11), comprehension is a process in which a reader may construct meaning

by interacting with the text. When reading, a reader should have knowledge about

understanding the reading passage.

According to Simanjuntak (1988:4), reading comprehension is the first point to be

made about reading process. In reading process the readers are attempting to

recreate the meaning intende by the author. But reading is not a simple task,

readers should have eduqate knowledge of linguistics and prior knowledge of the

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been stated by Clarke and Silberstain (1977) in Brown (2001:299-300) that the

readers understand what they read because they are able to take the stimulus

beyond its graphic representation and assign its membership to an appropriate

group of concepts already stored in their memories skill in reading depends on the

efficient interaction between linguistics knowledge of the world.

passage.

detail).

4. Answering relational questions about the author’s opinion, even if not stated

directly.

example sequence, vocabulary, and represent pronoun (reference).

is focused on the objective in this research. In reading for meaning, main idea will

always come first and deserves the top priority. It happens because main idea is

the essence of the paragraph that the author wants the readers to know and it is the

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main idea in some certain places, such as: at the first sentences of the paragraph,

middle of the paragraph, last of the paragraph, or just lets the reader to infer it

from the passage.

2.2.2. The Concept of Text

Text is one of the main elements that play a significant role in communication.

People communicating in language do not do so simply by means of individual

words or fragments of sentences, but by means of texts. According to Fowler

(1991: 59) definestextis made up of sentences, but there exist separate principles

of text-construction, beyond the rules for making sentences. While Neubert and

Greogory (1992) states that texts are used as tools and, at the same time, they

reveal the tool-user. They communicate something and about someone.

Text is important because text is the part of reading. Text can be said as a number

of sentence organized to carry a message in an order way. It means that text

consist of sentences bringing some information in each sentence. For example of

the text “Sangkuriang” tells about a young man that loves with his mother.

2.2.3. Paragraph

Paragraph refers to a group of related sentences that supply the readers with

detailed information on a single important topic to support main idea. Paragraph is

important because it is a series of closely related sentences that supply the readers

with detailed information, in which they explore, develop, and support one main

idea.

To gain a unified concept about paragraph, it is appropriate to consider the

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of organization in writing, in which a group of related sentences to develop one

main idea. According to Kolin (1986), paragraph refers to a group of related

sentences arranged in a logical order supplying the readers with detailed

information on a single important topic. For example of the paragraph:

Gold

First of all, gold has a lustrous beauty is resistant to corrosion. For example, Macedonian coin remains as untarnished today as the day it was minted twenty-three centuries ago. Another important characteristic of gold is it utility in industry and science. The most recent application of gold is in astronauts’ suit.

2.2.3.1. Main Parts of a Paragraph

A main part of paragraph is important because the parts of sentences are needed to

help the students in finding the main idea in text.

Oshima and Houge (1981) classify the paragraph into three main structural parts,

namely: a topic sentence, supporting sentence, and a concluding sentence.

1. A Topic Sentence

The topic sentence states the main idea of the paragraph. It is not only naming

the topic of the paragraph, but also limits the topic to one or two areas that

can be discussed completely in a space of single paragraph. The specific area

is called the controlling idea. Notice how the topic sentence of the gold states

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(Topic) (Controlling idea)

Gold, a precious metal, is prized for two important characteristics.

2. Supporting Sentence

Supporting sentence develops the topic sentence; they explain the topic

sentence by giving definition, reasons, examples, facts, an incident,

comparison, analogy, cause, and effect, statistics and quotations. Some of the

supporting sentences that explain the topic sentence about gold are:

First of all, gold has a lustrous beauty is resistant to corrosion. For example, Macedonian coin remains as untarnished today as the day it was minted twenty-three centuries ago. Another

In conclusion, gold is treasured not only for its beauty but also for its utility.

2.2.4. Main Idea

Main idea refers to the essence of the paragraph, or rather what the author is

trying to get across to the reader. In the other words, the main idea may important

that the author develops throughout the paragraph. The function of the entire

paragraph is to explain, develop, and support the main idea. The main idea of

paragraph tells us what the author wants to know about the topic. The writer in

one or more sentences within the paragraph usually directly states the main idea.

Once the people can find the topic, they are ready to find the main idea. The main

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Brown (1987:203) says that if you get the main idea you can make some amazing

inferences about details you never even read. But on the other hand, Brown

proposes that some readers cannot see the forest for the trees, they get the details

accurately, but do not see how they add up. When they hear a story, they are likely

to miss the point.

According to Mc Whother (1989) the main idea is called the topic sentence. She

adds that the main idea is not explicitly stated any one sentence. Instead, it is left

to the reader to infer, or the reason out. She also explains that to find main idea of

a paragraph, a reader may ask himself these questions: What is the main idea –

What is the author trying to say about the topic? Which sentence states the main

idea? The following paragraph illustrates this idea.

The federal trade Commission has become increasingly interested is leading packing. Complaints have been filled against many food packagers because they make boxes unnecessarily large to give a false impression of quantity. Cosmetics manufacturers have been accused of using false bottoms in packing to make a small amount of their product appear to be much more (Mc. Whother, 1989).

In the above paragraph, the topic is false picking. The main idea is “The Federal

Trade Commission is becoming increasingly concerned about false or misleading

packing”.

2.2.5. Where to Find the Topic Sentence

One good way of organizing a paragraph is used a topic sentence. The topic

sentence expresses the main idea of a paragraph, and the remaining sentences

build around and support it. In a sense, the topic sentence serves as a headline for

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sentence of a paragraph can be located anywhere in the paragraph, there are

several position where it is most likely to be found.

(1) The First Sentence

The most common placement of the topic is the first in the paragraph. In this

type of paragraph, the author first states his/her main point and then elaborates

the idea, for example:

A Japanese woman has changed since the war. They have become prettier, brighter, more decisive, more outspoken. The young people certainly are far more logical and far less sentimental then the prewar generation some regret this. They think women in gaining their freedom, have lost their femininity-their modesty, femininity-their warmth and they shy grace. They accuse women of being drawn to superficial things.

In this type of paragraph, the author employing a deductive thought pattern in

idea and then directly states it in a sentence at the very end, for example:

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(3) Middle of the Paragraph

Another common placement of the topic is in the middle of the paragraph. In

this case, the author builds up to the main idea, states it in the middle of the

paragraph, and then goes on with further elaboration and detail, for example:

Whenever possible, the good listener prepares in advance for the speech or lectures he/she plants to attend. He or She studies the topic to be discussed and finds out about the speaker and his or her beliefs. An affective listener, as you are beginning to see, takes specific steps to achieve accurate understanding of the lecture. Furthermore, on arriving at the place where the speech is to be given, he or she chooses a seat where it easy to see, hear and remain alert. Finally, when the speech is over, the effective listener reviews what was said and evaluates the idea expressed.

(4) The First and the Last Sentence

Sometimes an author uses two sentences to state the main idea or state the

twice in one paragraph. Usually, in this type of paragraph, the writer states the

main idea at the beginning paragraph, then explains or support the idea and

finally restates the main idea at the very end, for example:

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2.2.6. Factors That Influence Reading Comprehension

Mc Wrother (1989:345-349) classified the factors that influnce comprehension

into three general categories: text characteristic, reader characteristic, and reader’s

purpose. Text characteristics are features of the printed material that influence

how easy or difficult it is to read. The skills and traits of the person that determine

or affect rate and comprehension are called reader characteristics. Reader’s

purpose refers to the reason he material is read and the level of comprehension

needed.

1. Text Characteristics

The way the writes write, the words they use, how they put words together, and

how clearly they can express ideas all contribute to how it is to read a passage.

Sentence length : A passage with very long sentences can make reading more difficult and will force a reader to read more slowly, notice how the length of

sentence seems to rise this problem:

Caught in global recession and inflation, forced by Washington to revalue their currency in a direction injurious to their prosperity, and ance again conscious of their vulnerability to fereign economic decisions, the Japanese also saw domestic capital flow out to lucrative investment opportuniteis elsewhere (Jones, 1985:99)

Vocabulary : A passage with difficult or unfamiliar vocabulary can have the same effect-understanding becomes difficult or impossible. Try the following

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The liberal-cynical criminologist is skeptical about the perfect of crime control efforts, and locates criminogenic forces in the basic structure and institution of society, but he still retains a belief in the continued viability of American society in its present from (Barlow, 1984:26)

Ideas and Concepts :In addition to these mechanical features of language, ideas, and concepts also affect difficult. Even written in fairly simple language, an

article may discuss complicated or follow a sophisticated line of reasoning. In the

the following sample shows that, although the language used is clear and direct, a

difficult concept is discussed.

The whole universe may have an overall curvature. If it is negatively curved, it is open-ended and extends without limit; if it is positively curved, it closes in on itself. The surface of the earth, for example, forms a closed curvature; so that if you travel a long a geodesic, you come back to your starting point. Similary, if the universe were positively curved, it would be closed; so that if could look infinitely into space through an ideal telescope, you would see the back of your own head! This is assuming that you waited a long enough time or that light traveled infinitely fast ( Hewitt, 1985:587)

2. Reader’s Characteristics

A second set of factors that influence how fast reader are able to read and how

well they can comprehend is related to the readers themselves. Here is only a

partial list of the many things about readers that affect reading comprehension.

Physical State : How the readers feel physically affects both rate and comprehension. If they are extremely tired, or just recovering from the flu, they

will not be able to perform at their peak level. Concentration may become a

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hungry, or if the room is extremely hot or cold, their reading performance may

ablso be affected.

State of Mind : Just as physical state can affect reading comprehension, so mental or emotional sate. If the readers are depressed or worried, they may not be

able to concentrate easily, if they are exited or anxious about something, their

mental state may not be conducive effective reading.

Interest in the Material : Readers’ interest in what they reading influences how fast and with what degree of comprehension they read. If they are reading about a

topic that interest them, they are likely to read faster and with more understanding

than if they are reading about a subject in which they have little or no interest.

Background Knowledge : The amount of knowledge the readers have about a topic partically determines how well they will be able to read about it. Suppose

they are assigned to read a passage taken from the middle of an introductory

botany textbook. If they have completed a course in botany, the passage will

probably be understanding and easy enough to read. On the other hand, if they

have never studied botany, the passage will be extremely difficult and confusing;

it will be necessary to read very slowly, and they might have to stop to look up

any unfamiliar terms and concepts.

3. Reader’s Purpose

Reader’s purpose for reading is an important factor related to comprehension. If

they are reading a magazine article for enjoyment, their purpose is different from

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paging through the newspaper, their purpose differs from the purpose when they

are reading a poem for English literature class. There are four basic types of

reading, ranging from an extremely slow analysis to an extremely rapid overview

of the material. Each type is related a specific kind of material and has a define

purpose. These are summarized in the table 1.

Table 1

Types of Reading

Method of Reading Purpose in Reading Types of Material Analytical Detailed comprehension

The writer used the aspects of text characteristics and reader’s characteristics as

the basis in determing students’ problems in finding main idea of reading text. the

reader’s purpose was not included in this research, since the purpose has been set

up, that is to find the main idea of the text. but there are many possibilities that the

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CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD

In this chapter, the researcher would like to discuss several sub chapters, that is,

setting of the research, research design, population and sample, research

instrument, research procedures, and data analysis. All of those parts will be

presented follows:

3.1. Setting of the Research

There were two settings in this research, that is, place and time. The researcher

chose MTsN 1 Kotabumi as the research place. The researcher chose the students

Class VIII A as the participants because theyhave good enough quality in study

than the other class.

3.2. Research Design

This research was non-experimental research. In this research, she used qualitative

case study. The researcher tried to find the problems of students in finding main

idea and to find students perception toward a reading test. The data were collected

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3.3. Research Participants

The participants of this research were the students Class VIII A in MTsN 1

Kotabumi. The researcher used purposive sampling in collected participants of

this research. In purposive sampling the researcher chose subject based on

identification of the problem and justification (Setiyadi: 006:44). The researcher

chose the students class VIII A as the participants because they good enough

quality in study than the other class in MTsN 1 Kotabumi. The researcher used

class VII Athat consists of 36 students as the participants.

3.4. Research Instruments

The instrument of this research was reading test. The researcher wanted to find

students’ problems in finding main idea and students’ perceptions toward a

reading test. In collecting the data, the researcher conducted the following:

1. Reading Test

In order to collect the data on students’ problems in finding main idea, a

reading test has been provided. The reading test was used to see the score got

by the students in finding main idea, if the students got low score it means

that the students had trouble in reading test especially in finding main idea.

The researcher gave a test to class VIII A students which related with finding

main idea and contained 20 questions.The test lasted for 45 minutes. The

reading test just gives in one meeting. The tests were used in order to see the

influence of the text characteristic toward students’ problems in finding main

idea of reading text. The text was taken from reading test in National

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2. Interview

Interview was used to get the data precisely from each of the students relating

to their problems. The result of interview was analyzed in order to find the

students’ problems in finding main idea. The result of interview was also

interpreted by describing clearly. In this process, the researcher interviewed

the students who had low score in reading test.

3. Questionnaire

Romanov (2011) states that, “perception it includes senses, feeling, idea,

thought, and theories.” Based on the theory, the researcher tried to facilitate

the students’ perception toward the difficulties in reading comprehension,

especially in finding main idea. The researcher designed the open

questionnaire which was used in order to collect basic descriptive information

about students’ perceptions toward a reading test. The questionnaire covered

some aspects that mightcause students’perception toward a reading test.

3.5. Research Procedures

The researcher checked students’ reading ability by giving reading test,

questionnaire and interview. The reading test considered as device to see the score

got by the students in finding main idea. The reading tests were used in order to

see the influence of the text characteristic toward students’ problems in finding

main idea. Then, interview was used to get the data precisely from each of the

students relating to their problems. The result of interview was analyzed in order

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designed the open questionnaire which was used in order to collect basic

descriptive information about students’ perception toward a reading test.

There were several procedures to make the research well. The procedures of this

research as follows:

1. Determining research problems.

2. Determining and selecting the participants.

The participants of this research were the students eight a class in MTsN 1

Kotabumi. The researcher takes 36 students as the participants.

3. Administering the reading test for the students.

After the class had been chosen, the researcher gave the students reading test

to see the score got by the students in finding main idea

4. Interviewing the students.

After calculate the score of reading test, the students were being interviewed

individually in order to locate students’ problems in finding main idea.

5. Administering the questionnaire to the students.

After the completion the interview, the researcher gave questionnaire to the

students in order to get information about students’ perception toward a

reading test.

6. Analyzing the result of the reading test, interview, and the questionnaire.

After the completion of the reading test, interview, and questionnaire, were

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3.6. Scoring System

In scoring system of the students’ reading test, the writer used Arikunto’s formula

(1997:212). The researchercalculate the students’ reading test score by using this

formula:

= 100%

S : Score of the test

R : Right and answer

N : Number of the student

3.7. The Criteria of Good Test

This section concerns with the criteria which should be had by the good test such

as, reliability and validity.

3.7.1. Reliability

Reliability is the consistency of the instruments to be the instruments that can

measure the same data in the different times but still show the similar result

relatively (Setiyadi, 2006:16). Therefore, the instruments can be used to measure

the data in the research if the instruments have a good reliability.To ensure the

reliability of the reading test, interview, and questionnaire, interater reliabilities

applied in this research. The researcher used two raters. Interater reliability is

used to measure the reliability of instruments or tests are good or not.

3.7.2. Validity

A test can be said to be valid if it measured and suitable for the the criteria (Hatch

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research can be said valid if the instrument measures the object to be measured

and suitable with the criteria which is used in the research.

Setiyadi (2006:22) state that the instruments or tests are not valid if the

instruments do not measure the object to be measured. He says that in the research

of the foreign language learning, there are four types of validity of instruments or

tests: face validity, predictive validity, content validity, and construct validity.

The face validity focuses on the layout or appearance of the test. Predictive

validity is interrelated with the prediction the phenomena that will happen. For

this research, the researcher used content validity to measure the validity of

instruments or tests are good or not. The types used in this research is content

validity. This validity concerns with the content details of the instruments. This

validity analysis would analyze all the content of the instruments or tests whether

the content of the instruments represents the material that will be measured by the

instruments.

passage.

detail).

4. Answering relational questions about the author’s opinion, even if not stated

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example sequence, vocabulary, and represent pronoun (reference).

is focused on the objective in this research. This research only focused in finding

main idea. So,the questions of reading test, interview, and questionnaire all about

main idea.

3.8. Data Analysis

After the researcher conducted reading tests, she looked the score of reading test.

She then counted the score of reading test. It was used to find out the percentage

of students’ score in reading test. After giving the reading test, the researcher

interviewed the students. The result of interview was analyzed in order to find the

students’ problems in finding main idea. The result of interview is also interpreted

by describing clearly. And the last, the researcher gave the questionnaire to find

students’ perception toward reading test. Like the result of interview, the result of

questionnaire, will be interpreted by describing clearly.

In analyzing the data from reading test, questionnaire, and interview the students,

the researcher employed the qualitative research. According to Maleong (1991),

there are three steps in analyzing and interpreting the data. Therefore, the

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1. Making the abstraction of all data to be treated in one unit.

The researcher interpreted all the data available (from reading test, interview

and questionnaire) by selecting them into an abstraction. In this step, she

selected the data in order to keep them relevant to the research question.

2. Unifying the data

The researcher identified the data into unity. It means that the researcher paid

attention to term the students used, to distinct the activities in the reading test.

3. Interpreting the data substantive theory

The researcher took conclusion. Then as the final steps, she interpreted the

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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTION

This chapter focuses on two points relating to the results of the data analysis and

discussion after conducting the research. Then, it can be taken some conclusions

and also suggestions from the research.

5.1 Conclusions

Based on the research at the first grade of MTSN 1 Kotabumi and analyzing the

data, the reseacher would like to give the conclusion as follows:

1. The Students’ Problemsin Finding the main idea

Based on the result and discussion explained in chapter IV it has been found that,

there aresix problemsthe students face in finding the main idea of reading text in

Class VIII A at MTSN 1 Kotabumi, that is: 1). there were 19 students lack of the

students interest, 2). there were 25 students lack of vocabulary knowledge, 3).

there were 17 students had problem in identifying the main idea of the passage

with very long sentence, 4). there were 19 students poor reading strategy, 5). there

were 18 students have the problems in sentence pattern or grammatical confusion,

and the last 6). there were 21 students ignorance of paragraph components.

2. The Students’ Perception toward a Reading Test

The results of students perception toward a reading test are that according to them,

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the researchers is hard to understand, because many difficult of words that they do

not know. The students in Class VII A still confused in finding the main idea in

reading test, it caused of limited of students knowledge in interpreted the meaning

of word in English into Bahasa. They feel confused in determine the main idea

because they do not know the meaning of main idea is.

Reading comprehension and vocabulary are closely related. The ability to decode

or identify and pronounce words is self-evidently important, but knowing what the

words mean has a major and direct effect on knowing what any specific passage

means. Students with a smaller vocabulary than other students comprehend less of

what they read and it has been suggested that the most impactful way to improve

comprehension is to improve vocabulary.

Vocabulary refers to the words we must understand to communicate effectively.

Educators often consider four types of vocabulary: listening, speaking, reading,

and writing. Listening vocabulary refers to the words we need to know to

understand what we hear. Speaking vocabulary consists of the words we use when

we speak. Reading vocabulary refers to the words we need to know to understand

what we read. Writing vocabulary consists of the words we use in writing.

Vocabulary plays a fundamental role in the reading process, and contributes

greatly to a reader's comprehension. A reader cannot understand a text without

knowing what most of the words mean. Students learn the meanings of most

words indirectly, through everyday experiences with oral and written language.

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Hedge (2000: 193) noticed vocabulary is another major component of reading

ability with which language learners will experience difficulty, but the degree of

difficulty will vary with the demands of the text, the prior knowledge of the

reader, the degree of automaticity a learner has achieved in general word

recognition, any specialist lexical knowledge a students might have, and the

learner’s first language. In line with the statement above, we can conclude that

vocabulary is one of major component reading skill which it is too difficult for the

students’ second or foreign language. Without understanding the meaning the

words or have a limited vocabulary knowledge, it will make the students difficult

to understand about the content of text. Thus, activating prior knowledge and

applying word recognition are very useful used in reading.

5.2 Suggestions

Based on the conclusions above, the following conclusions are put forward:

1. The students should understand the meaning of word in complete sentence. So

that, the students should not only focus on word in isolation, because the

students will be difficult to find the meaning of word if they focus on word by

word.

2. The teacher should lead the students to think about the topic that will be

discussed in teaching learning process. So, the students have schemata related

to the passage.

3. And the last, for the other researcher try to find other problems not only about

main idea, but also about all components of reading. So that, the researcher can

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