1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
1.1 Research Background
One of the essential language skills that students need to master is reading. It is essential for middle and high school students to read fluently, as it is the primary means of acquiring information. Stone (2013) emphasises that reading is a fundamental goal that children must achieve in order to be successful not only in their academic pursuits, but also in life. By developing strong reading skills, students can effectively gather information from written materials and achieve higher levels of comprehension.
Furthermore, reading served as the primary motivation for students to learn languages. Thus, when teaching reading, especially to high school students, the main objective was to familiarize them with reading books, articles, and various texts written in English. The overarching aim of reading was to comprehend the meaning of the content, thereby enhancing critical reading skills and enabling them to address questions based on the texts they read. Improving the ability to read and comprehend materials in English and other foreign languages, as a second language, was of paramount importance to allow sufficient time for reading and skill development. Through reading, students could grasp different types of texts.
Therefore, it was essential for all students to learn to read proficiently, encompassing mastery of all elements that composed the content of a text. This deliberate approach aimed to facilitate students' understanding of challenging
words and concepts by engaging them in answering comprehension questions related to the text.
Reading and comprehension could not be separated since comprehension became the primary purpose of reading. Understanding linked words, phrases, and texts was the process of comprehension. This meant that when readers read a text, they had to understand what the writer was saying in the written language.. For students too, students needed to understand the text they were reading to understand the meaning and necessary information of the text. If students read the text without understanding correctly, students could not grasp the information or message of the text.
According to the Assessment and Progress Tracking (ATP) guidelines, these texts included different genres such as narrative, expository, descriptive and interactional, reflecting different forms of speech acts. Students were expected to become familiar with and study these text types as part of their language learning curriculum.
Reading was an essential skill that was necessary for academic success and everyday life. It was one of the fundamental skills that students had to develop to comprehend and understand various types of text, including procedure texts. A procedural text was a type of text that provided a sequence of instructions or steps to complete a task or activity. Understanding procedural text required a specific set of reading skills, such as identifying keywords, following the sequence of steps, and comprehending the instructions.
However, many students struggled with reading comprehension, particularly
when it came to understanding procedure text. This could be due to a lack of engagement with the material, insufficient prior knowledge of the subject matter, or inadequate reading strategies.
Nowdays, teachers have access to a wide range of teaching strategies to use in their classrooms. The key factor for teachers to consider when choosing a strategy is whether it addresses the specific challenges faced by their students, while at the same time serving the intended goals of the strategy itself. Interestingly, the author has come across a highly engaging strategy known as 'PQ4R', which stands for Preview, Question, Read, Reflect, Recite and Review. This strategy proves to be useful in actively engaging students with the text. It starts with previewing the material, followed by generating questions to stimulate curiosity and critical thinking. When students read, they do so with a clear purpose in mind. They then reflect on the material to deepen their understanding and make it personally meaningful. To reinforce their understanding, students recite the information and finally they review content to consolidate their learning. The PQ4R strategy provides a comprehensive and structured approach to supporting students in their learning journey.
This strategy involves six steps that students can follow when reading textbooks or other materials. First, they Preview the material by skimming headings, subheadings, and other text features to get a sense of the organization and content. Second, they generate Questions based on the preview and their own prior knowledge. Third, they Read the material closely and actively, looking for answers to their questions and taking notes as they go. Fourth, they reflect on what they have
read and think about how it relates to their previous knowledge and experience.
Fifth, they Recite the information to themselves or others, either orally or in writing, to reinforce their understanding and memory. Finally, they Review the material periodically to consolidate their learning and identify any gaps in their understanding.
Based on the statement above the writer would like to make a research in SMAN 3 Batam, especially in reading skill. The title is “The Effect of PQ4R Strategy Towards Students’ Reading Achievement of Procedure Text at SMAN 3 Batam”
1.2 Research Limitation
The researcher focused on “The effect of PQ4R strategy towards students’
reading achievement of procedure text.”
1.3 Research Question
Based on the research background, the researcher formulated a research question as follows: “Do the students’ taught using PQ4R strategy achieve better than students’ taught using conventional strategy on reading achievement of procedure text at SMAN 3 Batam.”
1.4 Research Objective
Based on the above research question, the purpose of this research is to know the effect of PQ4R strategy on students' reading achievement of procedure text in SMAN 3 Batam.
1.5 Research Significances
1.Theoretical
Theoretically, that research should have made a significant contribution to ELT (English Language Teaching) by enriching the existing theory for teaching reading.
2.Practical
a. For the Students
Theoretically, This research would have made the learning process more focused and easier to understand. It would have made students more active in reading in class.
b. For the English Teachers
To provide English teachers with information and additional resources on strategies for teaching English effectively in the classroom..
c. For the Other Researcher
For the other researchers, it could be utilized as a source of extra information when they conducted future research in the same subject.
1.6 Definition of the key term a. Reading
Reading is an skill used to analyze or understand the meaning of reading text.
b. PQ4R (Preview, Question, Read, Reflect, Recite,and Review)
PQ4R is a reading strategy that has several stages and can be used to help readers understand the content of a text more easily and to improve readers' memory..
c. Procedure Text
A Procedure Text is a type of written material that presents a series of directions or steps to accomplish a specific task or activity..
