USING AUTHENTIC MATERIALS TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION OF THE EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMP N 1 BANTUL IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR OF 2013/2014

Abstrak / Ringkasan

The objective of this research is to improve the eighth grade students’ reading comprehension in SMPN 1 Bantul through the use of authentic materials in the academic year of 2013/2014.
The research was action research. The subject of the research was the students of VIII-C class. The English teacher, the researcher, and the students of VIII-C class were the team members of the research. The data were obtained through observations and interviews with the students and the English teacher. The data were in the forms of field notes and interview transcripts. To support qualitative data, quantitative data were obtained from the pre-test and the post-test scores. The actions implemented in this research were using authentic materials in reading activity to improve students’ reading comprehension. Authentic materials are texts produced by native speakers for a non-pedagogical purpose (Bacon & Finnemann: 1990). It is important to select the proper authentic materials out of the wide range. There are three main criteria in selecting authentic materials to be used in classroom; suitability of content, exploitability and readability (Nuttall: 1996). The texts used in the teaching and learning process of reading were authentic text of invitation and announcement. The research was conducted in two cycles. Every cycle consisted of some steps; reconnaissance, planning, acting and observing, and reflection.
The result shows that the implementation of using authentic materials in this study is succesful to improve the students’ reading skill. The indicators of the success of the implementation were that: 1) the students showed good comprehension about the text of the given topic, 2) by answering questions from the researcher the students showed good motivation in reading activity, 3) the students were able to practice reading through various given topics. Looking at the scores, it was found that the students’ reading skill is improved by the use of authentic materials. There was a significant improvement between the mean of pre-test (5.2) and that of post-test (7.6)

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