IMPROVING THE CLASS 11 th A STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION ACHIEVEMENT AND THEIR ACTIVE PARTICIPATION BY USING CONTEXT CLUES TECNNIQUE AT SMAN I UMBULSARI JEMBER

Abstract

Reading is one of the most important skills in learning target language besides listening, speaking, and writing. Based on the preliminary study at SMAN I Umbulsari Jember, it was found that the eleventh year students faced difficulties in learning reading. There was only 37% of the students got the standard score requirement which was 60. The students were also considered inactive since they did not participate actively during the English teaching and learning process. Context Clues was the solution undertaken to solve the problem in learning Reading Comprehension. It can help the students to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words in the reading text easily. Some previous results approved that Context Clues Technique was helpful to stimulate the students’ interest in learning Reading. Context Clues Technique in this research was limited to Synonym Clues. The Classroom Action Research (CAR) with cycle model was applied in this study. The actions were carried out to improve the eleventh A garde students’ reading comprehension achievement by using context clues technique at SMAN I Umbulsari Jember. The research was conducted in two cycles, in which each cycle covered four main sequence stages, namely the planning of the action, the implementing of the action, the classroom observation and evaluation, and the data analysis and reflection. Then, each cycle was conducted in one meeting because of time limitation. Reading Comprehension test as the primary data of the students’ reading comprehension achievement was administered in the last session of the meeting. Then, the supporting data were gathered from interview and documentation. The result of the students’ reading comprehension test in cycle 1 showed that the percentage of the students who got score at least 60 was 95.23 %. It was considered successful since the criterion of the successful action was 75 %. Meanwhile, the students’ active participation was 80.95%. The results of the reading comprehension test in cycle 1 showed that the second cycle was needed to be conducted to ensure the consistency of the result. The result of the students’ reading comprehension test in cycle 2 showed improvement. The percentage of the students who got score 60 or more was 100 %. It means that the action in cycle two was successful. Moreover, the results of the observation checklist showed that 90.48% of the students were actively involved in the teaching learning process. Thus, the actions in cycle two had met the standard requirement of process and product evaluation that was 75 %. Regarding the research results above, it could be concluded that context clues could improve the students’ reading comprehension achievement. Therefore, it is suggested that the English teacher use context clues technique as an alternative technique in teaching reading.