Analyzing the Suitability of English Reading Materials: The Correlation between the Readability Level and Narrative Reading Comprehension

Adelia Rizca Kuswoyo

Abstract


The observed low reading proficiency among Indonesian students can be attributed to several variables, such as the level of readability or the degree of text difficulty. The comprehension of the suitability of texts for students was of utmost importance for English teachers. The correlational research methodology was employed in this study to ascertain the presence or absence of a statistically significant relationship between student reading comprehension and the outcome variable under investigation. The participants of this study consisted of tenth-grade students from SMA Gajah Mada and SMAN 7 Bandar Lampung, who were selected to participate in the research project conducted throughout the 2020-2021 academic year. To acquire pertinent data regarding the reading comprehension abilities of pupils, an assessment specifically designed to evaluate reading comprehension was administered. A total of 12 narrative reading materials were identified in this study, sourced from three different textbooks: the Pathway to English Textbook published by Erlangga, the Talk Active Textbook authored by Yudhistira, and the Bahasa Inggris Textbook developed by the Ministry of Education and Culture. The researcher evaluated text readability using the Flesch Reading Ease Formula, with the subsequent classification of the readability level based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) Level. The results of this study revealed a statistically significant positive correlation (r = 0.9054). A selection of six narrative reading materials, deemed suitable for tenth-grade students, was made accessible.


Full Text:

PDF

References


Ary, D., Jacobs, L. C., Razavieh, A., & Sorensen, C. K. (2009). Introduction to Research in Education. Cengage Learning. https://books.google.co.id/books?id=FqF7n0zGJm0C

Bahrudin, D. V. Y. (2020). The Effect of Textbook Readability on Students’ Reading Comprehension. Wacana Didaktika, 2(1).

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research Design. SAGE Publications, Inc.

Fahriah, & Rahayu, P. S. (2015). READABILITY LEVEL OF “BAHASA INGGRIS” TEXTBOOK FOR THE SEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS. LET: LINGUISTICS, LITERATURE AND ENGLISH TEACHING JOURNAL, 5(1).

Husna. (2016). The Correlation Among Readability level of Text, Reading Habit, and Reading Achievement of Eight Grade Students of MTs Al-Qur’an Harsallakum Bengkulu. The Journal of English Literacy Education, 3(1).

Mohamad Uri, N. F., & Abd Aziz, M. S. (2018). Implementation of CEFR in Malaysia: Teachers’ awareness and the Challenges. 3L The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 24, 168–183. https://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2018-2403-13

Nurainun. (2017). Improving the students’ reading comprehension in narrative reading text by using concept oriented reading instruction at grade VII private islamic junior high school ali imron medan. State Islamic University of North Sumatra.

Rohmatillah. (2015). Readibility Level of Reading Texts in the English Textbook Entitled English Alive for Senior High School Grade X Published by Yudhistira. English Education: Jurnal Tadris Bahasa Inggris, 7(1).

Sholihah, I. B. (2018). An Analysis of Readability Level of Reading Text in English Textbook Entitled “BAHASA INGGRIS” For Senior High School Students Grade XII”. Sunan Ampel State University.

Srisunakrua, T., & Chumworatayee, T. (2019). Readability of Reading Passages in English Textbooks and the Thai National Education English Test: A Comparative Study., 10 (2) 257-269. Arab World English Journal, 10(2).




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24042/jlss.v1i2.18334

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.