Portraying the Use of Authentic Materials in EFL Reading Classes: A Study on Students’ Perceptions

Abstract

Reading is a dynamic and interactive process in which the reader actively constructs meaning from a text. The dynamic process requires word recognition and the ability to understand language. In this era, there are so many sources that can use to read authentic text. Films, magazines, newspapers, news texts, short story texts, comics, opinion texts, etc., are authentic texts written by native speakers. Not only texts from textbooks but also texts that come from outside the classroom that are not specifically designed as learning media can certainly benefit students. Authentic text is important for students' self-development because students can increase their motivation, and apprehend ideas and information. This study aimed to describe students' perceptions about the use of authentic materials in EFL reading classes, the students’ reading motivation, and reading anxiety through the use of authentic materials. The method used in this study is a mixed method namely the sequential explanatory mixed method. This study is set in a university in Malang that focuses on undergraduate students in the Department of English Education. The participants of this study are 19 students in 3rd semester, who are taking reading courses and using authentic materials in their learning. There are two instruments used for this research, questionnaire and interview. Questionnaire data collection was distributed online using Google Forms. Data collection for interviews was also carried out online using WhatsApp calls and recorded. From the 19 students, three respondents were selected for an online interview. The analysis used was descriptive statistics to get the mean and standard deviation values. The questionnaire used a Likert scale, 5 for strongly agree, 4 for agree, 3 for neutral, 2 for disagree, and 1 for strongly disagree. The data from the interview were analyzed by transcribing the data, reading through all the data, and representing the data through narratives. The quantitative data results indicated that students' perceptions of the use of authentic texts in the reading class are positive. They felt the use of authentic texts can help them improve their English skills, especially in terms of reading. Students are also encouraged in terms of motivation to read using authentic texts. The reasons are, they can add vocabulary, improve reading comprehension, and know the language and sentence structure used by native speakers. However, the results of the data showed that students tend to give positive perceptions, but it does not mean that there are no students who give negative perceptions. After conducting interviews, there are some difficulties they face when reading authentic text. They faced unfamiliar words, phrases, slangs, and the length that are not suitable for their level. So, they find it difficult to understand the contents of the text. Those reasons can reduce their motivation to read as well and increase their anxiety. The difficulties and anxieties felt by students when reading authentic texts may be caused by a lack of knowledge about how to read authentic texts. Reading authentic texts can be done with extensive reading. This research has some weaknesses. Therefore, for future researchers, it is suggested to examine more students and conduct deeper interviews, so that the data obtained is more varied. For the authentic text used, it is recommended to use text that is appropriate to the student's level or allows students to choose the text they want to read. In addition, to help students get information from texts, it is good to provide extensive reading strategies. In conclusion, students can more easily read authentic texts and they are no longer focused on vocabulary only, but on the comprehension of the text. Keywords: Authentic Texts, Reading Motivation, Reading Anxiety, Students’ Perceptions