Improving Reading Comprehension Using Reciprocal Teaching Method for Eight Grade Students of MTs AL-Hayatul Islamiyah Malang

Abstract

This action research examines the increase in reading comprehension through the Reciprocal Teaching Method in junior high schools. Reading is one of the skills students must have to understand what they read, but this is still a big problem for students. The method and atmosphere that support the classroom are important factors to support student understanding. This action research aims to improve reading comprehension of VIII-B of MTs Al-Hayatul Islamiyah academic year 2023/2023 through the Reciprocal Teaching Method. This action research was conducted in one cycle. The actions involved the Reciprocal Teaching Method which included reciprocal teaching stages, they are predicting, clarifying, questions, and summarizing. It also involved a discussion activity as the reciprocal teaching activity. The participants of this research were the researcher, the English teacher, and the students of VIII- B of MTs Al-Hayatul Islamiyah Malang consist 14 students. The data of this research were qualitative and quantitative. The qualitative data were obtained by observing the teaching-learning process, interviewing the English teacher, interviewing the students, and taking notes. Meanwhile, the quantitative data were obtained by holding a pre-test and post-test to see the improvement in students’ reading comprehension. The research results show that the reading comprehension of most students improved after the Reciprocal Teaching method was conducted. Firstly, students made improvements in some aspects such as predicting the content of the text, finding details information or essential information about a text, guessing the meaning of a difficult word, finding the main idea of a paragraph, and making a conclusion or summary of a text. Secondly, students were enthusiastic about the reading activity. The activity motivated them to learn. Thirdly, students became more confident in doing the reading activity and reporting their work. Fourthly, the interaction among the students and between the students and the teacher improved after the implementation of the group discussion and class discussion. Lastly, students’ reading comprehension improved. It was indicated that an the increase in the mean of students’ scores in students achievement in the preliminary study and reading comprhension test (51 to 73).

Keywords: Reading Comprehension, Reciprocal Teaching Method.