An Analysis of the Second Grade Students’ Ability in Comprehending an Explanation Text at SMA Kartika 1-5 Padang. Thesis. English Department, Bung Hatta University.

Abstrak

Reading is one of the important ways to get information. Many informations are served in form of reading text, like newspapers, journals, websites, books, etc. In fact, reading is not a simple process. The reader must understand what the writer tells about. According to Debat in Amelia (2006), reading is a crucial skill for students of English as a second language or as a foreign language. The purpose of this research was to find out the ability of the second grade students of SMA Kartika 1-5 Padang in comprehending an explanation text. This research was limited to the students’ ability in comprehending  general statement,sequence and closing  the explanation text.

The design of this research was descriptive. The population of this research was the second grade students of SMA Kartika 1-5 Padang. The number of population was 165 students. The researcher took the sample by using stratified cluster random sampling technique. The researcher took two classes as sample; XI MIA 3 and XI IIS 1. The number of sample was 52 students. The data were collected by giving a reading test. To know  the reliability of the test, the researcher used split half method. The reliability index of this test was 0.89 and it was categorized into very high.

The result of data analysis revealed that the second grade students of SMA Kartika 1-5 Padang had low ability in comprehending the explanation text. It was indicated by the fact that 44 students (85%) had low ability in comprehending the explanation text. Specifically, the students’ ability in comprehending the general statement of explanation text was low. It was indicated by the fact that 46 students (88%) had low ability. The students’ ability  in comprehending the sequence of explanation text was low. It was indicated by the fact that 45 students (86.5%) had low ability. The students’ ability  in comprehending the closing of explanation text was also low. It was indicated by the fact that 45 students (86.5%) had low ability.

In conclusion about this research is students’ ability in comprehending the explanation text was low, the researcher gives suggestion to English teachers, the students and further researcher. The English teachers are suggested to give more explanation and exercises about explanation text. The students are suggested to study hard  and learn more about explanation text, especially about generic structures. The further researchers are expected to find and analyze the factors which influence the students’ ability in comprehending explanation text.

Key words : Reading, ability,comprehending explanation text