AN ANALYSIS OF THE FIRST YEAR STUDENTS’ ABILITY TO COMPREHEND NEWS ITEM TEXT AT SMAN 7 PADANG.

Abstrak

Reading is one of the skills that is very important especially for students who learn English as a foreign language in process of language acquisition.This research was aimed at describing the ability of the first year students’ at SMAN 7 Padang in comprehending news item text. The design of this research was descriptive method. In colleting the data, the researcher used reading test on news item text in form of multiple choice. The result of this research showed that in general the ability of the first year students of SMAN 7 Padang in comprehending news item text was moderate. It was proved by the fact that (66.67%); had moderate ability. In detail, the students’ ability in comprehending generic structures was moderate. It was proved by the fact that (66.67%); had moderate ability. Then, the students’ ability in comprehending language features was moderate. It was proved by the fact that (75.76%); had moderate ability.Based on the findings, it can be concluded that, the students’ ability in comprehending news item text was moderate.

Key word: Ability,Comprehension, News Item Text.