READING FOR MAIN IDEAS TO ENHANCE READING COMPREHENSION

Abstract

This study was conducted to examine: 1) students’ achievement of reading comprehension using a lesson Reading for Main Ideas, and 2) students’ satisfaction with the lesson. Research instruments were: 1) an achievement test, 2) a questionnaire, 3) an in-depth interview, and 4) observations. To analyze the data, paired sample test, frequency, mean and standard deviation were used. Results of the achievement test revealed that students’ reading comprehension improved as there were statistical differences at α=.05 level. According to in-depth interview results: 1) difficulty of the text, 2) many long holidays, 3) students missing class frequently, and 4) insufficient study time affected students’ reading comprehension. Additionally, results from the close-ended questions of the questionnaire showed students were very satisfied with the methodologies used in the study (=3.78). Moreover, results from the open-ended question of the questionnaire indicated that vocabulary was students’ most formidable obstacle, and they would like the lecturer to strengthen them in this regard.