UNDERSTANDING READING COMPREHENSION TEXT BY USING SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION TECHNIQUE

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Baihaqi

Lecturer of English Teaching DepartmentFakultas Agama Islam

Universitas Islam TamiangJln. Medan-Banda Aceh Km 137 MTs Swasta Al-Ikhlas Tanah

Terban Kec. Karang Baru Kab. Aceh Tamiang

Abstract:Reading is a very significant thing everybody needs to live his or her

life better, for through reading people can gain the knowledge and information from all over the world without must around it. Small group discussion is one of the alternatives among various language teaching techniques that can be applied to teach reading comprehension.

This writing is aim to find out to know whether small group discussion is effective to improve students’ ability in reading comprehension or not, to know whether the use of small group discussion is able to increase students’ interest in learning reading or not, and to find out whether there is significant influences of the using of Small group discussion in learning reading to the students’ individual ability in mastering reading comprehension.Keyword: Reading Comprehension text and Small Group Discussion Technique

A. IntroductionAccording to Rubin (1997:3), “Reading is a complex, dynamic

process that involves bringing of meaning and getting from the print

page”. In addition, Hornsby (1994:1425) states, “Reading is the

action of person who reads. Reading is one of four skills in English

that the students should acquire. It is a very important skill that the

students need for the success of their studies”.

In general knowledge, reading is the most important skill

everyone should master. Therefore, reading has been introduces to

students since the early age. Reading is a very significant thing

everybody needs to live his or her life better, through reading people

can gain the knowledge and information from all over the world

without must around it. Reading is the window of the world.

Based on the importance of reading, it is reasonable enough to

consider reading as an endless learning. Bowman (1991:265) states,

“Reading is the appropriate media to promote the long-life learning”.

Furthermore, Cheek, Flippo, and Lindsey (1989:360) state: Reading is

the skill which may often used and retained the longest. It is an

essential foundation of learning and seeking information and

knowledge. Someone can increase his or her knowledge by reading

many books, news paper, encyclopedias, and so on. The information

one gets from reading helps him or her in his or her study and

enables them to gain good grades, which are useful to continue their

future studies or career position.

The statement above clearly states how important mastering

reading in our life is. Among the four skills of English, namely

listening, speaking, reading and writing, the skill of reading also

plays a crucial role. Nevertheless, the teaching of these four skills

should be done interactively, since they are linked each other.

Reading is viewed considerably important because by reading

students can enlarge and enrich their knowledge and experience

because most of information they need are served in written form.

However, in reading, comprehension is a very essential thing as

stated by Weaver (1990:133), “………….without reading

comprehension, there would be no reading”. But unfortunately,

learning reading is not a simple thing to do.

There are many difficulties the students face in learning this

skill. Resonshine (1990:535) declares: The failure is because reading

is a complex task requiring different abilities in a single

performance. It is requires a complete command of written symbols,

and understanding of words, phrases, and structural and

grammatical points. In addition, the previous experiences and

knowledge in the language affect the success and failure in reading.

The opinion above shows us that and appropriate technique in

teaching and learning reading is urgently needed, and a good

teacher should have a good technique to apply to teach reading.

Small group discussion is one of the alternatives among various

language teaching techniques. According to Baker (1997:159),

“Small group discussion is three or more people interacting face to

face, with or without and assigned leader in such a way that each

person influences, and is influenced by another person in group”.

The writer chooses this technique to implement because she

believes that in group reading, students may enjoy from time to

time getting away from the usual pattern of reading. Besides that, in

group learning, students are not only able to improve their

intellectual skill but also increase their social relationship, especially

among their peers.

B. Problem of Study

The problem of study discussed through this writing is there

any influence of the using of Small group discussion technique in

learning reading to the students’ individual ability in mastering

reading comprehension?

C. Purpose of Study

This writing aimed to know whether there is some influences

of the using of Small group discussion in learning reading to the

students’ individual ability in mastering reading comprehension or

not and to know whether small group discussion is effective to

improve students’ ability in reading comprehension or not and to

know whether the use of small group discussion is able to increase

students’ interest in learning reading or not.

D. Method of Study

This method used in writing this study is library research

through identifying of reference list and then analyze and compose

into academic writing.

E. Description

1. Definition of Reading

Hornby (1994:1425) declares: “Reading is the action of person

what who reads. Reading is one of four skills in English that the

students should acquire. It is a very important skill that the students

need for the success of their studies”. Moreover, Zintz and Maggart

(1999:15) state: Reading is one more than seeing word clearly,

more than pronouncing printed word correctly, more than

recognizing the meaning of isolated word. Regarding requires you

think, feel, and imagine. Effective reading is purposeful. The use one

make of his reading largely determines what he reads, why he

reads, and how he reads.

As stated above, reading is not just seeing and pronouncing

words in the text. Many experts have defined the definition of

reading. Rubin (1997:3) states: “Reading is a complex, dynamic

process that involves bringing of meaning to and getting meaning

from the printed page”. Furthermore, Gunning (1992:19) states:

Reading is an interaction between the author and the reader. To

understand the print message, the reader must perceive, interpret,

hypothesize, and evaluate their reading. These processes occur in

varying degrees depending on the readers’ familiarity with the

content of the text and with their purpose reading.

Meanwhile, Smith and Robinson (1990:6) perceive: “Reading

is defined as an active attempt to understand the writer’s message.

When a reader reads, she or he interacts with, and tries to

reconstruct, what a writer wishes to communicate. For that purpose,

the reader must have enough background to make contact with the

writer”.

From all of definitions of reading above, we know that the

experts themselves define reading in various ways, but based on

the definitions of reading the experts above, it can be concluded

that reading is an active and interactive activity to reproduce the

word mentally and vocally and tries to understand the content of

reading text.

2. Skill of Reading

Finochiario (1999:25) states: “There are some skills needed to

comprehend a reading text namely scanning, skimming, predicting,

guessing the meaning, paraphrasing and summarizing the writer’s

idea”.

The quotation above tells us that to be able to understand a

reading text well, one has to master some skill, they are:

a. Scanning

Scanning is a reading skill used to find out specific information

from the reading material. In scanning, one only tries to locate

specific information and simply lets his or her eyes wander over the

text until he or she finds what she or he is looking for, whether it is a

name, a date, or an object.

b. Skimming

By skimming, the readers read the material quickly to get the

gist, the essence, and a global comprehension of the paragraphs,

for example, getting the main ideas. In skimming, they should not

look up any words or stop to ask the meaning of a word.

c. Predicting

The reader’s sense and experience help him to predict what

the writer is likely to say next. The reader who can think along with

the writer in this way will find the text relatively easy. The ability to

predict depends on both the background knowledge of the reader

and the content of the text.

d. Guessing the meaning

This is the skill of knowing the meaning of a word by

considering its context. The reader will be able to do this by

guessing the meaning from the context in which the word is used.

e. Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is a valuable tool to determine how clear a

reader’s understanding is. It is the skill of restating the writer’s idea

on sentences in a simpler and more concise way.

f. Summarizing the writer’s idea

It is a skill of telling the writer’s main point of the text. The

readers should tell the purpose of the writer on his or her text.

From the definitions above, we can conclude that the purpose

of reading is, principally, for understanding the message in the text.

Zintz and Maggart (1999:15) declare: There are four steps that

occur during the reading act, those steps are perception,

comprehension, reaction and integration. Perception is the ability to

pronounce the word as a meaningful unit. Comprehension is the

ability to make individual words evoke useful ideas as they are read

in context. Reaction requires judgmental actions and feeling about

what the author has said. The final step, integration is the ability to

assimilate the idea or concept into one's background experience so

that it is useful as a part of the total experience of the individual.

3. Definition of Reading Comprehension

According to Bromley (1992:209), “Comprehension is

understanding, the ability to get the meaning of something. It is an

active cognitive process that requires the construction of meaning

from incoming information and prior knowledge”. In relation to

reading, Rubin (1997:315) states: “Reading comprehension is a

complex intellectual process involving a number of abilities. The two

major abilities involve word meanings and verbal reasoning, without

word meanings and verbal reasoning, there would be no reading

comprehension”.

In other words, we can say that to get the information that is

given by the writer, the reader must have the ability to comprehend

the written source. In the process of the construction of meaning

through the interaction with the written source, two sources are

involved; the new incoming information and existing information.

Moreover, Rubin (1997:194) claims: Reading comprehension is a

complex intellectual process involving a number of abilities. The two

major abilities involve word meaning and verbal reasoning. Without

word meaning and verbal reasoning, there would be no reading

comprehension; without reading comprehension, there will be no

reading. Moreover, comprehension cannot be separated from the

reading process itself. There would be no reading without having

comprehension in it. Comprehension is very essential in reading

process. Someone does not really read if he or she does not

understand what is being read, even if he or she can pronounce the

words perfectly.

Furthermore, Smith and Robinson (1990:205) state: “Reading

comprehension means the understanding, evaluating and utilizing of

information and idea gained through the interaction between the

reader and the author”. Meanwhile, Tarigan (1999:343) states:

“Reading comprehension means the result of comprehending new

information to what one already knows and to find the answers of

cognitive questions of the written material”. In addition, Mc. Bride

(1993:91) defines: “Reading comprehension is considered as an

effective skill besides listening, speaking, and writing in getting

information”.

4. Levels of Reading Comprehension

Smith (1997:317-318) says: “There are four levels of reading

comprehension; literal comprehension, interpretation, critical

reading, and creative reading”. Based on the statement above, we

know that there are four levels of reading comprehension, they are:

a. Literal comprehension

The lowest level of reading comprehension is literal

comprehension. Literal comprehension is getting the primary, direct,

literal meaning of an idea in context. The readers are only able to

use the information which is stated explicitly in the text. The

readers are able to answer such as questions that simply demand

them to recall from memory what the exact words given in the

book. Although it only needs little or no thinking on the part of the

readers, it gives them opportunity to practice in recalling and

reproducing statements of facts and have a place in detailed factual

reading.

b. Interpretation

The next level is interpretation. In interpretation readers read

between the lines, make connection among individual stated idea,

make inferences, draw conclusions, or experience emotional

reaction. To answer the questions at the interpretative level,

readers must have problem-solving ability and be able to work at

various levels of abstraction. Obviously, children who are slow

learners will have difficulty working at this level as well as in the

next two categories.

c. Critical reading

Critical reading is at higher level than the other two categories

above because it involves evaluation. To be able to make judgment,

a reader must be able to collect, interpret, apply, analyze, and

synthesize the information. Smith (1997:11) declares: “Critical

reading includes such skills as the ability to differentiate between

fantasy and reality, and the ability to discern propaganda

techniques”. Critical reading is related to critical listening because

they both require critical thinking.

d. Creative reading

The highest level of comprehension is creative reading.

Creative reading uses divergent thinking skills to go beyond the

literal comprehension, interpretation, and critical reading levels. In

creative reading, the reader tries to come up with new or alternative

solutions to those presented by the writer. Smith and Robinson

(1990:225-226) state: “Creative reading involves the imaginative

treatment of ideas in both inductive and deductive thinking,

resulting in new insight, fresh ideas, and new organization or

pattern of thought”.

In order to be able to acquire the four types of comprehension

needed by the students to cope with the reading texts, they must

be helped to develop and expand their comprehension level. By

using the appropriate teaching techniques, a teacher can increase

students' reading comprehension level. By doing so, the students

can maximize themselves in reading for the purpose of getting

information.

5. Small Group Discussion Teaching

As explained earlier that technique in teaching is one of the

main factors that determines the success of a teaching and learning

process and it is also one of the determiner factors of the purpose of

study achievement, so it is reasonable enough to think that the

appropriate technique selection in teaching is considerably

important. Among the various pedagogical techniques used in

teaching, small group discussion is one of them. Small group

discussion is a discussion within a group consisting of three or more

students. Johnson (1995:76) defines: “Small group discussion is

discussion of three or more people interacting face to face, with or

without an assigned leader in such a way that each person

influences, and is influenced by another person in the group”. A

good teacher should be able to make the situation and condition in

the classroom as attractive as possible in order the students fell

excited and more interested in learning and the use of small group

discussion in teaching is a suitable alternative. In group learning,

students may enjoy from time to time getting away from the usual

pattern of learning. In the case of learning reading, by using the

small group discussion, the students may enjoy their learning

activity escaping the ordinary pattern of reading a story or article

aloud at sight. But conducting a learning activity by implementing

the small group discussion is not easy to do. Applying a small group

discussion learning even for the Senior High School students still has

get more directions from the teacher. Furthermore, Johnson

(1995:78) suggests: “Students should be arranged so that each

student can see all other members of his group and can be heard

without shouting and disturbing the other groups”.

Most of the teaching learning process lately focuses on the

teacher (teacher-centered), where as this type of teaching and

learning process is proven less effective. Therefore, it is hoped that

by using the small group discussion technique, the process of

teaching and learning will be better and the target of learning is

able to be achieved. The using of small group discussion in teaching,

especially reading comprehension, will enable the students to get

the meaning of passage by getting information from his friends and

teacher. The students can share the difficulties the reading text to

each other and provide themselves with the knowledge. Barker

(1999:168) declares: “The members of the group know well enough

to really trust each other, and they still have to determine each

other’s skills, knowledge, situation and attitudes. They often feel

comfortable and ‘lost’”.

From the descriptions above we know that using of small

group discussion in a teaching learning process is not only able to

increase the students’ intellectual skills but also develop their social

relationship.

6. The Process of Small Group Discussion in The Classroom

The classroom organization does not deal directly with the

reading process, or with materials, methods, or approaches to

teaching reading comprehension. Yet without good classroom

organization and classroom management, reading instruction may

be totally ineffective. It is enough for teachers to know what

organizational patterns and management techniques are conducive

in learning. Nunan (2000:91) points out that setting in the classroom

are important. Setting here refers to the classroom arrangements

specifying or implying the task, and it also requires consideration

whether the task is to be carried out wholly or partly in the

classroom. For example, an activity involving small groups will be an

important factor influencing roles and relationship.

Besides the classroom management explained above, the

appropriate technique in grouping the students is also one of the

factors that determines whether the small group discussion learning

can run well or not. Two opposite tendencies exist with regard to the

number of people in a group. The larger the group, the greater is the

pool of talent and experience available for solving problems or

sharing the effort. On the other hand, as the size increases, fewer

members have the chance to participate, and indeed the differences

in relative participation increase to the point where one or two

members begin to dominate. Barker (1999:159) purposes: “The best

size in terms of total interaction and greatest efficiency is some

where between five and seven members”.

Small group discussion learning is considered succeed if it is able

to produce a communicative class. There are many ways to build a

communicative class, some of them are:

a. Jigsaw

Group with five students are set up. Each group member is

assigned some unique material to learn and then to teach to his group

members. To help the students in the learning, students across the

class working on the same sub-section get together to decide what is

important and how to teach it. After practicing in these “expert” groups

the original group reform and students teach each other. Test

assessment follows.

b. Think-pair-share

It involves three steps of cooperative structure. During the first

step individuals think silently about a question posed by the instructor.

Individuals pair up during the second step and exchange thoughts. In

the third step, the pairs share their responses with other pairs, other

teams, or the entire group.

c. Three-step Interview

Each member of a team chooses another member to be a

partner. During the first step individuals interview their partners by

asking or clarifying questions. During the second step partners reverse

the roles. For the final step, members share their partner’s response.

d. Round Robin Brain Storming

Class is divided into small groups (4 to 6) with one person

appointed as the recorder. A question is posed with many answers.

After the “think time,” members of the team share responses with one

another round robin style. The recorder writes down the answer of the

group members. The person next to the recorder starts and each

person in the group in order give an answer until time is called.

e. Three Minute Interview

Teachers stop anytime during a lecture of discussion and give

team three minutes to review what has been said then ask clarifying

questions or answer questions.

f. Numbered Head

A team of four is established. Each member is given numbers of

1,2,3,4. Questions are asked of the group. Groups work together to

answer the question so that all can verbally answer the question.

Teacher calls out a number (two) and each two is asked to give the

answer.

g. Team Pair Solo

Students do problem first as a team, then with a partner, and

finally on their own. It is designed to motivate students to tackle and

succeed at problems, which initially are beyond their ability. It is based

on a simple notion of media led learning. Students can do more things

with help (mediator) than they can do alone. By allowing them to work

on problem they could not do alone, first as a team and then with a

partner, they progress to a point they can do alone that which at first

they could do only with help.

h. Circle the Sage

First the teacher polls the class to see which students have a

special knowledge to share. For example the teacher may ask who in

the class was able to solve a difficult math homework question, who

had visited Mexico, who knows the chemical reactions involved in how

salting the streets help dissipate snow. Those students (the sages)

stand and spread out in the room. The teacher then has the rest of the

classmates each surround a sage, with no two members of the same

team going to the same. The sage explains what she knows while the

classmates listen, ask questions, and take notes. All students then

return to their teams. Each in turn, explains what they learned.

Because each one has gone to a different sage, they compare notes. If

there is disagreement, they stand up as a team. Finally, the

disagreements are aired and resolved.

i. Partners

The class is divided into teams of four. Partners move to one side

of the room. Half of each team is given an assignment to be able to

teach the other half. Partners work to learn and can consult with other

partners working on the same material. Teams go back together with

each set of partners teaching the other set. Partner quiz and tutor

teammates. Team reviews how well they learned and taught and how

they might improve the process.

By choosing one of the ways stated above, combining it with the

small group discussion and applying it in teaching learning process, so

the process of teaching and learning will be better and the target of

learning is quite possible to achieve.

7. Teacher’s and Student’s Role in the Small Group

Discussion

The teaching of reading comprehension using a small group

discussion means that the class has to be communicative. Nunan

(2000:10) informs: “I too will consider the communicative task a piece

of classroom work that involves learners in comprehending,

manipulating, producing or interacting in the target language while

their attention is principally focused on meaning rather than form”.

According to Nunan (2000:87): The teacher in communicative

classroom has three main roles. The first is to act as facilitator for the

communicative process, the second is to act as participant, and the

third is to act as an observer and learner. While the student have more

active role, they can communicate directly with each other, rather

than exclusive with the teacher. As an activity is carried out in a small

group work, it makes it possible for a greater amount of individual

participation than when it is done in the class teaching situation.

Thus, it is clear that using a small group discussion, the students

and the teacher can interact with each other in the classroom. Nunan

(2000:87) then points out: “The interaction can be either between the

teacher and the students or between students as they interact in small

group works”. The writer here concludes that in a classroom, students

will be more motivated by cooperative interaction in a group.

F. Conclusion

The use of small group discussion in learning reading

comprehension influences the students’ individual ability in mastering

reading comprehension. It can be seen from the results of the analysis

which shows that there is a significant correlation between the using of

small group discussion in learning reading and the students’ individual

ability in mastering reading comprehension. Reading comprehension

is one of the skills of the language that support the others skill such as

speaking, listening and writing.

The factors that make the students uninterested in reading is

hard topics for learning material, therefore a teacher should know

which reading material is suitable for students. In the teaching

reading comprehension, a teacher must select the suitable method

and techniques besides the material of reading must be suitable with

their level. Small group discussion has some advantages to stimulate

students’ enthusiasm in reading and it can avoid students’ boredom in

learning reading.

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