THE USE OF KWL STRATEGY COMBINED WITH PICTURE TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION OF THE EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMP N 2 TAMPAKSIRING IN ACADEMIC YEAR 2020/2021

Abstract

Reading comprehension is a crucial skill needs to be developed because the readers need
to comprehend their readings in order to obtain the useful information. This study was aimed
to find out whether or not the subjects’ reading comprehension can be improved through
KWL strategy combined with picture. The subjects were the eighth grade students of SMP N
2 Tampaksiring in academic year 2020/2021. Based on the result of pre-test, it was found
that many students had problems in identifying general and specific information, textual
meaning and textual reference. Therefore, the KWL strategy combined with picture was
carried out which divided into two cycles. The data were gathered by administering post-test
1 and post-test 2 in the end of each cycle. The mean scores of pre-test, post test 1, and posttest
2 were respectively, 52.03, 66.17, and 76.17. The result of the post-tests showed the
significant improvements toward subjects’ reading comprehension. Moreover, the result of
questionnaire showed that the subjects positively responded toward the use of KWL Strategy
combined with picture. In conclusion, this study proved that reading comprehension of the
eighth grade students of SMP N 2 Tampaksiring in academic year 2020/2021 could be
improved by using KWL Strategy combined with picture.