DEVOLOVING ENGLISH READING MATERIALS FOR STUDENTS OF ISLAMIC BOARDING SCHOOL.

DEVELOPING ENGLISH READING MATERIALS FOR
STUDENTS OF ISLAMIC BOARDING SCHOOL
A THESIS
As the Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjana Pendidikan

R.A. WULANINGTYAS KULOWANI
Registration Number: 2113121058

ENGLISH AND LITERATURE DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS
MEDAN STATE UNIVERSITY
2015

DECLARATION

I have familiarized myself with the University’s Policy on Academic
integrity. Except where appropriately acknowledged, this thesis is my own work,
has been expressed in my own words, and has not been previously been submitted
for assessment.


I understand that this paper may be screened electronically or otherwise
for plagiarism.

Medan,

July 2015

R.A. Wulaningtyas Kulowani
Reg. No. 2113121058

ACKNOWLEGDEMENT

Praise be Allah, the cherisher and sustainer of the world, that has given
His blessing, sturdiness, and patience, so that the researcher can finish her thesis
as a partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Sarjana Pendidikan.
In writing this thesis, she has encountered a lot of difficulties since
the beginning to the last; many people have directly helped her in finishing
this thesis. She would like to acknowledge her deep gratitude for all of them for
their generous guidance and assistance:



Prof. Dr. Syawal Gultom, M.Pd., the Rector of State University of
Medan.



Dr. Isda Pramuniati, M.Hum., the Dean of Faculty of Languages
and Arts, State University of Medan.



Prof. Dr. Hj. Sumarsih, M.Pd., the Head of English and Literature
Department.



Nora Ronita Dewi, S.Pd., S.S., M.Hum. the Head of English
Education Program.




Dr. Rahmad Husein, M.Ed., the great and respective thesis advisor
who has kindly given his valuable time to advice, guide, and support
to her.



Drs. Muhamad Natsir, M.Hum., Dra. Masitowarni Siregar,
M.Ed., and Drs. Willem Saragih, Dipl. App., M.Pd, the reviewers
who have given knowledgeable input in furnishing her thesis.



Pesantren Darul Arafah Raya educators and staffs who have
supported her to conduct the research and collect the data especially to
Ardian Ginting, S.Ag., the validator of her reading materials and

ii

Leni Sri Wahyuni, S.Si. who has supported and helped her giving

information about Pesantren Darul Arafah Raya.


Her beloved parents, Drs. Raden Muhammad Syahril, M.Sp. and
Rika Hayati Siagian, A.Md., sisters R.A. Amalia Kulowani,
S.Kom. and R.A. Shafna Kulowani and her brother R. Syah alam
Kulowani who have given a lot of loves, cares, prayers, supports, and
advices.



Her beloved brother-parent-best friend-darling, Irwan Saputra, S.S.,
who has accompanied her life with a lot of loves, prayers, and
motivations.



Her best friends, the Horses, Chairunnisa Lubis, Isma Eriyanti,
Nurhamidah Tanjung, and Nurul Fadhilah Lubis, who have
colored her life with loves, laughter, and supports.




Her wonderful brothers and sisters in HMJ BSI UNIMED especially
for 2011 fighters who have inspired her by positive activities, good
team works, tons of achievements, and creative ideas.



Her lovely friends in Exemplary Class, Cha, Intan, Amy, Nurhay,
Gita, Puput, Ani, Nuri, Oki, and Icha who have accompanied her
with loves, cares, and supports.



Her friends in Regular 2011 A who have made cheerful and spirit days
at class.

Medan, July 2015
The writer,


R.A.Wulaningtyas Kulowani
Reg.No. 2113121058

iii

ABSTRACT

Kulowani,
R.A. Wulaningtyas.
Registration Number:
2113121058.
Developing English Reading Materials for Students of Islamic Boarding
School. A Thesis. English Educational Program, State University of Medan,
2015
This study aims to design English reading materials needed for students of Islamic
Boarding School and develop English reading materials for students of Islamic
Boarding School. The research was conducted by Research and Development (R
& D) design through six phases; gathering information and data, analyzing data,
designing new materials, validating by experts, revising, and final product. It was

conducted in Darul Arafah Islamic Boarding School, especially grade X. The data
were gathered by administering interview and distributing questionnaire to 100
respondents to get the students’ needs. The interview and questionnaire results
prove that the students need English reading materials which contain Islamic
knowledge or topic. Thus, developing materials are biographical recount and
narrative text. The biographical recount texts expose the biography of Muhammad
SAW and Ali bin Abi Thalib and. Then, the recount texts tell the story about
Musa and Fir’aun and Hud and ‘Aad. The products have been validated by
experts. The average scores are 4,89 from Islamic subject teacher and 4,167
English lecturer. It means the developing materials categorized as relevant or
appropriate for students of Islamic Boarding School grade X.
Key words: Research and Development (R & D), reading materials, Islamic
Boarding School

i

TABLE OF CONTENT

Page
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................ii
TABLE OF CONTENT ....................................................................................iv
LIST OF FIGURE ............................................................................................vi
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................vii
LIST OF APPENDICES ..................................................................................viii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION......................................................................1
A. The Background of Study ............................................................1
B. The Problem of Study..................................................................5
C. The Objective of Study................................................................6
D. The Scope of Study .....................................................................6
E. The Significance of Study ...........................................................6
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE .................................................7
A. Theoretical Framework ................................................................7
1. Reading ...................................................................................7
2. Purpose of Reading.................................................................8
3. Reading Comprehension ........................................................9
4. Level of Comprehension ........................................................10
5. Type of Reading Text .............................................................11
a. Narrative text ....................................................................12
b. Recount text ......................................................................13

6. English for Specific Purposes .................................................15
7. Need Analysis .........................................................................18
8. Material Evaluation ................................................................19
9. Material Design ......................................................................21
10. Material Development ...........................................................23
11. Islamic Boarding School .......................................................24
12. Curriculum .............................................................................25
B. Conceptual Framework ...............................................................27
C. Related Studies ...........................................................................29
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ..........................................30
A. Research Design .........................................................................30
B. Instrument of Data Collection.....................................................31
C. Technique of Need Analysis .......................................................31
D. Development of Material ............................................................32
CHAPTER IV MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT ............................................34
A. Gathering Information and Data ..................................................34
B. Analyzing Data ............................................................................34

iv


C.
D.
E.
F.

Designing New Materials ............................................................40
Validating by Experts ..................................................................42
Revising New Materials ..............................................................44
Revised-Developing Materials (Final Product) ...........................45

CHAPTER V CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION ....................................47
A. Conclusion ...................................................................................47
B. Suggestion ...................................................................................47
REFERENCES ..................................................................................................49
APPENDICES ...................................................................................................53

v

LIST OF TABLES


Page
Table 4.1 Islamic Subject Teacher’s Validation Score .......................................45
Table 4.2 English Lecturer’s Validation Score ...................................................46

vii

LIST OF FIGURE

Page
Figure 3.1. Diagram of Material Development ...............................................33

vi

LIST OF APPENDICES

Page
Appendix A. Questionnaire.................................................................................53
Appendix B. Interview ........................................................................................56
Appendix C. Developing Materials ....................................................................61
Appendix D. Revised-Developing Materials ......................................................67
Appendix E. Validating Sheet .............................................................................81
Appendix F. Core and Basic Competencies ........................................................87
Appendix G. Existing Materials ..........................................................................90

viii

1

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

A.

The Background of Study
Indonesia ranked at 60 out of 120 countries in the world based on the

Education for all Development Index (EDI) data in 2010 (UNESCO, 2012). The
value of EDI standard consists of 4 component, they are universal primary
education, adult literacy, gender parity and equality, and quality of education. It
proves the low quality of Indonesia’s education.
This phenomenon forced the educational workers to evaluate the
weaknesses and to work hard to find the right solution to improve the quality of
education in Indonesia. Education in Indonesia is carried out in accordance with
the curriculum which has been prepared by the Ministry of Culture and
Elementary and Secondary Education. The formation of the curriculum has to take
into account the needs of learners in Indonesia in order to compete globally.
Surely if curriculum has been carefully compiled and run well too, then the
quality of education in Indonesia will increase.
Implementation of the curriculum can be seen directly through the process
of teaching and learning in schools in Indonesia. Level of education in Indonesia
starting from elementary school, junior high school, high school, university, has to
be carried out in accordance with the applicable curriculum so as to achieve the
learning objectives perfectly.
In addition, Indonesia has also vocational schools educate the students in
accordance with the interests and talents of the students. There are various courses

1

2

offered as technology, engineering, business management, hospitality, and even
culinary art.
Moreover, there are also religious schools such as Islamic Boarding School
(Pesantren). Currently many Moslem parents prefer their children to study in
Islamic Boarding School, especially modern Islamic Boarding School. This is due
to the encouragement of parents that are very concerned about the moral and
ethical education, but still want their children are knowledgeable and able to
master the technology. So expectation to learners which are studying in boarding
schools can explore Islam and give a good influence on their behavior even when
they face the competition in the era of globalization.
In general, students who learn in a modern Islamic Boarding School must
spend 24 hours of his daily life in the dorm, but the process of learning in the
classroom is no different from other general schools. Teaching and learning
process in Islamic Boarding School also follow the applicable curriculum in
Indonesia. It takes a little different because the students are given additional
subjects related to Islam, such as Fiqh, Qur’an Hadits, History of Islam, and so on.
The teachers of Islamic Boarding School also use teaching materials to support
the learning process as in general schools.
Learning process cannot be separated from the teaching materials. Teaching
sets such as syllabus, lesson plans, textbooks, and media are prepared as a
guideline in the implementation of teaching and learning. Teacher has an
important role to select the suitable material for students (Spelleri in Sarapli,
2011). Teaching materials must be prepared in accordance with the needs of

3

learners so that learners are able to achieve the learning objectives because they
are truly motivated to study only if teaching material constantly addresses
their needs (Blagojevic, 2013), especially textbook as a source of learning relates
directly to the level of skills and knowledge of learners. Textbooks or course
books either required or supplementary provide content and teaching-learning
activities, which shape much of what happens in the classroom (Celce-Murcia in
Widodo, 2007).
Textbooks produced by publishers are prepared in accordance with a set
curriculum in the education system of Indonesia. However, this textbook is only
able to fulfill the needs of learners who are in public schools. Vocational and
religious school, such as boarding schools certainly have different special needs to
learners who are in general schools.
Education of Islamic Boarding School aims to form students to master the
science of religion and able to spread Islam all over the world. Therefore, teaching
and learning in classroom should be able to fulfill the mission of Islamic Boarding
School’s education. To complete the mission, the most suitable subject to support
the needs of learners in Islamic Boarding School is English as an International
language. Moreover, the students have to speak English as daily language in
dormitory beside Arabic. The students also have speech class in order to train
them mastering public speaking in English and Arabic. The topic of speech must
be about Islam knowledge and law.
English has four language skills to be dominated by learners; they are
reading, writing, listening and speaking. From the fourth skills, reading is a

4

receptive skill which as a fundamental to build the knowledge and insight of
learners. Generally reading skills practice is done through reading comprehension
contained in the genre of the text in a textbook. After students read the text, they
are instructed to answer questions related to the text.
Unfortunately reading skills is only goal-oriented rather than process. The
ability of reading skills is measured by the extent to which learners are able to
answer such questions. Supposedly reading material is also able to provide insight
in accordance with the needs of the students, because in the process of reading,
students use their background knowledge and integrate it with new knowledge
through text they read.
Reading material contained in a book published by Ministry of Culture and
Elementary and Secondary Education used by learners in Darul Arafah Islamic
Boarding School Lau Bakeri would not be able to meet their specific needs. For
example in the book of English class X of second semester of Senior High School,
there are two types of text which will be learnt. They are Biographical Recount
and Narrative text. Biographical Recount biography describes BJ Habibie’s
biography. However, that reading material does not meet the needs of learners at
the school who must master the science of Islam. Similarly, the narrative text
entitled Malin Kundang, the folklore of West Sumatera, does not provide insights
pertaining to Islam.
Reading materials which suits the needs of learners would be easier for them
to achieve the learning objectives. Texts which are recognizable to students in
terms of content, form and culture, can help them overcome any reading

5

comprehension difficulties they may encounter with less common vocabulary, and
with words specific only to the subject presented (Paulston & Bruder in Sullivan,
2012). So if reading material contained in the book deals with knowledge about
Islam, learners will be more easily connect their basic knowledge of religion with
the new knowledge contained in the form of English. Learners will add their
Islamic knowledge and practice their English language skills through vocabulary
and writing style of the text.
Therefore, the teacher as a facilitator in the learning process in the
classroom should be able to develop reading materials that support the needs of
learners. Then students not only achieve the learning objectives in the subjects of
English, but also improve the knowledge of Islam in English through teacherdeveloped reading material.
B.

The Problem of Study
Based on the identifications of problem above, the problems of study are:
1.

What English reading materials are needed by students of Islamic
Boarding School?

2.

How should English reading materials be developed for students of
Islamic Boarding School?

C.

The Objective of Study
The objectives of study are:
1.

To design English reading materials needed by students of Islamic
Boarding School.

6

2.

To develop English reading materials for students of Islamic Boarding
School.

D.

The Scope of Study
The scope of the study is to develop reading materials based on students’

need – Islamic knowledge; it will be applied in the first grade senior high school –
Darul Arafah Islamic Boarding School Lau Bakeri. The skill that will be
concerned on is reading comprehension, especially in narrative and recount text.
E.

The Significance of Study
The finding of this research can be useful to teachers theoretically and

practically in providing information about developing teaching materials.
Theoretically, this research can provide information and theories about
developing English reading materials to teachers. Meanwhile, practically it can be
reference to teacher especially in Islamic Boarding School in attempt to develop
teaching materials. Teachers can see the importance of having teacher-developed
materials for students in learning process.
Moreover the students can get more motivation to learn English which can
integrate into their major. It will increase students’ achievement in English. In
addition, this research can be a reference to the next researchers who want to
conduct a research about developing teaching materials for students.

47

CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

A.

Conclusion
The students of Darul Arafah Islamic Boarding School needed the English

reading materials which could support their learning activity and learning
environment. Their learning activity was supposed to increase their knowledge
about Islam and their learning environment shaped them to be Islamic youth. The
English reading materials did not only help them to learn English but also
complete the mission of the school.
The reading materials on general English book did not match to their needs
and should be developed. The English reading materials should be developed
through 6 phases, they were; 1) Gathering information and data, 2) Analyzing
data, 3) Designing materials based on the needs analysis, 4) Validating the new
reading materials by experts (Islamic subject teacher and English lecturer), 5)
Revising the new reading materials based on experts’ suggestions, and 6) Final
product.
B.

Suggestion
1.

Teacher

Teachers should consider the students’ needs to choose the learning
materials. The learning process can be successful if the reading materials
were useful for their daily life and learning environment. The teachers

47

48

should develop the reading materials if they found the materials were too
general for the students of Islamic Boarding which had specific needs.
2.

Institution
The institution should supervise the teachers and ensure them that the

reading materials supported the school’s mission. The institution also should
find the books which match to the students’ need. The number of references
of English reading materials had to be increased to ease the students
learning English and Islamic knowledge at the same time.
3.

Other researcher
Other researchers should find many references to support in

developing reading materials. The open questions of questionnaire should
be considered to give the students’ chance to deliver their wants in new
reading

material