STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLES A STUDY OF LITERATURE CIRCLES IN TEACHING READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG.
Jeani Shinta Rahayu, 2015
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLESA STUDY OF LITERATURE CIRCLES IN TEACHING READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLES
A STUDY OF LITERATURE CIRCLES IN TEACHING READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG
A THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Master’s Degree in English Education
By
JEANI SHINTA RAHAYU 1006900
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH EDUCATION SCHOOL OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES INDONESIA UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION
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Jeani Shinta Rahayu, 2015
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLESA STUDY OF LITERATURE CIRCLES IN TEACHING READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu 2015
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLES
A STUDY OF LITERATURE CIRCLES IN TEACHING READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG
Oleh
Jeani Shinta Rahayu S.Pd UPI Bandung, 2009
Sebuah Tesis yang diajukan untuk memenuhi salah satu syarat memperoleh gelar Magister Pendidikan (M.Pd.) pada Sekolah Pascasarjana UPI
© Jeani Shinta Rahayu 2015 Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia
April 2015
Hak Cipta dilindungi undang-undang.
Thesis ini tidak boleh diperbanyak seluruhya atau sebagian, dengan dicetak ulang, difoto kopi, atau cara lainnya tanpa ijin dari penulis.
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Jeani Shinta Rahayu, 2015
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLESA STUDY OF LITERATURE CIRCLES IN TEACHING READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu
Approval Page
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLES
A STUDY OF LITERATURE CIRCLES IN TEACHING READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG
A Thesis by
JeaniShintaRahayu 1006900 Approved by
First Supervisor Second Supervisor
DR. Safrina Norman, M.A. BachrudinMusthafa, M.A., Ph.D.
Head of Study Program
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Jeani Shinta Rahayu, 2015
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLESA STUDY OF LITERATURE CIRCLES IN TEACHING READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu DECLARATION
I hereby certify that this thesis, which is entitled Students’ Reading Engagement in Literature Circles, is completely my own work. I am fully aware that I have quoted some statements and ideas from various sources, all quotations have been acknowledged.
Bandung, January 2015
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Jeani Shinta Rahayu, 2015
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLESA STUDY OF LITERATURE CIRCLES IN TEACHING READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The completion of this study has been helped and supported by many important people. I would never have been able to finish my thesis without the guidance of my supervisors, help from friends, support and love from my family, husband, and son.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisors, DR. Safrina Norman, M.A. and BachrudinMusthafa, M.A., Ph.D., for their excellent guidance and patient in giving me ideas and correcting my writing.
I gratefully acknowledge the support from Leongatha Primary School 2012 teachers and staffs, especially Irene Beasley, Jonathan Cox, and Kathrina Hodges who introduced me to the Literature Circles and gave me ideas to do my own literature circles research. Special thanks go to the students and school where I conducted my study. Thank you for the involvement in the study and given me a chance to learn together.
Lastly, I would like to thank my family for all their love and encouragement. For my parents who raised me with love and supported me in all my pursuits, I am grateful to have you in my life. For the support of my brother Andrian, my mother and brother in law, thank you for being lovely supporters. To my Australian parents, Irene and Allan Beasley, thank you for your kindness support and love. And most of all for my little family, loving, supportive, encouraging, and patient husband Rizki and my first son Ghaizan. Thank you.
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Jeani Shinta Rahayu, 2015
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLESA STUDY OF LITERATURE CIRCLES IN TEACHING READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu
Bandung, January 2015
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLES A Study of Literature Circles in Teaching Reading
at a Junior High School in Bandung
ABSTRACT
The study investigated the students’ reading engagement in literature circles (e.g. Daniels, 1994; 2002; 2004). It was aimed to explore the way students engage with the text using literature circles, and to find out the obstacles in reading using literature. This study was a case study that was conducted in one junior high school in Bandung involving twelve eighth-graders as the focus group students. Classroom observations were done in eleven meetings which were divided into three phases; initial phase, discussion phase, and concluding phase and were then analyzed using literature circles theories as developed by Daniels (2002),Morris and Perlenfein (2003), Moen (2004) and reading engagement theories from Guthrie and Wigfield (2004). Questionnaire, students’ interview, and document analysis were also used to obtain the data. Questionnaire and interview were conducted after the teaching program. The result showed that the students engaged with reading through five aspects, including (1) their active participation in reading using literature circles, (2) cognitive strategy that they used during reading, (3) conceptual knowledge that they obtained, (4) social interaction that they made in the discussion, and (5) reading outcomes that they received. This study also found that there were obstacles as perceivedby the students and the ones as observed by the teacher.The students were aware that there were having problems with the language, their reading habit, school facility, their own efforts, the roles in literature circles, vocabulary, and group working. On the other hand, the non-participant researcher found that students had obstacles with the language, their efforts, the time allotment, roles in literature circles, the vocabulary, the classroom management, and the group working. There were similarities between the obstacles as perceived by the students and those as observed by the non-participant observer in terms of language, vocabulary, efforts, roles in literature
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Jeani Shinta Rahayu, 2015
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLESA STUDY OF LITERATURE CIRCLES IN TEACHING READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu
circles, and group working. Based on the findings, it is recommended that literature circles be used to get the students engaged in their reading.
Key words: Literature circles, reading engagement
TABLE OF CONTENTS
APPROVAL PAGE ……… ii
DECLARATION……….. iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………. iv
ABSTRACT ……….. v
TABLE OF CONTENTS………. vi
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ……… 1
1.1 Background of the Study ………. 1
1.2 Research Questions………...………… 4
1.3 Purposes of the Study ………. 4
1.4 Scope of the Study ……… 4
1.5 Significant of the Study……… 5
1.6 Definition of Key Terms…………...……… 5
1.7 Organization of the Paper ……… 6
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW……….. 8
Introduction ……...……… 8
2.1 Reading ………. 8
2.2Students’ Engagement ……….………...……….. 12
2.3Reading Engagement ……….……….. 13
2.4 Assessing Students’ Reading Engagement ...………. 15
2.5The Definition of Literature Circles ……… 16
2.6The Strengths of Literature Circles ..……… 17
2.7 The Steps in Literature Circles ………. 22
2.8 Literature Circles Activities ...………. 23
2.9 The Importance of Roles in Literature Circles ………. 27
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Jeani Shinta Rahayu, 2015
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLESA STUDY OF LITERATURE CIRCLES IN TEACHING READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu
2.11 The Previous Studies of Literature Circles in EFL Context ...……..… 30
CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY......… 33
Introduction ... 33
3.1 Research Purposes and Research Questions ……… 33
3.2 Research Design ………. 34
3.3 Sites, Participants, and Access ……….. 36
3.4 Research Procedures ……… 38
3.5 Data Collection Strategies ……… 42
3.6 Data Analysis……… 45
3.7 Concluding Remarks ……….. 47
CHAPTER IV: THE TEACHING PROGRAM……….. 48
4.1.The Teaching Program of Literature Circle……….. 48
4.1.1 Initial Phase ……… 49
4.1.1.1 Activity 1: Text Selection and Students Grouping ……….. 49
4.1.1.2Activity 2: Explaining and Modeling ……….. 52
4.1.2 Discussion Phase ……… 53
4.1.2.1 Activity 1: Selecting the Roles in Literature Circles ………..…. 55
4.1.2.2 Activity 2: Finishing the Role-Based Task ………..…… 57
4.1.2.3 Activity 3: Presenting the Task ………... 65
4.1.2.4 Having a Role-Based Task Discussion ……… 66
4.1.3 Concluding Phase ……….. 67
4.2 The Obstacles in Reading using Literature Circles ……… 68
4.2.1 The Obstacles as Observed by the Non-Participant Observer in Reading using Literature Circles..……… 69
4.2.1.1 Language Use ……….. 71
4.2.1.2 Students’ Effort ……….. 71
4.2.1.3 Time Allotment ……… 72
4.2.1.4 Roles in Literature Circles ……… 73
4.2.1.5 Vocabulary Difficulty ……… 73
4.2.1.6 Classroom Management ……… 74
4.2.1.7 Group Work Difficulty ……….. 74
4.3 Conclusion ………. 75
CHAPTER V: DISCUSSION OF QUESTIONAIRE, AND INTERVIEW DATA ……… 77
5.1Discussion of Data from the Questionnaire ……… 77
5.1.1 Students’ Beyond text Knowledge ……….. 77
5.1.2Social Interaction in Literature Circles ………. 78
5.1.3Students’ Reading Outcomes ……… 79
5.2 Discussion of Data from Classroom Interview ……… 81
5.2.1Students’ Reading Strategy ……….. 81
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Jeani Shinta Rahayu, 2015
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLESA STUDY OF LITERATURE CIRCLES IN TEACHING READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu
5.2.3Social Interaction in Literature Circles ………. 83
5.2.4Students’ Reading Outcomes ……… 84
5.3 The Obstacles as Perceived by Students in Reading using Literature Circles 5.3.1 Language Use ……… 86
5.3.2 Reading Habit ……… 90
5.3.3 Facility ……… 92
5.3.4 Students’ Efforts ……… 94
5.3.5 Roles in Literature Circles ……….. 96
5.3.6 Vocabulary Difficulty ………. 97
5.3.7 Group Work Difficulty ……… 98
5.4 Conclusion ………. 99
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS, LIMITATION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS…..………..…….. 102
5.1 Conclusions ……….. 102
5.2 Limitations ...………. 104
5.3 Recommendations ………. 105
BIBLIOGRAPHY………. 107 APPENDIXES
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Jeani Shinta Rahayu, 2015
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLESA STUDY OF LITERATURE CIRCLES IN TEACHING READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG
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Jeani Shinta Rahayu, 2015
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLESA STUDY OF LITERATURE CIRCLES IN TEACHING READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLES A Study of Literature Circles in Teaching Reading
at a Junior High School in Bandung
ABSTRACT
The study investigated the students’ reading engagement in literature circles (e.g. Daniels, 1994; 2002; 2004). It was aimed to explore the way students engage with the text using literature circles, and to find out the obstacles in reading using literature. This study was a case study that was conducted in one junior high school in Bandung involving twelve eighth-graders as the focus group students. Classroom observations were done in eleven meetings which were divided into three phases; initial phase, discussion phase, and concluding phase and were then analyzed using literature circles theories as developed by Daniels (2002),Morris and Perlenfein (2003), Moen (2004) and reading engagement theories from Guthrie and Wigfield (2004). Questionnaire, students’ interview, and document analysis were also used to obtain the data. Questionnaire and interview were conducted after the teaching program. The result showed that the students engaged with reading through five aspects, including (1) their active participation in reading using literature circles, (2) cognitive strategy that they used during reading, (3) conceptual knowledge that they obtained, (4) social interaction that they made in the discussion, and (5) reading outcomes that they received. This study also found that there were obstacles as perceived by the students and the ones as observed by the teacher. The students were aware that there were having problems with the language, their reading habit, school facility, efforts, the roles in literature circles, vocabulary, and group working. On the other hand, the non-participant researcher found that students had obstacles with the language, their efforts, the time allotment, roles in literature circles, the vocabulary, the classroom management, and the group working. There were similarities between the obstacles as perceived by the students and those as observed by the non-participant observer in terms of language, vocabulary, efforts, roles in literature circles, and group working. Based on the findings, it is recommended that literature circles be used to get the students engaged in their reading.
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Jeani Shinta Rahayu, 2015
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLESA STUDY OF LITERATURE CIRCLES IN TEACHING
READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu TABLE OF CONTENTS
APPROVAL PAGE ……… ii
DECLARATION……….. iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………. iv
ABSTRACT ……….. v
TABLE OF CONTENTS………. vi
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ……… 1
1.1 Background of the Study ………. 1
1.2 Research Questions………...………… 4
1.3 Purposes of the Study ………. 4
1.4 Scope of the Study ……… 4
1.5 Significant of the Study……… 5
1.6 Definition of Key Terms…………...……… 5
1.7 Organization of the Paper ……… 6
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW……….. 8
Introduction ……...……… 8
2.1 Reading ………. 8
2.2 Students’ Engagement ……….………...……….. 12
2.3 Reading Engagement ……….……….. 13
2.4 Assessing Students’ Reading Engagement ...………. 15
2.5 The Definition of Literature Circles ……… 16
2.6 The Strengths of Literature Circles ..……… 17
2.7 The Steps in Literature Circles ………. 22
2.8 Literature Circles Activities ...………. 23
2.9 The Importance of Roles in Literature Circles ………. 27
2.10 Assessment in Literature Circles ……… 29
2.11 The Previous Studies of Literature Circles in EFL Context ...……..… 30
CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY......… 33
Introduction ... 33
3.1 Research Purposes and Research Questions ……… 33
3.2 Research Design ………. 34
3.3 Sites, Participants, and Access ……….. 36
3.4 Research Procedures ……… 38
3.5 Data Collection Strategies ……… 42
3.6 Data Analysis……… 45
3.7 Concluding Remarks ……….. 47
CHAPTER IV: THE TEACHING PROGRAM……….. 48
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Jeani Shinta Rahayu, 2015
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLESA STUDY OF LITERATURE CIRCLES IN TEACHING
READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu
4.1.1 Initial Phase ……… 49
4.1.1.1 Activity 1: Text Selection and Students Grouping ……….. 49
4.1.1.2Activity 2: Explaining and Modeling ……….. 52
4.1.2 Discussion Phase ……… 53
4.1.2.1 Activity 1: Selecting the Roles in Literature Circles ………..…. 55
4.1.2.2 Activity 2: Finishing the Role-Based Task ………..…… 57
4.1.2.3 Activity 3: Presenting the Task ………... 65
4.1.2.4 Having a Role-Based Task Discussion ……… 66
4.1.3 Concluding Phase ……….. 67
4.2 The Obstacles in Reading using Literature Circles ……… 68
4.2.1 The Obstacles as Observed by the Non-Participant Observer in Reading using Literature Circles ..……… 69
4.2.1.1 Language Use ……….. 71
4.2.1.2 Students’ Effort ……….. 71
4.2.1.3 Time Allotment ……… 72
4.2.1.4 Roles in Literature Circles ……… 73
4.2.1.5 Vocabulary Difficulty ……… 73
4.2.1.6 Classroom Management ……… 74
4.2.1.7 Group Work Difficulty ……….. 74
4.3 Conclusion ………. 75
CHAPTER V: DISCUSSION OF QUESTIONAIRE, AND INTERVIEW DATA ……… 77
5.1 Discussion of Data from the Questionnaire ……… 77
5.1.1 Students’ Beyond text Knowledge ……….. 77
5.1.2 Social Interaction in Literature Circles ………. 78
5.1.3 Students’ Reading Outcomes ……… 79
5.2 Discussion of Data from Classroom Interview ……… 81
5.2.1 Students’ Reading Strategy ……….. 81
5.2.2 Students’ Beyond Text Knowledge ………. 82
5.2.3 Social Interaction in Literature Circles ………. 83
5.2.4 Students’ Reading Outcomes ……… 84
5.3 The Obstacles as Perceived by Students in Reading using Literature Circles 5.3.1 Language Use ……… 86
5.3.2 Reading Habit ……… 90
5.3.3 Facility ……… 92
5.3.4 Students’ Efforts ……… 94
5.3.5 Roles in Literature Circles ……….. 96
5.3.6 Vocabulary Difficulty ………. 97
5.3.7 Group Work Difficulty ……… 98
5.4 Conclusion ………. 99
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Jeani Shinta Rahayu, 2015
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLESA STUDY OF LITERATURE CIRCLES IN TEACHING
READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu
AND RECOMMENDATIONS…..………..…….. 102
5.1 Conclusions ……….. 102
5.2 Limitations ...………. 104
5.3 Recommendations ………. 105
BIBLIOGRAPHY………. 107 APPENDIXES
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Jeani Shinta Rahayu, 2015
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLESA STUDY OF LITERATURE
CIRCLES IN TEACHING READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
This chapter is concerned with investigating the problem of the study. It starts with the background of the study, which describes the contextual issues related to the students’ reading engagement in literature circles and the gap between those issues with what the researcher wants to achieve through this study. Next, the background of the study is followed by two research questions, purposes of the study, significance of the study, definition of key terms, and organization of the study.
1.1 Background of the Study
Reading skill is needed by the students for their academic and personal development. In reaching better academic achievement, students need to have a good reading skill. For example, students who want to pass the national examination are supposed to have a good reading skill in comprehending different kinds of texts for the exam. That case shows that reading is one of the crucial skills for students’ academic achievement. Anderson, Wilson, and Fielding (1988) added that reading is the main factor that determines students ’success in their learning. It means that the lack of students’ mastery in reading will influence their whole learning.
Besides, reading also influences students’ personal development. In To read or not to read (2007), the National Endowment for the Arts explained that “once students have mastered the ability to read they will be able to have access to a wider breadth of language that they can use in their oral and written communications”. Clearly, by mastering reading skill students will
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Jeani Shinta Rahayu, 2015
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLESA STUDY OF LITERATURE
CIRCLES IN TEACHING READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu
have a better chance in developing themselves. Moreover, reading skills are thinking skills. They help students activate prior knowledge, apply what they know to new situations, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize. In other words, the better reading skill is the better thinking skill of the students, while thinking skill is needed in every aspect in students’ self-development.
However, teaching reading is not merely to help them to achieve a certain score to pass the exam. It also includes maintaining students’ interest to the process of reading itself and to make students engage to what they read. To keep students’ engagement in their reading process is challenging. The level of students’ engagement, especially for teen and young adult reader has been struggling. Teachers have to make students love reading, in order to get the students familiar with reading. By loving the book, they will get the enjoyment in reading. Then, enjoyment will lead them to engage to the reading itself.
Willms (2003:28) stated that students who have better literacy skill will be more engaged to any school activities. However, by conducting this study, the researcher wants to see students’ engagement in reading by using one chosen activity to facilitate and help them. Guthrie et al (1996) stated that engagement refers to the integration of motivations and strategies in literacy activities. It means that the engagement in reading can be produced by conducting an activity which builds students motivation and strategies in their interaction with the text.
One of the reading activities which can be done by teachers to maintain students’ engagement in reading is literature circles. Literature circle is mainly reading activity done by the students in which they discuss one book in a small group. In addition, literature circle is a student centered structure which promotes various reading activities for students across all different grade levels. This activity encourages peer sharing along on what literature is being
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Jeani Shinta Rahayu, 2015
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLESA STUDY OF LITERATURE
CIRCLES IN TEACHING READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu
read along with receiving positive feedback and support from teachers. Teachers facilitate the students in terms of providing lists of books which suit their ability, age, and knowledge. Teachers also organize the students into small, peer-led book discussion groups (Daniels, 1994).
Research shows that literature circles have been a valuable addition to many students’ experiences, helping to grow more self-sustaining, lifelong reader (Daniels, 2006). Daniels also stated that literature circles challenge the students to be actively involved in the group discussion. Discussion one book in a smaller group gives the students less risk than in a whole-class discussion. Students feel more relax to give their opinion and to show their work based on the role they have taken in front of their own group.Literature circle includes the process of reading, analyzing, creating, writing, discussing, and presenting. That is the reason why literature circle is significant and plays an important role or students’ development.
Some researchers discussed the implementation of literature circles in their research but unfortunately only a few studies that explored the reading engagement in literature circles in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. Therefore, the researcher conducted the study to explore the way students engage with reading using literature circles in the EFL classroom.
This research began by assuming that literature circles can give positive effects on the reading engagement of the students. The researcher is interested in exploring how the literature circle influences students’ reading engagement because engagement seen as an indicator of successful classroom instruction, and is increasingly valued as an outcome of school improvement activities (Kenny et al, 1995: 37). Student engagement also refers to a student’s willingness, need, desire and compulsion to participate in, and be successful in, the learning process.
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Jeani Shinta Rahayu, 2015
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLESA STUDY OF LITERATURE
CIRCLES IN TEACHING READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu
Referring to explanations above, this study is aimed to explore the way students engage with the text using literature circles, and also to find out the obstacles in reading using literature circles.
1.2 Research Questions
To elaborate the process of literature circle and its influences to the students’ reading engagement, some research questions are raised as follows:
1. How do the students engage with reading using literature circles? 2. What are the obstacles in reading using literature circles?
1.3 Purposes of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to document students’ engagement in reading using literature circles. The purposes of this study are elaborated in the followings:
1. To explore the way students engage with reading using literature circles. 2. To find out the obstacles in reading using literature circles.
1.4 Scope of the Study
This study conducted in one of the classrooms at public junior high schools in Bandung to the eighth grade students.This study focuses on the way students showed their reading engagement in literature circles, and the
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Jeani Shinta Rahayu, 2015
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLESA STUDY OF LITERATURE
CIRCLES IN TEACHING READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu
obstacles in reading using literature circles.The literature circles conducted in this study were adapted from literature proposed by Daniels (2002), Morris and Perlenfein (2003), and Moen (2004). The implementation of literature circles were modified by the teacheras they were new for the students and several adjustments were done to meet their level and needs.
1.5 Significance of the Study
By conducting this study, the results found were expected to give theoretical, professional and practical contribution in the development of language learning in Indonesia, especially English.
Theoretically, this study provides some information concerning the students’ reading engagement in literature circles. The previous studies were dominated by the use of literature circles in enhancing students’ literacy skills. Moreover, there are a few researches about literature circles were done in Indonesia. Therefore, the result of this study is aimed to fill in the gap of the previous studies.
For professional contribution, this study is expected to be beneficial for language teacher in general, and for English teacher in particular. This study is expected to give practical information on how to implement literature circles in the classroom and provide teachers with information about the use of literature circles in teaching reading as well as to build the positive atmosphere for teaching reading by involving students in reading for pleasure.
Practically, this study is expected to give students opportunity to develop enthusiasm in reading and to lead the improvement of students’ reading comprehension which fulfills students’ need to understand the text.
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Jeani Shinta Rahayu, 2015
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLESA STUDY OF LITERATURE
CIRCLES IN TEACHING READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu
1.6 Definition of Key Terms
Reading Engagement: levels of interest in and attitudes toward reading (Kirsch et.al. 2000).
Engagement: a reflection or manifestation of motivated action and noted that action incorporates emotions, attention, goals, and other psychological processes along with persistent and effortful behavior (Skinner, Kindermann, Connell, and Wellborn, 2009a).
Student Engagement : a psychological component pertaining to students’ sense of belonging at school and acceptance of school values, and a behavioral component pertaining to participation in school activities (Finn, 1989, 1993; Finn and Rock, 1997; Goodenow, 1993; Goodenow and Grady, 1993; Voelkl, 1995, 1996, 1997; Wehlageet al., 1989 cited in Willms, 2003).
Literature Circles : small, heterogeneous groups of students who have chosen to read and discuss the same book together (Whittaker, 2011).
1.7 Organization of the Paper
This study will begin with preface, abstract and will be divided into five chapters, namely (1) Introduction, (2) Theoretical Foundation, (3) Research Methodology, (4) Findings and Discussion, (5) Conclusion and Suggestion.
Chapter one provides the background of the study, research questions, purpose of the study, scope of the study, significance of the study, definition of key terms, and organization of the paper.
Chapter two focuses on the review of related theories and literatures related to reading engagement and literature circles.
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Jeani Shinta Rahayu, 2015
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLESA STUDY OF LITERATURE
CIRCLES IN TEACHING READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu
Chapter three explains the research methodology that elaborates about the description of the research, the research design, the setting and participants of the research, data collection techniques and data analysis.
Chapter four covers data from classroom observation. It includes the teaching program as implemented by the teacher
Chapter five covers the discussion of data from questionnaire and interview.
Chapter six is the last part of the paper. It explores the conclusion, the limitation of the study and also the suggestion for further study related to literature circles implementation.
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Jeani Shinta Rahayu, 2015
STUDENTS’ READING ENGAGEMENT IN LITERATURE CIRCLESA STUDY OF LITERATURE
CIRCLES IN TEACHING READING AT A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN BANDUNG Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia | repository.upi.edu | perpustakaan.upi.edu
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This chapter presents the methodology of the study to answer the two questions previously stated in chapter one. It covers research purposes, research questions, research design, sites, participants, access, data collection strategies, research procedures, and data analysis.
In conducting the study, research methodology is very essential as a guideline to get the answer to the problem proposed in the study. According to Nunan (1993: 3) research is a methodical investigation that consists of three elements, namely a question, a problem or a hypothesis, and analysis or interpretation of data. In addition, according to Fraenkel and Wallen (1990: 481) research is the formal and systematic application of scholarship, disciplined inquiry, and most often the scientific method to the study of problems. That makes the methodology of the study becomes one of the important parts in conducting a research.
3.1 Research Purposes and Research Questions
The purposes of the research are divided into two parts. Firstly, this research is aimed to explore the way students engage with the text using literature circles. Secondly, it is to find out the obstacles from teacher and
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students’ perspective in reading using literature circles. Therefore, two research questions are formulated to get the research purposes.
1. How do the students engage with the text using literature circles?
2. What are the obstacles in reading using literature circles?
3.2 Research Design
Qualitative study was chosen to guide the methodology of this study and case study was selected as the research design since this study was aimed to qualitatively investigate and analyze groups of students in one class in which they read using literature circles. This study explored the implementation of literature circles as conducted by the teacher, students’ reading engagement in literature circles, and obstacles as perceived by the students in reading using literature circles. Therefore qualitative research is an ideal guiding framework as it is interested in meaning – how people make sense of their lives, experiences, and their structures of the world (Creswell, 1994: 145).
Case study provides a systematic way of looking at events, collecting data, analyzing information, and reporting the results and the result may gain a sharpened understanding of why the instance happened (Flyvbjerg, 2006). Case study is relevant for this study since this study looked the events when the students were reading using literature circles. This study is also relevant with the case study principal because it collects the data using different instruments to sharpen the researcher’s understanding towards students’ reading engagement in literature circles.
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Merriam (1988: 16) states that a case study is an intensive, holistic description and analysis of a single instance, phenomenon, or social unit. It is in line with this study, since this study focuses on one group of student in one class who did the literature circles activity. The main phenomenon which observed in this study was students’ reading engagement. The students were a social unit because the researcher observed their social interaction with other members in the group during literature circles implementation.
Silverman (2005) mentioned the characteristics of a case study. First, “each case has boundaries that must be identified at an early stage of the research”. At the first chapter of this study, researcher has clearly defined the boundaries of this research. The boundaries can also be seen from the three research questions that are previously mentioned. Second, “each case will be a case of something in which the researcher is interested”. At the first chapter of this study, researcher has explained the gap between the fact that teenagers tend to have less interest in reading and the importance of reading for students’ academic and personal development. That led the researcher’s interest in conducting this study to investigate those issues. The last characteristic of a case study is “preserve the wholeness and integrity of the case”. In order to preserve the wholeness and integrity of the case, research problems must be established geared to specific features of the case.
Based on the case study characteristics, this study learnt and analyzed group of students in literature circles activity. They shared same text and discussed same paragraph in the same meeting but they presented the task from different roles. Investigating groups of students who will be doing activity is best employed by case study as it focuses on a program, event, or activity involving individuals (Creswell, 2008: 476).
The process of literature circles which were done by the students adapted the key of literature circles proposed by Daniels (2002), Dawson and
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FitzGerald (1999), Morris and Perlenfein (2003), and Moen (2004). However, the literature circles had some modification based on the students and classroom’s condition. It also based on the curriculum used by the school. Daniels (2002) stated that to apply literature circles in high school is challenging since there is few secondary curricula which support students’ reading activities. But it does not mean that literature circles are impossible to apply in high school curriculum.
“There are two ways the teachers have to do: (1) Fight for class time for independent reading, so they can do true literature circles, and (2) adapt key literature circles procedures to the books that suit the curriculum, so that students can enjoy peer led discussions even when the literature is preselected.” (Daniels, 2002, p.159)
In order to suit the curriculum, the literature circles had been modified by the researcher. Instead of using book, students used text which was shorter and easier for the eighth grade students. However, it was easier for the teacher to provide text for the students rather than books. The texts used were narrative texts as in that semester students had to master narrative text. In the literature circles proposed by Daniels (2002), students have to lead their own discussion in the group. In this study, teacher helped students to lead the discussion to avoid confusion to the students. The modification was done in order to ease the process of literature circles.
3.3 Sites, Participants, and Access
Participants of this study were students from one Junior High School in Bandung. According to Creswell (2008: 457) qualitative research collects data from a small number of individuals or sites, therefore this study only used one
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class and focused only two groups in that class. The reason for choosing two focus groups was to have deeper understanding toward the participants. Both focus groups consisted of six students who had same text preference. Researcher needed information from the English teacher from the school in grouping the students. The students who were chosen to be the member of the focus groups were those who could actively and cooperatively working in group.
The participants were eighth grader students. They were twelve and thirteen years old. The reason for choosing students in that age was to meet the objective of this study, which was to investigate the reading engagement of teenagers. Moreover, those students learnt different kinds of text in their English class and mostly their activities in class were based on the text. Accordingly, the researcher decided to choose them as the participant.
There are some considerations for choosing this school as a host institution of this study. First, grade eight students in that school are familiar with English text. They have learnt several genres, such as narrative and recount text. They have ability to read the text well and have good ability to understand the instruction. Second, the English teacher who became a non-participant observer in this study welcomed the researcher to conduct this study since this study relates to the learning activities which have been done so far in that class. Third, the researcher has been familiar with the situation and condition in the school. Familiarity with the site and participant is important because the researcher played the role as the teacher-researcher. It means the researcher conducted the teaching using literature circles since the researcher has experience in joining literature circles in another school. Closeness with the site and participant is important to make the process easier whether in conducting the literature circles in the class or making connection with the teachers and students at the school.
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The reason of choosing the site and participants above are categorized as purposeful sampling method. Purposeful sampling is a strategy in which particular settings, people, or events are selected deliberately in order to provide important information that cannot be gotten from other choices (Creswell, 2008:214).
3.4 Research Procedures
The following procedures of the research were described as follows: 1. Finding out some theories, concepts and previous research
related to literature circles and students reading engagement The theory of literature circles was used in order to guide the teaching program of literature circles implementation. The implementation of literature circles adapted the concept of literature circles from various experts. The main literature circles theory was from Dawson and FitzGerald (1999), Daniels (2002), Morris and Perlenfein (2003), and Moen (2004). However, the researcher made some modification in terms of literature circles implementation based on the students’ needs and skills
In addition to the literature circles theory, the researcher also used the theory of reading engagement to assess students’ reading engagement in literature circles from Guthrie and Wigfield (2000). They proposed five reading engagement perspectives which were used by the researcher in order to analyze the way students engaged in their reading using
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literature circles. The engagement perspectives include motivation, strategy use, conceptual knowledge, social interactions, and reading outcomes.
2. Selecting participant.
This research chose one class in a junior high school in Bandung. From students in that class, the researcher chose two groups as the focus groups students. The focus groups were formed to get deeper data concerning students’ reading engagement in the literature circles. This is in line with Creswell (2008: 457) that qualitative research enables the researcher to collect the data from a small number of participants.
There were two focus groups of students in the class in which the researcher collected the data regarding their reading engagement in literature circles. They were grouped based on their text selection as Daniels (2002: 20) suggests.
3. Preparing the text
The researcher prepared different texts to give to the students as they chose one of them to read during the literature circle. There were two rounds of literature circles. In each round, teacher provided three different texts for students to choose. Therefore, for this study, the researcher provided six texts. The texts were downloaded from www.storystar.com. After downloading the text, the researcher printed and copied them as many as the students’ number. The copies were used for the students in selecting the text they want to read during the literature circles implementation as Daniels (2002) suggests.
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Pre observation was conducted in order to analyze the students’ behavior, learning attitude, and learning style preferences. This is in line with Creswell (2008) that pre-observation or early field visit was helpful for the researcher to decide the best method in collecting the data for answering the research questions. The pre-observation was only done one time. In the pre-observation, the researcher did not only observe the students but also familiarized with the classroom condition and the English teacher from the school.
5. Meeting and having discussion with English teacher from the school
The English teacher from the school did the observation also as a non-participant observer in the study. In this meeting, the researcher asked the teacher’s opinion about the student regarding their reading skill and the information about which students who can work well in this research. In this meeting also, the researcher and the non-participant observer prepared the literature circles schedule as Daniels (2002) mentioned that literature circles must be regularly scheduled. The schedule helped the researcher and the non-participant observer to learn the procedures, and the teaching program of literature circles. 6. Observing the classroom activities
The classroom observations were done in nine meetings. In the observation, the researcher wrote field notes and joined the literature circles. The field notes that the researcher recorded was in the form of descriptive field notes as the researcher recorded the events, activities, roles, and participation that the students did during the literature circles teaching program (Creswell, 2008:225).
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On the other hand the non-participant observer observed the focus group meeting without joining the literature circles. She used the engagement checklist to capture the students’ reading engagement during the program. She also recorded a reflective field notes which contained the phenomena that emerged during the observation (Creswell, 2008:225).
7. Organizing questionnaire
The questionnaire was organized for the students from the first and second focus group. The questionnaire was administered to the students after they joined literature circles for several times. It was intended to gain data regarding students’ experience in literature circles. It was also administered to see students’ attitude towards reading in literature circles. The questionnaire was used as it enabled the researcher to see students’ opinion towards reading and literature circles (Creswell, 2008: 394).
8. Interviewing the students from the first and second focus groups
The interview was done to ask students’ opinion towards literature circles and to investigate their engagement towards reading using literature circles. Open-ended questions were asked to the students regarding their experience during literature circles (Creswell, 2008: 225). This interview was used the students’ mother tongue which is Bahasa Indonesia to get richer data and to ease the students in answering the questions. This interview also conducted to gain more insight from their perspective related to the obstacles they found during the literature circles implementation.
9. Analyzing the obtained data from observation field notes, questionnaire, interview and students’ journal
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The data from classroom observation was gained through the teaching program of literature circles. In the observation process, the teacher analyzed students’ reading engagement that was captured in each phase of the teaching program including initial phase, discussion phase, and concluding phase (Dawson and FitzGerald, 1999).
10. Interpreting and analyzing the findings
After the teaching program finished and the data has been gathered, the researcher interpreted and analyzed the data using relevant theories. The engagement that the students showed during literature circles was analyzed based on Guthrie and Wigfield (2000) theory, whereas the obstacles in reading using literature circles were analyzed using literature circles theory from Dawson and FitzGerald (1999), Daniels (2002), Morris and Perlenfein (2003), and Moen (2004).
11. Drawing conclusion, limitation and suggestion
This was the last procedure of this recent study. The researcher drew a conclusion and made a limitation of the study based on the obtained data. Moreover, the recommendation for further study was also proposed by the researcher.
3.5 Data Collection Strategies
Before the researcher collects the data, the researcher must know what is being assessed or what data is useful to meet the objectives of the study. This study was conducted to reach the aforementioned purposes. Based on the purposes, the data collection process in this study used several instruments.
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They were classroom observation, questionnaire, interview, and document analysis. They were used to validate the research findings in order to get more accurate data (Creswell, 2008:266).
Classroom observation was conducted to assess the literature circles implementation and the students’ reading engagement. It is in line with Daniels (2002; 134) who mentioned that observation is an ideal way to evaluate the literature circles. Classroom observation was conducted nine times in the same class. The researcher had nine field notes from nine observations. The observations were conducted not only by the researcher but also by the English teacher from the school while the researcher was conducting the teaching program. This means that during the observation, the researcher positioned herself as a teacher, and at the same time viewed students’ behavior and took some important notes. Therefore, the researcher had a role as a participant observer as she involved in the activity at the research site (Creswell, 2008: 222). On the other hand, the English teacher from the school played a role as a nonparticipant observer since she did not involve in the literature circles. The English teacher from the school was a nonparticipant observer as she only visited the class to do observation without becoming involved in the literature circles (Creswell, 2008: 222). The data which is expected to get from observation is to answer the three research questions.
One of the activities in literature circles was literature circles meeting. In the meeting students discussed their role for that week and presented it to the group. The researcher expected the meetings to be natural in which the students have natural conversation about the book based on each role (Daniel, 2002:18). The group discussion in the literature circles meeting was observed. The session was not videotaped because of researcher’s effort in maintaining the objectivity. Having two teachers in the class, to some extents have affected
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students’ behavior. Accordingly, to maintain the objectivity and avoid the students behaving unnaturally, the activities in the group were not recorded or videotaped. Since the focus of this study was students’ engagement and engagement highly related behavior, the researcher used behavioral checklist in order to analyze their engagement during the literature circles (Creswell, 2008: 263). The checklist was made based on engagement checklist for literature circles roles. Accordingly, the students’ engagement was analyzed based on the roles they chose.
Questionnaire was administered to the students after they finished the literature circles. Questionnaire was given to find out students’ opinion about the book or text as well as to investigate students’ reading habit after the literature circles. The researcher used open-ended questions as they were suitable to explore students’ opinion and reason of their attitude towards reading in literature circles (Creswell, 2008: 228).
Interview was the other means to collect the data and to strengthen the validity of this research. Interview was an ideal strategy in collecting the data about students’ experiences and their comments about the obstacles found in learning using literature circles.
Interviews are particularly useful for getting the story behind a participant’s experiences. The interviewer can pursue in-depth information around the topic. Interviews may be useful as follow-up to certain respondents to questionnaires, e.g., to further investigate their responses. (McNamara, 1999).
The researcher only interviewed two groups of students who were the focus of the study. Even though the researcher interviewed students from the two focus groups, she asked the students one by one. It is in line with the theory of one-on-one interview as proposed by Creswell (2008: 226).
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one interview is a comfort way for interviewing participants. The interview was organized after the literature circles activities finished. The interview was transcribed and analyzed to see students’ opinion regarding the way they engaged with the text using literature circles.
The last data collection method was document analysis which included collecting students’ journals. Journals supported the finding whether or not the students were engaged to the activity given. The journals consisted of students’ work during the literature circles implementation. In addition, the students’ journals were observed into their efforts in preparing and finishing the work for the literature circles. As it is emphasize by Norris and Ennis (1989) that the need to include the students’ journals is one way to gather quality information in evaluating students’ progress. However, data from the documents was needed to strengthen data gained by questionnaire and observation. It provides valuable information to be analyzed. By analyzing the document, researcher could understand central phenomena in qualitative studies (Creswell, 2008: 231).
3.6 Data Analysis
The process of data analysis is eclectic, as there is no right way method in analyzing the data (Tesch: 1990, cited in Creswell: 1994). It is called eclectic since the study uses different number of data to be analyzed and all data are supported each other to answer the research questions. The researcher in this study analyzed the data gained from observation, questionnaire, interview, and document analysis. First of all, the researcher observed the
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meeting of literature circles. At each round of literature circles, the researcher only focused to one group that consists of six students who shared and read the same book. Even though all the students in the class joined literature circles, the focus of the inquiry was only one group that consisted of six students who had been selected as the focus group. The English teacher helped in grouping the students since she knows more about the students’ ability. There were six texts used in the literature circles.
The group meeting then was observed by the researcher and also the teacher. Since the researcher and the teacher played different roles in the observation, the field notes from both of them were expected to be rich and give deep information from different point of view as Creswell (2008) suggests. Field notes from the observation were analyzed to answer the aforementioned research purposes. Field notes were used to investigate the experiences got by the students in reading using literature circles based on Dawson and FitzGerald (1999), Daniels (2002), Morris and Perlenfein (2003), and Moen (2004). The field notes were also analyzed to investigate students’ reading engagement in literature circles based on Guthrie and Wigfield (2000) and to find out the obstacles as perceived by the students in reading using literature circles based on Daniels (2002).
Questionnaire was used to find out the students’ attitude towards reading after having literature circles. It was also used to gain the information about the students’ opinion on the obstacles of doing literature circles (Daniels, 2002). Questionnaire was administered to strengthen the data found by the researcher. The data from the questionnaire was expected to answer research question number two.
In addition, the interview was conducted to the students. Interview technique in qualitative research is aimed at collecting information from the participants that cannot be directly observed by the researcher (Creswell, 2008: 226). Interview was conducted to gain the students’ opinion on the way they engaged with the text using literature circles. Interview was also
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conducted to answer the third research problem which is to find out the obstacles as perceived by the students in reading using literature circles. The interview was in the form of focus group interview. The focus group which consisted of five students was interviewed together using open-ended questions to elaborate their experiences and the obstacles they found in reading using literature circles. The focus group interview was chosen since its advantage in collecting shared understanding from the group and having interaction among the interviewees will make them more relax in answering the questions (Creswell, 2008:226). The interview was recorded and transcribed before it was analyzed.
The last, the researcher collected the students’ work and teachers’ notes to strengthen data gained by the observation and interview. Those documents were expected to support the finding whether or not the students engaged to the activity. The students’ works showed their task in finishing their role in the literature circles.
Based on the process of data analysis which analyzes various data gained by different data collection strategies, this research can be seen as a study that used triangulated data. Triangulation is the way to maintain the research validation (Evans and Gruba, 2008:91, Yin, 1984, 1993, 2003, cited in Emilia, 2008:197). Moreover, triangulation is used when the researcher wants to use “different methods or sources to corroborate each other” (Mason, 1996: 25, cited in Silverman, 2005:121). In this study, different techniques were used to maintain the validity of the study. The data gained by all techniques supported each other to answer the research questions.
3.7 Concluding Remark
This chapter has discussed the research design that consists of research site and research participants, data collection and data analysis. In collecting the data, the study used mixed methods such classroom observations, students’
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journals, interviews and questionnaires. The data collected for this study were analyzed according to the research questions.
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CHAPTER V
DISCUSSION OF QUESTIONNAIRE, AND INTERVIEW DATA Having described the concept of reading engagement in literature circles and explained the methods selected for this study, this chapter will turn to a range of discussion data from questionnaire.
5.1 Discussion of Data from the Questionnaire 5.1.1 Students’ beyond text Knowledge
The findings from the questionnaires showed that the students got different knowledge beyond reading from literature circles. Since literature circles cover not only reading activity but also speaking, listening, writing, knowing new vocabulary, working in group, researching, even drawing.
Students’ knowledge has enhanced through reading using literature circles
(Guthrie et al, 2004, p. 404). As an example, the following chunks from the questionnaires show how students claimed that their knowledge has improved S2: “Jadi tau kosakata baru. Jadi tau semua tugas yang harus dilakukan karena roles nya bergilir.Jadi bisa mengillustrasikan apa yang ada dalam cerita. Jadi bisa bikin kesimpulan dalam bahasa Inggris.Bisa bercerita dalam bahasa Inggris.”
“I know new vocabulary. Now I know what to do because we always swap the
roles. I can illustrate the story from the text. I can make summary in English. I
can retell a story in English.”
Having involved in the literature circles, the students realized that they gained more knowledge, whether the knowledge about the story and the knowledge beyond the story. Student 2 claimed that she got new vocabulary
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after reading using literature circles. She also acquired knowledge from doing different task from different roles. Such as drawing and illustrating from being an illustrator, writing sentences and forming a good summary from being a summarizer and storytelling from being a scene setter. Roles in literature circles gave students different experience in comprehending the text. So, it can be concluded that the students in the focus group showed their engagement in reading by building knowledge (Guthrie et al, 2004, p. 404).
5.1.2 Social Interaction in Literature Circles
Students answered in the questionnaire that they had their friends helped them in the literature circles (Moecharam& Sari, 2014; Allan, et al., 2005; Byrd, 2002; Gilbert, 2000; Peterson and Eeds, 1990; Barton and Hamilton, 1998). For example, the answer was given by the student 9 who loved working in the group as he was helped by his friend in the group to solve his problem he faced during reading using literature circles.
S9 “Saya suka karena berkelompok. Jadi kalau saya kebingungan bisa dibantu oleh teman kelompok saya.”
“I love working in group. So, if I get confused I can ask my friends to help me.”
The student 9’s statement above shows that he got the benefits of
working in group. He could communicate and share his problems with his friends. It was relevant with Daniels (1994; 2002; 2004) and Short (1997) who proposed that literature circles are fun way of reading activity that students get to work with other people, they get to read the books and then they get to write about them
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Students stated that the literature circles have succeeded in helping them working with their group. They found that literature circles enabled them to have dialogue with their friends and the teacher as proposed by Peterson and Eeds (1990) that students learnt to construct meaning best through dialogue with peers and the teacher.
S6 “Saya jadi lebih bisa berinteraksi dalam kelompok berbahasa
Inggris.”
“I can communicate in the group using English better.”
From the excerpt above, student 6 stated that she could practice his English with his friend in the group. She has opportunity to speak in English with his friends in the group. Moreover, literature circles provided situation in which students can communicate each other using target language (Daniels, 1994; 2002; 2004; Short, 1997).
5.1.3 Students’ Reading Outcomes
The questionnaire that was administered to the focus group students
also showed students’ achievement in reading. The achievement that students showed from their answers in the questionnaire was the achievement that they experienced after literature circles.
They said that after joining literature circles they had deeper understanding towards the text. They know more about the topic of the text compare with what they knew before reading using literature circles. They claimed that they had better comprehension towards the text. For example, one of the students said that he felt easier to understand an English text and he could read faster than before.
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The data proved that the students’ reading participation related to students’ attitude towards reading after joining literature circles. The students stated that they amount of reading has improved. The students showed positive attitude towards reading by reading in and outside the classroom.
Based on the data from the questionnaires, the students’ were not only engage with the text before and during the literature circles. They also engage in reading after the literature circles in the classroom (Guthrie, Scafer & Huang, 2001; Kirsch et al., 2002 cited from Guthrie, et al, 2004). They admitted that they read English text after the class or in their spare times as shown from the following excerpts.
S4: “I like reading at home also.”
S6: “Now I like studying and reading English more than before. I read
from the book also computer.”
The excerpts from the interview showed that ten from twelve students gave answers in the questionnaire that they became love reading English text and read English text more often. This data supported the theory from Wigfield and Guthrie (1997) who documented that reading engagement correlates with students’ amount of reading. In addition, the data showed that most of the students have increased their amount of reading, especially reading English text during the implementation of literature circles. They found that literature circles have encouraged them to read more often. Students wanted to finish their task based on the selected roles, to do this they needed to read the text more than one time.
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5.2 Discussion of Data from Classroom Interview
5.2.1 Students’ Reading Strategy
The teacher interviewed students from the first and second focus group
to find the clear information about students’ experience in reading using
literature circles. From the interview, the teacher found that reading the text repeatedly was chosen by the students in order to get more understanding about the story from the text. Six from twelve students confirmed that they read repeatedly to comprehend the text.
S3: “Iya miss apalagi teks yang kedua kan lebih panjang. Harus tiga kali dibaca baru aku bias ngerti.”
“The second text is longer than the first one. I need to read it three times to get the meaning of the text.”
Students’ effort in reading the text more than one times is one of the
strategies to understand the text. The teacher did not ask the students to read the text many times. The most important point here is the students were willing to do that. That came from themselves as they needed to read the text repeatedly not only to understand the text but also to finish the task in literature circles. The students’ amount of reading shows that they were engaged in the reading process (Seravallo, 2010; Wigfield and Guthrie, 1997).
Another data gained from the interview showed that students discussed with their friends to solve the problem they faced during reading in literature circles. The advantage of reading the same text was the students could ask and
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share what they found during the reading. Students chose the same text as they had same interest toward the text and they helped each other when they were facing problems in literature circles. In other words, literature circles are mainly independent reading activities which are done collaboratively in the group (Moen, 2004: 4).
From the data previously mentioned, it can be concluded that literature circles allowed students to choose the strategy in reading and learning that they found comfortable. The literature circles program recognizes the diversity in students preferred learning styles and provides strategies to cater for these individual strategies (Dawson and FitzGerald, 1999).
5.2.2 Students’ Beyond Text Knowledge
From the interview, the students stated that one of the advantages by joining literature circles is having their knowledge improved. The knowledge that students mentioned in the interview are vocabulary and how to write sentences.
S2: Iya miss jadi banyak tau kata-kata soalnya nyari di kamus. Terus jadi bias bikin kalimat yang bagus kan bikin kesimpulannya pake bahasa Inggris.
S2: “Yes, I do. I found many difficult words and I looked for their meanings in dictionary. I could make good sentences when I was
summarizing the text in English.”
The engagement that appeared from students’ answers in the
questionnaire and interview were similar. Most of the students found that their vocabulary skill has improved. The roles that students did in literature circles gave them opportunity to find and learn more vocabulary. Some roles also required students to highlight the important and the difficult words. Therefore
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