The Effect of Using Short Stories on Students Reading Comprehension at SMP Muhammadiyah-19 Pematangsiantar

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to determine the effect of using short stories on students’ reading comprehension at the eighth grade of SMP Muhammadiyah-19 Pematangsiantar. This research used a quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental design. The population of this research consisted of eighth grade students of SMP Muhammadiyah-19 Pematangsiantar, and the samples were two classes: one experimental class (VIII-1) and one control class (VIII-2), each consisting of 25 students. The technique of collecting data was pre-test and post-test, and the data were analyzed using SPSS version 27. The result of the research showed that the post-test score was higher than the pre-test score after the treatment using short stories. Based on the result of hypothesis testing, Tcount was higher than Ttable at the significance level α = 0.05, which indicates that H0 is rejected and Ha is accepted. It means that there was a significant effect of using short stories on students’ reading comprehension. Therefore, the researcher concludes that short stories are effective in improving students’ reading comprehension because they provide interesting reading materials, increase students’ motivation in learning, and help students understand narrative texts more easily