CORRELATION

A CORRELATION BETWEEN SKIMMING SKILL AND READING COMPREHENSION ACHIVEMENT OF THE STUDENTS OF HIGH SCHOOL IN BEKASI

Sarsono, M.Pd
Lecturer of STIBA IEC Bekasi
Sony_bek @yahoo.co.id

ABSTRACT

The research is aimed at proving or determining correlation between skimming skill and reading comprehension achivement of the students of high school. The collection of data was carried out by questionnaire, the data was analyzed statistically by Person Product Moment Correlation of coefficient correlation preceded by Lillifors normality test as prerequisite analysis ( Lo < L-table ). The research found that ; 1) Based on Person Product Moment Correlation, reveals r = 0,969, while the r-table for degree of freedom(df) = (N-2) = 40 and the significance level 5% (0,05) is 0,304. Therefore the Null Hypothesis (Ho) which expresses that there is no significant Correlation Between Skimming Skill and Reading Comprehension achievement is rejected, and the alternative Hypothesis (Ha), which expresses that there is significant Correlation Between Skimming Skill and Reading Comprehension Achievement can be accepted. 1) There is a significant correlation with t-test (t-count) is 98,80 and degree of freedom (df) n-2 = 40, at level 5 % (0,05) sig ( two tail test), t-table is 2,326 t-count > t –table ( 98,80 > 2,326, so Ho is rejected and Ha is accepted. It means that the correlation has positive correlation. 2) The degree of correlation based on the table of coefficient correlation (r) is 0.969. the interval coefficient relation is between 0,80 and 1,00, so the correlation is very strong.

Key Words : Skimming Skill, Reading Comprehension Achievement.
A. INTRODUCTION
1. Background
Teacher of English has a moral burden on how to motive and encourage their students to gain success in learning a language. Some problems often appear highly complex: for instance, the students have a wrong assumption about learning English, like English is important for somebody who wants to go abroad only. Thus it is partially hard for the teachers to expect the students to be able to understand and use English both in spoken and written form. Moreover, they are equipped with language skills less than expected when they are at school, therefore, the teachers have to entirely understand how to manage the limited time so that the greater result of teaching process could be gained optimally.
It is obviously that reading is one of the skills that students should acquire. It is even the priority in teaching of reading in Indonesia, this condition goes with supplement GBBP (1999:1) when students graduate from SMA, they are able to read text of narration, description, conversation, and argumentation. The text at consists at least 250 words with the skills of : a) to find out the certain information, b) to get the gist of a text, c) to define the implicit main idea, d) to define the explicit main idea, e) to get find out the detail information, e) to get the explicit information, f) to guess the words, phrases based on the contextual meaning, g) to get pleasure.
Although the teaching English emphasized on the teaching of reading skills the English teachers still have some trouble to make it success. Some students always read English text word by word or sentence by sentence many times before they comprehend the messages of the text. They also need to look up the meaning of unfamiliar words in the dictionary, even though the meaning of the unfamiliar words can be guessed from the contexts. This only makes them fall bored and give up reading. When the teacher asks the to write the summary of a text they always translate the whole texts first, and then write.
It is clear that there are some problems influence the target of teaching reading. One of them is the students do not read the text extensively.
The research is obviously relevant to cope the problems where students need to know some techniques in learning reading comprehension. Learning reading comprehension through skimming skill will help the students to improve understanding at reading texts effectively, without knowing word by word or sentence by sentence.
2. Objective
The purpose of the research is to prove or determine A Correlation Between Skimming Skill and Raeding Comprehension Achivement of the Students of High School.
3. Theoretical Framework
3.1 Reading
Reading is a complex process. It requests a mental and linguistics ability of the reader. The reader needs a mental ability to get his though and filling to go beyond the text until he gets some inferences about message. It involves not only the activity of the eyes, but also the activity of the brain. While the eyes are identifying the graphic symbols, the brain tries to look for the ideas conveyed by the graphic symbol.
As Jeremy Harmer (1991:190) says: “ Reading is an exercises dominated by the eyes and the brain”. Meanwhile Cristine Nuttal (1982:35) “ Reading is means getting out of the text as nearly as possible the message that the writer put in it”. Beatrice S. Mickulecky (1990:9) says: “ Reading well in English means being able to interpret a text in ways which are expected by mainstream culture”. Jane Kembo (1993:36) “Reading is a skill that each language teacher has to help his pupils improve so they will be better able to benefit from schooling, which is generally reading based, especially at secondary school and beyond”
Base on the explanation above, it can be concluded reading is to understand message in written text.

3.2 Reading Comprehension
As Francoise Grellet (1981:7) describes reading comprehension as a constant process of guessing, and what one brings to the text is often more important than what one fun in it. Meanwhile Edithia Gloria Simanjuntak (1988:42) says:” Reading comprehension is a constant process of guessing and what one brings to the text is often more important than what one finds in it”
Based on the definition above, reading comprehension is not only an activity such as thinking, predicting, skimming, scanning, detailing reading, guessing unknown words, understanding main ideas, inferring, and interacting with the printed materials to get meaning out of it but also involve the interaction of reader and the material being red.

3.3 Achievement
Learning sometime takes a time and certain process. When learning successful reading Comprehension, the students are requested to know special skill of reading techniques such as; skimming, scanning, detailing reading, guessing unknown words, understanding main ideas, inferring, and interacting.
To measure the students’ general understanding of reading, the teacher will design to determine how well and in what time the students have achieved specific objectives, and to indicate to both teachers and students if the progress being made is adequate for the attainment of terminal objective of the program within the expected time period.
To give achievement test school’s teachers often use teacher made test which consists oral and written test. Goes with M Ngalim Purwanto ( 1984:33) “ Achievement test is used to measure the result of the lessons given by the teacher to the students, within a certain period of time, then the tests used in schools generally are teacher made tests.
According to Longman Dictionary ( 1987:7) “ Achievement is something successfully finished or gained, especially through skill and hard work” So achievement is the result of the assessment after having lesson in a certain time.
3.4 Skimming
When reading a text with skimming technique, it is to find out the idea of the newspaper, magazine article, and text book generally without having to read the entire selection.
To skim correctly, it is necessary to know the various organization patterns of writing. It help the reader to find out the titles, contain of the headings and subheadings, to alert the readers know new idea related to the subject.
Nasrul M (1988:29) “ Skimming is defined as ability to identify main ideas while very rapidly and selectively skipping over the reading material”. While Richards R. Day (1993:144) describes skimming as:” Something important for students to know that they don’t have to read every word to find information they need”. Cristine Nutall ( 1982:34) Started: “ Skimming means glancing rapidly through a text to determine its gist”. Sukirah Kustarya (1988:5) “ Skimming is a techniques used to look for the gist of what the author is saying without a lot of detail”. Mikuecky (1990:25) “ Skimming is quickly getting the gist or overview of a passages or a book”
Based on the explanation above, skimming is reading quickly to have the gist or general meaning without any of the detail.

4 Metthodology
Due to prove the correlation between skimming skill and reading comprehension achievement at SMAN in Bekasi. the research uses a study to find out the Coefficient Correlation. As Anas sudiyono ( 1987:170) Coefficient Correlation is a score to show the correlation between the variables which are being research. It can define that skimming skill is as a variable X and reading comprehension achievement is as a variable Y.
As construct variables; skimming skill is the ability of reading quickly to have the gist or general meaning without any of the detail. And reading comprehension achievement is reading skill of understanding the text through thinking, predicting, skimming, scanning, detailing reading, guessing unknown words, understanding main ideas, inferring, and interacting.
Meanwhile the operational variable is the student’s score of the ability of understanding the gist or general meaning without any of the detail. And the student’s core of understanding of reading text through thinking, predicting, skimming, scanning, detailing reading, guessing unknown words, understanding main ideas, inferring, and interacting.
Since the research is about a correlation of course it will use one of the formula correlations. As Brog and Gall in Sudiyono ( 1987:176) if the correalation of data population normal, analyzing the data can use Product Moment Correlation, which it is not normal can use Rank difference Correlation or Rank Order Correlation.

B. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
This research date obtained in this research are from collecting two kinds of instrument, one date is the score of the ability of understanding the gist or general meaning of reading text without any of the detail by finding out the title, main idea , topic and to evaluate the students competence on answering the question of the text (X). And the other is the score of understanding reading text and to evaluate the students competence on predicting, skimming, scanning, detailing reading, guessing unknown words, understanding main ideas, inferring, and interacting (Y). Each instrument consists of 35 exercises.

Date Description Skimming Skill Reading Comprehension Achievement
Number of question 30 30
Number of Population 42 42
Mean 76,40 76,43
Std. Deviation 6,84 9,04
Before doing the hypothesis, to gain the accuracy of the implementation of Product Moment Correlation needs to check the normality date.

No Variable Lo Lt Ά Remarks
1 Skimming Skill 0,1311 0,1367 0,05 Lo < Lt ,
so Ho is accepted
( Date is Normal)
2 Reading comprehension 0,1201 0,1367 0,05 Lo < Lt ,
so Ho is accepted
( Date is Normal)

The result of Product Moment Correlation
No Item Result Remarks
1 r xy 0,969 r xy > r-table
Ho is Rejected
Ha is Accepted
2 r-table df= 40 0,05
0,304

From the table above, r xy > r-table or 0,0969 > 0, 0,304 and degree of freedom (df) n-2 = 40, at level 5 % (0,05) sig (two tail test), so Ho is Rejected while Ha is accepted. It means that there is a Correlation Between Skimming Skill and Reading Comprehension Achievement.
The result of significant correlation with t-test (t-count) is 98,80 and degree of freedom (dk) n-2 = 40. At level 5% (0,05) sig (two tail test), t-table is 2,326. T-count > t-table or 98,80 > 2,326, so Ho Rejected and Hi is Accepted. It means that the correlation has positive correlation.
To assume the degree of correlation base on the table coefficient correlation. It can be found that r = 0,94 , in the interval coefficient r ( 0,94) is between 0,80 and 1,000, it mean the correlation is very strong.

C. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

1. Conclusion
a. There is a significant Correlation Between Skimming Skill and Reading Comprehension Achievement, with t-test (t-count) is 98,80 and degree of freedom (dk) n-2 = 40. At level 5% (0,05) sig (two tail test), t-table is 2,326. T-count > t-table or 98,80 > 2,326,
b. The degree of correlation is very strong, with r = 0,94 , in the interval coefficient r ( 0,94) is between 0,80 and 1,000.

2. Suggestion
Based on the conclusion the research, writer suggests:
a. Teachers should motivate their students to do more Skimming Skill and make the sure about the advantages of doing that exercise really help the to improve their Reading Comprehension Achievement.

b. Students should realize that doing more Skimming Skill exercise would be fun and challenging, besides they know how to find out the gist without any detail.

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