THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION ON STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION OF RECOUNT TEXT AT EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMP N 1 GUNUNGWUNGKAL PATI ACADEMIC YEAR 2022/2023

Santi, Gian Septiya. 2022. The Effectiveness of Using Small Group Discussion on
Students’ Reading Comprehension of Recount Text at Eighth Grade Students of
SMP N 1 Gunungwungkal Pati Academic Year 2022/2023. Final Project, English
Study Program, Faculty of Language and Arts Education, University of PGRI
Semarang. Advisor 1: Dr. Dyah Nugrahani, S.Pd., M.Hum., Advisor 2: Dr. Jafar
Sodiq, S.Pd., M.Pd.
Keywords: recount text, reading comprehension, small group discussion
This research was to examine the effectiveness of using Small Group Discussion
on students’ achievement of reading comprehension of recount text at eighth
grade students of SMP N 1 Gunungwungkal Pati. Pre-test and post-test procedures
were used in this research’s quasi-experimental design to accomplish the
objective. The population of the research was 165 students from the total of five
classes. The researcher took two classes with 32 students each to be used as a
sample. Those classes were then randomly assigned into the experiment class and
control class. The research was conducted by following the procedure has given a
pre-test and post-test. Pre-test was given to see the student’s basic capability in
reading before the treatment was conducted. Post-test measured the effectiveness
of the treatment on students’ reading achievement. The data were collected from
test items which are tested on the students before and after treatment. The test is
taken after small group discussion and had a mean score of 90, which was
successful. There was a significant difference in students' results before and after
being taught by small group discussion. Small group discussion helped students
improve their reading skills, according to the average score data. There was a
significant difference between students' results before and after being taught by
small group discussion. The t-value was higher than the critical value in the table
(12,36 > 2,000). Therefore, the alternative hypothesis (Ha) is accepted that there is
an improvement in students' reading ability. The researcher concludes that the
Small Group Discussion is effective and useful based on the findings of the data
analysis because when used, students are active and interested.