IMPROVING STUDENTS’ ENGLISH COMPETENCE THROUGH EXTENSIVE READING
IMPROVING STUDENTS’ ENGLISH COMPETENCE THROUGH EXTENSIVE READING
Author : FETTY POERWITA SARY Published on : Siliwangi International English Conference (SIEC) 2014 (Mandala Building, Universitas Siliwang)
Abstract
English subject in college is usually given at the first year (first and second semester) with the total four credits. Unfortunately, most students who enroll college, especially at private college, have poor English skills. This is because they are less exposed to the English language while they desperately need English skills to support their knowledge for understanding other subjects because they have to read a lot of English textbooks. Four credits will always be perceived not enough to learn English. Therefore, it needs another way to motivate students to learn and make them as independent learners. The point is students should be familiarized with the English language. This study intends to analyze the increase of English proficiency among students before and after the treatment (by giving extensive reading outside of learning English hours). The method of this research is descriptive. The sample of the study were 38 freshmen of Study Program of Business Management of Telecommunication and Informatics, Faculty of Economics and Business, Telkom University. The results shows that the average of Toefl-like score increased to 458 and speaking score increased to 3.3. This suggests that the provision of Extensive reading to the students successfully improves their English skills. The recommendations given based on this research are English lecturers should devote more time in directing and motivating students to be independent learners and be more creative in preparing more reading materials.
