Ciputat, 8 Maret 2010

No : Istimewa Hal : Pengajuan Perubahan Judul Skripsi Kepada Yth, Ketua Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Di Tempat Assalamu’alaikum Wr. Wb. Salam sejahtera dan silaturahmi saya sampaikan semoga Bapak berada dalam lindungan Allah SWT dan selalu sukses dalam menjalankan aktivitas sehari-hari (amin). Selanjutnya saya yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini: Nama : Yuli Darmayanti NIM : 105014000367 Fakultas : Ilmu Tarbiyah dan Keguruan Jurusan/ Smstr: Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris/ IXB Bermaksud mengajukan perubahan judul skripsi, dari judul semula:

”An Analysis of the Functional Expressions on Look Ahead 2nd Semester For First Year of Senior High School Based on Curriculum”

(A Case Study at the first grade of MA Manaratul Islam, Cilandak, Jak-Sel) Menjadi: ”The Readability level of the Reading Texts on Linked to the World: An English

Textbook for Senior High School” (A Case Study at the Tenth grade of MA Pembangunan UIN, Jakarta)

Sebagai bahan pertimbangan bapak, bersama ini saya lampirkan: 1. Outline 2. Abstract, dan 3. Daftar Pustaka Sementara Demikianlah perubahan judul skripsi ini saya ajukan, dengan harapan Bapak berkenan menyetujuinya. Atas segala perhatiannya saya ucapkan terima kasih. Wassalamualaikum Wr. Wb. Menyetujui, Mengetahui, Dosen Pembimbing Ketua Jurusan

(Dr. Fahriany, M.Pd.) (Drs. Syauki, M.Pd.)

Ciputat, 8 Maret 2010

No : Istimewa Hal : Pengajuan Perubahan Judul Skripsi Kepada Yth, Ketua Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Di Tempat Assalamu’alaikum Wr. Wb. Salam sejahtera dan silaturahmi saya sampaikan semoga Bapak berada dalam lindungan Allah SWT dan selalu sukses dalam menjalankan aktivitas sehari-hari (amin). Selanjutnya saya yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini: Nama : Yuli Darmayanti NIM : 105014000367 Fakultas : Ilmu Tarbiyah dan Keguruan Jurusan/ Smstr: Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris/ IXB Bermaksud mengajukan perubahan judul skripsi, dari judul semula:

”An Analysis of the Functional Expressions on Look Ahead 2nd Semester For First Year of Senior High School Based on Curriculum”

(A Case Study at the first grade of MA Manaratul Islam, Cilandak, Jak-Sel) Menjadi:

”The Readability level of the Reading Texts on Look Ahead : an English Textbook for the Ten Grade Students of Senior High School”

(A Case Study at the Ten Year Students of MA Pembangunan UIN Jakarta)

Sebagai bahan pertimbangan bapak, bersama ini saya lampirkan: 4. Outline 5. Abstract, dan 6. Daftar Pustaka Sementara Demikianlah perubahan judul skripsi ini saya ajukan, dengan harapan Bapak berkenan menyetujuinya. Atas segala perhatiannya saya ucapkan terima kasih. Wassalamualaikum Wr. Wb. Menyetujui, Dosen Pembimbing

(Dr. Fahriany, M.Pd.)

THE READABILITY LEVEL OF THE READING TEXTS ON LINKED TO THE WORLD: AN ENGLISH

TEXTBOOK FOR SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

(A Case Study at the Tenth Grade of MA Pembangunan UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta)

A “Skripsi”

Presented to the Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers Training in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree S.Pd. (Bachelor of Arts) in English Language Education

By

Yuli Darmayanti

NIM. 105014000367

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF TARBIYAH AND TEACHERS TRAINING

STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY “SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH” JAKARTA

2010

i

THE READABILITY LEVEL OF THE READING TEXTS ON LINKED TO THE WORLD: AN ENGLISH TEXTBOOK FOR

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

(A Case Study at the Tenth Grade of MA Pembangunan UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta)

A “Skripsi” Presented to the Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers Training

in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree S.Pd. (Bachelor of Arts) in English Language Education

By

Yuli Darmayanti

NIM. 105014000367

Approved by Advisor

Dr. Fahriany, M.Pd. NIP. 197006111991012001

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF TARBIYAH AND TEACHERS TRAINING

STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY “SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH” JAKARTA

2010

ii

ENDORSEMENT SHEET

The “skripsi” (Scientific Paper) entitled “The Readability Level of the

Reading Texts on Linked to the World: An English Textbook for Senior High

School” (A Case Study at Tenth Grade of MA Pembangunan UIN, Jakarta),

written by Yuli Darmayanti, student’s registration number 105014000367, was

examined in the examination session of Faculty of Tarbiya and Teachers’

Training, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta on July 30th, 2010.

The “skripsi” has been accepted and declared to have fulfilled one of the

requirements for the Degree of S. Pd (Bachelor of Arts) in English Language

Education in the Department of English Education.

Jakarta, July 30th, 2010

The Examination Committee

Chairman : Drs. Syauki, M.Pd (..…………..….……...)

NIP. 19641212 199103 1 002

Secretary : Neneng Sunengsih, S.Pd (…..……...….………..)

NIP. 19730625 199903 2 001

Examiner I : Drs. Sunardi Kartowisastro, Dip. Ed (….....….....…...............)

NIP. 150 022 779

Examiner II : Drs. Syauki, M.Pd (……..........…………..)

NIP. 1964121 199103 1 002

Acknowledged by:

Dean of Faculty of Tarbiya and Teachers’ Training

Prof. Dr. Dede Rosyada, M. A

NIP. 19571005 198703 1 003

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ABSTRACT Yuli Darmayanti. “The Readability Level of the Reading Texts on Linked to the World: An English Textbook for Senior High School (A Case Study at the Tenth Grade Students of MA Pembangunan UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta)”. Strata I (S1). English Education Department, Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers Training, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta, 2010. This research is aimed to analyze and measure the readability level of the reading texts on an English textbook for the tenth grade students of Senior High School entitled Linked to the World published by Yudhistira in 2007. The limitation of the problem is focused in analyzing the readability level of the six selected texts by using the Flesch Reading Ease Formula and the Cloze Procedure Test. Furthermore, in this research, the writer uses the Descriptive Analysis method since this research is aimed to describe the readability level of the reading texts in the textbook. She uses the Flesch Reading Ease Formula as the instrument to find out the readability level of the six texts, besides that, she also uses the Cloze Procedure Test to find out whether the texts in the textbook are readable or not for the tenth grade students of Madrasah Aliyah Pembangunan UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta. In conducting the Cloze Test the writer provides the six selected texts that taken from the textbook and deleting between the 5th – 12th words in each text. Then, she gives the test to the 36 students. Finally, the writer conclude that by using the Flesch Reading Ease Formula she finds that the texts entitled John’s English Teacher has the readability score of 66.14, Lions; 80.07, Life in Ancient Rome; 58.28, Steve’s Favorite Sport; 77.09 and An Unforgettable Experience; 77.96, means that five of the six texts are readable for the tenth grade students of Senior High School but, among all the texts there is only one text which is appropriate for the tenth grade students that is a text entitled Life in Ancient Rome. Whereas the text entitled Rossi Sweeps to Australian GP victory has the readability score of 36.82, means that it is appropriate for the level of college students; while, based on the Cloze Test result that is given to the 36 students the writer finds that there are four readable texts for the tenth grade students of MA Pembangunan UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta. Since four of the six texts have the cloze test score over 60%. The four texts are John’s English Teacher, Lions, Steve’s Favorite Sport and An Unforgettable Experience. Whereas, the Cloze Test score of texts entitled Life in Ancient Rome and Rossi Sweeps to Australian GP Victory are in the Instructional Level, because they have the cloze test score approximately 40%-60%. Key Words: Readability Level and Reading Texts

iv

ABSTRAK Yuli Darmayanti. “Tingkat Keterbacaan dari Teks-Teks Bacaan pada Linked to the World: Buku Pelajaran Bahasa Inggris untuk Sekolah Menengah Atas (Studi Kasus di Kelas X MA Pembangunan UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta)”. Strata I (S1). Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Fakultas Ilmu Tarbiyah dan Keguruan, Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, 2010. Penelitian in bertujuan untuk menganalisis dan mengukur tingkat keterbacaan dari teks bacaan pada buku bahasa Inggris untuk kelas X (sepuluh) SMA yang berjudul Linked to the World yang diterbitkan oleh Yudhistira pada tahun 2007. Peneliti membatasi penelitian ini dengan menganalisis tingkat keterbacaan dari 6 teks bacaan yang dipilih dengan menggunakan rumus Flesch Reading Ease dan Cloze Procedure Test. Dalam penelitian ini penulis menggunakan Metode Analisis Deskripsi karena penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menggambarkan tingkat keterbacaan dari teks-teks bacaan pada buku tesebut. Penulis menggunakan rumus Flesch Reading Ease sebagai instrument dalam penelitiannya untuk mendapatkan tingkat keterbacaan dari keenam teks tersebut, selain itu ia juga menggunakan Cloze Procedure Test untuk mengetahui apakah teks-teks tersebut dapat dibaca (dapat dipahami) oleh para siswa kelas sepuluh di Madrasah Aliyah Pembangunan UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta. Dalam mengadakan Cloze Test penulis menyediakan 6 teks bacaan yang dipilih dan di ambil dari buku tersebut dan menghapus antara kata ke 5-12 pada tiap-tiap teks. Kemudian ia memberikan tes tersebut kepada 36 siswa. Akhirnya, penulis menyimpulkan bahwa dengan menggunakan rumus Flesch Reading Ease ditemukan bahwa teks yang berjudul, John’s English Teacher mempunyai nilai kerterbacaan 66.14, Lions; 80.07, Life in Ancient Rome; 58.28, Steve’s Favorite Sport; 77.09 and An Unforgettable Experience; 77.96, berarti bahwa 5 dari 6 teks dapat dibaca (dipahami) oleh siswa kelas X SMA, diantara semua teks hanya ada 1 teks yang sesuai untuk siswa kelas X yaitu, teks yang berjudul Life in Ancient Rome. Sedangkan, teks yang berjudul Rossi Sweeps to Australian GP victory mempunyai nilai keterbacaan sebesar 36.82, berarti teks tersebut sesuai (dapat dipahami) untuk tingkat mahasiswa; sedangkan, berdasarkan hasil Cloze Test yang diberikan kepada 36 siswa, penulis menemukan ada 4 teks yang dapat dibaca (dipahami) oleh siswa kelas X MA Pembangunan UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta. Karena keempat teks tersebut mempunyai nilai Cloze Test diatas 60%. Keempat teks tersebut adalah John’s English Teacher, Lions, Steve’s Favorite Sport dan An Unforgettable Experience. Sedangkan nilai Cloze Test dari text yang berjudul Life in Ancient Rome dan Rossi Sweeps to Australian GP Victory adalah pada level Instructional, karena kedua teks tersebut mempunyai nilai Cloze Test kira-kira 40% - 60%. Kata Kunci: Tingkat Keterbacaan dan Teks-Teks Bacaan

v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent the Merciful

May peace and Blessing of Allah be upon all of us

All praises be to Allah, Lord of the Universe, Who gives the writer

guidance and strength in doing this “skripsi” until it finished. Then Peace and

Prayers be upon to the Prophet Muhammad shalallahu ‘alaihi wassalam, to his

family, his relatives, and his followers.

First, the writer would like to give thanks to her parents: her beloved

mother, Hj. Aliyah, and her beloved father, H. Alimin (Alm.), and to her brother,

Ibnu Hajar and her sister Ratna Dewi Susanti who have given their love, support,

contribution both moral and material to her.

The writer is deeply grateful to her advisor, Dr. Fahriany, M.Pd., who

guides the writer in finishing this “skripsi” for the great contributions, guidance,

kindness, and patience.

Moreover, the writer would like to give thanks and appreciation to:

1. Drs. Syauki, M.Pd., the Head of English Department, Mrs. Neneng

Sunengsih, S.Pd., the secretary of English Department, Ms. Aida, and all

staffs of English Department who helped the writer.

2. Prof. Dr. Dede Rosyada, the Dean of Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers

Training, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, Jakarta.

3. All lecturers in English Department, who have taught and given knowledge

to the writer, whose names cannot be mentioned one by one.

4. The headmaster, the English teacher and the administration staffs of

Madrasah Aliyah Pembangunan UIN, Jakarta, who has given the writer

opportunity to do the research in the school. Special thanks for the tenth

grade students for their cooperation as the respondents of this research.

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5. The staffs of the libraries whose books she used for the references of this

research; Main Library Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, Library

of Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers Training, and Unika Atmajaya Library.

6. Her friends who give contributions: Oci, Nana, and Anita. She really

appreciates it. Thank you!

7. All her friends who care and always give support and help for her, especially

for B-Class ’05 Community. May we all get success.

May Allah Subhanallahu wa Ta’ala bless us all. And finally, the writer

realizes that this “skripsi” is still far from being perfect; therefore, she hopes some

suggestions or criticisms to make it more scientific. Then she wishes that this

“skripsi” be some a valuable writing. Amin.

Jakarta, June 2010

Yuli Darmayanti

vii

TABLE OF CONTENT

WRITER’S REFERENCE SHEET …………………………………………….i APPROVEMENT SHEET ……………………………………………………...ii

ENDORSEMENT SHEET ……………………………………………………..iii

ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………..iv

ACKNOWLEDGMENT ………………………………………………….…....vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS ……………………………………….…………….viii

LIST OF TABLES ……………………………………………………..........… xi

LIST OF FIGURES …………………………………………………………... xii

CHAPTER I : INTRODUCTION ………………………………………..……1

A. The Background of Study ……………………………………………… 1

B. The Identification of the Problem ……………………………………… 4

C. Limitation and Formulation of the Problem ……………………………. 4

D. Method of the Study ……………………………………………………. 4

E. Objective of the Study ………………………………………………….. 5

F. Significance of Study …………………………………………………... 5

CHAPTER II : THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK …………………………… 6

A. The Nature of Textbook ………………………………………………... 6

1. Definition of Textbook …………………………………………….. 6

2. Textbook Selection ………………………………………………… 7

a. Textbook Description ……………………………………………. 8

b. Textbook Evaluation …………………………………………….. 8

3. The Criteria of Good Text ………………………………………… 8

B. Concept of Readability ………………………………………………..... 9

1. Definition of Readability……………………………………………. 9

2. Factors Influence Readability …………………………………….. 11

a. Lexical Knowledge …………………………………………….. 11

b. Knowledge of the World …………...…………………………... 11

viii

ix

c. Syntactic Appropriateness ……………………………………… 12

d. Organization ……………………………………………………. 12

e. Discourse Phenomena ………………………………………….. 12

f. Length of Passage ……………………………………………… 12

C. Approach of Measuring Readability …………………………………...13

1. Instructor’s Judgment ………………………………………………13

2. Cloze Procedure …………………………………………….…….. 14

a. Concept of Cloze Procedure ……………………………………. 14

b. Types of Cloze Test ……………………………………………. 15

c. Constructing Cloze Procedure Test …………………………….. 16

d. Method in Scoring the Cloze Test ……………………………… 17

3. Statistical Readability Formula …………………………………… 19

a. Dale-Chall Formula …………………………………………… 20

b. Fry Graph …...…………………..…………………………….. 21

c. Flesch Reading Ease Formula ………………………………… 22

CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY …………………………. 26

A. Objective of the Research …………………………………………….. 26

B. Method of the Research ………………………………………………. 26

C. Population and Sample ……………………………………………….. 27

D. Time and Place of the Research ……………………………………..... 27

E. Instrument of the Research ……………………………………………. 27

F. Technique of Data Analysis ……………………………………...…… 28

CHAPTER IV: RESEARCH FINDINGS …………………………………… 29

A. The Description of the Textbook …………………………………….. 29

B. Data Description ……………………………………………………… 30

1. The Flesch Reading Ease Formula ……………………………….. 30

2. The Cloze Procedure Test ………………………………………... 31

C. Data Analysis ……………………………………………………...…..31

1. The Flesch Reading Ease Formula ……………………………….. 31

ix

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2. The Cloze Procedure Test …………………………………………40

D. Data Interpretation …………………………………………………….45

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION ……………………… 47

A. Conclusion …………………………………………………………….. 47

B. Suggestion …………………………………………………………...... 48

REFERENCES …………………………………………………………..……. 50

APPENDICES ...………………………………………………………………. 52

APPENDIX I: The Reading Texts……………………………………………. 52

APPENDIX II: The Cloze Tests ……………………………………………… 59

APPENDIX III: The Percentage Calculation of the Cloze Tests...…………. 67

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 The Judgment of the Cloze Test Score ………………………………19

Table 2.2 The Adjusted Score of the Dale-Chall Readability Formula ……….. 21

Table 2.3 The Description of the Flesch Readability Score into School Grades

and Its Difficulty Level ..…..……………………………………….. 25

Table 4.1 The Number of Sentences, Words and Syllables Counting ………… 30

Table 4.2 The Result of ASL and ASW Calculation ………………………….. 33

Table 4.3 The Frequency of the Students’ Right Answers in Each Text ……… 41

Table 4.4 The Percentage of the Students’ Correct Answers in the Cloze Test

……………………………………………………….……………… 42

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1 Fry Graph for Estimating Reading Ages (in Years) …..…………… 22

Figure 2.2 The Flesch Readability Chart ……………………………………… 24

Figure 4.1 The Readability Chart of the Text entitled John’s English Teacher

………….…………………………………………………………… 35

Figure 4.2 The Readability Chart of the Text entitled Lions ………………….. 36

Figure 4.3 The Readability Chart of the Text entitled Life in Ancient Rome…... 37

Figure 4.4 The Readability Chart of the Text entitled Steve’s Favorite Sport … 38

Figure 4.5 The Readability Chart of the Text entitled Rossi Sweeps to Australian

GP Victory ………………………………………………………….. 39

Figure 4.6 The Readability Chart of the Text entitled An Unforgettable

Experience ………………………………………………………….. 40

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. The Background of Study

The widespread of English as one of international languages has influenced

many aspects of people’s life. Education is one of several aspects which are

influenced by the development of English, because the language is considered as

an important means of communication between people in many countries over the

world. Therefore, in order to take part in the globalization era (mainly in

educational field) many countries including Indonesia, establish the role of

teaching English which is stated in their curricula.

In Indonesia, English is considered as a foreign language. It has been taught

since the elementary level as the local content subject and it is as a compulsory

subject in the levels of junior and senior high school. The role of teaching English

in Indonesia is stated in the curriculum and the latest one named KTSP

(Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan) or School Based Curriculum.

However, there are some objectives of teaching English which is stated in the

curriculum; one of them is to develop the ability to communicate in that language,

either in spoken or written form. The communicative competence in the whole

definition means the discourse competence that is, the ability to comprehend

and/or to produce the written and oral text which is realized in the four language

skills, they are listening, speaking, reading and writing. Therefore, to achieve the

goal of the teaching learning, both the teacher and the students need some medium

of instruction in order to facilitate them in the teaching and learning process.

1

2

Textbook is one of the medium of instruction which is used prominently in

every grade levels of students in the schools. Since the dependence of textbook

always increase especially in the field of education, many writers and publishers

make some offering of varying English textbooks they write and publish for

various levels of students. Consequently, the teacher task is to select the textbook

which is appropriate for their students and their class. The process of selecting the

English textbook is not an easy matter. The teacher frequently has to consider

whether or not the materials in the textbook are appropriate with the curriculum,

the students, and even with the teacher herself.

One technique to assess the appropriateness of the textbook is by analyzing

the reading passages in that book. Since, in many English as a Second Language

(ESL) or English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes reading receive a special

focus in the teaching learning activity. In the same manner as stated by Jack C.

Richards and Willy A. Renandya, (eds), “…. In fact, in the most English as a

Foreign Language (EFL) situations, the ability to read in a foreign language is all

that students ever want to acquire…., written texts serve various pedagogical

purposes. Extensive exposure to linguistically comprehensible written texts can

enhance the process of language acquisition.”1 Hence, it can be concluded that the

comprehensible text become important for students, because it facilitates them in

the process of language acquisition.

Moreover, according to Nuttall there are three main criteria that influence the

choice of texts: suitability of the content, exploitability, and readability.2 A good

text should interest the students. If the text bores the students, they frequently feel

discouraged to read it. Furthermore, a good text should facilitate the students in

developing their competence as the reader. And the last, a good text should be

easy to read and to understand by the students. If the reading texts too difficult to

understand by the students, they will feel bored and even frustrated to read it and

1 Jack C. Richards and Willy A. Renandya, (eds.), Methodology in Language Teaching:

An Anthology of Current Practice, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), p. 273 2 Christine Nuttall, Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language, (Oxford:

Heinemann, 1996), New Edition, p. 170

3

the consequence are the text cannot be used successfully in order to achieve the

objective of teaching reading.

In fact, in the teaching of reading the teacher often finds that the students

encounter difficulties in understanding the reading text they used in the textbook.

They frequently cannot answer the questions based on the text correctly such as,

the question about the main idea, the question about the writer’s message of the

text, etc. They cannot answer the question because they perceive that the text is

too difficult to understand by them. So, in order to prevent this matter the teachers

needs to evaluate their textbook especially the reading passages of the book before

they use it in the classroom. They need to know whether or not the book is

suitable for his students.

The most common way in evaluating the textbook is by analyzing the

readability level of the text. Readability itself refers to the difficulty level of the

written texts according to the level of the students’ educational background. The

analyzing of the readability level of the texts can help the teacher to predict

whether the text is difficult, plain or easy for his students. Since the easy-reading

text improves comprehension, retention, reading speed, and reading persistence.

Examinations of the text readability provide information in comparing

appropriateness of the text content, both semantic and syntactic, for specific

audiences or grade levels.3 Furthermore, there are three ways in measuring the

readability level of the text those are, by using the instructor’s judgment,

comprehension testing by cloze procedure, and the last by using statistical

readability formulas based on some type of tally of linguistic elements.4

Thus, based on the background above the writer is aimed to analyze the

readability level of the reading texts of an English textbook for senior high school

entitled “Linked to the World”. Since, the readability analysis can help her in

finding out whether the reading texts on the textbook are easy, plain, or difficult

3 “In Reading, Writing and Typography”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/readability,

retrieved at 18/02/2010 4 Renate A. Schulz, “Literature and readability: bridging the gap in foreign language

reading”, in FORUM, vol. XX number 4, October 1982, p.10

4

for the tenth grade students of senior high school. Linked to the World is an

English textbook for the tenth grade of senior high school. It is written by F.A.

Soeprapto and Mariana Darwis and it is published by Yudhistira in 2007.

Hence, the writer will do her research entitled “The Readability Level of the

Reading Texts on Linked to the World: An English Textbook for Senior High

School (A Case Study at the Tenth Grade of Madrasah Aliyah Pembangunan

UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta).”

B. The Identification of the Problem

Textbook is one of the most important of the medium instructions, since it can

facilitate both the students and the teachers in the teaching learning activities. But,

not all the content of the English textbook will be appropriate for students.

Especially, in the section of reading texts the students frequently find the

difficulty in understanding the reading passages of the textbook. So they became

discouraged in reading the passages and the consequence is the texts cannot be

used successfully in achieving the goal of teaching reading.

C. Limitation and Formulation of the Problem

In this research, the writer focuses her study in the subject matter in analyzing

the readability level of the selected reading texts on an English textbook entitled

“Linked to the World” which is used at the tenth grade students of Madrasah

Aliyah Pembangunan UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta, by using the Flesch

Reading Ease Formula and the Cloze Test.

Based on the limitation of the problem above, the writer would like to state the

problems as follows:

1. How much does the readability of the reading texts meet on Linked to the

World?

2. Are the reading texts readable for the tenth grade students of Madrasah

Aliyah Pembangunan UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta?

5

D. Method of the Study

In doing her research the writer uses descriptive analysis method in which she

tries to describe, elaborate and analyze the readability level of an English textbook

entitled Linked to the World for the tenth grade students of Senior High School.

This method is done by using two techniques. The first technique is by using

statistical readability formula of Flesch Reading Ease Formula. The second

technique is reading comprehension test by using Cloze Procedure. Besides that,

she also conducts library research in which she tries to compile the data or

theories to support this study.

E. Objective of the Study

The objectives of the study are stated as follow:

1. To find out the readability level of the reading texts on English textbook

for Senior High School entitled Linked to the World.

2. To find out whether the reading texts in the textbook is readable for the

tenth grade students of Madrasah Aliyah Pembangunan UIN, Jakarta.

F. Significance of the Study

The significance of this study is to know the readability level of the reading

texts on Linked to the World and to find out whether the reading texts on the book

are readable or not for the tenth grade students of Madrasah Aliyah Pembangunan

UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta.

Besides that as the writer has mentioned before in the background of study

that the analysis of the text readability will give information in comparing

appropriateness of the text content, both semantic and syntactic, for specific

audiences or grade levels. Hence, this study will be useful for the teacher in

choosing the appropriate English textbook that will be used for his/her students.

Besides that, this study will be useful for the teacher to know whether the reading

texts in the textbook is in the level of easy, plain, or difficult for her students so

that she can determine the better reading passages to be used in his/her class.

CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

A. The Nature of Textbook

1. Definition of Textbook

Most teachers using textbook as their medium of teaching in the

classroom, since it provides the materials that should be taught by the teacher.

It can be a guided for the teacher about what to teach in the classroom which

is appropriate with the syllabus and curriculum that is used by the teacher.

Therefore, textbook is considered as one of the most important of medium

instructions. It is used prominently in the school because it can facilitate either

the teacher or the students in the teaching learning activities. As stated by John

Goodland, “The textbook predominated throughout as the medium of

instruction, except in kindergarten. With each advance in grade level,

dependence on the textbook increased.”1

As one of teaching materials, textbook is used both by the teacher and the

students and it determines the activities in the classroom. By using textbook,

the teacher can decide what and how to teach the materials that are determined

by curriculum and syllabus. Moreover the term of textbook refers to a

1 Jean Osborn, et .al., Reading Education: Foundation for a Literate America,

(Lexington: DC. Heath and Company, 1985), p. 46.

6

7

coherent body of teaching materials which may consist of either just the

course book(s) but also of a learning package consisting of several parts.2

The similar opinion that textbook can be used by the teacher and the

students as their sources in achieving the goal of teaching and learning are

stated by Allington and Strange, “a textbook serves as a single repository of

information on a subject, allowing both the teacher and the learner to use a

single common source for acquiring the desired content.”3

Based on the definitions above, it can be concluded that textbook is one of

a primary instructional medium which is provide teaching materials and it is

used in order to facilitate the teacher and students in the teaching learning

activities.

2. Textbook Selection

Textbook is used in almost all school as one of instructional media in

teaching learning activities. So that, the demanded number of textbooks

always increase from year to year. This condition leads many authors and

publishers to produce a large number of textbooks for varying levels of

students. They produce their textbooks as good as possible in order to increase

the sale number of their textbooks. Since textbook has an important role in the

teaching learning activities therefore, teachers must have the ability in

deciding a good textbook for their students and even for themselves. They

should have much information about the textbook they want to use.

Information about textbooks can be obtained from two aspects; they are

textbook description and textbook evaluation. The term textbook description

refers to the collection of textbook and description of data on the form and

content of the textbook itself, and the term textbook evaluation refers to the

collection and description of data on the effects textbook have on their users.

2 Rogers Browers and CJ. Brumfit (eds.), Applied Linguistics and English Language

Teaching, (London: MacMillan Publishers Limited, 1991), p. 298. 3 Richard Allington and Michael Strange, Learning Through Reading in the Content

Areas, (Massachusetts: D.C. Heath and Company, 1980), p. 4.

8

a. Textbook Description

Textbook description refers to the description of data on the textbook

itself. It can be seen from: (1) Author’s and publishers’ information; (2)

Textbook reviews; (3) Checklist; (4) Textbook descriptive tools.

b. Textbook Evaluation

Textbook evaluation is usually conducted in two ways:

1. Users’ judgments (teachers and learners)

2. Experimental research into the effects of textbooks.

Hence it can be concluded that the selection of textbook can be done

in two ways. The first is the selection from the textbook itself and the

selection from the users of the textbook. One technique of selecting

textbook from the textbook itself is by analyzing the readability level of

the reading texts in the textbook. As stated by Browers and Brumfit that

the readability of texts was investigated to obtain a standard for the

relative degree of difficulty of the textbooks of which one would

eventually have to be selected.4

3. The Criteria of Good Text

Reading text is one of important aspects in an English textbook. Since in

the reading activities always involve the reading passages therefore the

selection of a good passage become an important thing. Selecting a good

passage is not an easy matter. As states by Richard R. Day in his article entitle

Selecting a Passage for the EFL Reading Class, “One of reading the more

complex tasks facing the EFL reading teacher is the selection of appropriate

reading passages…. Since the focus of EFL reading class should be on some

aspect of reading, the selection of an appropriate reading passage is critical. If

the passage chosen is inappropriate for whatever reason, the chances of

success for that particular lesson are substantially lessened.”5

4 Rogers Browers and CJ. Brumfit (eds.), Applied Linguistics and English Language Teaching…, p. 305.

5 Richard R. Day, “Selecting a Passage for EFL Reading Class”, http://eca.state.gov/forum/vols/vol32/no1/p20.htm#special_ret_114, retrieved on Monday, March 1, 2010.

9

Since reading texts plays an important role in the reading activities,

therefore it is better to find out the criteria of good text. According to Day

there are seven factors involved in selecting an English as a Foreign

Language (EFL) reading passages, those are: interest, exploitability,

readability, topic, political appropriateness, cultural suitability, and

appearance.6 Furthermore, Nuttal states that there are three main criteria

influence the choice of texts. The first is suitability of content that is the text

should interest the readers. The second is exploitability that is, facilitation of

learning. When teacher exploit a text, s/he makes use of it to develop the

students’ competence as readers. The last criterion is readability that is the

combination of structural and lexical difficulty.7

Among all criteria which states by Day and Nuttall, both of them include

readability as one of the criteria in selecting a good passage. Thus, it can be

concluded that readability is an important aspects from a text. Since

readability can be used to measure whether a text is appropriate for a

particular level of students.

B. Concept of Readability

1. Definition of Readability

Readability is one of the most important aspects that should be considered

in selecting a good passage for students. Since, readability can determine the

achievement of the goal in teaching reading. Some language experts or

researchers define the term readability of a written text or readable text

differently. In general readability is defined as ease of a written text and its

suitability of writing style and grade level for whom the text is intended to.8

Readability is not only determined by the length of the passages or the

length of the words, but it is also determined by how interestingly and

6 Day, “Selecting a Passage for EFL Reading Class”…, retrieved on Monday, March 1,

2010. 7 Christine Nuttall, Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language, (Oxford:

Heinemann, 1996), New Edition, pp. 170-174 8 Maria H. Soelistio, “The use of readability formula to predict the grade level of a

written text”, in Majalah Ilmiah Widya, No.211 Tahun XX, April 2003, p.53.

10

attractively the text is written. In general sense, ‘readability’ is an attribute of a

text, referring to whether or not it is interestingly and attractively written, and

easy to understand.9

Some experts relate the term of readability with the difficulty of the

structural and lexical combination. This opinion is stated by Nuttall that the

term readability is often used to refer to the combination of structural and

lexical difficulty.10

Furthermore, Klare adds some more characteristics of what is called a

readable text namely legibility of either the hand-writing or typography, ease

of reading owning to the interest value of writing, and ease of understanding

owning to the style of writing. Among the three meanings, he states further

that the usage now clearly favors the third meaning, namely ease of

understanding, owning the style of writing especially in the field of writing. In

addition, Webster’s defines “readable” as: fit to be read interesting, agreeable

and attractive in style, and enjoyable.11

Likewise, Browning discusses the term more specific as follows:

1. Readability is the absence of jargon and slang.

2. Readability is never having to read twice.

3. Readability is consistent terminology.

4. Readability is short paragraph.

5. Readability is short sentences.

6. Readability is continuity, and

7. Readability is clarity.12

Based on the above definitions it can be concluded that readability is the

difficulty level of the reading text according to the level of a particular audiences

or readers.

9 C. Harrison, “Readability” in Bernard Spolsky (ed.), Concise Encyclopedia of

Educational Linguistics, (Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Ltd, 1999), p. 428. 10 Nuttall, Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language…, p. 174 11 Cheryl Stephens, “All About Readability”,

http://plainlanguage.com/newreadability.html, retrieved on Thursday, February 18, 2010 12 Maria H. Soelistio, “The use of readability formula to predict the grade level of a

written text”…, p.54

11

2. Factors that Influenced Readability

There are many factors can influence readability of a written text. The

term readability refers to all factors that affect success in reading and

understanding a text. These factors include:

1. Interest and motivation

2. The legibility of the print (and of any illustration)

3. The complexity of words and sentences in relation to the reading

ability of the reader.13

According to Gray and Leary, ease of reading (readability) is the result of

the interaction between the text and the reader. In the reader, those features

affecting readability are: (1) prior knowledge; (2) reading skill; and (3)

motivation. In the text, those features are: (1) content; (2) style; (3) design; (4)

and structure.14

Moreover, according to Day there are several factors that influence a text’s

readability those are:

a. Lexical Knowledge

Lexical knowledge and background knowledge are the two most

important elements that determine a text’s readability. It is clear that as the

number of unknown lexical items in a reading passage increases; the more

difficult it is for students to read it with comprehension.

b. Knowledge of the World

Along with lexical knowledge, background (or world) knowledge is

very important in the readability of a text. The more readers know about a

particular topic, the more quickly and accurately they can read it.

Since the background knowledge of English as a Foreign Language

(EFL) readers plays a critical role in their comprehension of the passage,

13 Keith Johnson, “Readability”, http://www.timetabler.com/reading.html, retrieved on

Monday, March 8, 2010. 14 “In Reading, Writing and Typography”, Http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Readability,

retrieved on Thursday, February 18, 2010

12

teacher should make sure that the passage is on a topic that is known of

familiar to their students.

c. Syntactic Appropriateness

Syntactic constructions in a passage affect its readability. If a passage

contains grammatical constructions that the learners do not know, they

might have a hard time reading it.

d. Organization

Organization refers to both the rhetorical organization of the text and

the clarity of the organization. The English as a Foreign Language (EFL)

reading teacher should carefully examine a text to see how it is organized.

A passage that is not well organized might present problems for English as

a Foreign Language (EFL) students, especially at the beginning stages.

e. Discourse Phenomena

Textual phenomena at the level of discourse include the arrangement

of topics and comments in a reading passage, and considerations of

cohesiveness and coherence.

f. Length Passage

The final factor of readability concerns the length of the potential

reading passage. The most common mistake of inexperienced teachers or

teachers who are not able to judge the reading abilities of their students is

to select a passage that is too long. If students are unable to finish the

reading passage, the lesson is not successful. Then would be learner

become frustrated and often blame themselves, feeling that they are poor

readers.15

Hence, it can be seen that the factors which influence the readability

can be divided into two categories. The first is the internal factors that are

the factors from the reader itself such as, motivation, background

knowledge, reading skill, etc. While the second is the external factors that

15 Day, “Selecting a Passage for EFL Reading Class”…, retrieved on Monday, March 1,

2010.

13

are the factors from the text such as, design, style, structure, length of

passage, etc.

C. Approaches of Measuring Readability

There are several approaches that can be used in measuring the readability of

the text. Teachers as well as text writers have used different methods in

determining the level of difficulty of written texts which are suitable to the

student’s educational background level. Basically, the readability of a text can be

measured in three ways: (1) instructor’s judgment; (2) comprehension testing by

cloze procedure; and (3) statistical readability formulas based on some type of

tally of linguistic elements.16

The same approaches with different terms in measuring of the readability are

stated by Beard. He distinguished three broad approaches to the assessment of the

text suitability. These can be grouped as teacher-based, text based and pupil-

based.17

Among the three approaches, the writer will use the two approaches in

measuring the readability of the texts. The two methods are the statistical

readability formula by using Flesch Reading Ease formula and the Cloze

Procedure Test.

1. Instructor’s Judgment

Many people tend to use their feelings in judging difficulty level of a

written text instead of applying a readability formula as a tool. Teachers or

text writers with longer experience have developed a feeling for knowing

which materials will be suitable for their particular students. They assess their

drafts intuitively; they sense that a piece needs work, or that a text is too

difficult, or do not flow well.18

16 Renate A. Schulz, “Literature and readability: bridging the gap in foreign language

reading”, in FORUM, vol. XX number 4, October 1982, p.10 17 Roger Beard, Developing Reading 3-1, (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1990), Second

Edition, p. 119 18 Maria H. Soelistio, The use of readability formula…, p. 53

14

Langer and others have attempted to “objectivity” evaluator judgment

through a system which requires an impressionistic assessment of specific text

qualities, using a five-point semantic differential scale. Four main textual

“dimensions” are presented for evaluation, with each containing several sub-

categories. The principal text qualities to be judged are text simplicity in terms

of short, simple sentences, and use of common words; visible external

organizational structure and logical internal sequence of text; length of text

and concentration, and conciseness of essential information; presence of

special “interest simulators” within the text such as exclamations, direct

speech, rhetorical questions, direct address of reader, etc.19

2. Cloze Procedure

a. Concept of Cloze Procedure

The “cloze” procedures for testing written text is often treated as a

readability test because a formula exists for translating data from “cloze

tests” into numerical results. “Cloze” is derived from “closure”, a term

used is Gestalt psychology and referring to the human tendency to

complete mentally familiar yet incomplete patterns (e.g., seeing a broken

circle as a whole one).

Cloze procedure is a technique in which words are deleted from a

passage according to a word-count formula or various other criteria. The

passage is presented to students, who insert words as they read to complete

and construct meaning from the text. In the same manner as stated by

Anderson that cloze tests are typically constructed by deleting from

selected texts every n-th word (n usually being a number somewhere

between 5 and 12) and simply requiring the test taker to restore the word

that has been deleted.20

19 Renate A. Schulz, “Literature and readability: bridging the gap in foreign language

reading”…, p. 10 20 J.C. Anderson, Assessing Reading, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), p.

207

15

Cloze test became a popular method for measuring the suitability of

the text for a particular audience. It was popular because its scoring was

objective; it was easy to use and analyze; it used the text itself for analysis;

and it yields high correlations to other formulas.21

b. Types of Cloze Test

1. Fill in the Blank

This form of the cloze test is adapted from the traditional fill-in-the

blank type activities. The difference is that traditional type activities

were often sentence based, whereas a cloze activity involves a passage

with every nth word deleted. The deleted words are listed and the

students are required to fill in the blanks with appropriate word from

the list.

2. Deleting a Particular Class of Words

Sometimes the testers, especially the teachers, are interested in

deleting a particular set of words to check the students’ ability in using

these words. In some cases the value of n cannot be fixed because the

blank may correspond to a word that should not be deleted. Therefore,

the teachers use random ratio deletion procedure. That is, n is not

fixed and it is determined by the test developer prefers to delete a

particular word. In this version, which is most useful for instructional

purposes, a particular group of word is deleted. For instance, the

teacher might be interested to see the extent to which students have

command over the use of prepositions, articles, verb forms, adverbs,

adjectives, etc.

3. Catered Technique

In some versions of cloze, to facilitate the students’ task, some

pieces of information related to the deleted words are given to provide

a cue. Depending on the kind and extent of cueing, certain varieties

have been developed. In its simplest form, it resembles a spelling test

known as the letter cloze. In this version, one or more letters of the

21 Cheryl Stephens, “All About Readability”…, retrieved on Thursday, February 18, 2010

16

word in the blank are left out and the students are required to fill in the

blanks with the missing letters.

4. Random Deletion procedure

Another version of cloze that is also based on the rate of the

deletion of the word is called random deletion procedure. In this

version, there is neither fixed ratio deletion nor deleting a particular

class of words in the mind. Words are deleted on the basis of pure

randomization. To construct such a test, all the words in the passage

are numbered and every number is written on a piece of paper. These

pieces of papers that carry the numbers corresponding to the words in

the passage are located in a hat. Then the numbers are drawn out of the

hat one by one. The word that corresponds to every number is deleted

from the passage.

5. The Cloze-Elide Test

A different variety of cloze test is known as the cloze-elide test. In

this type, instead of deleting a set of words from the passage, a certain

number of words are added to the text. The students are required to

read the text and identify the extra or redundant words and cross them

out. In fact, in the cloze-elide test, the processing of the text is

somewhat opposite to that of the standard cloze test. In the cloze test,

the students should read the text and add some words; whereas in the

cloze-elide test, the students should read the text and delete some

words.22

c. Constructing Cloze Procedure Test

To prepare materials for cloze tests, any of the following techniques

may be used:

1. Select a sample of written text about 250 words length from the

assigned textual material.

22 Horsein Farhady, Varieties of Cloze Procedure in EFL Education,

http://www.google.co.id/#hl=id&q=criteria+of+a+good+passage+for+EFL+class&start=10&sa=N&fp=983862b504061180 retrieved on Monday, April 12, 2010.

17

2. Begin with the first sentence in a paragraph.

3. Leave this first sentence intact - that is, delete no words.

4. Beginning with the first word in the second sentence, delete every

fifth word.

5. The blanks for deletions should be of equal length and large

enough for written responses.

6. Continue deleting every fifth word until you have fifty blanks.

7. Leave the remainder of the sentence containing the fiftieth deletion

intact.23

d. Method in Scoring the Cloze Test

When a cloze passage is given to the students as a test, it should be

somehow scored. To score a cloze test, every blank is considered an item.

Among many available techniques, two methods are quite practical: Exact

Word Method (EWM) and Acceptable Word Method (AWM).

1. Exact Word Method of Scoring

In Exact Word Method (EWM), the words produced by students

receive credit if and only if they correspond to the originally deleted

words. However, there are the advantages and disadvantages in Exact

Word Method (EWM). The advantage of Exact Word Method (EWM)

is that it is objective and easy to apply. That is no scorer judgment is

needed in order to score the test. However it has the disadvantage of

lowering students’ score.

2. Acceptable Word Method of Scoring

The procedures followed in Acceptable Word Method (AWM) are

the same as those in Exact Word Method (EWM). The only difference

is that in this method, any word which makes sense in the context of

the passage is considered correct and given credit. On the other hand,

23 Richard Allington and Michael Strange, Learning Through Reading in the Content

Area…, p.105

18

Acceptable Word Method (AWM) increases the students’ score but it is

somehow subjective and difficult to apply.24

In addition, according to Allington and Strange there are several

steps in scoring and interpreting a cloze passage those are:

1. Scoring is facilitated if students have transferred words from

the blanks to a separate sheet of paper.

2. Score only exact word replacements as correct.

3. Compute the percentage of correct responses. If a standard fifty

deletion selection is used, the simply multiplying the number of

correct responses by two provides this percentage.

4. Arrange students by score into the following for groups:

• 60% or above correct - text is predicted to be quite easy.

• 35% - 59% correct – text is predicted to be appropriate

difficulty.

• 20% - 34% correct – text is predicted to be very difficult.

• 0% - 19% correct – text is predicted to be inappropriate, far

too difficult.

5. Begin to plan instructional differentiation based on results.

If at all possible, at least three cloze passages should be constructed

and administered from a text, with the results averaged across all

passages for placement into groups. Several measures are more reliable

than a single measure. With the cloze procedure the same is true –

using three passages reduces the risk of drawing an unrepresentative

sample from the text – one that is either too difficult or too easy.25

24 Farhady, “Varieties of Cloze Procedure in EFL Education”…, retrieved on Monday,

April 12, 2010. 25 Richard Allington and Michael Strange, Learning Through Reading in the Content

Area…, p.107

19

While according to Beard, the following judgments can be made on the percentage of words correctly supplied by the reader to fill in gaps on a cloze text. (Correct words misspelled are counted as correct in this instance.):

Up to 40% of gaps correctly filled: Frustration Level (suggesting that the text is too difficult for this particular reader);

Approximately 40%-60% of gaps correctly filled: Instructional Level (suggesting that the reader may need some continuing assistance with the text);

Over 60% of gaps correctly filled: Independent Level (suggesting that the reader is likely to be able to cope with the text alone.26

Based on the definition above, the judgment of the Cloze Test result can be

seen in the following table:

Table 2.1

The Judgment of the Cloze Test Score

No. Percentage of the Correct Answers Score Judgment

1. Over 60% Independent Level

2. 40%-60% Instructional Level

3. Up to 40% Frustration Level

3. Statistical Readability Formula

Readability formulas are formulae for evaluating the readability of text,

usually by counting syllables, words, and sentences. They were first

developed in 1920s in the United States of America. At least seven formulas

are in general use in education (Dale & Chall, 1948; Dolch, 1948; Flesch,

1954; Fry, 1968; Gunning, 1952; Spache, 1978; Stricht, 1972, 1975).27 But

there are three of the most widely known devices for measuring readability of

English texts those are the Flesch formula, Dale-Chall formula and the Fry

Readability Graph.

26 Roger Beard, Developing Reading 3-1…, pp. 125-128. 27 Jean Osborn, et. al., Reading Education: Foundations of Literate America…, p.62

20

a. Dale-Chall Formula

Dale and Chall created the Dale-Chall Formula for adult and children

above 4th grade as a way to improve upon the Flesch Reading Ease

Formula. The Dale-Chall Formula was unique; unlike other formulas that

use word-length to assess word difficulty, the Dale-Chall Formula uses a

count of “hard” words. The Dale-Chall Formula calculates the US grade

level of a text sample based on sentence length and the number of “hard”

words. These “hard” words that words that do not appear on a specially

design list of common words familiar to most 4th-grade students.

The following is some steps that have to be done in order to find

out the Dale-Chall Readability Formula:

Step 1: Select a text sample of 100-150 words from an intermediate or

advanced level text.

Step 2: Compute the average sentence length by dividing the number of

words by the number of sentences.

Step 3: Compute the percentage of words not on the list of 3,000 familiar

words.

Step 4: Compute the following equation:

Raw Score = 0.1579 PDW + 0.0496 ASL + 3.6365

Where Raw Score = Reading Grade of a reader who can answer one-

half of the test question on the passage.

PDW = Percentage of Difficult Words

ASL = Average Sentence Length in words.

Step 5: Use the following table to get the Adjusted Score:28

28 “Can You Read Me Now? How to Use Readability Formulas to Write Your Target

Audience!” www.ReadabilityFormulas.com, retrieved on Wednesday, April 14, 2010.

21

Table 2.2

The Adjusted Score of the Dale-Chall Readability Formula

Raw Score Adjusted Score

4.9 and Below Grade 4 and Below

5.0 to 5.9 Grades 5 – 6

6.0 to 6.9 Grades 7 – 8

7.0 to 7.9 Grades 9 – 10

8.0 to 8.9 Grades 11 – 12

9.0 to 9.9 Grades 13 – 15 (College)

10 and Above Grades 16 and above (College Graduate)

b. Fry Graph

The Fry readability formula or Fry readability graph is readability

metric for English texts, developed by Edward Fry. The grade reading

level (or reading difficulty level) is calculated by average number of

sentences (y-axis) and syllables (x-axis) per hundred words. These

averages are plotted onto a specific graph; the intersection of the average

number of sentences and the average number of syllables determines the

reading level of the content.

There several steps to calculate a grade level score of the Fry Graph:

1. Randomly select three 100 word passages. (Count every word

including proper nouns, initialization, and numerals.)

2. Count the number of sentences in each 100 word sample (estimate

to nearest tenth).

3. Count the number of syllables in each 100 word sample. (Each

numeral is a syllable. For example, 2007 is 5 syllables (two-thou-

sand-se-ven) and word).

4. Plot the average sentence length and the average number of

syllables on the graph.

5. The area in which it falls is the approximate grade.29

29 “Fry Readability Formula”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fry_Readability_Formula,

retrieved on Thursday, February 18, 2010

22

The following is the example of the Fry Readability Graph:

Figure 2.1

c. Flesch Reading Ease

Flesch Reading Ease Formula is considered as one of the oldest and

the most accurate readability formulas. It is devised by Rudolf Flesch. It is

a simple approach to assess the grade-level of the reader. This formula is

best used on school text. Flesch counts average sentence length in words

and average word length in syllables to arrive at a “reading ease” score.

Moreover, there are several steps in using the Flesch Reading Ease

Formula that is:

Step 1: Count the words

Count the words in your piece of writing. Count as single words

contractions, hyphenated words, abbreviations, figures, symbols and

their combination, e.g., wouldn’t, full-length, TV, 17, &, $15, 7%.

Step 2: Count the syllables

Count the syllables in your piece of writing. Count the syllables in

words as they are pronounced. Count abbreviations, figures, symbol

and their combinations as one-syllable words. If a word has two

23

accepted, pronunciations, use one with fewer syllables. If in doubt

check a dictionary.

Step 3: Count the sentences

Count the sentences in your piece of writing. Count as a sentence

each full unit of speech marked off by a period, colon, semicolon,

dash, question mark or exclamation point. Disregard paragraph breaks,

colons, semicolons, dashes or initial capitals within a sentence. For

instance, count the following as a single sentence:

You qualify if-

• You at least 58 years old; and

• Your total household income is under $5,000.

Step 4: Figure the average number of syllables per word

Divide the number of syllables by the number of words.

Step 5: Figure the average number of words per sentence

Divide the number of words by the number of sentences.

Step 6: Find your readability score

Find the average sentence length and word length of your piece of

writing on the chart below. Take a straightedge or ruler and connect

the two figures. The intersection of the straightedge or ruler with the

center column shows your readability score.

24

Figure 2.2

The Flesch Readability Chart

Multiply the average sentence length by 1.015. Multiply the average

word length by 84.6. Add the two numbers. Subtract this sum from

206.835. The balance is the readability score. 30

As describe in the specific mathematical formula below:

RE = 206.835 – (1.015 x ASL) – (84.6 x ASW)

RE : Reading Ease score

ASL : Average Sentence Length (the number of words divided

by the number of sentences)

ASW : Average number of syllables per word (the number of

syllables divided by the number of words).31

30 Rudolf Flesch, “How to Write Plain English”,

http://www.mang.canterbury.ac.nz/writing_guide/writing/flesch.shtml, retrieved on Thursday, March 18, 2010.

31 http://www.readabilityformulas.com/flesch-reading-ease-readability-formula.php, retrieved on Tuesday, March 9, 2010.

25

The scale shows scores from 0 to 100. Zero means practically

unreadable and 100 means extremely easy. The minimum score for Plain

English is 60, or about 20 words per sentence and 11/2 syllables per word.

Furthermore, Flesch describe how to translate the scores into school

grades as follows:32

Table 2.3

The Description of the Flesch Readability Score into School Grades

and Its Difficulty Level

Score Difficulty Level School Level

90 – 100 Very easy 5th grade

80 – 90 Easy 6th grade

70 – 80 Fairly easy 7th grade

60 – 70 Plain English 8th and 9th grade

50 – 60 Fairly Difficult 10th – 12th grade

30 – 50 Difficult College

0 – 30 Very Difficult College Graduate

Among all of the statistical readability formula, the writer will use the Flesch

Reading Ease Formula, since it is easy to use and it is consider as one of the most

accurate readability formula that used by most of people especially in educational

field.

32 Flesch, “How to Write Plain English…, retrieved on Thursday, March 18, 2010.

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A. The Objective of the Research

The objective of this research is to find out the readability level of an English

textbook for tenth grade students of senior high school entitle Linked to the

World that is published by Yudhistira in 2007. Since this book is used by the

tenth grade students of Madrasah Aliyah Pembangunan UIN Syarif Hidayatullah,

Jakarta, therefore, this research is also aimed to find out whether or not the

reading texts in the textbook is readable for the tenth grade students of Madrasah

Aliyah Pembangunan UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta.

B. Method of the Research

In this research, the writer uses descriptive analysis method in which she tries

to describe, elaborate and analyze the readability level of an English textbook

entitle Linked to the World 1 English for Senior High School grade X. This

research also supported by library research method to find out the theory which is

related to the topic of this research such as, the theory of readability, cloze

procedure test, etc. Besides that, she also finds out the theories from another

source such as, web-sites, articles, and journals.

26

27

C. Population and Sample

The population of this study is all the tenth grade students of Madrasah Aliyah

Pembangunan UIN Syarif HIdayatullah, Jakarta. The number of the tenth grade

students is 71 students which are divided into two classes. The writer took 50% of

the students (36 students) as the sample on this research. She chose all the

students from the two classes who did the 6 texts. Among the 71 students there are

48 students who did the 6 texts. Then, from the 48 students she chose the 36

students randomly as the sample in this study. They are as the respondents to do

the cloze test which is taken from the texts in the textbook they used.

In addition, this textbook is divided into 7 units and each unit consists of two

cycles, they are oral cycle and written cycle. In the oral cycles there are 14

reading texts while, in the written cycle there are 12 reading texts. Since this study

is focusing in the reading therefore, the writer took the texts from the written

cycle. From the 12 texts, the writer took the 6 texts randomly as the sample on this

research for constructing the cloze procedure tests.

D. Time and Place of the Research

The research took place at Madrasah Aliyah Pembangunan which is located at

komplek UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Jalan Ibnu Taimia IV Ciputat, Jakarta Selatan.

The writer took the data for six times since there are six reading texts that are

tested to the students. The research starts on March 19, 2010 and finished on May

7, 2010.

E. Instrument of the Research

To collect the data in this research the writer used two instruments. The first

is by using test that is the cloze procedure test and the second is by using

statistical analysis that is by using the Flesch Reading Ease Formula.

1. Cloze Procedure Test

The writer took six reading texts from the textbook to make the cloze test.

The texts are chosen randomly and then she deleted between the 5th to 12th

words in the texts. The answers of the deleted words are provided and the

28

students are asked to fill in the blanks with the words given. Each reading

texts has different number of deletion words depend on the length of the texts.

2. Flesch Reading Ease Formula

The second instrument is statistical analysis by using Flesch Reading Ease

Formula. The writer counts the number of sentences, words and syllables of

each text. Then she counts the average number of words per sentence and the

average number of syllables per word and then use the Flesch Reading Ease

Formula in order to get the readability score from the each text.

F. Technique of Data Analysis

For the next step of the research, the writer will process and analyze the data.

In analyzing the data of the reading texts, the writer will use two techniques those

are:

1. Flesch Reading Ease Formula

RE = 206.835 – (1.015 x ASL) – (84.6 x ASW)

Where RE : Reading Ease score

ASL : Average Sentence Length (the number of words

divided by the number of sentences)

ASW : Average number of syllables per word (the number

of syllables divided by the number of words).1

2. Cloze Procedure Test

In order to analyze the data of the cloze test, the writer correct the

students’ answer and find the result by using statistical method which is called

as relative frequency distribution by Anas Sudjiono, the formula is as follow:2

Where P = Percentage

f = frequency of the right

answer N = number of item

P = f x 100%

N

1 http://www.readabilityformulas.com/flesch-reading-ease-readability-formula.php, retrieved on Tuesday, March 9, 2010.

2 Anas Sudjiono, (2006), Pengantar Statistik Pendidikan, (Jakarta: PT. RajaGrafindo Persada), p. 43

29

CHAPTER IV

RESEARCH FINDINGS

A. The Description of the Textbook

The subject of this study is an English textbook entitled Linked to the World 1

English for Senior High School grade X first and second semester published by

Yudhistira in 2007. This textbook is developed based on the 2006 curriculum and

it is written by F.A. Soeprapto and Mariana Darwis.

The textbook consists of 135 pages and 7 units which are divided into two

semesters. The first semester consists of 3 units while the second semester

consists of 4 units. Each unit presented in two cycles of language those are oral

and written cycle. Oral cycle include listening and speaking, while written cycle

include reading and writing. There are also pronunciation and functional skill

which are available in oral cycle; and grammar which is integrated in written

cycle. The whole units are presented based on the genre of the texts. They are 2

narrative themes, 2 news items themes, 1 descriptive theme, 1 recount theme and

1 procedure theme. Furthermore, there are 18 texts in the book; 6 texts are

available in oral cycle and 12 texts are available in written cycle.

29

30

B. Data Description

As the writer’s previous statement that she will use the Flesch Reading Ease

Formula and the Cloze Procedure Test to get the readability level of the reading

texts in the textbook.

1. The Flesch Reading Ease Formula

To gain the readability score by using Flecsh Reading Ease Formula, the

first step that has to be done by the writer is by counting the number of

sentences from each text. Then, the second step is counting the number of

words of each text. The third is counting the number of syllables of each text.

She counted all the number of sentences, words and syllables manually and

she uses dictionary to help her in counting the syllables.

Then, after she gets all of them, the next step is finding the Average

Sentence Length (ASL) that is the number of words divided by the number of

sentences. Furthermore, to gain the Average Syllables per Word (ASW) score

she divided the number of syllables by the number of words of the texts. The

last, she counted all of them by using the Flesch Reading Ease Formula to

find the readability score.

The following table is showing the calculation results of the sentences,

words and syllables of the six texts.

Table 4.1

The Number of Sentences, Words and Syllables Counting

No.

Text

Number of

Sentences

Number of Words Number of

Syllables

Text 1 19 290 429

Text 2 26 300 409

Text 3 24 372 586

Text 4 20 256 354

Text 5 14 408 678

Text 6 28 311 432

31

2. The Cloze Procedure Test

The second technique that is used by the writer in finding the readability of

the textbook is by using the cloze procedure test. The writer gave the cloze

procedure test to the 36 of the tenth grade students of Madrasah Aliyah

Pembangunan UIN, Jakarta. She deleted between the 5th to 12th words in the

texts and the students are asked to complete the texts by using the words

which are given in the box.

The percentage of the deleted words of each text is described below:

1. The first text entitled John’s English Teacher

The number of words in this text is 290 and the number of the deleted

words is 40. Therefore, the percentage of the deleted words is 13.79%.

2. The second text entitled Lions

The number of words in this text is 300 and the number of the deleted

words is 37. So, the percentage of the deleted words is 12.33%.

3. The third text entitled Life in Ancient Rome

The text consists of 372 words and the number of the deleted words is 50,

means that the percentage of the deleted words is 13.44 %.

4. The fourth text entitled Steve’s Favorite Sport

The text consists of 256 words and the number of the deleted words is 31,

means that the percentage of the deleted words is12.11%.

5. The fifth text entitled Rossi Sweeps to Australian GP Victory

The number of the words in this text is 408 and the number of the deleted

words is 47, means that the percentage of the deleted words is 11.51%.

6. The sixth words entitled An Unforgettable Experience

The text consists of 311 words and the number of the deleted words is 40,

means that the percentage of the words deletion is 12.86%.

C. Data Analysis

1. The Flesch Reading Ease Formula

In analyzing the data by using the Flesch Reading Ease Formula, the

writer uses the following formula:

32

RE = 206.835 – (1.015 X ASL) – (84.6 X ASW)

Furthermore, to find out the number of the Average Sentence Length

(ASL), the writer divided the number of words by the number of sentences.

While, to gain the Average Syllables per Words (ASW) she divided the

number of syllables by the number of words.

The following is the calculation of the Average Sentence Length (ASL)

and Average Syllables per Word (ASW) of the six texts:

1. Text 1 (entitled: John’s English Teacher; 19 sentences, 290 words, and

429 syllables)

ASL = Number of words : Number of sentences

ASL = 290 : 19 = 15.26

ASW = Number of syllables : Number of Words

ASW = 429 : 290 = 1.48

2. Text 2 (entitled: Lions; 26 sentences, 300 words and 409 syllables)

ASL = Number of words : Number of sentences

ASL = 300 : 26 = 11.54

ASW = Number of syllables : Number of Words

ASW = 409 : 300 = 1.36

3. Text 3 (entitled: Life in Ancient Rome; 24 sentences, 372 words and

586 syllables)

ASL = Number of words : Number of sentences

ASL = 372 : 24 = 15.5

ASW = Number of syllables : Number of Words

ASW = 586 : 372 = 1.57

4. Text 4 (entitled: Steve’s Favorite Sport; 20 sentences, 256 words and

354 syllables)

ASL = Number of words : Number of sentences

ASL = 256 : 20 = 12.8

ASW = Number of syllables : Number of Words

ASW = 354 : 256 = 1.38

33

5. Text 5 (entitled: Rossi Sweeps to Australian GP Victory; 14 sentences,

408 words and 678 syllables)

ASL = Number of words : Number of sentences

ASL = 408 : 14 = 29.14

ASW = Number of syllables : Number of Words

ASW = 678 : 408 = 1.66

6. Text 6 (entitled: An Unforgettable Experience; 28 sentences, 311

words and 432 syllables)

ASL = Number of words : Number of sentences

ASL = 311 : 28 = 11.11

ASW = Number of syllables : Number of Words

ASW = 432 : 311 = 1.39

To get more clear description, the writer put the calculation result of

Average Sentence Length (ASL) and Average Syllables per Word (ASW) in

the following table:

Table 4.2

The Result of ASL and ASW Calculation

No.

Text

The Average

Sentence Length (ASL)

The Average Syllables per Word

(ASW)

Text 1 15.26 1.48

Text 2 11.54 1.36

Text 3 15.5 1.57

Text 4 12.8 1.38

Text 5 29.14 1.66

Text 6 11.11 1.39

After counting the number of ASL and ASW, the next step is finding the

readability score by using the Flesch Reading Ease Formula:

RE = 206.835 – (1.015 X ASL) – (84.6 X ASW)

34

Text 1 John’s English Teacher (for ASL and ASW score see table 4.2)

ASL = 15.26

ASW = 1.48

RE = 206.835 – (1.015 X ASL) – (84.6 X ASW)

= 206.835 – (1.015 X 15.26) – (84.6 X 1.48)

= 206.835 – 15.489 – 125.208

= 66.14

Text 2 Lions

ASL = 11.54

ASW =1.36

RE = 206.835 – (1.015 X ASL) – (84.6 X ASW)

= 206.835 – (1.015 X 11.54) – (84.6 X 1.36)

= 206.835 – 11.713 – 115.056

= 80.07

Text 3 Life in Ancient Rome

ASL = 15.5

ASW = 1.57

RE = 206.835 – (1.015 X ASL) – (84.6 X ASW)

= 206.835 – (1.015 X 15.5) – (84.6 X 1.57)

= 206.835 – 15.732 – 132.822

= 58.28

Text 4 Steve’s Favorite Sport

ASL = 12.8

ASW = 1.38

RE = 206.835 – (1.015 X ASL) – (84.6 X ASW)

= 206.835 – (1.015 X 12.8) – (84.6 X 1.38)

= 206.835 – 12.992 – 116.748

= 77.09

Text 5 Rossi Sweeps to Australian GP Victory

ASL = 29.14

ASW = 1.66

35

RE = 206.835 – (1.015 X ASL) – (84.6 X ASW)

= 206.835 – (1.015 X 29.14) – (84.6 X 1.66)

= 206.835 – 29.577 – 140.436

= 36.82

Text 6 an Unforgettable Experience

ASL = 11.11

ASW = 1.39

RE = 206.835 – (1.015 X ASL) – (84.6 X ASW)

= 206.835 – (1.015 X 11.11) – (84.6 X 1.39)

= 206.835 – 11.277 – 117.594

= 77.96

In order to complete this analysis, the writer put the results of the Flesch

Reading Ease calculation into the Readability Charts by following the three steps:

1. Find the average sentence length and word length of your piece of writing

on the chart.

2. Take a straightedge or ruler and connect the two figures.

3. The intersection of the straightedge or ruler with the center column shows

your readability score.

Figure 4.1

The Readability Chart of the Text Entitled John’s English Teacher

John’s English Teacher

36

The readability chart shows that text 1 (John’s English Teacher) is in the

Plain English Level since it lies between 15.26 words per sentence and 1.48

syllables per word. Therefore it gains the readability score of 66.14.

Figure 4.2

The Readability Chart of the Text Entitled Lions

Lions

The readability chart shows that text 2 (Lions) is in the Easy Level since it

lies between 11.54 words per sentence and 1.36 syllables per word. Therefore

it gains the readability score of 80.07.

37

Figure 4.3

The Readability Chart of the Text Entitled Life in Ancient Rome

Life in Ancient Rome

The readability chart shows that text 3 (Life in Ancient Rome) is in the

Fairly Difficult Level since it lies between 15.5 words per sentence and 1.57

syllables per word. Therefore it gains the readability score of 58.28.

38

Figure 4.4

The Readability Chart of the Text Entitled Steve’s Favorite Sport

Steve’s Favorite Sport

The readability chart shows that text 4 (Steve’s Favorite Sport) is in the

Fairly Easy Level since it lies between 12.8 words per sentence and 1.38

syllables per word. Therefore it gains the readability score of 77.09.

39

Figure 4.5

The Readability Chart of the Text Entitled Rossi Sweeps to Australian

GP Victory

Rossi Sweeps to Australian GP Victory

The readability chart shows that text 5 (Rossi Sweeps to Australian GP

Victory) is in the Difficult Level since it lies between 29.14 words per sentence

and 1.66 syllables per word. Therefore it gains the readability score of 36.82.

40

Figure 4.6

The Readability Chart of the Text Entitled an Unforgettable

Experience

An Unforgettable Experience

The readability chart shows that text 6 (An Unforgettable Experience) is in

the Fairly Easy Level since it lies between 11.11 words per sentence and 1.39

syllables per word. Therefore it gains the readability score of 77.96.

2. The Cloze Procedure Test

In analyzing the cloze procedure test, the writer correct the students’

answers of each texts and counting the number of the students’ right answers.

The following table shows the number of students’ right answers in the six

texts:

41

Table 4.3

The Frequency of the Students’ Right Answers in Each Text

Frequency of the Right Answers Text 1 Text 2 Text 3 Text 4 Text 5 Text 6

No. Name of

Students The

number of the

deleted words = 40

The number of the

deleted words = 37

The number of the

deleted words = 50

The number of the

deleted words = 31

The number of the

deleted words = 47

The number of the

deleted words = 40

1. Student 1 27 29 31 25 27 36

2. Student 2 32 32 37 19 24 29

3. Student 3 24 21 31 19 19 34

4. Student 4 34 37 40 30 25 32

5. Student 5 37 35 29 26 25 28

6. Student 6 38 37 29 23 27 31

7. Student 7 40 37 25 26 29 26

8. Student 8 39 34 34 26 22 30

9. Student 9 15 33 30 20 28 30

10. Student 10 13 34 50 30 20 38

11. Student 11 24 33 50 29 20 40

12. Student 12 24 29 28 27 22 29

13. Student 13 30 36 28 22 30 28

14. Student 14 29 29 33 20 28 34

15. Student 15 27 31 25 21 19 26

16. Student 16 25 4 24 21 30 39

17. Student 17 25 30 24 28 27 27

18. Student 18 30 35 24 31 26 37

19. Student 19 26 35 25 29 35 29

20. Student 20 20 28 24 23 27 27

21. Student 21 22 30 41 23 26 28

22. Student 22 30 29 29 20 24 37

23. Student 23 30 30 30 27 34 40

42

24. Student 24 25 37 25 25 24 36

25. Student 25 31 37 25 28 21 36

26. Student 26 26 35 30 28 23 38

27. Student 27 32 36 24 26 23 31

28. Student 28 26 31 23 31 22 31

29. Student 29 28 29 24 29 23 35

30. Student 30 28 36 30 25 21 32

31. Student 31 30 28 30 24 19 34

32. Student 32 24 30 31 24 22 35

33. Student 33 24 30 29 22 30 32

34. Student 34 29 28 25 24 23 33

35. Student 35 25 35 25 21 31 33

36. Student 36 29 30 25 22 21 35

Total 998 1,130 1,067 894 897 1,176

After counting the number of students’ right answers, the writer continues the

analysis by counting the percentage of the students’ right answers by using the

following formula:

P = f x 100% Where P = Percentage

N f = frequency of the right answer

N = number of item

The following table is the counting result of the percentage of the students’

right answers:

Table 4.4

The Percentages of the Students’ Correct Answers in the Cloze Test

The Percentage of the Students’ Correct Answers No. Name of Students Text 1 Text 2 Text 3 Text 4 Text 5 Text 6

1. Student 1

67.5% 78.38% 62% 80.64% 57.45% 90%

2. Student 2

80% 86.49% 74% 61.29% 51.06% 72.5%

43

3. Student 3

60% 56.76% 62% 61.29% 40.42% 85%

4. Student 4

85% 100% 80% 96.77% 53.19% 80%

5. Student 5

92.5% 94.60% 58% 83.87% 53.19% 70%

6. Student 6

95% 100% 58% 74.19% 57.45% 77.5%

7. Student 7

100% 100% 50% 83.87% 61.70% 65%

8. Student 8

97.5% 91.90% 68% 83.87% 46.81% 75%

9. Student 9

37.5% 89.19% 60% 64.52% 59.57% 75%

10. Student 10

32.5% 91.90% 100% 96.77% 42.55% 95%

11. Student 11

60% 89.19% 100% 93.55% 42.55% 100%

12. Student 12

60% 78.38% 56% 87.10% 46.81% 72.5%

13. Student 13

75% 97.30% 56% 70.97% 63.83% 70%

14. Student 14

72.5% 78.38% 66% 64.52% 59.57% 85%

15. Student 15

67.5% 83.78% 50% 67.74% 40.42% 65%

16. Student 16

62.5% 10.81% 48% 67.74% 63.83% 97.5%

17. Student 17

62.5% 81.08% 48% 90.32% 57.45% 67.5%

18. Student 18

75% 94.60% 48% 100% 55.32% 92.5%

19. Student 19

65% 94.60% 50% 93.55% 74.47% 72.5%

20. Student 20

50% 75.67% 48% 74.19% 57.45% 67.5%

21. Student 21

55% 81.08% 82% 74.19% 55.32% 70%

22. Student 22

75% 78.38% 58% 64.54% 51.06% 92.5%

23. Student 23

75% 81.08% 60% 87.10% 72.34% 100%

24. Student 24

62.5% 100% 50% 80.64% 51.06% 90%

25. Student 77.5% 100% 50% 90.32% 44.68% 90%

44

25 26. Student

26 65% 94.60% 60% 90.32% 48.94% 95%

27. Student 27

80% 97.30% 48% 83.87% 48.94% 77.5%

28. Student 28

65% 83.78% 46% 100% 46.81% 77.5%

29. Student 29

70% 78.38% 48% 93.55% 48.94% 87.5%

30. Student 30

70% 97.30% 60% 80.64% 44.68% 80%

31. Student 31

75% 75.67% 60% 77.42% 40.42% 85%

32. Student 32

60% 81.08% 62% 77.42% 46.81% 87.5%

33. Student 33

60% 81.08% 58% 70.97% 63.83% 80%

34. Student 34

72.5% 75.67% 50% 77.42% 48.94% 82.5%

35. Student 35

62.5% 94.60% 50% 67.74% 65.96% 82.5%

36. Student 36

72.5% 81.08% 50% 70.97% 44.68% 87.5%

Total 2,495% 3,054.09% 2,134% 2,883.87% 1,908.51% 2,940%Average 69.30% 84.83% 59.28% 80.11% 53.01% 81.67%

From the above analysis it can be seen that:

1. The first text entitled “John’s English Teacher” gain the cloze test score of

69.30%.

2. The first text entitled “Lions” gain the cloze test score of 84.83%.

3. The first text entitled “Life in Ancient Rome” gain the cloze test score of

59.28%.

4. The first text entitled “Steve’s Favorite Sport” gain the cloze test score of

80.11%.

5. The first text entitled “Rossi Sweeps the Australian GP Victory” gain the

cloze test score of 53.01%.

6. The first text entitled “An Unforgettable Experience” gain the cloze test score

of 81.67%.

45

D. Data Interpretation

In this research, the writer focuses in analyzing the readability level of the

selected reading texts on the textbook for senior high school entitled Linked to the

World by using the Flesch Reading Ease Formula and Cloze Procedure Test.

After analyzing the data through the Flesch Reading Ease Formula by

counting the number of sentences words and syllables; then continued by counting

the Average Sentence Length (ASL) and Average Syllables per Words (ASW);

and the last finding the readability score by using Flesch Reading Ease Formula,

the writer interprets the results as follows: The Readability score of text 1 entitled

John’s English Teacher is 66.14; the readability score lies between 60-70; it can

be interpreted that the text 1 is in the level of Plain English. The second text

entitled Lions gain the readability score of 80.07; the readability score lies

between 80-90, it means that the text 2 is in the level of Easy. The third text

entitled Life in Ancient Rome has result 58.28 or the readability score lies between

50-60, it means that text 3 is in the level of Fairly Difficult. For the text 4 entitled

Steve’s Favorite Sport gain the readability score of 77.09 and text 6 entitled An

Unforgettable Experience has result score of 77.96; it means that both of their

score are in the average of 70-80, it can be interpreted that either the text 4 or the

text 6 is in the Fairly Easy Level. The last is the text 5 which gain the readability

score of 37; the average readability score lies between 30-50, it means that the

fifth text is in the level of Difficult.

While after analyzing the data from the cloze test by counting the students’

right answers and its percentage, it can be interpreted that the first text entitled

John’s English Teacher gain the cloze test score of 69.30%, it means that the

score of the text is over 60% so, it is in Independent Level. Next, the second text

entitled Lions gain the cloze test score of 84.83%, it means that the score of the

text is over 60% so, it is in Independent Level. Furthermore, the third text entitled

Life in Ancient Rome gain the cloze test score of 59.28%, it means that the score

of the text is approximately 40%-60% so, it is in Instructional Level. Then, the

fourth text entitled Steve’s Favorite Sport gain the cloze test score of 80.11%, it

means that the score of the text is over 60% so, it is in Independent Level. The

46

fifth text entitled Rossi Sweeps the Australian GP Victory gain the cloze test score

of 53.01%, it means that the score of the text is approximately 40%-60% so, it is

in Instructional Level.

47

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

A. Conclusion

After describing, analyzing and interpreting the data above the writer makes

conclusion that by using the Flesch Readability Formula the first text entitled

John’s English Teacher has the readability score of 66; it means that the text is

readable for the 8th and 9th grade students. The second text entitled Lions has the

readability score of 80; it means that the text is readable for the 6th grade students.

Furthermore, the third text entitled Life in Ancient Rome has the readability score

of 58; it means that the text is readable for the 10th-12th grade of students. Next,

the fourth text entitled Steve’s Favorite Sport and the sixth text entitled An

Unforgettable Experience gain the readability score of 77 and 78; it means that

both of them are readable for the 7th grade students. The last is the fifth text

entitled Rossi Sweeps to Australian GP Victory gain the readability score of 37, it

means that the text is readable for the college students.

Hence, it can be concluded that by using the Flesch Reading Ease Formula

there are five texts that readable for the tenth grade students those are, text 1

“John’s English Teacher”, text 2 “Lions”, text 3 “Life in Ancient Rome”, text 4

“Steve’s Favorite Sport” and text 6 “An Unforgettable Experience” but there is

only one text which is appropriate for the tenth grade students that is the third text

entitled Life in Ancient Rome.

47

48

While by using the Cloze Procedure test, it can be concluded that text 1 “John

English Teacher”, text 2 “Lions”, text 4 “Steve’s Favorite Sport” and text 6 “An

Unforgettable Experience” have the cloze test score of over 60% and the

judgment score is in the Independent Level, it means that the students is likely to

be able to cope with the texts alone. While for the third text “Life in Ancient

Rome” and the fifth text “Rossi Sweeps to Australian GP Victory” have the cloze

test score of approximately 40%-60%; the judgment score is in the Instructional

Level, it means that the students may need some continuing assistance with the

texts.

Thus, according to the cloze test result it can be concluded that in the Linked

to the World there are four texts that are readable for the tenth grade students of

Madrasah Aliyah Pembanguna UIN, Jakarta. The four texts are John’s English

Teacher, Lions, Steve’s Favorite Sport and An Unforgettable Experience. While

for the third text Life in Ancient Rome and the fifth text Rossi Sweeps to

Australian GP Victory, the students still need the teacher’s help in order to

understand the texts.

B. Suggestion

Based on the conclusion above the writer would like to suggest for the teacher,

the authors and the publisher of the book as follows:

1. For the Teacher

- It is better for the teacher to find out whether the reading texts in the

textbook are appropriate for the students. Since, based on the analysis by

using the Flesch Reading Ease Formula between the six selected reading

texts there is only one text which is appropriate for the tenth grade

students of Senior High School.

- If it is not possible to find the readability score by using the Cloze Test,

use the Flecsh Reading Ease is better since, it is easy to use and didn’t

spend many times.

- The teacher has to assist the students when they face the difficulties in

understanding the texts.

49

2. For the Author

- The authors have to consider whether or not the texts they write in the

textbook are readable for a particular grade level of the students.

- The authors have to find out the readability level of the texts first before

they put it in the textbook.

3. For the Publisher

The publishers have to consider whether the textbook they want to publish is

qualified and suitable for a particular level of students. Since, the good textbook

can help both the teacher and the students in order to reach the goal of teaching

and learning English.

REFERENCES

Allington, Richard and Michael Strange, Learning through Reading in the Content Areas, Massachusetts: D.C. Heath and Company, 1980.

Anderson, J.C., Assessing Reading, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,

2000. Beard, Roger, Developing Reading 3-1. 2nd ed., London: Hodder & Stoughton,

1990. Browers, Rogers and CJ. Brumfit (eds.), Applied Linguistics and English

Language Teaching, London: MacMillan Publishers Limited, 1991. Harrison, C. “Readability” in Bernard Spolsky (ed.). 1999. Concise Encyclopedia

of Educational Linguistics. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Ltd. Nuttall, Christine, Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language, New edition.

Oxford: Heinemann, 1996. Osborn, Jean, et .al., Reading Education: Foundation for a Literate America,

Lexington: DC. Heath and Company, 1985. Richards, Jack C. and Willy A. Renandya, (eds.), Methodology in Language

Teaching: An Anthology of Current Practice, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Schulz, Renate A. “Literature and readability: bridging the gap in foreign

language reading”. In FORUM, vol. XX number 4, October 1982. Soelistio, Maria H. “The use of readability formula to predict the grade level of a

written text”. In Majalah Ilmiah Widya, No.211 Tahun XX, April 2003. Sudjiono, Anas Sudjiono, Pengantar Statistik Pendidikan, Jakarta: PT.

RajaGrafindo Persada, 2006.

50

51

Websites “Can You Read Me Now? How to Use Readability Formulas to Write Your

Target Audience!” www.ReadabilityFormulas.com, retrieved on Wednesday, April 14, 2010.

Day, Richard R. “Selecting a Passage for EFL Reading Class.”

http://eca.state.gov/forum/vols/vol32/no1/p20.htm#special_ret_114, retrieved on Monday, March 1, 2010.

Farhady, Horsein. “Varieties of Cloze Procedure in EFL Education”,

http://www.google.co.id/#hl=id&q=criteria+of+a+good+passage+for+EFL+class&start=10&sa=N&fp=983862b504061180, retrieved on Monday, April 12, 2010.

Flesch, Rudolf. “How to Write Plain English”,

http://www.mang.canterbury.ac.nz/writing_guide/writing/flesch.shtml, retrieved on Thursday, March 18, 2010.

http://www.readabilityformulas.com/flesch-reading-ease-readability-formula.php,

retrieved on Tuesday, March 9, 2010. Johnson, Keith. “Readability.” http://www.timetabler.com/reading.html, retrieved

on Monday, March 8, 2010 Stephen, Cheryl. “All about Readability”

http://plainlanguage.com/newreadability.html, retrieved on Thursday, February 18, 2010.

Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. “Fry Readability Formula”,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fry_Readability_Formula, retrieved on Thursday, February 18, 2010.

Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia “In Reading, Writing and Typography.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/readability, retrieved at February18, 2010.

I. APPENDIX I THE READING TEXTS

JOHN’S ENGLISH TEACHER

When John was in the first year of Senior High School, he had to cope with a

very difficult problem. It was when he didn’t have the courage to speak English

because he was afraid of making mistakes in vocabulary usage, pronunciation and

especially, sentence structure. To make thing worse, John was basically so shy and

regarded as a silent person. He ever said to Amin, his classmate, that he didn’t have a

bravery to speak English because of those factors. Consequently, John was not in the

mood for English lesson especially when the teacher asked him for giving opinion or

having presentation in front of the class.

One day, there was a new English teacher in John’s school. Her name was

Mrs. Williams. Fortunately, this new English teacher was very caring and patient. She

was willing to give her hand whenever John and his classmates need some help due to

the difficulties with her lesson. She said that she allowed her students to play their

own cassettes and listen to English language songs during the lesson. In short, while

John and his classmates were taking notes or doing assignment, they were also

entertained.

She divided the lesson into two sessions. In the first session, her students

studied theories about English language in general. Then, in the second session, she

asked them to be active participants by joining certain games such as scrabble or their

favorite one. It was so much fun! With a lot of practice time, instead of only theory,

John could gradually change his mood in learning English.

That English teacher was really able to boost John’s spirit to learn English

well. The way she taught her students was very effective. Her students called her a

hero.

52

53

LIONS

Except for the tiger, the lion is the largest member of the cat family. A lioness

measures about three meters. The lion stands over one meter tall at the shoulder. He

has long hair on his head, neck and shoulders. The hair here is called the mane. The

lioness has no mane and is usually a little smaller. When her cubs are born, they are

about the size of domestic cats. They have dark spots which disappear later.

Both the lion and the lioness hunt for food, usually at night. Like tigers and

cats, they can see well in poor light. They hunt grazing animals, such as buffaloes,

zebras and antelopes. Unless they are very hungry, most lions do not attack man or a

large animal, such as a giraffe or a hippopotamus. Lions that are near a village may

steal goats or donkeys or calves. The lion’s huge jaws open up to about thirty

centimeters and can kill a medium-sized animal with one bite. The lion can run more

that eighty kilometers an hour and jump over a barrier almost two meters high.

Lions sometimes hunt in groups. They work together to catch their prey. First,

some of the lions hide. The others roar loudly and chase the grazing animal towards

them. The hiding lions spring up and kill the animal. When a lion hunts alone, it

approaches the animal stealthily and pounces on it.

You may see lions in a zoo or at a circus. In some zoos, they are kept in cages.

Today in many zoos, you can find lions in a small open place, free to wander about as

they please. They are separated from visitors by moats. At a circus, the trainer usually

makes a lion get on a stool and stand on its hind legs.

54

LIFE IN ANCIENT ROME

The ancient Romans are probably best remembered as fighters. Fighting was

certainly one of their favorite activities. According to the legend, the city of Rome

was found by the twin sons of Mars the God of war. The Romans were such

successful fighters that no one could resist them. At its height, the Roman Empire

stretched from Britain in the west to Persia in the east, and from Germany in the north

down to Africa. The most famous Roman leaders were soldiers – Agrippa and

Hadrian, Mark Anthony and Julius Caesar; and the greatest works of Roman literature

describe many battles these leaders fought.

Even in peace time the most popular form of sport in Rome was a battle

between two professional fighters called gladiators. These men fought each other with

swords and spears. Usually one gladiators killed the other. Gladiators also fought wild

animals for the amusement of the Roman crowds. Such entertainments were called

circuses, and it was often said that “bread and circuses” were the only two things the

Romans needed to be happy.

But the Romans did not spend all their time fighting. They were great builders.

They built wonderful temples and public squares, heated baths, and leisure centers,

huge arches to celebrate the victories of their Generals, and fine private houses,

decorated with statues, fountain and mosaics. Their ideas of town planning were very

advanced. The road they built were straight and strong. In many parts of Europe,

Roman roads are still in use.

During the four hundred and eighty years when Rome was a republic (509–27

B.C.), the Romans developed ideas of democracy and citizenship that were unknown

in almost all other parts of the ancient world. Later, when Rome became an empire,

the personality of the emperor grew more and more important. The emperor was often

considered a god, and the democratic ideas of the republic began to disappear.

Finally the empire became too large. It was impossible to defend such a large

area and, when the enemies of Rome joined together and attacked it from all sides, the

empire fell. But the Romans had played a tremendously important part in the history

of civilization. Without them, the world today would be a different place.

55

Steve’s Favorite Sport

One day, Steve woke up in the morning and felt the morning sunshine across

the windows of his room. He prepared the stuff to support him to do his hobby,

cycling. After taking a bath, Steve got dressed and went to the garage. He took his

lovely cycle that he named thunder. In a second, he was ready to pick up his friends,

Matthew and Rico. They intended to join the cycling tournament at their school the

following Saturday. So, they had been practicing every morning to face the day.

Unexpectedly, his mother came and asked him to stay at home because their

family from Medan would come that morning. She asked him to help his father clean

the house. She told Steve to cancel it. Steve said that he didn’t want to because he had

made a promise to his friends. He resisted his mother’s command because he really

wanted to join the tournament. Moreover, he didn’t want anyone to interfere his

hobby. His mother seemed upset but did not say anything.

His father came to the garage. He listened to Steve and allowed him to decide

what he wanted to do. He didn’t mind if Steve did not want to stay because of this

reason. As a consequence, Steve promised to clean the house after he finished his

activity. Steve agreed and said that he felt very sorry for leaving them because he had

promised his friends. He asked his parents’ permission and promised them to do the

duty after he finished the exercise.

56

Rossi Sweeps to Australian GP Victory

World champion Valentino Rossi erased a 10-second time penalty to storm to

victory in the Australian MotoGP at the Philip Island circuit on Sunday.

The 24-year-old Italian Repsol Honda rider won his eighth GP of the season

and 58th overall to claim the 120 kilometer race by 5.2 seconds from Italy’s Ducati

racer Loris Capirossi and American Honda rider Nicky Hayden.

It was Rossi’s 21st consecutive podium result and came despite incurring a ten-

second penalty for passing under yellow flags early in the race.

Only Giacomo Agostini has had a longer run in the premier class with 22

straight podium results during the 1967–1969 seasons.

Rossi, who claimed his third consecutive world title in Malaysia last weekend,

moved to 332 points, 75 points ahead of Spaniard Sete Gibernau with one race left in

Valencia, Spain, in a fortnight.

Marco Melandri, Hayden and Rossi all diced for the early lead and Australian

Troy Bayliss, who was also pressing, crashed out on lap four after touching a wet and

slippery white line on the outside of the asphalt at the Honda hairpin.

The Ducati rider fell heavily and was knocked unconscious but medical staff

said later he was suffering only bruising and slight concussion. Bayliss was to have

precautionary checks in hospital later on Sunday.

On the next lap, Rossi passed Melandri at the corner where Bayliss came to

grief, and not seeing the yellow flags was informed of a ten-second penalty several

laps later when he was leading by three seconds from Capirossi.

Knowing he had to make up 10 seconds, Rossi roared off like a man

possessed, taking the flag 15 seconds ahead of Capirossi – but five seconds in front on

corrected time.

“I saw the board after nine or 10 laps and it said minus 10 seconds and I didn’t

understand,” Rossi said.

The joust for third went down to a last lap showdown between Hayden and

Gibernau, with the Spaniard pulling off an aggressive passing move on one of the

fastest parts of the circuit to hold on to second by just four-hundredths of a second.

Repsol Honda had two riders on the podium with young rookie Hayden

looking like a worthy replacement for Rossi if the world champion decides to change

teams for next season.

57

The championship-leading trio of Rossi, Gibernau and Max Biaggi, who

finished 17th and was almost lapped, cannot be displaced from their standings heading

into the final race at Valencia.

58

An Unforgettable Experience

In 2003 we, the first grade students, made a five-day living in Kalirejo, a

transmigration area in South Lampung. We were 212 students all together. We left

Jakarta for Lampung at midnight and our trip took about six hours. Arriving there, we

were warmly welcomed. After a little talking, we were taken to our respective hosts.

Every host accommodated four to five students. The transmigrants live a very simple

life. Most of their houses are made of wood or bamboo, and only some are made of

bricks.

Living there, all of us helped the transmigrants plow and fertilize the soil,

harvest cassava, rice, corn or other crops, or wash and feed the cattle. At home, most

girls produced cassava crips, cassava cake and fried corn. Though dirty, we were very

happy to help them since the work was new and even strange for us. It is unusual for

them to stay till night. They go to bed at about 8 p.m. Because of us, they were willing

to chat until we asked them to sleep or they taught us to play gamelan music.

One morning, our courageous friend climbed up a ten metre coconut tree to

pick coconuts. Unfortunately, just reaching about five metres, he trembled. He

couldn’t continue his climb. We all laughed at him. But the situation changed.

Looking down, his face grew pale and said nothing. We were afraid he would fall

down. Then we encouraged him to climb down inch by inch. He followed our advice.

It took ten minutes for him to reach the ground. Stepping on the ground, he said, “I

won’t do such a foolish thing again.” The host commented, “You’re really a patriot,

boy”.

On the last day, we gathered with the hosts in front of the sub-district office to

say goodbye. We felt as if we had been a real big family.

67

III. APPENDIX III

THE PERCENTAGE CALCULATION OF THE CLOZE TESTS

Text I (John’s English Teacher)

P = f x 100% P = Percentage N = Number of item (40)

N f = frequency of the right answer

Student 1: P = 27 : 40 = 0.675 x 100% = 67.5%

Student 2: P = 32 : 40 = 0.80 x 100% = 80%

Student 3: P = 24 : 40 =0.60 x 100% = 60%

Student 4: P = 34 : 40 = 0.85 x 100% = 85%

Student 5: P = 37 : 40 = 0.925 x 100% = 92.5%

Student 6: P = 38 : 40 = 0.95 x 100% = 95%

Student 7: P = 40 : 40 = 1 x 100% = 100%

Student 8: P = 39 : 40 = 0.975 x 100% = 97.5%

Student 9: P = 15 : 40 = 0.375 x 100% = 37.5%

Student 10: P = 13 : 40 = 0.325 x 100% = 32.5%

Student 11: P = 24 : 40 = 0.60 x 100% = 60%

Student 12: P = 24 : 40 = 0.60 x 100% = 60%

Student 13: P = 30 : 40 = 0.75 x 100% = 75%

Student 14: P = 29 : 40 = 0.725 x 100% = 72.5%

Student 15: P = 27 : 40 = 0.675 x 100% = 67.5%

Student 16: P = 25 : 40 = 0.625 x 100% = 62.5%

Student 17: P = 25 : 40 = 0.625 x 100% = 62.5%

Student 18: P = 30 : 40 = 0.75 x 100% = 75%

Student 19: P = 26 : 40 = 0.65 x 100% = 65%

Student 20: P = 20 : 40 = 0.50 x 100% = 50%

Student 21: P = 22 : 40 = 0.55 x 100% = 55%

Student 22: P = 30 : 40 = 0.75 x 100% = 75%

Student 23: P = 30 : 40 = 0.75 x 100% = 75%

Student 24: P = 25 : 40 = 0.625 x 100% = 62.5%

Student 25: P = 31 : 40 = 0.775 x 100% = 77.5%

Student 26: P = 26 : 40 = 0.65 x 100% = 65%

Student 27: P = 32 : 40 = 0.80 x 100% = 80%

68

Student 28: P = 26 : 40 = 0.65 x 100% = 65%

Student 29: P = 28 : 40 = 0.70 x 100% = 70%

Student 30: P = 28 : 40 = 0.70 x 100% = 70%

Student 31: P = 30 : 40 = 0.75 x 100% = 75%

Student 32: P = 24 : 40 = 0.60 x 100% = 60%

Student 33: P = 24 : 40 = 0.60 x 100% = 60%

Student 34: P = 29 : 40 = 0.725 x 100% = 72.5%

Student 35: P = 25 : 40 = 0.625 x 100% = 62.5%

Student 36: P = 29 : 40 = 0.725 x 100% = 72.5%

I. Text 2 (Lions)

P = f x 100% P = Percentage N = Number of item (37)

N f = frequency of the right answer

Student 1: P = 29 : 37 = 0.7836 x 100% = 78.36%

Student 2: P = 32 : 37 = 0.8649 x 100% = 86.49%

Student 3: P = 21 : 37 = 0.5676 x 100% = 56.76%

Student 4: P = 37 : 37 = 1 x 100% = 100%

Student 5: P = 35 : 37 = 0.9460 x 100% = 94.60%

Student 6: P = 37 : 37 = 1 x 100% = 100%

Student 7: P = 37 : 37 = 1 x 100% = 100%

Student 8: P = 34 : 37 = 0.9190 x 100% = 91.90%

Student 9: P = 33 : 37 = 0.8919 x 100% = 89.19%

Student 10: P = 34 : 37 = 0.9190 x 100% = 91.90%

Student 11: P = 33 : 37 = 0.8919 x 100% = 89.19%

Student 12: P = 29 : 37 = 0.7838 x 100% = 78.38%

Student 13: P = 36 : 37 = 0.9730 x 100% = 97.30%

Student 14: P = 29 : 37 = 0.7838 x 100% = 78.38%

Student 15: P = 31 : 37 = 0.8378 x 100% = 83.78%

Student 16: P = 4 : 37 = 0.1081 x 100% = 10.81%

Student 17: P = 30 : 37 = 0.8108 x 100% = 81.08%

Student 18: P = 35 : 37 = 0.9460 x 100% = 94.60%

Student 19: P = 35 : 37 = 0.9460 x 100% = 94.60%

Student 20: P = 28 : 37 = 0.7567 x 100% = 75.67%

69

Student 21: P = 30 : 37 = 0. 8108 x 100% = 81.08%

Student 22: P = 29 : 37 = 0.7838 x 100% = 78.38%

Student 23: P = 30 : 37 = 0.8108 x 100% = 81.80%

Student 24: P = 37 : 37 = 1 x 100% = 100%

Student 25: P = 37 : 37 = 1 x 100% = 100%

Student 26: P = 35 : 37 = 0.9460 x 100% = 94.60%

Student 27: P = 36 : 37 = 0.9730 x 100% = 97.30%

Student 28: P = 31 : 37 = 0.8378 x 100% = 83.78%

Student 29: P = 29 : 37 = 0.7838 x 100% = 78.38%

Student 30: P = 36 : 37 = 0.9730 x 100% = 97.30%

Student 31: P = 28 : 37 = 0.7567 x 100% = 75.67%

Student 32: P = 30 : 37 = 0.8108 x 100% = 81.08%

Student 33: P = 30 : 37 = 0.8108 x 100% = 81.08%

Student 34: P = 28 : 37 = 0.7567 x 100% = 75.67%

Student 35: P = 35 : 37 = 0.9460 x 100% = 94.60%

Student 36: P = 30 : 37 = 0.8108 x 100% = 81.08%

II. Text 3 (Life in Ancient Rome)

P = f x 100% P = Percentage N = Number of item (50)

N f = frequency of the right answer

Student 1: P = 31 : 50 = 0.62 x 100% = 62%

Student 2: P = 37 : 50 = 0.74 x 100% = 74%

Student 3: P = 31 : 50 = 0.62 x 100% = 62%

Student 4: P = 40 : 50 = 0.80 x 100% = 80%

Student 5: P = 29 : 50 = 0.58 x 100% = 58%

Student 6: P = 29 : 50 = 0.58 x 100% = 58%

Student 7: P = 25 : 50 = 0.50 x 100% = 50%

Student 8: P = 34 : 50 = 0.68 x 100% = 68%

Student 9: P = 30 : 50 = 0.60 x 100% = 60%

Student 10: P = 50 : 50 = 1 x 100% = 100%

Student 11: P = 50 : 50 = 1 x 100% = 100%

Student 12: P = 28 : 50 = 0.56 x 100% = 56%

Student 13: P = 28 : 50 = 0.56 x 100% = 56%

70

Student 14: P = 33 : 50 = 0.66 x 100% = 66%

Student 15: P = 25 : 50 = 0.50 x 100% = 50%

Student 16: P = 24 : 50 = 0.48 x 100% = 48%

Student 17: P = 24 : 50 = 0.48 x 100% = 48%

Student 18: P = 24 : 50 = 0.48 x 100% = 48%

Student 19: P = 25 : 50 = 0.50 x 100% = 50%

Student 20: P = 24 : 50 = 0.48 x 100% = 48%

Student 21: P = 41 : 50 = 0.82 x 100% = 82%

Student 22: P = 29 : 50 = 0.58 x 100% = 58%

Student 23: P = 30 : 50 = 0.60 x 100% = 60%

Student 24: P = 25 : 50 = 0.50 x 100% = 50%

Student 25: P = 25 : 50 = 0.50 x 100% = 50%

Student 26: P = 30 : 50 = 0.60 x 100% = 60%

Student 27: P = 24 : 50 = 0.48 x 100% = 48%

Student 28: P = 23 : 50 = 0.46 x 100% = 46%

Student 29: P = 24 : 50 = 0.48 x 100% = 48%

Student 30: P = 30 : 50 = 0.60 x 100% = 60%

Student 31: P = 30 : 50 = 0.60 x 100% = 60%

Student 32: P = 31 : 50 = 0.62 x 100% = 62%

Student 33: P = 29 : 50 = 0.58 x 100% = 58%

Student 34: P = 25 : 50 = 0.50 x 100% = 50%

Student 35: P = 25 : 50 = 0.50 x 100% = 50%

Student 36: P = 25 : 50 = 0.50 x 100% = 50%

III. Text 4 (Steve’s Favorite Sport)

P = f x 100% P = Percentage N = Number of item (31)

N f = frequency of the right answer

Student 1: P = 25 : 31 = 0.8064 x 100% = 80.64%

Student 2: P = 19 : 31 = 0.6129 x 100% = 61.29%

Student 3: P = 19 : 31 = 0.6120 x 100% = 61.20%

Student 4: P = 30 : 31 = 0.9677 x 100% = 96.77%

Student 5: P = 26 : 31 = 0.8387 x 100% = 83.87%

Student 6: P = 23 : 31 = 0.7419 x 100% = 74.19%

71

Student 7: P = 26 : 31 = 0.8387 x 100% = 83.87%

Student 8: P = 26 : 31 = 0.8387 x 100% = 83.87%

Student 9: P = 20 : 31 = 0.6452 x 100% = 64.52%

Student 10: P = 30 : 31 = 0.9677 x 100% = 96.77%

Student 11: P = 29 : 31 = 0.9355 x 100% = 93.55%

Student 12: P = 27 : 31 = 0.8710 x 100% = 87.10%

Student 13: P = 22 : 31 = 0.7079 x 100% = 70.79%

Student 14: P = 20 : 31 = 0.6452 x 100% = 64.52%

Student 15: P = 21 : 31 = 0.6774 x 100% = 67.74%

Student 16: P = 21 : 31 = 0.6774 x 100% = 67.74%

Student 17: P = 28 : 31 = 0.9032 x 100% = 90.32%

Student 18: P = 31 : 31 = 1 x 100% = 100%

Student 19: P = 29 : 31 = 0.9355 x 100% = 93.55%

Student 20: P = 23 : 31 = 0.7419 x 100% = 74.19%

Student 21: P = 23 : 31 = 0.7419 x 100% = 74.19%

Student 22: P = 20 : 31 = 0.6454 x 100% = 64.54%

Student 23: P = 27 : 31 = 0.8710 x 100% = 87.10%

Student 24: P = 25 : 31 = 0.8064 x 100% = 80.64%

Student 25: P = 28 : 31 = 0.9032 x 100% = 90.32%

Student 26: P = 28 : 31 = 0.9032 x 100% = 90.32%

Student 27: P = 26 : 31 = 0.8387 x 100% = 83.87%

Student 28: P = 31 : 31 = 1 x 100% = 100%

Student 29: P = 29 : 31 = 0.9355 x 100% = 93.55%

Student 30: P = 25 : 31 = 0.8064 x 100% = 80.64%

Student 31: P = 24 : 31 = 0.7742 x 100% = 77.42%

Student 32: P = 24 : 31 = 0.7742 x 100% = 77.42%

Student 33: P = 22 : 31 = 0.7097 x 100% = 70.97%

Student 34: P = 24 : 31 = 0.7742 x 100% = 77.42%

Student 35: P = 21 : 31 = 0.6774 x 100% = 67.74%

Student 36: P = 22 : 31 = 0.7097 x 100% = 70.97%

72

IV. Text 5 (Rossi Sweeps to Australian GP Victory)

P = f x 100% P = Percentage N = Number of item (47)

N f = frequency of the right answer

Student 1: P = 27 : 47 = 0.5745 x 100% = 57.46%

Student 2: P = 24 : 47 = 0.5106 x 100% = 51.06%

Student 3: P = 19 : 47 = 0.4042 x 100% = 40.42%

Student 4: P = 25 : 47 = 0.5319 x 100% = 53.19%

Student 5: P = 25 : 47 = 0.5319 x 100% = 53.19%

Student 6: P = 27 : 47 = 0.5745 x 100% = 57.45%

Student 7: P = 29 : 47 = 0.6070 x 100% = 60.70%

Student 8: P = 22 : 47 = 0.4681 x 100% = 46.81%

Student 9: P = 28 : 47 = 0.5957 x 100% = 59.57%

Student 10: P = 20 : 47 = 0.4255 x 100% = 42.55%

Student 11: P = 20 : 47 = 0.4255 x 100% = 42.55%

Student 12: P = 22 : 47 = 0.4681 x 100% = 46.81%

Student 13: P = 30 : 47 =0.6383 x 100% = 63.83%

Student 14: P = 28 : 47 = 0.5957 x 100% = 59.57%

Student 15: P = 19 : 47 = 0.4042 x 100% = 40.42%

Student 16: P = 30 : 47 = 0.6383 x 100% = 63.83%

Student 17: P = 27 : 47 = 0.5745 x 100% = 57.45%

Student 18: P = 26 : 47 = 0.5532 x 100% = 55.32%

Student 19: P = 35 : 47 = 0.7447 x 100% = 74.47%

Student 20: P = 27 : 47 = 0.5745 x 100% = 57.45%

Student 21: P = 26 : 47 = 0.5532 x 100% = 55.32%

Student 22: P = 24 : 47 = 0.5106 x 100% = 51.06%

Student 23: P = 34 : 47 = 0.7234 x 100% = 72.34%

Student 24: P = 24 : 47 = 0.5106 x 100% = 51.06%

Student 25: P = 21 : 47 = 0.4468 x 100% = 44.68%

Student 26: P = 23 : 47 = 0.4894 x 100% = 48.94%

Student 27: P = 23 : 47 = 0.4894 x 100% = 48.94%

Student 28: P = 22 : 47 = 0.4681 x 100% = 46.81%

Student 29: P = 23 : 47 = 0.4894 x 100% = 48.94%

Student 30: P = 21 : 47 = 0.4468 x 100% = 44.68%

73

Student 31: P = 19 : 47 = 0.4042 x 100% = 40.42%

Student 32: P = 22 : 47 = 0.4681 x 100% = 46.81%

Student 33: P = 30 : 47 = 0.6383 x 100% = 63.83%

Student 34: P = 23 : 47 = 0.4894 x 100% = 48.94%

Student 35: P = 31 : 47 = 0.6596 x 100% = 65.96%

Student 36: P = 21 : 47 = 0.4468 x 100% = 44.68%

V. Text 6 (An Unforgettable Experience)

P = f x 100% P = Percentage N = Number of item (40)

N f = frequency of the right answer

Student 1: P = 36 : 40 = 0.90 x 100% = 90%

Student 2: P = 29 : 40 = 0.725 x 100% = 72.5%

Student 3: P = 34 : 40 = 0.85 x 100% = 85%

Student 4: P = 32 : 40 = 0.80 x 100% = 80%

Student 5: P = 28 : 40 = 0.70 x 100% = 70%

Student 6: P = 31 : 40 = 0.775 x 100% = 77.5%

Student 7: P = 26 : 40 = 0.65 x 100% = 65%

Student 8: P = 30 : 40 = 0.75 x 100% = 75%

Student 9: P = 30 : 40 = 0.75 x 100% = 75%

Student 10: P = 38 : 40 = 0.95 x 100% = 95%

Student 11: P = 40 : 40 = 1 x 100% = 100%

Student 12: P = 29 : 40 = 0.725 x 100% = 72.5%

Student 13: P = 28 : 40 = 0.70 x 100% = 70%

Student 14: P = 34 : 40 = 0.85 x 100% = 85%

Student 15: P = 26 : 40 = 0.65 x 100% = 65%

Student 16: P = 39 : 40 = 0.975 x 100% = 97.5%

Student 17: P = 27 : 40 = 0.675 x 100% = 67.5%

Student 18: P = 37 : 40 = 0.925 x 100% = 92.5%

Student 19: P = 29 : 40 = 0.725 x 100% = 72.5%

Student 20: P = 27 : 40 = 0.675 x 100% = 67.5%

Student 21: P = 28 : 40 = 0.70 x 100% = 70%

Student 22: P = 37 : 40 = 0.925 x 100% = 92.5%

Student 23: P = 40 : 40 = 1 x 100% = 100%

74

Student 24: P = 36 : 40 = 0.90 x 100% = 90%

Student 25: P = 36 : 40 = 0.90 x 100% = 90%

Student 26: P = 38 : 40 = 0.95 x 100% = 95%

Student 27: P = 31 : 40 = 0.775 x 100% = 77.5%

Student 28: P = 31 : 40 = 0.775 x 100% = 77.5%

Student 29: P = 35 : 40 = 0.875 x 100% = 87.5%

Student 30: P = 32 : 40 = 0.80 x 100% = 80%

Student 31: P = 34 : 40 = 0.85 x 100% = 85%

Student 32: P = 35 : 40 = 0.875 x 100% = 87.5%

Student 33: P = 32 : 40 = 0.80 x 100% = 80%

Student 34: P = 33 : 40 = 0.825 x 100% = 82.5%

Student 35: P = 33 : 40 = 0.825 x 100% = 82.5%

Student 36: P = 35 : 40 = 0.875 x 100% = 87.5%

59

II. APPENDIX II THE CLOZE TESTS

Name : Class :

Fill in the Blanks With the Words Given in the Box!

JOHN’S ENGLISH TEACHER

When John was in the first year of Senior High School, he had to cope with a

very difficult problem. It was when he didn’t have the (1) to speak English

because he was (2) of making mistakes in vocabulary (3), pronunciation

and especially, sentence (4). To make thing worse, John was (5) so shy

and regarded as a (6) person. He ever said to Amin, his (7), that he didn’t

have a (8) to speak English because of those (9). Consequently, John

was not in the (10) for English lesson especially when the (11) asked him

for giving (12) or having presentation in (13) of the class.

One day, (14) was a new English teacher in John’s (15). Her name

was Mrs. Williams. Fortunately, this (16) English teacher was very caring and

(17). She was willing to give her (18) whenever John and his classmates

need some help (19) the difficulties with her lessons. She (20) that

she allowed her students to (21) their own cassettes and (22) to

English language songs (23) the lesson. In short, (24) John and his

classmates were (25) notes or doing assignment, they were also (26).

She divided the lesson (27) two sessions. In the (28) session, her

students studied (29) about English language in (30). Then, in the

second (31), she asked them to be active (32) by joining certain games

such as (33) or their favorite one. It was so much (34)! With a lot of

(35) time, instead of only theory, John could (36) change his mood

in learning English.

(37) English teacher was really able to (38) John’s spirit to learn

English (39). The way she taught her students was very (40). Her

students called her a hero.

hand mood structure into patient bravery well scrabble school play silent during that opinion due to effective gradually factors teacher general participants courage session theories there afraid fun basically new while usage taking boost entertained first classmate said practice listen front

60

Name :

Class :

Fill in the Blanks With the Words Given in the Box!

LIONS

Except for the tiger, lion is the largest member of the cat family. A lioness

(1) about three meters. The lion 2) over one meter tall at the

(3). He has long hair on his head, (4) and shoulders. The hair

here is (5) the mane. The lioness has no 6) and is usually a little

(7). When her cubs are (8), they are about size of domestic

(9). They have dark spots which (10) later.

Both the lion and the 11) hunt for food, usually at night. Like 12)

and cats, they can see well in 13) light. They hunt grazing animals, such as

14), zebras and antelopes. Unless they are very (15), most lions

do not (16) man or a large animal, such as a (17) or a hippopotamus.

Lions that are (18) a village may steal goats or 19) or calves. The

lion’s huge (20) open up to about thirty centimeters and can 21)

a medium-sized animal with one (22). The lion can run more than eighty

(23) an hour and jump over a (24)almost two meters high.

Lions sometimes (25) in groups. They work together to (26)

their prey. First, some of the lions (27). The others roar loudly and 28)

the grazing animal towards them. The (29) lions spring up and kill the

(30). When a lion hunts (31), it approaches the animal stealthily

and (32) on it.

You may see lions in a (33) or at a circus. In some zoos, they are

(34) in cages. Today in many zoos, you can (35) lions in a

small open place, free to (36) about as they please. They are (37)

from visitors by moats. At a circus, the trainer usually makes a lion get on a stool and

stand on its hind legs.

hide kilometers called find stands separated

neck hiding lioness near catch kill

jaws mane donkeys giraffe chase shoulder

hunt hungry barrier cats bite animal

alone smaller kept poor tigers zoo

wander buffaloes born pounces attack measure

disappear

61

Name :

Class :

Fill in the Blanks With the Words Given in the Box!

The ancient Romans are probably best remembered as fighters. (1)

was certainly one of their favorite (2). According to the legend, the

(3) of Rome was found by the (4) sons of Mars the God of

(5). The Romans were such (6) fighters that no one could

(7) them. As its height, the Roman Empire (8) from

Britain in the west to Persia in the (9), and from Germany in the north

(10) to Africa. The most famous Roman (11) were

soldiers- Agrippa and Hadrian, Mark Anthony and Julius Caesar; and the (12)

works of Roman literature describe many (13) these leaders fought.

Even in (14) time the most popular form of (15) in

Rome was battle between two (16) fighters called gladiators. These men

(17) each other with swords and (18). Usually one

gladiators killed the other. (19) also fought wild animals for the

(20) of the Roman crowds. Such (21) were called circuses,

and it was (22) said that “bread and circuses” were the (23)

two things the Romans needed to be (24).

But the Romans did not spend (25) their time fighting. They

were great (26). They built wonderful temples and public (27),

heated baths, and leisure centers, huge (28) to celebrate the victories of

their (29), and fine private houses, decorated with (30), fountain

and mosaics. Their ideas of (31) planning were very advanced. The

(32) they built were straight and (33). In many parts of

Europe, Roman roads are (34) in use.

During the four (35) and eighty years. When Rome was a

(36) (509-27 B.C.), the Romans developed (37) of

democracy and citizenship that were (38) in almost all other parts of the

(39) world. Later, when Rome became an (40), the

personality of the emperor (41) more and more important. The emperor was

often (42) a god, and the democratic ideas of the republic (43)

to disappear.

Finally the empire (44) too large. It was impossible to (45)

such a large area and, when the (46) of Rome joined together and

62

(47) it from all sides, the empire (48). But the Romans had

played a (49) important part in the history of (50). Without

them, the world today would be a different place.

strong ideas ancient still stretched

became enemies fell defend gladiators

twin east activities city generals

battles fought greatest professional unknown

builders squares only all attacked

fighting war resist successful empire

peace leaders sport spears civilization

entertainments often happy arches down

town hundred road republic amusement

considered grew began tremendously statues

63

Name :

Class :

Fill in the Blanks With the Words Given in the Box!

One day, Steve woke up in the morning and felt the morning sunshine across the

windows of his room. He (1) the stuff to support him to (2) his

hobby, cycling. After taking a (3), Steve got dressed and went to

(4). He took his lovely (5) that he named thunder. In a

(6), he was ready to pick up his (7), Matthew and Rico.

They intended to (8) the cycling tournament at their school the

(9) Saturday. So, they had been (10) every morning to

face the (11).

Unexpectedly, his mother came and (12) him to stay at home because

their (13) from Medan would come that (14). She asked

him to help his father (15) the house. She told Steve to

(16) it. Steve said that he didn’t (17) because he had made a

(18) to his friends. He resisted his mother’s (19) because

he really wanted to join the (20). Moreover, he didn’t want anyone to

(21) his hobby. His mother seemed (22) but did not say

anything.

His father (23) to the garage. He (24) to Steve and

allowed him to (25) what he wanted to do. He didn’t (26)

if Steve did not want to (27) because of this reason. As a (28),

Steve promised to clean the house after he (29) his activity. Steve agreed and

said that he (30) very sorry for leaving them (31) he had

promised his friends. He asked his parents’ permission and promised them to do the

duty after he finished the exercise.

promise cancel want to because stay

upset prepared interfere cycle bath

consequence friends felt following morning

garage day do clean practicing

second came join tournament command

family mind asked listened finished

decide

64

Name : Class :

Fill in the Blanks With the Words Given in the Box!

In 2003 we, the first grade students, made a five day living in Kalirejo, a

transmigration area in South Lampung. We were 212 students (1) together.

We left Jakarta for Lampung at (2) and our trip took about six hours.

(3) there, we were warmly (4). After a little talking, we were

(5) to our respective hosts. Every host (6) four to five students.

The transmigrants (7) a very simple life. Most of their (8) are

made of wood or (9), and only some are made of (10).

Living there, all of us (11) the transmigrants plow and fertilize the

(12), harvest cassava, rice, corn or other (13), or wash and feed

the (14). At home, most girls produced (15) crips, cassava cake

and fried (16). Though dirty, we were very (17) to help them since

the work was (18) and even strange for us. It is (19) for them

since to stay till (20). They go to bed at about 8 p.m. (21) of us,

they were willing to (22) until we asked them to (23) or they

taught us to play gamelan (24).

One morning, our courageous friend (25) up a ten metre coconut

tree to (26) coconuts. Unfortunately, just reaching about five metres, he

(27). He couldn’t continue his climb. We all (28) at him. But

the situation changed. (29) down, his face grew pale and said (30).

We were afraid he would fall (31). Then we encouraged him to climb down

(32) by inch. He followed our (33). It took ten minutes for him

to (34) the ground. Stepping on the (35), he said, “I won’t do such

a (36) thing again.” The host (37), “You’re really a patriot, boy”.

On the (38) day, we gathered with the (39) in front of the

sub-district (40) to say goodbye. We felt as if we had been a real big family.

ss

advice climbed down inch cattle sleep

last arriving commented hosts trembled looking

all houses midnight welcomed office reach

live corn bamboo soil taken accommodated

crops because chat happy bricks helped

unusual laughed pick night cassava new

music nothing ground foolish

65

Name : Class :

Fill in the Blanks With the Words Given in the Box!

World champion Valentino Rossi erased a 10-second time penalty to storm to

victory in the Australian MotoGP at the Philip Island circuit on Sunday.

The 24-year-old Italian Repsol Honda rider (1) his eighth GP of the

(2) and 58th overall to claim the 120 kilometer (3) by 5.2 seconds

from Italy’s Ducati (4) Loris Capirossi and American Honda (5)

Nicky Hayden.

It was Rossi’s 21st (6) podium result and came despite (7) a

ten-second penalty for passing (8) yellow flags early in the race.

(9) Giacomo Agostini has had a longer (10) in the premier

class with 22 straight (11) results during the 1967-1969 seasons.

Rossi, who (12) his third consecutive world title in Malaysia

(13) weekend, moved to 332 points, 75 points (14) of Spaniard

Sete Gibernau with (15) race left in Valencia, Spain, in (16).

Marco Melandri, Hayden and Rossi all (17) for the early lead and

Australian Troy Bayliss, (18) was also pressing, crashed out on (19)

four after touching a wet and (20) white line on the outside of the

(21) at the Honda hairpin.

The Ducati rider fell (22) and was knocked unconscious but medical

(23) said later he was suffering only (24) and slight

concussion. Bayliss was to have (25) checks in hospital later on Sunday.

On the (26) lap, Rossi passed Melandri at the (27) where

Bayliss came to grief, and not (28) the yellow flags was informed of a ten-

second (29) several laps later when he was (30) by three

seconds from Capirossi.

(31) he had to make up 10 seconds, Rossi (32) off like

a man possessed, taking the (33) 15 seconds ahead of Capirossi- but five

(34) in front on corrected time.

“I saw the (35) after nine or 10 laps and it said (36) 10

seconds and I didn’t (37),” Rossi said.

66

The joust for third (38) down to a last lap showdown (39)

Hayden and Gibernau, with the Spaniard (40) off an aggressive passing

move on one of the (41) parts of the circuit to hold on to second by

(42) four-hundredths of a second.

Repsol Honda had (43) riders on the podium with (44)

rookie Hayden looking like a (45) replacement for Rossi if the

(46) champion decides to change (47) for next season.

The championship-leading trio of Rossi, Gibernau and Max Biaggi, who

finished 17th and was almost lapped, cannot be displaced from their standings heading

into the final race at Valencia.

fastest run corner worthy ahead heavily

flag who board last staff knowing

precautionary next racer rider leading went

diced seconds claimed penalty pulling between

only two slippery asphalt teams bruising

won race seeing understand under roared

just podium minus world one consecutive

season lap young incurring fortnight