ABSTRACT

Kesuma, IqrobiPerdana. 2019. A Descriptive Study on Reading Comprehension Ability of Eighth Grade Students of SMP Negeri 19 Banjarmasin in Academic Year 2018/2019.Sarjana’s Thesis. English Department, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, LambungMangkurat University Banjarmasin. The first advisor: Dr. RinaListia, M.Pd., the second advisor is Emma RosanaFebriyanti, M.Pd.

Keywords: Reading, reading comprehension, ability.

                        This study is aimed to find out the reading comprehension ability of the eighth grade students of SMP Negeri 19 Banjarmasin. This research using descriptive method and quantitative approach. The sample is 60 students. The instrument is using 40 multiple choice as test items.

                        The result shows that the eighth grade students’ reading comprehension ability is average. It can be seen by the highest percentage of the correct answer of the total subject 29 students (48,33%) are in average category and also by the mean score that is 64.20 which falls within average category.

                        It is suggested that the teacher should teach in various techniques and give various tasks to improve the students’ reading comprehension ability. Teacher should also encourage students to read and practice more.