IMPROVING READING COMPREHENSION OF THE EIGHTH-GRADE STUDENTS OF SMP SILA DHARMA DENPASAR IN ACADEMIC YEAR 2022/2023 THROUGH SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION

Reading is a process of getting information and understanding the message of printed material. Preliminary research showed that most of the eighth-grade students at SMP Sila Dharma Denpasar in academic year 2022/2023 faced problems in reading comprehension especially identifying general information, specific information, textual meaning, and textual reference. Therefore, this research objective was to know whether or not reading comprehension of the eighth-grade students of SMP Sila Dharma can be improved through Small Group Discussion. Thus, to achieve the objective, the researcher conducted classroom action research which was done in two cycles. The research instruments, tests and questionnaire, were administered to collect the required data. The data were then analyzed by comparing the results of the pre-test and post-tests which showed there were significant improvements of the subjects’ mean score from the pre-test to posttests. As the supporting data, the questionnaire was also administered at the end of the last cycle and the results showed positive responses on the implementation of Small Group Discussion. Based on the results of the research instruments, it could be concluded that reading comprehension of the eighth-grade students of SMP Sila Dharma Denpasar in academic year 2022/2023 can be improved through Small Group Discussion.