THE CORRELATION BETWEEN READING INTEREST AND READING COMPREHENSION OF THE EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMP NEGERI 2 BLAHBATUH IN ACADEMIC YEAR 2021/2022

The objective of this study was to find out whether there is a significant correlation between reading interest and reading comprehension of the eighth-grade students of SMP Negeri 2 Blahbatuh in academic year 2021/2022. The design was correlational research design. The sample was 39 students. They were determined by means cluster sampling technique with paper rolls system. The result of the questionnaire and reading test showed that reading interest and reading comprehension was related each other. When the students had high interest in reading then their reading comprehension was good, while if the students had low interest in reading, then their reading comprehension was not good. Furthermore, the research instruments were made in order to collect the data needed. The data were analyzed by using SPSS 25.0 that consisted of normality test, homogeneity test, Pearson Product Moment and T-test. The result of normality test was 0.200; homogeneity for reading interest was 0.346 and for reading comprehension was 0.247; Pearson Product Moment was 0.630; and for the t-test was 24.988. The result clearly showed that there was a significantly correlation between students reading interest and students reading comprehension at the eighth grade students of SMP Negeri 2 Blahbatuh.