THE EFFECT OF COOPERATIVE INTEGRATED READING AND COMPOSITION (CIRC) ON STUDENTS` READING COMPREHENSION ACHIEVEMENT IN NARRATIVE TEXT

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of Cooperative Integrated Reading Composition (CIRC) on Students’ Reading Comprehension Achievement in Narrative Text. It was an experimental research. The population was students of Grade VIII, Junior High School (Sekolah Menengah Pertama) SMP Swasta Nasrani Belawan, which consisted of 50 students. The sample was divided into two groups: experimental and control groups. The instrument used to collect the data was reading comprehension test. To obtain the reliability of the test, the writer applied Kuder Richardon 21 (KR¬¬21). The result of the reliability was 0.831, and it was found that the test was high and reliable. The data were analyzed by using t-test formula. The analysis showed that the scores of the students in the experimental group were significantly higher than the scores of the students in the control group at the level of significant � = 0.05 with the degree of freedom (df) 48, t-observed value 2.930 > t-table value 2.011. The findings indicated that applying CIRC have significant effect on the students’ reading comprehension. It means that, English teachers are suggested to use CIRC in order to improve students’ reading comprehension achievement in narrative text.