THE EFFECT OF TEACHING TECHNIQUES WITH GRAMMATICAL AND LEXICAL CHOSION EXERCISES ON READING COMPRENHENSION

The objectives of this study are to investigate whether teaching techniques
with grammatical and lexical cohesion exercises significantly affect reading
comprehension and which of these techniques the most signjficantly e,tTcctive is.
Quantitative approach was carried in experimental design. The second year students
of SMP Negeri 9 Padangsidimpuan of the second semester in the period of2004/2004
were taken as the samples of the study in cluster sampling with I 04 students divided
into three groups. The data were analyzed by means of statistical analysis by appJ:Ying
one-wJy ANOV A. The results of testing the tirst hypothesis shows that the Fo\
Jsen ed is greater than the F-table (3.91 > 3 09), while the second hypothesis shows
t!-:at the comparisons between the Scheffe Test value and F-table indicates that
grammatical cohesion exercises versus conventional textbook exercises is 3.5.8 >
3.09, grammatical cohesion exercises versus lex ical cohesion exercises is 0.28 < 3.09,
and the conventional textbook exercises versus lexical cohesion exercises is 1.89 <
3.09. On the basis of testing the hypotheses, the research findings show that ( I)
teaching techniques \>ith grammatical and lexical cohesion exercises signiticantly
affect reading comprehension (2) one of these techniques is more efTective than the
others, i.e., grammatical cohesion exercises is more effective than conventional
textbook exercises, and (3) the effect of grammatical and lexical cohesic\n exercises
do not differ significantly. Based on the research findings, it is concluded that
teaching techniques wit!·. grammatical and lexical cohesiop facilitate the students
reading comprehension. I