IMPROVING STUDENTS' READING COMPREHENSION THROUGH PANEL DISCUSSIONS

Reading comprehension is the act of understanding a text. While the definition can be simply stated, the act is not simple to teach, learn or practice. Reading comprehension is an intentional, active, interactive process that occurs before, during and after a person reads a particular piece of writing. This paper deals with the use of panel discussions technique in teaching reading comprehension. The population of this study was the 2015/2016 grade XII students of SMA Swasta Bina BersaudaraMedan. The total number of population of the study was 60 students which consist of 2 classes. The sample of the study was 60 students. The sample classes were divided into two groups, namely the experimental group that was taught by applying Panel discussions Technique, and the control group that was taught through lecturing. The data were taken by administering the pre-test and post-test to both of experimental and control groups. The test was taken and selected from the National Examination test items that were related to the kind of discussion text. The data were analyzed by using t-test formula at the level of significance a (0.05) = 1.669 with the degree of freedom (i:l1) = 65. It was found that the t-observed was
higher than t-table (t-observed= 4.93> t-table = 1 .669; a = 0.05). Thus, Panel discussions Technique
significantly improves the students' achievement in reading comprehension.