Utilizing The Read-Arounds Strategy in Junior High School Students’ Dialogic Reading Activities

Abstract

Reading is a requirement for almost all academic pursuits, it is a crucial component of language learning, especially for students. When learning English, this is especially important. Students must be able to read comprehension in order to absorb the material they are taught. Readability issues with fluency are often seen in students who have trouble understanding a foreign language. There have been several studies on Dialogic Reading activities, but few have utilized group reading strategies during these activities. Therefore, this research aims to investigate students' responses to the use of read-arounds strategy in dialogic reading activities for junior high school students at one of the junior high schools in Karawang. Micro-ethnography method is employed in this study. To collect the necessary data, observation and interviews are conducted. Reflective journaling is also used to enhance data accuracy. The results reveal that using the read-arounds technique improves students' understanding and reading interest. based on their comments, which show that using the read-arounds method can benefit children in three points: (1) increasing their self-confidence; (2) motivating them to read in English; and (3) improving their vocabulary and pronunciation. It can be concluded that using enjoyable reading strategies can help students become more confident and reduce their reading anxiety.