Abstract
This Research and Development (R&D) aims at developing English reading materials for undergraduate EFL students of Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Raden Fatah Palembang, Indonesia. Research data were obtained through questionnaires, tests, and documents. The results of the research show that the existing materials are not relevant to the students’ need, so there is a need for developing new materials based on whole language principles. In general, the new developed materials are considered reliable by the experts, students, and lecturers. The materials are also effective in improving students’ reading achievement. The final product of the materials consists of a course book entitled Whole Language Reading (WLR) and a teacher’s manual. WLR provides rich input of reading strategies, variety of topics, concepts, texts, activities, tasks, and evaluations. Using this book makes reading more holistic and meaningful as it provides integration across language skills and subject areas.
Highlights
Reading is an important part of a person's English language proficiency
100 students from four different Reading IV classes of English Education Study Program at Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Raden Fatah Palembang and 3 reading instructors participated in filling out the questionnaire for need analysis of English reading materials. 15 students and 3 reading instructors participated in small group field testing of new developed materials. 32 students and 2 reading instructors participated in large group field testing. 68 students (34 in control group and 34 in treatment group) and 1 reading instructor participated in the experiment to test the effectiveness of the new developed materials in improving students’ reading achievement
The students required reading materials that provide explanation of (1) variety of reading strategies and guidelines in applying the strategies, tasks associated with the use of each of the strategies in a pre-reading activities, whilst reading activities, and post reading activities, (2) various types and genres of texts such as informative, exposition, procedural, descriptive, argumentative, narrative, and persuasive texts, and various genres of texts, academic essays, newspapers, magazines, short stories, biographies, poems, and play scripts. (3) various text topics, which are important and closer to their daily lives, especially the topics of environment, water, human body, health, electricity, pollution, plants, garbage, air, soil, disaster or natural phenomena, (4) learning activities, which are closely related to their difficulties in reading English texts
Summary
Reading is an important part of a person's English language proficiency. Readers must be able to use a variety of reading strategies appropriately, access the meaning of vocabulary accurately, access their knowledge of English grammar, and draw upon their background knowledge and relate it to the materials they are reading. Reading instructors face the challenge of teaching the students the skills needed to be successful readers. They need to develop appropriate materials for teaching reading because instructional materials serve as the basis of the language input and language practice for the students Numbers of research publications in various countries show the power of instructional materials in facilitating students in language learning Numbers of research publications in various countries show the power of instructional materials in facilitating students in language learning (Tomlinson & Masuhara, 2010, p. 1)
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