Readability of the “science” textbook used by the first year of rsbi class of Smp Negeri 3 Pati In The 2009/2010 academic year

Oleh :
Indri Murwati - K2205037 - Fak. KIP

ABSTRACT The objective of the study is to identify the readability of a Science textbook used by the first year of RSBI class of SMP Negeri 3 Pati.The research was conducted in the first year of RSBI class of SMP Negeri 3 Pati. The sources of the data cover document and informants. The data were collected through interview, cloze test, and document analysis. In analyzing the qualitative data, the researcher used interactive model analysis including data reduction, data display, and drawing conclusion. To analyze the quantitative data, the researcher plotted the result of the fry graph estimation formula in the fry graph and classified the result of cloze test to the classification made by the expert. The result of the research shows that the Science textbook used by the first year of RSBI class of SMP Negeri 3 Pati is not readable for the students. The textbook is not readable because of the difficulties in sentence patterns, words choice, and lexical density. The sentence patterns used in this textbook are difficult for the students. The sentences used are complex, compound, and compound-complex sentences. The sentence pattern used in this textbook is too complex for the students because they have not taught the compound, complex, and compound-complex sentence pattern yet. This textbook also contains some difficult and unfamiliar words that the students do not understand whereas those words influence in comprehending the whole texts. The unfamiliar words are the specific or technical terms relate to Science, which are different from ordinary English The lexical words used in this textbook are also too dense. This textbook uses too long sentences for the 12-13 year-old students in which the textbook is for the 18 year-old level. There are too many words in the sentences. Too dense texts make the students frustrated, not motivated and are difficult to understand. The unreadable condition becomes barrier for the students in achieving the material in this textbook. Nevertheless, it is possible for the students to understand the textbook if the teachers provide careful guidance in the reading by developing readiness, helping with the new concept and unfamiliar vocabulary, and providing reading purposes to aid comprehension. After analyzing the data and making a conclusion, the researcher suggests that the teachers should give more guidance to the students in using the textbook that is not readable for the students, and the students should improve their vocabulary and grammar mastery to support them in exploring their understanding of the textbook written in English.