Social Constructivism-Based Reading Comprehension Teaching Design at Politeknik Negeri Sriwijaya

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating students’ reading comprehension achievement, vocabulary mastery, and social values among the third semester students at Computer Engineering, English, and Business Administration department of Politeknik Negeri Sriwijaya Indonesia. In this research, the writers used Research & Development (R & D) methodology. The purposive sampling included 3 high classes and 3 low classes consisting of 148 students. To collect the data, tests of reading comprehension and vocabulary were given and then statistically calculated with the paired-sample t-tests. Shapiro-Wilk test was used to the normality of data distribution. The findings indicated that the students in the high and low classes could significantly improve their reading comprehension achievement and vocabulary mastery. The students have also shown very positive moral values towards their friends such cooperative, respectful, responsible, and helpful and report that it has made their reading process more tangible and interesting. These results verify the efficacy of the social constructivism-based reading comprehension teaching design and the researchers recommends its application in Politeknik Negeri Sriwijaya.