JIUBJ Jurnal Ilmiah Universitas Batanghari Jambi Jurnal Ilmiah Universitas Batanghari Jambi 23, 1 (2023): 698-704 DOI: 10.33087/jiubj.v23i1.2946 http://ji.unbari.ac.id/index.php/ilmiah 698 Improving Students’ Reading Comprehension Using Paired Reading Method Nihta V.F. Liando*, Claudya Wati Katiandagho, Rinny Rorimpandey Universitas Negeri Manado, Tondano, Indonesia *Correspondence e-mail: nihtaliando@unima.ac.id Abstract. This study was conducted in the purpose to find out whether the implementation of paired reading can improve students’ reading comprehension at SMP SATAP N.1 Beo Selatan or not. This research was delimited on the use of paired reading in teaching reading to students at SMP SATAP N.1 Beo Selatan, especially eighth grade students. More specifically, narrative texts were selected as the reading text taught during this research. The design is pre-experimental design with one group pre-test and post-test. Class 8A was one of the classes in the eighth grade of SMP SATAP N.1 Beo Selatan, the academic year of 2020-2021 who were the subjects of this research. The class A consisted of 30 students in all. In this research, the researcher used test of narrative text which consisted of 20 questions in form of objective test in form of multiple choice as the instrument to get the data. The data analysis proves that (1) the mean score of the post-test is 7.93 and the the mean score of pre-test is 6.63, and (2) the standard deviation of the pre-test data is 0.59 whereas the post-test data is 0.95. These results of data analysis confirm that the students’ reading comprehension improves after applying paired reading as the treatment. It shows that the use of paired reading is successful in improving the students’ reading comprehension. Since paired reading is effective to be used in improving students’ reading comprehension, English teachers are suggested to implement paired reading as a useful alternative for improving students’ reading comprehension particularly narrative texts. Keywords: Paired Reading; Reading Comprehension; Narrative Text; Junior High School INTRODUCTION Reading is a part of language skill which has important role in the learning process (Tatipang, Oroh & Liando, 2021). Reading is gaining messages from the text and interpretation (Harrison, 2004). In other words, reading refers to the being able to transform from the textual contents and understand the meaning informed in suitability. Tankersley (2003) defines reading as a complex process made up of several interlocking skills and processes. As also argued by Gordon Wainright (2007), reading skill is a complex process which comprises the successful or unsuccessful use of many abilities. Reading eventually is a grasping of thoughts, sets of activities performed by students and not only question answering process. It means that reading is seeking information from written contents and concepts belongs to the reader who has the main role in forming the meaning. The main purpose of reading is to find and obtain information, including the content and comprehension of the reading material. During classroom reading activities, teachers should use media to set reading goals (Van Den Broek & Espin, 2012). For students to successfully acquire knowledge, they must be able to use a variety of English vocabulary. Without mastering English vocabulary, it is impossible to have specific ideas in English. So when students were given a passage containing phrases that were assumed to have been taught in the past, they found the words remained difficult to understand. Some important reading skill strategies are making connections, visualization, organization, determining important information, asking question and monitoring comprehension (Moosr, 2010). What is needed, therefore, is an appropriate method for teaching English (Liando, 2009). Snow (2002) conceptualized reading as the process of simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning through interaction and involvement with written language. Regardless of its complexity, reading is very important for students who are learning foreign language. Reading is ranked as the number one skill that English as a foreign language (EFL) students’ wish to gain mastery (Grabe & Stoller, 2019). Students can understand written information they couldn't discuss orally with the same