37 IMPROVING THE STUDENTS’ READING SKILL THROUGH CLOZE PROCEDURE TECHNIQUE Hendra Eka Putra Program studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Negeri Batusangkar Korespondensi: Jl. Simpang Bendang No. 2 Tigo Tumpuak Lima Kaum Batusangkar e-mail: hendra_kadam@yahoo.com Abstract Lack of ability in comprehending English texts is students’ big problem nowadays. They fail in comprehending or grasping information from reading materials. As a result, their motivation decreases which in turn can inhibit their reading comprehension. In reading comprehension class, those difficulties faced by the students may be caused by many factors such as, reading materials, teaching method, media used and so forth. Related to the problem, cloze procedure technique can be used as an alternative technique for teaching reading. And, under the teacher’s supervision the students also can enrich their reading skill, even their English vocabulary through this technique. Kata kunci: reading, reading skill, cloze procedure, technique INTRODUCTION any teachers complain that most of language learners face difficulties in comprehending reading materials. They fail in comprehending or grasping information from reading materials, and cannot interact with the text. Consequently, they lose motivation, interest, and do not under-stand the ideas of what they read. The difficulties above may be caused by many factors, such as teach- ers, materials, teaching techniques, facilities, etc. Many kinds of experiences bring teachers to a perfect teaching. How teachers treat students as a group or as an individual in managing classroom situation is extremely important and affects the students’ achievement in learning. The material used should be well considered. It is supported by Eskey in Simajuntak (1988: 12) who declares that once reading material appropriate to the level and interests of particular students has been identified, the more of material that the students read, the better and the more quickly his reading will develop. Therefore, teachers should choose the materials which are relevant to the learners’ need and interest. In other words, they should be appropriate for the learners. Teaching techniques are usually implementational, and they take place in a classroom. It can be said that techniques depend on the teacher, his individual artistry, and on the compo- sition of the class. Particular problems can be tackled equally successfully by the use of different techniques. Actually, there are many kinds of techniques in teaching reading, such as teaching reading through Pictures, SQ3R, SQ4R, CALLA, Cloze Procedure, and other techniques in teaching reading. From the points discussed above, Cloze Procedure can be chosen as one of M