Implementing Reading Instruction on Recount Text in Kurikulum Merdeka: A Preliminary Action Research Study Grade 8th at SMPN 44 Palaran
Keywords:
classroom action research, cooperative learning, EFL, junior high schoolAbstract
This research was conducted to assess the implementation of reading teaching in a Grade 8 English classroom at SMPN 44 Palaran, Samarinda, East Kalimantan in the context of Kurikulum Merdeka. During the reconnaissance phase of the Classroom Action Research (CAR), a qualitative descriptive technique was used. Non-participant classroom observation and a semi-structured interview with the English teacher were used to collect data. The results show that the reading teaching is in a task-based sequence where students are guided from the exposure to the text to the worksheet activities (LKPD) without scaffolding vocabulary and discussions about meaning. Many students refused to read aloud, stating incapacity or lack of confidence, and only participated after the teacher encouraged and supported pronunciation. The Modul Ajar and LKPD curriculum texts organize learning objectives around the four language skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking) without explicitly addressing vocabulary, which leaves pre-reading scaffolding out. The teacher admitted struggles with student motivation and time management in the 80-minute lecture. These results provide a diagnostic framework for constructing a CAR intervention to include vocabulary scaffolding in recount text reading instruction.
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