The Effect of Using Kwl (Know, Want, Learned) Strategy on...

THE EFFECT OF USING KWL (KNOW, WANT, LEARNED) STRATEGY ON EFL STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION ACHIEVEMENT By: Risnawati (Lecturer of English Department at IAIN Bengkulu) Abstract: There is a fact that most of the Secondary School students are still low in comprehending reading texts. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to see whether the use of KWL (Know, Want, Learned) strategy was effective in improving the students’ reading comprehension achievement in learning English as a Foreign Language. Non-equivalent groups pretest-posttest design was used in this study. The population was the eightth grade students of SMPN 4 Palembang in academic year of 2009/2010 with a total number of 326 students. Out of this†¦show more content†¦To read to learn effectively students need to integrate new material into their existing knowledge base, construct new understanding, and adapt existing conceptions and beliefs as needed. According to a study by Pearson, Rochler, Dole, and Duffy (1992) on â€Å"Developing expertise in reading comprehension†, a good reader usually using prior knowledge to make sense of new information; ask que stion about the text before, during, and after reading; draw inferences from text; monitor comprehension; use fix up strategies when meaning breaks down; determine what is important; and synthesize information to create sensory image. To encourage students to develop effective reading skills, there are various teaching and learning strategies that can be used by the teachers in classroom. Most of the teaching and learning strategies usually focus on a particular strategy or skill. KWL (Know, Want, Learned) strategy is one of teaching and learning strategies used mainly for information text (Ogle, 1986). Its aims are more diverse. It helps readers elicit prior knowledge of the topic of the text; set a purpose for reading; monitor their comprehension; asses their comprehension of the text; and expand ideas beyond the text. Ogle (1986) developed the strategy for helping students to access important background information before reading nonfiction. The KWL strategy (accessing what I kno w, determining what I want to find out, recalling what did