USING THE SEMANTIC MAP STRATEGY TO DEVELOP READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS

AMONG YEAR 3 PUPILS IN A MALAYSIAN CLASSROOM

BY ;
SITI NURZULAIQA BINTI NOOR AZIZI
INSTITUT PERGURUAN GURU KAMPUS ILMU KHAS
ABSTRACT
The aim of this research is to ascertain that the use of the semantic map startegy has developed
pupils reading comprehension skills of finding main ideas and supporting details. A total of four Year
3 Cekap pupils were involved in this research. The pupils pre-test scores show that the pupils
struggled in reading comprehension task that hinder them from acquiring meaning from the reading
tet. The focus of this research is to help the pupils to develop reading comprehension skills. As
such! the use of the semantic map strategy is designed to meet this purpose. A few intervention of
reading comprehension lessons using semantic map were conducted. The data is collected from the
pre-test! post-test! formative test! o"servation and interview "efore and after the intervention. The
findings show that pupils reading comprehension skills have significantly developed and have
eventually helped them in acquiring meaning from reading tet after the intervention. #ence! this
reinforces the fact that using the semantic map strategy help pupils in developing reading
comprehension skills.
$ey terms% &emantic map! reading comprehension! main ideas! supporting details
1.0 INTRODUCTION
2.0
The role of reading comprehension skills is important in acquiring meaning from the reading text. A
reader comprehends a text by actively constructing meaning internally from interacting with the
materials that are read (Anderson and Pearson 1!"#. $esides that% reading is also a form of
communication where information and ideas are exchanged between writer and reader in the act of
communicating. &The writer expresses his thoughts on paper with language% using whatever skills and
styles he has developed personally' ((arris% 1!)#. *o% when the pupils read they will communicate
with the text and try to get the information that they need.
1.1 Refe!"#$% $% "e&!'#%( e)*e+#e%!e
Throughout my experience in teaching a +ear , class% - noticed that some of the students struggled
very hard to understand the reading text. They could not answer the questions asked orally about the
important information in the reading text. This situation indicated that they were not able to identify the
main ideas or supporting details of the text. .urthermore% when they were doing the reading
comprehension exercise% - found that the students /ust copied their friend0s answer and they simply
wrote anything in the spaces given. Apart from that% the students kept asking me to translate all the
reading comprehension questions into $ahasa 1alaysia. -t was probably because of their limited
exposure to the 2nglish 3anguage and lack of reading comprehension skills. -n addition% after -
marked their work% - found that most of the students were still unable to answer the reading
comprehension questions correctly. Thus% based on their performance in the exercise given% it was
clear that the students were unable to comprehend the reading text as they were weak in reading
comprehension skills of finding main ideas and supporting details. The +ear , 4ontent *tandards%
(5**6 document% 7)17# state that &$y the end of the 89year primary schooling% pupils will be able to
demonstrate understanding of a variety of linear and non9linear texts in the form of print and non9print
materials using a range of strategies to construct meaning'. This emphasises the importance of
reading comprehension in the 1alaysian 2*3 classroom.
1.2 Re&"e, "'e$+-. #"e+&"/+e
They were several theories related to this research which are the constructivism learning theory and
interactive reading model. 4onstructivism theory deliberates that the readers construct their own
understanding of the text based on their prior knowledge. This is related to the interactive reading
1
which focus eson the process of reading or the product of the reader0s interaction with the idea in the
text% or the reader0s background prior knowledge during comprehension (:rabe 11#.
2.0 RESEARCH 0OCUS
The problem faced by the students was that they could not answer the reading comprehension
questions given. Although the questions used were only at the basic level of understanding which
required them to identify the main ideas and supporting details. $esides% they also gave some
unnecessary answer when answering the reading comprehension questions that demonstrated their
understanding of the reading text. -t showed that they could not find the main ideas and supporting
details of the reading text. Thus% this made me curious to find the best strategy in improving their
reading comprehension skills to fulfill the expectation of 2nglish 4urriculum *tandard +ear , as pupils
are expected to demonstrate understanding of a variety of linear and non9linear texts in the form of
print and non9print materials using of the range of strategies to construct meaning.
3.0 OB1ECTIVES
To determine whether the use of the semantic map strategy help to improve reading comprehension
skills in +ear , pupils and the pupils0 perceptions towards the semantic map strategy in reading
comprehension.
2.0 TARGET PARTICIPANTS
The target participants involved in the research were " students from a year , class. - labeled them as
participant 1% participant 7% participant , and participant ". The makeup of the participant was 7 boys
and 7 girls and all of them are 1alays.
5.0 PROCEDURE O0 ACTION
The model used for this research is 5urt 3ewin0s model. The cycle consists of a series of steps which
includes identifying problems% planning% implementing and reflecting and it usually leads to a second
cycle% which incorporate improvements suggested in the first cycle.
5.1 D&"& G&"'e+#%( Me"'$,3
The similar data gathering methods were used in two cycles which included pre9test% post9test%
formative tests% observation% and interview.
4.2 P+e#5#%&+- I%6e3"#(&"#$%
- conducted a preliminary investigation to get better and specific information regarding the students
;reading comprehension problem. Thus% two data gathering methods were used which included
observation and document analysis. The observation showed that the students were unable to give
correct answers based on their responses in the reading class. The document analysis indicated that
the students did not understand the reading text which is reflected through the answers given in
reading comprehension questions.
4.3 A!"#$%3
$efore the intervention% a pre9test was administered to get information on the students0 initial
performance in reading comprehension skill. After that% the intervention was implemented over a
period of " weeks. -n the first cycle% - introduced the semantic map as the guidance in facilitating the
students in filling information about the text as they were not familiar with the strategy yet. $ased on
the result gathered from the first cycle% - revised the intervention and made improvement by changing
the level of the reading text whereby - use an advanced reading text and they filled the information in
the semantic map on their own. After the revision has been done% - implemented the second cycle of
the action research with the improvement made. <ext% again the students sat for the post9test and
were then interviewed.
4.2 0#%,#%(3
4.2.1 P+e7"e3" &%, *$3"7"e3"
The result gathered from the pre9test and post9test indicated that all students showed improvement in
their reading comprehension skills . Table 1 shows the percentage of the scores for each cycle. -n the
first cycle% ma/ority of the students scores in the post9test were moderate while in the second cycle%
most of the students scores also shows improvement. -n fact% two particular students achieved a
maximum of 1))= in the second cycle. This indicated that the use of semantic map strategy has
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helped the students to improve their reading comprehension skills in finding main ideas and
supporting details.
4.2.2 0$+5&"#6e Te3"
There is improvement also gathered through the formative test which was conducted after the
implementation of the semantic map for each session. The result in Table 7 indicated that the
student0s performance increased over the sessions. 1oreover% two particular students showed a
marked progression whereby they managed to obtain full marks in the third session compared to only
7 correct questions for first session which reflected the lowest scores.
4.2.3O83e+6&"#$%
Table , shows the improvement of the participants from *ession 1 to *ession ,. The participants
behaviour were analy>ed in terms of three criteria mentioned. -n terms of the first criterion% during
*ession 1% the average time that all participants used to complete the semantic map is between
minutes to 1) minutes. The faster time taken by the participants shows the improvement of
participants in answering the questions throughout every session.
N$ A!"#6#"#e3 P1 P2 P3 P2
S1 S2 S3 S1 S2 S3 S1 S2 S3 S1 S2 S3
1. -s the student able to complete the
reading comprehension questions in the
time given? (1) minutes#
8 @ A @ 1) 8 " 1) A @
2. -s the student able to complete the
semantic map correctly?
(" out of " boxes#
, , " , , " 7 , " 7 , "
3. -s the student able to answer all reading
comprehension questions given? (" out
of " questions#
, , " , , " 7 , " 7 , "
4.2.2.I%"e+6#e9
Table " showed the findings collected through a semi structured interview during 4ycle 7.This
interview was carried out to clarify participants0 perception on the semantic map strategy. -
interviewed the " participants to obtain the necessary data. $asically% the " participants comprised
those who achieved high marks and low marks in the test. The interview was conducted after the
administration of Post9Test. 2ach participant was interviewed for @ to 1) minutes approximately.
3
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5.3 C$%!/3#$%
-n conclusion% it is clear that the semantic map strategy is effective in helping the students to improve
reading comprehension skill of finding main ideas and supporting details. This is supported by Baid%
(1@# who said that% the pupils who use semantic mapping manifest considerable improvement
reading comprehension% written expression and vocabulary development. 1oreover% it develops
awareness of the purpose of reading whereby the students need to locate the main ideas and
supporting details in order to fill in the semantic map given. -t is crucial because it aids the students to
be
more focused on the specific parts of text for identification of main ideas and supporting details.
5.4 Refe!"#$%
$ased on my experience throughout the process of this study% there were strength and limitations
that can affect the finding of the research. .irstly% in terms of knowledge% - had learnt and acquired
a lot of experience and information regarding the process of conducting an action research. - had
learnt on how to conduct the action research in terms of identifying problems% collecting data and
analysing the findings. As a future teacher% this experience and knowledge would help me to
improve my professional development in school later. -n terms of the strength% it can be seen
based on the findings and the result of my participants in their reading comprehension skills of
identifying main ideas and supporting details. All the participants are able to improve their reading
comprehension using the semantic map strategy which enables them to increase their interest and
concentration in the reading class. -n term of weakness or limitation% this study could not be
generali>ed to describe larger 2*3 context. This is because% the findings are described and
discussed with close reference to the 2*3 classroom involved in this study. This is because only "
participants from +ear , class were involved in this study% which is also another reason of the
limitation% as it is not fair to generali>e this finding to the general 2*3 context.
6 SUGGESTION
This is certainly a topic that deserves further research. Therefore% in order to generali>e the result
for larger groups% the time should be extended and it should have involved more participants at
different levels. This study was only focused on the lower primary pupils which are +ear ,. -n this
sense% in order to determine the effectiveness of the semantic map strategy% - suggest that the
strategy be implemented at all primary school levels. This is because - would like to see whether
this strategy is applicable to all level of pupils in 1alaysia. -t is recommended that the semantic
map strategy should be exposed to the fullest to all level of pupils not only in the urban area but
also in a rural area. *econdly% the scope of this study was only limited to reading comprehension.
-t is suggested that in future research% the scope should be expanded and be implemented in
other skills namely three important skillsC writing% speaking and listening. $y making the scope
wider% - can get a clear view on the exploitation of the semantic map strategy not only in the
reading skill but also other skills.
62.262<42s
4
P&+"#!#*&%"3 E)!e+*" $f "'e #%"e+6#e9
P1 ; *emantic map helped me in getting idea and answered easily'
P2 ;hmmmmD. - understand better activate my background knowledge'
P3 &(aaaDDnow - can think well and get answered easily because of the
organi>ation of semantic map'.
P2 &hmmmmD get the more idea and more knowledge'
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