Hard File Skripsi-Tahta

Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 38

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS ON READING DIGITAL

STORYBOOK “LET’S READ”: EFL JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL


CONTEXT

ARTICLE

By:
MAS AJENG FAHMA TAHTA
18020084061

STATE UNIVERSITY OF SURABAYA


FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS
ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE DEPARTMENT
ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
2022
STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS ON READING DIGITAL
STORYBOOK “LET’S READ”: EFL JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
CONTEXT

ARTICLE

Presented to
State University of Surabaya
As partial fulfillment of the requirements
For the degree of Sarjana Pendidikan

By:
MAS AJENG FAHMA TAHTA
18020084061

STATE UNIVERSITY OF SURABAYA


FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS
ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE DEPARTMENT
ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
2022

i
APPROVAL SHEET

This is to certify that the following article titled “Students’


Perceptions on Reading Digital Storybook “Let’s Read”: EFL
Junior High School Context”, written by Mas Ajeng Fahma Tahta
(18020084061) has been thoroughly checked and fulfilled the
requirements for the examination before the Board of Examiners.

Surabaya, 10 June 2022


Advisor

RirinPusparini, S.Pd., M.Pd.


NIP 197605212003122001

ii
BOARD OF EXAMINERS’ APPROVAL SHEET

iii
iv
MOTTO

Never regret a day in your life. Good days give happiness, bad
days give experiences, worst days give lessons, and best days give
memories ♡

v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In the success of this article, I would like to thank to:


1. Prof. Dr. H. Nurhasan, M.Kes., as the rector of State
University of Surabaya.
2. Dr. Trisakti, M.Si., as the Dean of Languages and Arts Faculty.
3. Dra. PratiwiRetnaningdyah, Ph.D., as the Head of the English
Department.
4. Ahmad Munir, Ph.D., as the Head of English Education Study
Program.
5. RirinPusparini, S.Pd., M.Pd., SuviAkhiriyah, S.Pd., M.Pd.,
and Yuri Lolita, S.Pd., M.Pd., as the Board of Examiners.
6. Eva Rahmawati, S.Pd., M.Pd., as theAcademic Supervisor
who always guides the writer from the first semester to the
end.
7. Participants from SMPN 25 Surabaya, for the time,
opportunity, and willingness to participate in this research.
8. Those who stand by me through ups and downs.

Surabaya,10June, 2022

Mas Ajeng Fahma Tahta

vi
DEDICATION SHEET

This research article is dedicated to:


1. The sake of Allah, my Creator and my Master,
2. Nabi Muhammad SAW (May Allah bless and grant him)
who taught us the purpose of life,
3. My dear father, M. Ng. MoektiRahardjo who has been nicely
my supporter until my research was fully finished. He is the
one who taught me the value of hard work,
4. My beloved mother, Marwiyah, for months past, has
encouraged me attentively with her fullest and truest
attention to accomplish my work with truthful self-
confidence,
5. Mysister, Mas Ajeng Putri Tiara, who has been a constant
source of support and encouragement during my journey. I
hope that you can reach your dream dek<3,
6. Me, Myself, thank you for your hard work and sleepless
nights ta. Finally, you made it!
7. All of the EXO members♡, D.O., Chanyeol, Sehun, Suho,
Baekhyun, Kai, Chen, Xiumin, and Lay. They are my lover
among countless people. A four-leaf clover that I found by
luck,
8. My closest friends, Selvia, Sylvia,Nilam, and Azmi who
always cheered me up since I was in my freshman year.
They never left my side and support me throughout
myentire college student life. They are my best cheerleaders,
9. My mentor, Mr. Mariyono, S.Pd., for his guidance in
conducting the research. I hope that you are always healthy,
sir,

vii
ABSTRACT

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS ON READING DIGITAL


STORYBOOK “LET’S READ”: EFL JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
CONTEXT

Name : Mas Ajeng Fahma Tahta


NIM : 18020084061
Study program : S-1 EnglishEducation
Department : English Department
Faculty : Language and Arts
University : State University of Surabaya
Supervisor : RirinPusparini, S.Pd., M.Pd.

Reading is one of the important English skills that students need


to absorb new information and strengthen existing memories. This
study aims to determine students' perceptions after reading the
English digital storybook "Let's Read" during online learning. This
study involved 25 students from 9th grade Junior High School
consisting of 12 boys and 13 girls. The researcher used a qualitative
study using open-ended questionnaires and semi-structured
interviews to collect the data. The results showed that most
students positively perceived that "Let's Read" is an engaging and
portable website. Regarding sensations and feelings, it shows that
"Let's Read" is easy to use and makes students feel happy to read.
Regarding experiences, students are familiar because the
illustrations are unique. "Let's Read" affects students' motivation
to be active in reading to reach their dreams. Students' difficulties
come from internet connections and challenging vocabulary. To
solve the problem, students download the story and use google
translate
Keywords: Students’ Perceptions, Reading, “Let’s Read”

viii
ABSTRAK

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS ON READING DIGITAL


STORYBOOK “LET’S READ”: EFL JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
CONTEXT

Nama : Mas Ajeng Fahma Tahta


NIM : 18020084061
Program Studi : Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris
Jurusan : Bahasa dan Sastra Inggris
Fakultas : Bahasa dan Seni
Universitas : Universitas Negeri Surabaya
DosenPembimbing : RirinPusparini, S.Pd., M.Pd.

Membaca merupakan salah satu keterampilan bahasa Inggris yang


penting untuk menyerap informasi baru dan memperkuat ingatan
yang ada. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui persepsi
siswa setelah membaca buku cerita digital bahasa Inggris “Let's
Read” selama pembelajaran online. Penelitian ini melibatkan 25
siswa kelas 9 SMP yang terdiri dari 12 laki-laki dan 13 perempuan.
Peneliti menggunakan jenis penelitian kualitatif dengan
menggunakan instrumen kuesioner terbuka dan wawancara semi
terstruktur untuk mengumpulkan data. Hasil penelitian
menunjukkan persepsi positif bahwa “Let's Read” merupakan situs
web yang menarik dan portabel. Persepsi siswa berdasarkan aspek
sensasi dan perasaan menunjukkan bahwa “Let’s Read” mudah
digunakan sehingga siswa merasa senang saat membaca.
Berdasarkan aspek pengalaman, siswa merasa familiar karena
ilustrasi cerita yang unik. “Let's Read” terbukti mempengaruhi
motivasi siswa lebih giat membaca untuk mencapai impiannya.
Kesulitan yang di hadapi siswa yaitu koneksi internet dan

ix
kosakata sulit. Untuk mengatasi masalah tersebut siswa
mengunduh cerita dahulu dan menggunakan google translate.
Kata Kunci: PersepsiSiswa, Membaca, Let’s Read

x
TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER .....................................................................................................i
APPROVAL SHEET ............................................................................. ii
BOARD OF EXAMINERS’ APPROVAL SHEET ............................ iii
DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP ................................................ iv
MOTTO .................................................................................................. v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................... vi
DEDICATION SHEET ....................................................................... vii
ABSTRACT ......................................................................................... viii
ABSTRAK ............................................................................................. ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................... xi
LIST OF APPENDICES ...................................................................... xii
INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................1
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ...........................................................6
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS ...........................................................8
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS .............................................18
REFERENCES.......................................................................................20
APPENDICES .......................................................................................22

xi
LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix 1.Questionnaires Guideline.............................................22


Appendix 2.Interview Guideline………………………………….24

xii
INTRODUCTION

Reading is an English receptive skill that students need to


repair concentration, expand their minds, and provide creative
ideas (Alsalem, 2018). At present, reading has an important role in
daily life. When students often spend time reading news or
articles, indirectly, it will upgrade their knowledge about what is
happening and gain more information about technology, science,
and various other useful topics (Chen Hsieh, 2021). Reading is
significant for students to understand various texts and negotiate
the meaning (Park, 2018). Reading is also necessary to achieve
successfully study in school and in the future in different
situations.
Nowadays, the way how to read has changed a lot from
reading through paper-based to technological platforms. It shows
that digital book has become significantly used for learning
purposes, and digital book may reduce paper usage to protect the
environment (Lin et al., 2019). This transformation affects every
aspect of the process of teaching-learning, especially reading
activities. Students who traditionally read books using paper-
based adapt to the current world's changes so they do not get left
behind in the era of digitalization (Lin et al., 2019). Digital books
have wide varieties, such as electronic books designed in 3D to be
read online or printed books that display the text on the screen
without pictures or animations (Goodwin et al., 2020). According
to Rajeh et al., (2020), digital books, online books, or textbooks are
more reasonably priced. It minimizes cost and relieves students
from bringing thick storybooks. They can easily download
storybooks from digital platforms or websites like
https://letsreadasia.org/.
“Let's Read” is a digital storybook platform that allows
students to read in every condition (Ermerawati, 2019). It was
developed by The Asia Foundation to make the process of online
activities during the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic more
effective and fun. The platform collaborates among local writers,
illustrators, and editors to create high-quality storybooks, develop
more chances for Asian students to have enough or even more

1
reading exposure using their cellphone (Ermerawati, 2019).
Meantime, parents and teachers can collaborate on using “Let's
Read” to facilitate literacy activities at home. More than 200 digital
storybooks with various genres and levels were selected to support
children's literacy development. There are also local stories
presented in the “Let's Read” collections. It will help readers gain
important topics such as equality, diversity, and the environment
(Ermerawati, 2019). The platform also has some features that paper
books do not have, such as reading lists, videos, and reading aloud.
It can be a good platform as an alternative for teachers to teach
reading to students. Students will be able to choose their digital
storybook of the many genres available on the platform. There are
some functions that students can use from the “Let’s Read”
features:
1. Search for books by theme, level of reading ability, and
popularity.
2. Students can add books to their “Favorites”, share them
with friends, or save them offline.
3. Download videos
4. Create a reading list to help students more easily find the
books they choose for a variety of purposes.
5. Find resources for download that can help develop further
understanding and use of the library
6. Find resources that help writers, illustrators, and
publishers develop quality books for students to read

The story's theme in the digital story is appropriate for


students in junior high school, exclusively for the 9th grade. In this
study, students read the narrative text in the genre of folktales. The
theme of folktales is suitable with Indonesian government decree
no. 37, specifically basic competencies 3.7 and 4.7 (Kemendikbud,
2018). The objective of basic competencies is essential to limit
students understanding of the learning materials. Over than that,
students must apply in their daily life capably, masterly, and
responsibly. It will increase students' cognitive domain
knowledge, polish talents, readability, and capability. Students

2
will learn about the narrative text and read the story through the
"Let's Read" digital storybook.
Many studies have focused on the use of digital book as a
technology tool to create a convenient reading activity during the
process of teaching learning. One of which is found in research
from (Lin et al., 2019), he compares the use of paper book with e-
book to know students reading fluency level. The researcher uses
e-book-based detection system to know students’ accuracy in word
decoding and how far students will automaticity recognizing
words. The result shows a significant correlation between e-book
and paper book based on accuracy, word count, and reading rate.
E-book is used as a touchscreen technology to pointed the words
while students use finger to pointed the words in paper book
through speech-to-text.
Reading upgrades students’ confidence, preferable
learning, and support their goals in the future. Ermerawati (2019)
explores the application of “Let’s Read” in extensive reading
classes using MALL (Mobile Assisted Language Learning) and
Task-Based learning. The researcher wants to seek the study
because some classes have limited English storybooks. Then, the
researcher used “Let’s Read” as a technology tool in the regular
reading activities combining tasks that require students to
experience pre-task, interactive tasks, and weekly task-based. The
result indicates that there is an improvement in expose students
that can help them to have a good English proficiency in the future.
Reading through digital books give an opportunity for
students to experience and build reading habits gradually. Ivone,
Francisca & Jacobs, George & Santosa, (2020) explore the use of
“Let’s Read” as a technology tool for students to create their books.
The researchers use particular websites such as “Literacy Cloud”,
“Let’s Read”, “Story Weaver”, “Story Jumper”, and “Story Bird.”
In this study, those platforms use Information and Communication

3
Technology (ICT) as a sample for students to produce their books
in dialogue with teachers and peers. Students need to collaborate
with their peers to expand ideas, dialogue, text, and visuals. In the
end, students will receive feedback from teachers and friends.
They also need to respond about it, sharing and storing the result
of their book in the classroom. This study shows that students’
books will give the experience to produce apprehensible output.
The current study concentrates on students’ perceptions
after reading the English digital storybook. Perception is one of the
student’s voices in the classroom. Two theories argue about
perception: top-down and bottom-up processes. According to the
top-down theory from Gregory (1974), humans need the sense of
organs such as the eye, ear, and nose to accept information from
the atmosphere. Gregory (1974) suggests that perception
implicates numerous hypotheses testing to deliver the information
served to the sense organs. He thought human perceptions are
hypotheses built upon past experiences and stored data.
Perception is a hypothesis from prior knowledge or actively
developing our perception of reality from our surroundings.
Meanwhile, Gibson (1969) states about bottom-up theory that
perception is direct and does not refer to hypothesis testing. There
is sufficient information in our circumference that is reasonable for
the world naturally. He clarified that sensation is a perception
same as what you see and what you get. There is no demand for
processing (interpretation) the information we obtain about size,
condition, and space, or anything more detailed to associate
directly with the environment around us. One way to achieve this
study is through reading narrative text stories about folktales from
the “Let’s Read” digital storybook. Few recent studies have
investigated about reading related to the reading fluency, digital
storybook as an ICT (Information and Communication
Technology) for students to produce their own book creation,

4
extensive reading classes using MALL (Mobile Assisted Language
Learning) and Task-Based learning. Yet, there is still lacking study
talk about student’s perception after reading “Let’s Read” digital
storybook relate to the basic competencies mainly for reading in
EFL Junior High School Context. Therefore, this study aimed to
know students' perceptions on reading digital storybooks by using
“Let’s Read”. The findings of the study will be useful information,
especially for teachers in junior high school to achieve the learning
goals stated in the curriculum. This study seeks to answer the
question of “How is the student’s perception of using the digital
storybook “Let’s Read” in their academic life in terms of:

a. Students’ sense and feelings when they read the English


digital storybook.
b. Students’ experiences when they read the English digital
storybook.
c. Students’ challenges when they read the English digital
storybook.
d. Students’ motivations when they read the English digital
storybook.

5
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The research was designed as interpretive-descriptive


qualitative research to reach the goal because the study gives a
result without numerical data. Creswell (2001) defines qualitative
research as a way to investigate and understand individuals and
groups, meaning considering social human issues or problems. A
qualitative study supports the researcher in gathering data from
students and classroom activities. The participants are 9th-grade
junior high school students aged 15-16 years old. In this study, the
researcher took one class with 25 students consisting of 13 girls and
12 boys who frequently used the digital storybook "Let's Read" as
a learning media in the classroom. The study was conducted in a
Junior High School in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia. The
researcher chooses the level of Junior High School because "Let's
Read" provides a colorful appearance and illustration that is
appropriate for students in junior high school groups. Students in
the level of Junior High School still have a habit of reading a book
that consists of many pictures. It will boost their curiosity and
motivation about what is happening in the book's story after
reading the storybooks in level 5 with the title "Sunkeshi: The
Princess with Golden Hair".

The data in the study are the results of students' perceptions


after reading the digital storybook "Let's Read", such as reader-
response and reports from questionnaires and interviews. The
instruments in this study are questionnaires and interview
guidelines. The researcher conducts an open-ended questionnaire
and semi-structured interview to answer the research question.
The researcher uses a semi-structured interview to get further
elaboration from the students' answers during the interview. After
the reading activity is complete, the researcher distributes a
questionnaire containing questions about how they feel when

6
reading digital books. Then, semi-structured interviews were
conducted with several students to support the questionnaire data.
The data analysis is collected using three stages from Ary et al.,
(2014). The first stage is familiarizing and organizing to
categorize the data from participant responses (Raw Data) by the
preferred results or categorize them into some groups. The second
stage is coding and reducing to reduce the long explanation into
short by making it easier to read by looking at the codes and
spotting the data with colors. The third stage is interpreting and
representing to interpret the data and then relate it to the theories
that have been chosen. In this study, the researcher adopts
questionnaire questions from (Deny, 2012) which consist of 13
questions and the participants’ should answer in the form of a
single word or a short phrase. Meanwhile, the interview questions
were adopted from (Sariay, 2017). It consists of 12 questions to
explore the students' feelings after reading the digital storybook
and their experience in reading English material.

7
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Results

1. Students’ sense and feelings when they read the English


digital storybook “Let’s Read”
The questionnaire results reveal that after reading the digital
storybook "Let's Read," most students sense the website is easy to
use. It showed that 25 out of 25 students’ sense that the use of the
website is convenient and straightforward to use. The illustrations
make the story easier to read. The story's genre, length, and
language choice make the readers grasp the story more accessible.
After reading the digital storybook "Let's Read, "most of the
students felt very happy, happy, fun, calm, and confident after
reading "Let's Read." The story has a light plot with not too much
conflict and is a simple and exciting story. The vocabulary is
suitable to read with friends and for all ages, especially Junior High
School students, and helps students learn English through reading
activities. However, only a few felt ordinary when reading the
digital storybook "Let's Read." The results of the interview section
supported the questionnaire result that those students felt happy
while reading "Let's Read." The answers above indicated that
students prefer to read the digital storybook "Let's Read" rather
than the paper book. Students felt that the website was flexible,
portable, saved money, and helped them learn English skills better
than reading paper books. It happened because students can read
digital storybooks everywhere and every time without any burden
feelings, and they do not need to come to the library during this
pandemic situation. Sometimes, students also sense that reading
through paper is saturated because the book is filled with the script
and fewer illustrations, sometimes printed in black and white,
blurry, and not clear. In the results below, students also reveal that
the illustration, the appearance, font, and color influence how they

8
understand the story. Students are interested in the website's
appearance, and they can choose the theme of nude, black, or white
while reading the digital storybook. They can also choose the font
size that can fit their eyes. Most of the students said that the
website's color is soft and makes their eyes comfortable while
reading it. Students also like reading through digital storybooks
because it helps them learn English. It was definite that reading
digital is way more interesting in terms of the illustration, the
appearance, and the use of the website itself.

Figure 1. The Appearance of Figure 2. Filter Option

“Let’s Read”

9
Figure 3. The Cover Page Figure 4. The Theme and Font Size

Figure 5. The Story Page

10
2. Students’ experiences when they read the English digital
storybook “Let’s Read”
The questionnaire results showed that students experience
differently from one another when reading "Let's Read." Based on
their experience, it showed that all of the students understood the
story plot of “Sunkeshi: The Princess with The Golden Hair." It was
proof from their answer to the questionnaire that 25 out of 25
students could re-tell the story in short with their own words
correctly. The way students re-tell the story in the questionnaire is
also suitable with the Indonesian Government Policy no. 37 / 2018
in terms of students can grasp the meaning of social functions, text
structure, and elements of narrative text. Most of the students can
re-tell the story with different words but the same meaning that
the story talks about a princess who was kidnapped by the monster but
managed to escape and marry the prince. Related to the student's
perception of the digital storybook "Let's Read," students
experience that the unique value of "Let's Read" comes from the
portable of the website. The website is practical; no need for heavy
storage on a cell phone or laptop. The website is also beneficial to
use at any time and any place.
It is supported by the result of interviews that all of the
students explain that they are familiar with "Let's Read" because
the website is easy and convenient. Students thought that the
story's illustration boosts their imagination about the plot. They
can imagine what the characters look like and the story plot in their
mind. They also thought that the illustrations were eye-catching.
Students' experiences are familiar with the website "Let's Read"
features such as filter options, language choices, categories,
reading levels, and downloads are easy to understand and use.
Students prefer to read the genres such as action, horror, family,
friendship, adventure, art, and music. Most students have no
experience reading another digital storybook based on the result.

11
Still, there are also a few students who have experience reading
another digital storybook such as Webtoon. They experience that
both Webtoon and "Let's Read" seem similar but are different. The
difference comes from the appearance because Webtoon is directed
to look like a comic.

3. Students’ challenges when they read the English digital


storybook “Let’s Read”
Reading through "Let's Read" has proven many
advantages to the students' reading process. However, despite
presenting many advantages, several students also faced
challenges when reading "Let's Read." The questionnaire results
reveal that most students perceive fluent and peaceful and do not
find any problems. Nevertheless, 3 out of 25 students find it
challenging to deal with complex vocabulary, internet problems,
and pronounce the words. It is supported by the result of
interviews when the researcher asked three questions related to the
student's challenges when reading the digital storybook "Let's
Read." The result represented that most of the students did not face
any difficulty understanding the story and using the "Let's Read"
website. It means that they have been able to use the website
features well and comprehend the story well. Meanwhile, students
usually overcome the problem of internet connections by
downloading the digital storybook in the form of a pdf, using
"google translate" to translate complex vocabulary, and using
“google translate voice” to help pronounce the words.
4. Student’s motivations when they read the English digital
storybook “Let’s Read”
Students' motivation is essential to maintain their interest
in reading. The questionnaire results showed that all students
pointed out that reading an English digital storybook gives a
significant improvement. "Let's Read" encourages students'
motivation to reach their dreams, increases reading interest and

12
fluency in reading, enhances vocabulary, and improves English
skills cause the language choice makes the readers grasp the story
more accessible. 20 out of 25 students said that reading English
digital storybooks helps them boost their motivation to reach their
dreams, such as studying abroad and being a doctor in the future.
They believe that reading a book can be an encouragement for
them always learn and learn more. They assure that reading books
can add insight that they did not know before.

Students claim that they will read "Let's Read" several


times based on the result. Most of the students said they would
read 2-5 stories or 2-4 books 2-3 times every week. Some students
said they would read several times and regularly every week,
while others said that they would read when they had free time in
a week. The results above support the interviews that "Let's Read"
can be beneficial for students to boost their motivation in reading
English digital storybooks. It showed that Reading through "Let's
Read" is necessary to improve and expedite students' reading
skills. It is also significant in helping students become fluent in
learning English, especially in reading, improve English skills, find
new vocabularies that they never knew before, and help them
reach their own goals through learning English. Students thought
that their reading skills should be sharpened every time so that
their vocabulary becomes broader and more accustomed to
reading stories in English. Students also believe that reading an
English digital storybook through "Let's Read" undoubtedly
improves their reading process. They believe that they can be more
competent in English when they learn it regularly. They also assure
that reading regular English will gradually help them master
English correctly and not randomly.

13
Discussion

1. Students’ perceptions based on sense and feelings


The findings explain that students directly sense that "Let's
Read" is an accessible website. They also felt very happy, normal,
calm, and confident because they were influenced by the
illustration, appearance, font, and color.Rajeh et al., 2020
definessensation as a kind of perception because it starts with
analyzing sensory inputs such as appearance (what the website of
"Let's Read" looks like). It supports the theory presented by Gibson
(1969) that perception starts with the stimulus, and what you see is
what you think. Based on the theory, sensation is a kind of
perception because it starts with analyzing sensory inputs such as
appearance (what the website of "Let's Read" looks like).
Processing is implemented in one guidance from the retina to the
visual cortex, with every chronologic stage in the visual lane
executing an actual further elaborate analysis of the input. The
website's illustration, appearance, font, and color influence
students' retinas in how they can say that they are interested, very
happy, easy, and straightforward.
Moreover, the findings are also suitable with the study by
Ivone, Francisca & Jacobs, George & Santosa, (2020) that
technology is utilized to support the process of teaching-learning.
Nowadays, technology offers students and teachers many avenues
to read a book digitally, especially in this era with the future
foretelling that people will rely more and more on technology,
such as during the emergency times of the COVID-19 pandemic. It
proves that those technology features in the website that the paper
book does not have will help students read a book better.
2. Students’ perceptions based on experiences
Regarding experiences, students' have a previous idea
about what the website looks like when they hear the title "Let's
Read." It happened because students' expectations influence their

14
previous knowledge and the information available in their minds.
Students' answers to the first interview question, "What comes to
your mind when you hear about "Let's Read," showed that their
previous idea influenced their thought. When they hear the
website's title, "Let's Read," they already have something in their
mind that the website is about reading, and there are a lot of books
on the website. Wu, 2014defines human perception as the prior
knowledge that human can predict and learn to be better.Gregory
(1974) supported that perception requires information from past
experiences or stored knowledge to conclude what we have
viewed. Students' answers to the first interview question, "What
comes to your mind when you hear about "Let's Read," showed
that their previous idea influenced their thought. When they hear
the website's title, "Let's Read," they already have something in
their mind that the website is about reading, and there are a lot of
books on the website. Their previous idea or memory influenced
it; when they hear about "Read," it means that they will read
something. A few students also have previous knowledge about
the digital storybook because they have experience reading other
digital storybook such as Webtoon.
Moreover, the outcome also appropriate as supported by
Lin et al., (2019) that reading using digital book help students to
understand the story better. In his study, students use digital books
to control the reading process and adjust the words' size. It
supported the data that students can re-tell the story in their own
words based on their experience and understanding of the story
itself.

3. Students’ perceptions based on challenges


The study showed that a few students faced challenges
after reading the digital storybook "Let's Read," such as internet
connection and complex vocabulary in a sentence or paragraph.

15
Those challenges above suits the study of (Goodwin et al., 2020).
In their study, it is known that students' challenges in reading
might happen influenced by factors such as content, length, and
complexity of the story. For the first challenge, it is better when
students download the story in pdf form so they can easily read it
both in online and offline situations. The second challenge happens
because sometimes students felt hard to break down when finding
complicated word meanings that they had never known before for
the third challenge. It can lead to a different understanding of the
story plot. Therefore, students use "google translate" to overcome
the problem.
4. Students’ perceptions based on motivations
Students' who motivated to read the English digital
storybooks will assist better English proficiency, English fluency,
and encourage to reach their dreams.Park, 2018states that
motivation can be affected with the circumstance or condition
around there. If the environment good, it will boost their
motivation to learn better and vice versa. It also suits with Gibson
(1969) theory that what you see is what you get.Students felt well-
motivated to read digital English storybooks because the website's
appearance was good. It affects their mood when reading the book.
They become interested because every page in the book illustrates
the storyline. Students' answers in the interview indicated that
several elements influenced their motivation in reading. Most of
them said that reading English motivated students to reach their
goals in the future. They want to be a doctor, students exchange to
study abroad, and fluent in English. It supported the study of
Ermerawati (2019) that was reading through Let's Read as a MALL
(Mobile Assisted Language Learning) effectively allows students
to increase their motivation and help them have a good English
proficiency for careers in the future. It establishes the exposure in
learning English, especially in the era of digitalization, to provide

16
reading sources in a digital way that can impress students'
motivations to read more. Students believe that regularly reading
is necessarily needed to improve their competence. If the students
can do it a habit to read several books within a week or every week,
their reading ability will improve significantly. It is related that
nowadays, mastering English is an important skill to find a job.

17
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

The research results of this study indicated that “Let's


Read” has proven to be a helpful website and learning media since
it positively impacts students' ability to be more active in reading
storybooks. Students' perceptions begin from their sight when
viewing the appearance of the “Let's Read” website, which goes
through seeing, touching, feeling, and receiving something. Then,
they select, organize, and interpret the information received into a
description that means. Students become more interested in
reading built upon several aspects: colorful illustration and theme,
convenient font and size, lots of varieties, and unique story plot
and characters. It also proved that reading the English digital
storybook “Let's Read” helps students gain new vocabularies that
they never knew before. The phenomenon of this site is not only
influenced by observations but also influenced by past
experiences. The perception only applies to themselves and not to
others because basically everyone's perception will be different
from one another. “Let's Read” is a useful teaching material that
teachers can use to create reading activities in the classroom under
lesson plans and essential competencies. The use of “Let's Read”
can innovate the teaching-learning process with the current
conditions, where school activities are combined with face-to-face
and online distance learning. Distance learning using “Let's Read”
website will be effective because students are happy with fun
reading activities and do not feel bored. Even if a few challenges
were faced, reading an English digital storybook through “Let's
Read” still can be afforded for the students.

18
Suggestion

There are several suggestions for the betterment of further


research in the future. Schools have to upgrade students' reading
facilities and hold training for students and teachers when
implementing the new application, especially in the online reading
class, to maintain students reading interest so they can follow the
development of the technological era, familiar with the website
and not be left behind. For the teacher and educator, they can
develop the website “Let's Read” as a learning material in an
effective way. In this study, the teacher uses one of the stories on
the “Let's Read” website about the topic of narrative text, such as
the story Sunkeshi: The Princess with The Golden Hair. The
teacher can use other stories that relate to the topic to be taught.
For the other researcher who has conducted the same research
topic, it is suggested to observe other settings and preferably focus
on how to keep track of students' interest in reading digital
storybooks.

19
REFERENCES

Alsalem, M. A. (2018). Exploring Metacognitive Strategies


Utilizing Digital Books: Enhancing Reading Comprehension
Among Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students in Saudi
Arabian Higher Education Settings. Journal of Educational
Computing Research, 56(5), 645–674.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0735633117718226

Ary, D., Jacobs, L. C., Sorensen, C., & Walker, D. A. (2014).


Introduction to Research in Education (Ninth Edition).

Chen Hsieh, J. (2021). Digital Storytelling Outcomes and


Emotional Experience among Middle School EFL Learners:
Robot-Assisted versus PowerPoint-Assisted Mode. TESOL
Quarterly, 55(3).
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3043

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. W. (2001). Educational Research:


Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and
Qualitative Research. Null. https://doi.org/null

Deny. (2012). AN ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION


TOWARDS TEACHER IMMEDIATE ORAL FEEDBACK IN
SPEAKING AMONG THE EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS OF
SMPN 1 KALASAN IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2011/2012.
http://eprints.uny.ac.id/id/eprint/9137

Ermerawati, A. B. (2019). The Application of Let’s Read! in


Extensive Reading Class: Integrating MALL and Task-based
Learning. Mimbar Sekolah Dasar, 6(3), 317–329.
https://doi.org/10.17509/mimbar-sd.v6i3.20870

Goodwin, A. P., Cho, S. J., Reynolds, D., Brady, K., & Salas, J.
(2020). Digital Versus Paper Reading Processes and Links to
Comprehension for Middle School Students. American
Educational Research Journal, 57(4), 1837–1867.
https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831219890300

20
Gregory, R. L. (1974). Concepts and Mechanisms of Perception.
Duckworth.
https://books.google.co.id/books?id=JowQAQAAIAAJ

Ivone, Francisca & Jacobs, George & Santosa, M. (2020).


Information and communication technology to help students
create their own books the dialogic way.8(78), 91.
https://doi.org/10.33508/bw.v8i2.2545

Kemendikbud. (2018). Permendikbud 37 tahun 2018. Jakarta, 40–


41.

Lin, P. H., Su, Y. N., & Huang, Y. M. (2019). Evaluating reading


fluency behavior via reading rates of elementary school
students reading e-books. Computers in Human Behavior, 100,
258–265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.10.004

Park, H. R. (2018). Influences of reading online texts in Korean


English language learners’ cultural identities. Journal of
Educational Research, 111(4), 385–397.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2017.1284038

Rajeh, N., Al-qatawneh, S., Eltahir, M., & Althunibat, F. (2020).


Heliyon The role of academic electronic books in undergraduate
students ’ achievement in higher education. 6(November).

Sariay, M. (2017). Teachers ’ and students ’ perceptions of


multiple-choice and open-ended questions , along with the
GCSE system. Researc Gate, September.
https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.10395.77608

West, C. K., & Gibson, J. J. (1969). The Senses Considered as


Perceptual Systems. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 3(1), 142.
https://doi.org/10.2307/3331482

Wu, J. (2014). Gender differences in online reading engagement ,


metacognitive strategies , navigation skills and reading literacy.
1–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12054

21
APPENDICES

Appendix 1.

1. Questionnaires Guideline
QUESTIONNAIRES (Q)
A. Sense and Feelings
1. When you are reading an English digital storybook Q1
using Let’s Read, do you think that the website is
easier or difficult to read?
a. Easy b. Difficult Q2
2. Please explain the reason for your choice in number
1. Q3
…………………………………………………………
3. How do you feel when you are reading English Q4
digital storybook using “Let’s Read”?
…………………………………………………………
4. How likely are you to recommend reading the
English digital storybook “Sunkeshi: The Princess
with Golden Hair” using “Let’s Read” to your Q5
friends?
a) Very recommended
b) Recommended
c) Not recommended
5. Please explain the reason for your choice in number
4.
…………………………………………………………
B. Experiences
6. What makes you like reading a digital storybook Q6
using “Let’s Read”?
…………………………………………………………

22
7. What unique value is from reading an English Q7
digital storybook using “Let’s Read for you”?
…………………………………………………………
After reading the story “Sunkeshi: The Princess Q8
with Golden Hair”, what do you know about the
story?
…………………………………………………………
8. After reading the story “Sunkeshi: The Princess
with Golden Hair”, what do you know about the
story?
…………………………………………………………
C. Challenges
9. What makes you didn’t like reading a digital Q9
storybook using “Let’s Read”?
…………………………………………………………
10. What has been the hardest part about reading Q10
digital English storybooks?
…………………………………………………………
11. Did you find any difficulties understanding the text Q11
with the title “Sunkeshi: The Princess with
Golden Hair”?
…………………………………………………………
D. Motivations
12. Do you think that by reading the digital storybook Q12
“Let’s Read”, your vocabulary master is improved?
How do you know?
…………………………………………………………
13. How many times will you read the “Let’s Read” Q13
book within a week? Do you think that if you read
this book often, your reading competence will
improve? How?
…………………………………………………………...

23
Appendix 2.

2. Interview Guideline
Interview questions
A. Sense and Feelings
1. What do you feel when you read English storybooks IQ 1
in a digital way or paperless?
…………………………………………………………
2. Would you please explain more your answer on IQ 2
google form what makes you like reading through
“Let’s Read”?
…………………………………………………………
B. Experiences
1. What comes to your mind when you hear about IQ 3
"Let's Read"?
…………………………………………………………
2. Are you familiar with using the website Let's Read? IQ 4
Why do you think so?
…………………………………………………………
3. Do you prefer to read it again or not? If you prefer IQ 5
to reread it, what kind of genre of the story that you
like?
…………………………………………………………
4. Do you ever read digital English books before “Let's IQ 6
Read”?
…………………………………………………………
C. Challenges
1. Have you experienced any difficulties in operating IQ 7
the tools when reading the “Let’s Read” storybook?
…………………………………………………………
2. Have you experienced any challenges reading IQ 8
English digital storybooks by using “Let’s Read”?
…………………………………………………………

24
3. How do you overcome this? IQ 9
…………………………………………………………
D. Motivations
1. Do you think that reading an English digital IQ 10
storybook is important to your reading skill?
…………………………………………………………
2. Do you think it helps to encourage the reading IQ 11
process?
…………………………………………………………
3. What can motivate you to be more active in reading? IQ 12
…………………………………………………………

25

You might also like