Improving Reading Comprehension Through Know – Want - Learned Strategy Among Tenth-Grade Students at SMK Muhammadiyah Jember

Abstract

Reading comprehension is one of the most important skills in learning English. Many students still find it difficult to fully understand what they read. This happens because they often lack vocabulary and have no clear strategy for reading. This research aimed to drive the improvement of reading comprehension using the Know-Want-Learned (KWL) strategy. Conducted through Classroom Action Research (CAR), the study was implemented in two cycles involving 19 students of tenth-grade at SMK Muhammadiyah Jember. Each cycle consisted of planning, acting, observing, and reflecting stages. Data were collected through observations, and reading comprehension tests. The findings revealed that students' average reading scores increased from 57.6% in the preliminary study to 64.6% in Cycle 1 and finally to 76.1% in Cycle 2. The findings show that the KWL strategy effectively helps students improve their reading comprehension by encouraging them to recall what they already know, ask meaningful questions before reading, and reflect on what they have learned after engaging with the text. Furthermore, it encouraged students’ active participation, and improved their their reading scores. This study concludes that the KWL strategy is a useful tool in improving reading comprehension, particularly in understanding descriptive texts within the EFL context.  Future researchers are also encouraged to try this strategy with different kinds of texts or in different school settings to see how well it works in other situations.