CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Problem

Reading is one of the most important skills in learning English. Reading is

also that the main emphasis of the four skills such as listening, speaking, reading, and

writing is reading because it is believed that acquisition of reading in a second or

foreign language is priority.

Reading is the great thing in life because it is a factor of great importance in

the individual development and the most important activity at school. It is needed in

every level of field of study. In this cases, the students have to read english materials

for their own special subject.

Moreover, reading is understood as a more complex process than simply

decoding the written words in a text. It means that reading is a process to get the idea

or information from the text. In reading, the students should understand each

paragraph of the text.

Furthermore, reading skill should be mastered by the students who have

started from elementary school up to university level. For University students

especially, through reading, they should acquire new ideas, obtain needed

information, and seek supporting for ideas. They can also get the message that the

writer had expressed.

1
 Generally, the goal of teaching reading at university level is essentially aimed

at preparing the student to be able to read English. They will understand and

encounter this skill in their lives. The students have to be able to get the meaning of

the text through reading comprehension.

Reading comprehension is the process to understand and extract and construct

meaning of written materials simultaneously. It means that reading comprehension is

a process in which the students are able to identify a large number of word or to get

the meaning of the text. In reading comprehension, there are three components that

should be known by students. The components are: topic, main idea, and supporting

details.

Furthermore, the use of appropriate strategy of reading comprehension

depends on types of English material. There are several kinds of English materials

such as newspaper, magazine, English text book, and one of them English short story.

Short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often narrative format.

Short story is as the same as a novel but it is shorter than novel. Short story is

normally applied to works of fiction ranging in length from one thousand to fifteen

thousand words. To comprehend the short story there are six components that should

be mastered by students: (1) a setting is described or imagined, (2) characters mean

who have unique traits, and who change, (3) an event is the story moving (the

problem, the conflicts, and realization), (4) the development of the story, (5) climax,

(6) ending.

2
 Among six components of short story above, setting is one of the components

that should be mastered by the students. To know setting in short story, the students

have to know four elements of setting in short story. The components are: (1) the

actual geographical location, (2) the occupations and modes of day to day existence

of the characters, (3) the time in which the action takes place, (4) the religious, moral,

intellectual, social, and emotional environment of the characters.

Related on the explanation above, based on the researcher observation at the

third year students of English department of FKIP UMMY Solok, who have learnt

prose, the researcher distrusting many students does not comprehend about setting

and also all of components of setting. For more clear of this problem, the researcher

assigned small test for the students to know their ability in identifying setting of short

story. The researcher gives two short stories to 15 students. According the result of

the small test, the researcher found that there are some problems that faced by the

students.

First problem is lack of vocabulary. Vocabulary is one of important elements

in English; to comprehend the text the students have to have enough vocabulary. So,

in identifying setting in English short story, the students confused to comprehend

that.

Second, the students are lack of knowledge about setting. To comprehend the

English story the students have to know what is setting, because setting can help the

students getting the point of the story.

3
 Next, the students are difficult to identify some elements of the short story;

one of them is in identifying setting. Since setting has some elements, but the students

do not know that elements. Finally, the students are lazy to read. May be because the

students read the English story and also limited of vocabulary, there are some

students think reading is one of bored activity.

Based on the problem above, in this research the researcher tries to analyze

students’ ability in identifying setting of English short story at the third year of

English Department of FKIP UMMY Solok in 2012/2013 academic year.

B. Identification of the Problem

Based on the background of the problem above, there are some elements of

short story that have mastered by the third year of English Department students of

FKIP UMMY Solok. They are: first, setting is the time and location a takes place. In

identifying the setting in short story, the students are difficult to identify place, time,

the condition of the short story, and the atmosphere generally. Second, plot is how the

author arranges the events to develop the basic idea. In identifying plot of the short

story, the students do not understand kinds of plot that the author uses in the short

story. Third, conflict is essential plot. In case, the students do not know kinds of

conflict. Without conflict there is no plot in the short story. Fourth, characters are the

person in a work of fiction; antagonist and protagonist. Since the students are lack of

vocabulary, the students get difficulties to differentiate between antagonist character

4
and protagonist character. The last, point of view is defined as the angle from which

story told.

C. The Limitation of the Problem

Related to the identification of the problem above, there are five elements of

short story. The elements are: setting, plot, conflict, characters, and point of view.

Since there are five elements of short story, it is impossible for the researcher to

conduct a reseach for all of short story’s elements and based on the result of small test

given before, the students do not understand in identifying setting; the reseacher will

choose setting in short story, because setting is very important element in short story.

Without setting the students can not understand about time, gographical location,

religious, moral, intelectual, social and emotional of the character in short story, and

make the students difficult to identify setting in shor story.So, setting is very

important in short story, and the reseacher limited the problem on the thrid year

English Departement students in identifying setting in short story.

D. The Formulation of the Problem

Based on the limitation of the problem above, the problem is formulated as

follow: “How is the third year of English Department students’ ability in identifying

setting in short story in 2011/2012 academic year?”

5
E. Research Questions

Based on the formulation of the problem above, some research questions should

be proposed as the following:

1. What is the ability level of the third year of English department

students’ ability in identifying the actual geographical location in short

story in 2012/2013 academic year?

2. What is the ability level of the third year of English department

students’ ability in identifying the time in which the action takes place

in short story in 2012/2013academic year?

3. What is the ability level of the third year of English department

students’ ability in identifying the religious, moral, intellectual, social,

and emotional of the characters in short story in 2012/2013 academic

year?

F. The Purpose of the Research

The purposes of the research are:

1. To describe the ability level of the third year of English department

students’ ability in identifying the actual geographical location in short

story in 2012/2013 academic year.

6
 2. To describe the ability level of the third year of English department

students’ ability in identifying the time in which the action takes place

in short story in 2012/2013 academic year.

3. To describe the ability level of the third year of English department

students’ ability in identifying the religious, moral, intellectual, social,

and emotional of the characters in short story in 2012/2013 academic

year.

G. The Significance of the Research

The results of this research are expected to be beneficial for: first, teacher and

lecturer. The results are useful for the teacher / lecturer as information to know

his/her students’ ability in identifying setting in short story. This information can be

useful as a consideration to improve the teaching quality and to increase students’

ability.

Then, the results are useful for the students as information to know their ability

in identifying setting in short story. So, the students can improve their ability. Third,

the result of this research might become a reference for other researchers who want to

conduct the further research on the similar problems, by using another design, such as

experimental or classroom action research to develop the students’ ability.

7
H. The Definition of the Key Term

1. Reading comprehension ability is the ability of English Department students

of FKIP UMMY Solok to comprehend the English text.

2. Short Story is kind of story that should be read by the third year students of

English Department of FKIP UMMY Solok in that consist of one thousand

to fifteen thousand words.

3. Setting is defined as place, time weather condition, social condition, or

mood/atmosphere the time and location; it is should be mastered and

understand by the third year students of English Department of FKIP

UMMY Solok.

8
 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

A. Reading Comprehension

Reading is the process to get an idea or information from the written language.

According to Harris and Sipay (1980) reading is meaningful interpretation of printed

or written verbal symbols. It means reading is a result of the interpretation between

the perception of graphic symbols that present language and the reader’s language

skills and knowledge of the words.

Moreover, Leu and Kinzer (1987) say that reading is interactive and that the

reader somehow processes that printed stimulus to gain meaning implies that all of

the knowledge that the reader already has can be used in the attempt to comprehend

symbols. It means reading is a language activity the language and language related

skills already in a person’s knowledge base are key factors in understanding and

interpreting what is read.

Furthermore, according to Mitchell in Clapham (1996)

Reading can be defined loosely as the ability to make sense of

written language or printed symbols. The reader uses the
symbols to guide the recory of information from his or her
memory and subsequently uses this information to construct a
plausible interpretation of writer’s message.

Then, Brown (2001) says that reading ability will be developed best in

association with writing, listening and speaking activity. He also says that reading as

9
a component of general second language proficiency, but reading must be considered

only in the perspective of the whole picture of interactive language teaching.

In addition, according to Snow (2002) reading comprehension as the process

of simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning through interaction and

involvement with written language. In the other word, the words of extracting and

constructing to emphasize both the importance and insufficiency of the text as a

determine of reading comprehension.

Based on theories above, it can be concluded that reading comprehension is

the process to get the meaning in the text, so that the reader can interpret the

information and can the meaning of the writer to write the text.

B. Short Story

1. Definition

Short story is kinds of fictions that shorter than novel. It is also theme driven

system of presenting character and events and then causal relationship.

According to Kuesnosubroto (1988) short story is the essences of economy,

consisting of approximately 2000 words but length is not the sole criteria for a short

story. It means that short story will normally concentrate on a single event with only

one or two characters, more economically than a novel’s sustained exploration of

social background.

10
 Moreover, Howthorn says that (1989) short story is normally read at one

setting, and also typically limits itself to a brief span of time, and rather than showing

its characters developing and maturing will show at some revealing moment of crisis

whether internal or external. It means that, short story rarely have complex plots,

again the focus is upon a particular episode or situation rather than a chain of events.

Furthermore, Henstey (2000) states that short story should include setting

details woven into the text, development of at least one character through the

character’s words, thoughts, and actions and through the words of other characters

and/or the writer, a problem, resolution, conclusion, snapshots, though shots, and the

dialogue.

In addition, according to Meantrath (2003) in short story there are some

characteristics: (1) A short story is a piece of prose fiction which can be read at a

single setting; (2) It ought to combine objective matter-of-fact description with poetic

atmosphere; (3) It ought to present a unified impression of tone, color, and effect; (4)

It mostly shows a decisive moment of life (which can entail a fatal blow); (5) There is

often little action, hardly any character development, but get a snapshot of life; (6) Its

plot is not very complex (in contrast to the novel), but it creates a unified impression

and leaves with a vivid sensation rather than a number of remembered facts; (7) There

is a close connection between the short story and the poem as there is in both a unique

union of idea and structure; (8) There is a limited set of characters, one single action

and a simple plot; (9) A short story very often has an open/abrupt beginning and an

open or surprise ending; (10) A short story is restricted to one setting only.

11
 According to Kuesnosubroto (in Meria 2010) short story is the essences of

economy, consisting of approximately 2000 words but length is not the sole criteria

for short story. A short story will be normally concentrate on a single event with only

one or two characters, more economically than a novel’s sustained exploration of

social background.

Based on the theories above, it can be concluded that short story is kinds of

the fiction and have less words than the novel. It means that, in short story there is the

single event that told by the writer. Short story is shorter than the novel, but in short

story also has basic elements, consist of characters, setting, plot, conflict, and theme.

2. Kinds of Short Story

There are many kinds of the short story. According to Risky (in Hendra,

2006) there are four kinds of short story. They are: first, dilemma of human story is

events that difficult situation in which one has to choose between two things.

Dilemma is situation which one has to between two undesirable things or courses of

action. This type of story tells about problem that happened in the story. When

determine of choose two difficult things.

Second, story of crime detection is events that offence for which there is a

punishment by law. Crime is offence for which one may be punished by law such

offence; law breaking, and then foolish or immoral act. It means that story about

criminal, in which criminal in the great number. Poor people will get insult from

which person has power and change.

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 Third, story science fiction dealing with future scientific discoveries,

imaginary worlds, space travels or lives on other planets. It is discusses about the

result of experiment. After doing something for increasing education will get new

thing from experiment. So, it gives contributes toward science and education.

Fourth, story of science non-fiction is writing describe invited people and

event, real one and statement that are true. It means that story just imagination not

real object and something.

Moreover, Howe (in Rini, 2003) says that there are three kinds of short story.

They are: (1) Some move according to slick or pat formula, often with a surprise

ending; (2) More serious are those that seek to reflect moment of experience a slice or

life in realistic ways; (3) Then there is a symbolic short story, which tries to

communicative a vision of existence through, and direction.

Based on the theories above, it can be concluded that the kinds of short story

are dilemma of human, story of clime detection, story if science fiction and story

science non-fiction, surprise ending, and tool communication.

4. Elements of Short Story

According to Engramja (2008) there are five elements of short story. The

elements are:

a. Setting

Setting is the time and location in which a story takes place. There are

five parts in setting: (1) place is where the action of the story taking place

13
 (geographical location); (2) time is when the story taking place (historical

period, time of day, year, etc); (3) weather conditions are rainy, sunny, stormy,

etc); (4) social condition is the daily life of the character’s like or local color

(speech, dress, mannerisms, costumes of a particular place); (5) mood or

atmosphere is what feeling is created at the beginning of the story (bright and

cheerful or dark and frightening).

b. Plot

The plot is how the author arranges event to develop his basic idea. It is

sequence. It is sequence of events in a story or play. The plot is a planned story

usually has one plot so it can be read in one setting. There are: (1) introduction;

(2) rising action; (3) climax; (4) falling action; (5) Denouement.

c. Conflict

Conflict is essential of plot. Without conflict there is no plot. Conflict is

not merely limited to open arguments; rather it is any form of opposition that

faces the main character. There are two types of conflict. They are: first,

external conflict is a struggle with a force outside one’s self. Second, internal

conflict is a struggle within one self; a person must make some decision,

overcome pain, quite their temper, resist an urge, etc.

d. Character

There are two meaning of characters. First, person in a work of fiction;

antagonist and protagonist. One character is clearly central to the story with all

major events having some importance character him /her antagonist is the

14
 protagonist character. Second, the characteristic of a person is the information

the author gives about the characters themselves.

e. Point of view

Point of view is defined as the angle from which the story told. There

are several parts in the point of view:

1. An innocent eye there is told through the eyes of a child (his/her

judgment being different from that of an adult).

2. Steam of the conscious means the story is told so that the reader feels

as if they are inside the head of one character and know all their

troughs and reactions.

3. First person is the story bold by the protagonist or other characters.

4. Omniscient is the author can narrate the story using the omniscient

point of view; omniscient limited and omniscient.

5. Theme is controlling idea or its central insight. It means the author’s

underlying meaning for main idea that he is trying to convey.

Based on the explanation above, this research, the researcher only focuses in

Setting.

C. Setting

Setting is the surroundings or environment of anything. According to Kenney

(1966) setting is everything that happens somewhere at some time. It also that

15
elements of fiction which reveals to the reader the where and when of events. It

means that setting is the point in time and space at which the events of the plot occur.

Kenney (1966) also says that there are four elements of setting. They are:

first, the actual geographical location, including topography, scenery, even the details

of room’s interior. Second, the occupations and modes of day-to-day existence of the

characters. Third, the time, in which the action takes place, e.g. historical period,

season of the year. The fourth, the religious, moral, intellectual, social, and emotional

environment of the characters.

Furthermore, according to Kennedy (1991) setting of the story is time and

place, its can prompt characters to act, bring them to realization or cause them to

reveal their inmost natures. Moreover, Desvalini (1999) says that setting is general

located, historical time, social circumstances in which its occur, writers describes the

world they know, its sight and sounds, its color, texture and accent.

According to Hendry (2008) setting is the time and place in which happens.

Authors often use description of landscape, scenery, buildings, seasons or weather to

provide a strong sense of setting. Setting is the psychological time or place in a story.

It means that setting plays important role in the success of story.

Based on the theories above, it can be concluded that setting is the important

parts in a short story. That includes that time and place that happen in the story.

Without setting the reader cannot learn of the common ignorant human behavior

when it comes to survival in an indifferent environment. Setting can be in a house, a

street, a city, a region, hour, year, or century.

16
D. Relevant Studies

There some relevant studies that have conducted by other researchers, the

first, the study that had been conducted by Hendra Putra (2007) with the title

“Students’ Ability in Comprehending an English Short Story”. His research was

designed to know the ability of the third year students of English Department of

Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Negeri Batusangkar. His research is a descriptive

research. As the result, he found that students’ ability was moderate.

Second, the study that had been conducted by Rita Febrianti (2005) with the

title “An Analysis of Students’ Listening Ability in Comprehending English Short

story”. Her research was designed to know the ability of the third semester students of

English department of Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Negeri Batusangkar. Her

research was descriptive research. As the result, she found that students’ listening

ability in comprehending English short story was very poor.

Next, the study that has been conducted by Lisa Handayani (2009) with the

title “An Analysis of the Ability of the Third Year English Students of Bung Hatta

University in Comprehending Narrative Text”. Her research also descriptive

quantitative research. Her research was designed to describe the ability of the third

year students of English Department of Bung Hatta University in comprehending

lexicogrammatical features of narrative text. As the result, she found that the ability

of the third year English students of Bung Hatta University to comprehend

lexicogrammatical features of narrative text was moderate.

17
E. Conceptual Framework

Reading is one of important skills in English. It is also one of skills that

should be mastered by learners in each level. One of the processes of reading is

reading comprehension. Reading comprehension is the process to get the meaning in

the text. One of the materials that can be used to measure students’ reading

comprehension is English short story. To comprehend the short story the students

have to know and have to understand the elements of short story, one of them is

setting. There are four elements of setting. First, the actual geographical location,

including topography, scenery, even the details of room’s interior. Second, the

occupations and modes of day-to-day existence of the characters. Third, the time, in

which the action takes place, e.g. historical period, season of the year. The fourth, the

religious, moral, intellectual, social, and emotional environment of the characters. In

this research, the researcher, will be try to describe the third year of English

Department students’ ability in identifying setting in English short story.

18
 Problem in reading English
short story

Setting :

 Geographical location
 Character
 Action takes places
 Religious, moral and social
character

Students’ ability in identifying setting

19
 CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHOD

A. Design of the Research

This research was a descriptive research it was to describe the third year of

English department students’ ability in identifying setting in English short story. Ary

(1985) says that a descriptive research is designed to obtain information concerning

the current status of phenomenon. In addition, Gay (1987) states that descriptive

research involves collecting data in order to test hypothesis or to answer question

concerning the current status of the subject of the study. They are directed toward

determining the nature of the situation as it exists at the time of the study. The

purpose is to describe what exist with respect to variables or conditions in the

situation.

B. Population and Sample

1. Population

The Population of this research was the third year of English Department

Students of FKIP UMMY Solok. The total number of population was 112 students

divided into three classes namely VI.A, VI.B, and VI.C. More detail about the

number of students of each class can be show on the table 1 below:

20
 Table1. The number of third semester students of 2011/2012 academic
year of UMMY Solok.

Class The number of students

V.A 23

V.B 30

V.C 21

Total 74

2. Sample

The sample in this research taken by using cluster random sampling technique

because the total number of the population of the third years of English Department

students of FKIP UMMY Solok in 2010/2011 academic year are too many to be

participant for this research and they have the same ability. There are three classes of

the second years of English Department of FKIP UMMY Solok, they are V.A, V.B,

and V.C, and will choose one of the three classes randomly, by using three rolls of

small piece of paper, which each roll contains name of the class. After lots small

piece of paper this research got V.B as the sample.

C. Instrument of the Research

The instrument of this research was reading comprehension test in multiple

choice forms. The test consists of 6 English short stories consist of 40 items. In doing

21
the test the students asked to read the short story and the students asked to answer the

question. There are four indicator measured the students answer. The indicators were:

Table2. Indicators of Setting

Total Number
No. Indicators Explanation
Item
1. Geographical Including: 12 2, 5, 6, 8, 12,
location topography, scenery, 19, 24, 26,
even the details of 29, 35, 39,
room’s interior. 40.
2. The time in e.g. historical period, 13 1, 7, 9, 13,
action place season of the year. 15, 17, 18,
21, 28, 30,
31, 32, 37.
3. The religious, Environment of the 13 3, 4, 10, 11,
moral, social, character. 14, 16, 20, 22
and emotional 25, 27, 33,
34, 36, 38.
.

After that, some indicators of reading comprehension. They are: Topic, Main

Idea, and supporting Detail, but the researcher only focuses on the indictors of

setting.

1. Validity

Finocchiaro and Sako (1983) state that test is valid when it measures

effectively what it is intended to measure. Gay (1987) states that a test can be said

22
valid when the test measures what is supposed to measure. The concept of validity

reveals some aspect. A test is said to have content validity if content of the test

constitutes a representative sample of the intended aspect. In addition, Anderson in

Arikunto (2007) states that a test is valid if it measure what it purpose to measure.

According to Finocchiaro and Sako (1983) there are four kinds of validity.

They are: content validity, concurrent validity, predictive validity, and construct

validity. This research will use content validity. Content validity is assured by

checking all items in the test to make certain that correspond to the instructional

objectives of the course, and it related to the material that had studied by students. To

validate the test, it is constructed based on the prose syllabus used at English

Depatment of FKIP UMMY Solok.

2. Reliability

Harris (1979) states that reliability is meant the stability of the score test. A test

can not measure anything well unless it measure consistently. Gay (1987) states that

reliability basically it is the degrees to which a test consistently measure what ever it

measure. Furthermore, Finocchiaro and Sako (1983) say that there are four kinds of

reliability. They are: test-retest using the same form, test-retest using alternate forms,

split-half method, and inter-item reliability.

Among four kinds of reliability above, this research will use split-half method.

This method is used to measure reliability of the test in a single administration of one

form of a test. The test will be administrated to a group of subjects and later the items

23
are divided into two comparable halves. Scores are obtained for each individual on

the comparable halves and a coefficient of correlation calculated for the two sets

scores by using correlation coefficient product moment suggested by Arikunto

(2009). The formula is as follow:

NΣ XY −( ΣX )( ΣY )
r 1/21/2=
√( NΣX 2−( ΣX )2)( NΣY 2−(ΣY )2 )
Where:

r : the correlation coefficient

x : the odd items scores

y : the event item scores

N : Total number of the sample

∑X : Variable X (as odd number)

∑Y : Variable Y (as even number)

∑XY : Sum of time between variable X and variable Y

∑X2 :
Quadrate of variable X

∑Y2 : Quadrate of variable Y

After that, to know realibility cooficient test of this instrument the reseacher

will be analyze try out by using formula by Spearman Brown in Arikunto (2009) as

Follow :

2r 1/21 / 2
r 11 =
( 1+r 1/ 21 /2 )

24
 r1 =
21
2 Corelation between scores in each half

r11 = cooficien reliability

Based on Arikunto (2009), the reliability level of coefficient correlation can

be classified into the following order:

0,800 – 1,00 = very high

0,600 – 0,800 = high

0,400 – 0,600 = moderate

0,200 – 0.400 = low

0,00 – 0,200 = very low

D. Technique of Data Collection

In collecting the data for this research, there are five steps to follow: first, come

to the class. Second, explains the instructions of the test and allot for the students.

Third, the students will be asked to write down the reading comprehension test in

identifying the English short stories. Fourth, the students will be given the 90 minutes

by the researcher to do the test. Finally, the researcher will collect the students answer

sheet to be analyzed.

25
E. Technique of Data Analysis

After all of data will be collected, they will be analyzed and classified based on

the result of analysis done by researcher. The data will be arranged into a frequency

made by grouping the frequency distribution based on its interval. Then, the

researcher will be calculated the means of students’ score. The formula used was as

follow:

X=
∑ fx
n

( Maryunis, 2007)

Where:

X = Mean

∑fx = the sum of multiplying each score by its frequency

n = the sum of students

After that, to know the variability of the scores students’ ability in ientifying

English short stories, this research calculated the standard deviation. The formula

used was as follow:

√
Σ fx2 Σ fx
( )
2
SD=i −
n n
( Maryunis, 2007)

26
 Next, the students classified based on their score based on their ability in using

simple past tense and past perfect tense. To classify the students who get A, B, C, D,

and E, the criteria suggested by Arikunto (2009):

≥ M + 1.5 SD = A (Excellent)

≥ M + 0.5 SD ≤ M + 1.5 SD = B (Good)

≥ M - 0.5 SD ≤ M + 0.5 SD = C (Sufficient)

≥ M – 1.5 SD ≤ M - 0.5 SD = D (Bad)

≥ M – 1.5 SD = E (Fail)

To analyze the percentage of students’ ability that get A, B, C, D, and E, this

research calculated the percentage by using the formula suggested by Arikunto (2009)

as follow:

R
P= ×100 %
T
Where:

P = Percentage of students’ ability

R = The sum of the students’ who get A, B, C, D, and E.

T = The sum of students.

To get the description of students’ ability in identifying the English short

stories, after percentage had been justified, the result are classified into the following

interval as suggested in general by Erna and Muchtar (2000):

27
 Table3. The Classification of Level of Students’ Ability

Interval of Frequency of the Students’ Classification Level of Students’

Ability Ability

76% - 100% Very High

51% - 75% High

26% - 50% Average

0% - 25% Low

28
 CHAPTER IV

FINDINGS

A. Description of Data

In this chapter, the researcher shows the data description and the data analysis.

There were 30 test items in the answered by 22 students. The test items were divided

into five indicators. Each indicator consisted of geographical location/place, whether

condition, time in action, social condition, and atmosphere. Here, the researcher

found that the highest score was 24 while the lowest one was 8. The result of the

score can be seen in the following table.

Table 4: Students Score in Identifying Geographical Location, Whether

Condition, Time in Action, Social Condition, and Atmosphere in

Short Story.

No. Name of Geographical Whether Time in Social Atmos Total

Students Location Condition Action Condition phere Score
1. Novita 2 5 3 4 2 14
2. Rika 3 2 2 4 2 13
3. Rama 2 4 4 2 2 14
4. Mifranul 4 3 2 2 6 17
5. Yori 2 4 3 5 4 18
6. Fitri Y 3 4 1 2 4 14
7. Rini 2 3 2 3 1 11
8. Sri Devi 1 2 2 3 3 11
9. Febi 5 3 2 5 3 18
10. Sisri 1 2 4 2 4 13
11. Varoka 2 1 0 3 2 8
12. Yeni 3 2 6 2 4 17

29
13. Reno 4 6 4 5 2 21
14. Gusni 3 3 4 5 4 19
15. Rini O 4 4 3 2 6 19
16. Mariani 4 3 4 2 3 16
17. Lestra 2 4 4 6 4 20
18. Mandala 4 4 4 3 3 18
19. Atitis 5 4 6 3 5 23
20. Desri 4 6 5 4 5 24
21. Nofa 4 6 4 5 4 23
22. Sabri 4 3 5 6 6 24

B. The Result of the Data Analysis

The next step is to categorize the number of the students who were excellent,

good, sufficient, bad, and fail. The percentage of the students’ ability to comprehend

the topic, main idea, supporting detail, thesis, argument, and reiteration of the text

was found by counting the Mean (M) and Standard Deviation (SD).

1. Students’ Ability in Identifying Geographical Location in Short Story

To measure the students’ ability to in identifying geographical

location, the researcher counted the students’ scores (see appendix G), then,

the researcher counted the Mean (M) and Standard Deviation (SD). The result

of the score can be seen in the following table :

30
Table 5: Percentage of Students’ Reading Comprehension in Identifying

Geographical Location in Short Story

Total
Frequency
Range of Percentage
Grade Qualification of
Score (%)
Students
(F)
≥ 4,84 A Excellent 2 9.09%
≥ 4,63 < 4,84 B Good 0 0.00%
≥ 1,55 < 4,63 C Sufficient 18 81.81%
≥ 1,34 < 1,55 D Bad 0 0.00%
< 1,34 E Fail 2 9.09%

From the table above, the result showed that two students (9.09%) got

A, none student (0.00%) got B, eighteen students (81.81%) got C, none

student (0.00%) got D, and two students (9.09%) got E. It is found that there

were 81.81% of the students (the highest percentage) who got C. So the total

excellent and good percentage of the students’ reading comprehension ability

in identifying geographical location that got grade (A+B) was 9.09% and in

can be classified into low level. After that, the researcher calculated the high

percentage of the whole students’ ability in identifying the topic. The result

shown that the students’ ability in identifying geographical location was

19.99% and it can be classified into low level.

The description on the table above can be seen in the following

graphic:

31
 Geographical Location

E A
9% 9%

C
82%

2. Students’ Ability in Identifying Whether Condition in Short Story

To measure the students’ ability in identifying whether condition, the

researcher counted the students’ scores (see appendix H), then, the researcher

counted the mean (M) and Standard Deviation (SD). The result of the score

can be seen in the following table :

Table 6: Percentage of Students’ Ability in Identifying Whether

Condition in Short Story

Total
Frequency Percentage
Range of Score Grade Qualification
of Students (%)
(F)
≥ 5,55 A Excellent 3 13.63%
≥ 4,21 < 5,55 B Good 1 4.54%
≥ 2,87 < 4,21 C Sufficient 13 59.09%
≥ 1,53 < 2,87 D Bad 4 18.18%
< 1,53 E Fail 1 4.54%

32
 Based on the table above, the result indicated that 3 students (13.63%)

got A, one student (4.54%) got B, 13 students (59.09%) got C, 4 students

(18.18%) got D, and 1 student (4.54%) got E. It is found that there were

59.09% students (the highest percentage) who got C. So the total excellent and

good percentage of the students’ reading comprehension ability in

comprehending the topic that got grade (A+B) was 18.17% and it can be

classified into low level. After that, the researcher calculated the low

percentage of the whole students’ ability in identifying whether condition. The

result shown that the students’ ability in identifying whether condition in short

story was 19.99% and it can be classified into low level.

. The description on the table above can be seen in the following

graphic :

Graphic 2 : Percentage of Students Ability to Comprehend Main Idea

33
 Whether Condition
E
D 5% A B
18% 14% 5%

C
59%

3. Students’ Ability in Identifying Time in Action in Short Story

To measure the students’ ability in identifying Time in Action in Short

Story, the researcher counted the students’ scores (see appendix I), then, the

researcher counted the mean (M) and Standard Deviation (SD). The result of

the score can be seen in the following table:

Table 7: Percentage of Students’ Reading Comprehension Ability in

Identifying Time in Action in Short Story

Total
Frequency
Percentage
Range of Score Grade Qualification of
(%)
Students
(F)
≥ 5,59 A Excellent 2 9.09%
≥ 4,1 < 5,59 B Good 2 9.09%
≥ 2,62 < 4,1 C Sufficient 11 50.00%
≥ 1,13 < 2,62 D Bad 5 22.72%
< 1,13 E Fail 2 9.09%

34
 From the table above, the result showed that 2 students (9.09%) got A,

2 students (9.09%) got B, 11 students (50.00%) got C, 5 student (22.72%) got

D, and 2 students (9.09%) got E. It is found that there were 50.00% (the

highest percentage) who get C. So the total excellent and good percentage of

the students’ reading comprehension ability in identifying time in action that

got grade (A+B) was 18.18% and it can be classified into low level. After that,

the researcher calculated the low percentage of the whole students’ ability in

identifying time in action in short story. The results show that the students’

ability in identifying supporting detail was 19.99% and it can be classified

into low level.

Graphic 3: Percentage of Students’ Ability in identifying time in action in

short story

Time in Action
9% 9% 9%
A
23% B
C
D
E

50%

4. Students’ Ability in Identifying Social Condition in Short Story

35
 To measure the students’ ability in identifying social condition in short

story, the researcher counted the students’ scores (see appendix J), then, the

researcher counted the mean (M) and Standard Deviation (SD). The result of

the score can be seen in the following table:

Table 8: Percentage of Students’ Reading Comprehension Ability in

Identifying Social Condition in Short Story

Total
Frequency
Range of Percentage
Grade Qualification of
Score (%)
Students
(F)
≥ 6,36 A Excellent 0 0.00%
≥ 4,48 < 6,36 B Good 7 31.81%
≥ 2,6 < 4,48 C Sufficient 10 45.45%
≥ 0,72 < 2,6 D Bad 5 22.72%
< 0,72 E Fail 0 0.00%

From the table above, the result showed that no student (0.00%) got A,

7 students (31.81%) got B, 10 students (45.45%) got C, 5 students (22.72%)

got D, and one student (0.00%) got E. It is found that there were 45.45% of

the students (the highest percentage) who got C. So the total excellent and

good percentage of the students’ reading comprehension ability in identifying

36
 social condition in short story that got grade (A+B) was 31.81% and it can be

classified into average level. After that, the researcher calculated the high

percentage of the whole students’ ability in identifying social condition in

Short Story. The results show that the students’ ability in identifying social

condition in short story was 19.99% and it can be classified into low level.

The description on the table above can be seen in the following graphic

Graphic 4 : Percentage of Students’ Ability in identifying social condition.

Social Condition
D B
23% 32%

C
45%

5. Students’ Ability in Identifying Atmosphere in Short Story

To measure the students’ ability in identifying atmosphere in short

story, the researcher counted the students’ scores (see appendix K), then, the

researcher counted the mean (M) and Standard Deviation (SD). The result of

the score can be seen in the following table :

Table 9: Percentage of Students’ Reading Comprehension Ability in

Identifying Atmosphere in Short Story

37
 Total
Frequency
Percentage
Range of Score Grade Qualification of
(%)
Students
(F)
≥ 5,93 A Excellent 3 13.63%
≥ 4,37 < 5,93 B Good 2 9.09%
≥ 2,81 < 4,37 C Sufficient 11 50.00%
≥ 1,25 < 2,81 D Bad 5 22.72%
< 1,25 E Fail 1 4.54%

Based on the table above, the result of the analysis indicated that 3

students (13.63%) got A, 2 students (9.09%) got B, 11 students (50.00%) got

C, 5 students (22.72%) got D, and one student (4.54%) got E. It is found that

there were 50.00% of the students (the highest percentage) who got C. So the

total excellent and good percentage of the students’ reading comprehension

ability in identifying that got grade (A+B) was 22.72% and it can be classified

into low level. After that, the researcher calculated the high percentage of the

whole students’ ability in identifying the atmosphere. The results show that

the students’ ability in identifying argument was 19.99% and it can be

classified into low level.

The description on the table above can be seen in the following

graphic.

Graphic 5 : Percentage of Students’ Ability to Comprehend Argument

38
 Atmosphere
E
5%
D A B
23% 14% 9%

C
50%

6. Students’ Ability in Identifying Setting in Short Story

To measure the students ability in identifying short story, the

researcher counted the students’ scores (see appendix M), then, the researcher

counted the mean (M) and Standard Deviation (SD). The result of the score

can be seen in the following table:

Table 11: Percentage of Students’ Reading Comprehension Ability in

Identifying Setting in Short Story

Total
Frequency
Percentage
Range of Score Grade Qualification of
(%)
Students
(F)
≥ 23,34 A Excellent 2 9.09%
≥ 19,17 < 23,34 B Good 4 18.18%
≥ 15,01 < 19,17 C Sufficient 8 36.36%
≥ 10,84 < 15,01 D Bad 7 31.81%
< 10,84 E Fail 1 4.54%

39
 Based on the table above, the result showed that 2 students (9.09%) got

A, 4 students (18.18%) got B, 8 students (36.36%) got C, 7 students (31.81%)

got D, and one students (4.54%) got E. It is found that there were 36.36%

students (the highest percentage) who got C. So the total excellent and good

percentage of the students’ reading comprehension ability in comprehending

the topic that got grade (A+B) was 27.27% and in can be classified into

average level. After that, the researcher calculated the low percentage of the

whole students’ ability in identifying setting in short story. The results show

that the students’ ability in identifying short story was 19.99% and it can be

classified into low level.

The description on the table above can be seen in the following

graphic:

Graphic 7: Percentage of Students’ Ability in Identifying Setting in Short

Story

Identifying Setting in Short Story

E
5%
A B
D 9% 18%
32%

C
36%

40
C. Discussion

Reading short story needs understanding to comprehend what the story about.

So in general, the ability of the third year of English Department students in

identifying setting in short story was sufficient. The students have to know the

components of setting. Based on the findings above, the researcher got the students’

ability in identifying setting in English short stories. Setting is one of important

elements of short story because without it the reader cannot understand the way of

the story going on. According to Kenney (1966) setting refers to the point in the time

and th space at which the events of the plot occur everything that happens

somewhere at sometime.

According to Engramja (2008) there are five elements of setting. Setting is the

time and location in which a story takes place. There are five parts in setting: (1)

place is where the action of the story taking place (geographical location); (2) time is

when the story taking place (historical period, time of day, year, etc); (3) weather

conditions are rainy, sunny, stormy, etc); (4) social condition is the daily life of the

character’s like or local color (speech, dress, mannerisms, costumes of a particular

place); (5) mood or atmosphere is what feeling is created at the beginning of the story

(bright and cheerful or dark and frightening).

In fact, based on the data analysis it was found that the students’ ability in

identifying geographical location topic was sufficient. The words that frequently

appeared on the story can support the students can guess the title of the short story. It

41
means that is easy for the students to identify the geographical location in short story.

Then, in identifying the weather condition in short story, the students’ ability was

sufficient. It indicated that the students found difficulties to comprehend the main

idea. The students are confused to take the main idea in each paragraph because they

consider recognize main idea is always in the first sentence. Next, the students’

ability to identify time in action in short story was sufficient.

Furthermore, students’ ability in identifying social condition in short story

was sufficient. It means that identifying social condition was enough easy to

understand for the students. In identifying the atmosphere in short story the students’

ability was sufficient. In other word the students felt easy when they comprehend the

atmosphere of the short story. In comprehending reiteration it was found that the

students’ ability was bad.

In conclusion, the students’ reading comprehension ability in identifying

setting in short story text was various, because the students have various capabilities

in reading. It means that the class is heterogeneous class because the students the

high capabilities, medium capabilities, and low capabilities are mixed into one class.

In short, they had distinguishes understanding in reading comprehension.

42
 CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

A. Conclusions

Based on the result of the data analysis, the researcher had some conclusions

as follows:

1. The ability of the Third Year Students of English Department of FKIP

UMMY Solok in identifying geographical location in short story was

sufficient because there were two students got A, no student got B, eighteen

students got C, no student got D, and two students got E.

2. The ability of the Third Year Students of English Department of FKIP

UMMY Solok in identifying whether condition in short story was sufficient

because there were three students got A, one student got B, thirteen students

got C, four students got D, and one students got E.

3. The ability of the Third Year Students of English Department of FKIP

UMMY Solok in identifying time in action in short story was sufficient

because there were two students got A, two students got B, eleven students

got C, five students got D, and two students got E.

4. The ability of the Third Year Students of English Department of FKIP

UMMY Solok in identifying social condition in short story was sufficient

because there were no student got A, seven students got B, ten students got C,

five students got D, and no student got E.

43
 5. The ability of the Third Year Students of English Department of FKIP

UMMY Solok in identifying atmosphere in short story was sufficient because

there were three students got A, two student got B, eleven students got C, five

students got D, and one student got E.

6. So in general, the ability of the Third Year Students of English Department of

FKIP UMMY Solok in identifying setting in short story was sufficient. It is

proved by the fact that there were two students got A, four students got B,

eight five students got C, seven students got D, and one student got E.

B. Suggestions

Based on the conclusion above, the researcher proposes the following

suggestions. They are as follow:

1. It is suggested to the English teacher/Lecturer to use the short story especially

in reading comprehension and give more interesting exercises for the students.

It is suggested to the teacher to pay more attention on setting in reading

comprehension of short story in order to be easily for the teacher to teach

reading of short story.

2. The students are expected to learn more about reading comprehension short

story and they are suggested to do more exercises about short story. It is

hoped that the students will be aware of setting and try to avoid the same

mistakes in the future.

44
3. The result of this research may contribute as the professional literature for the

next researchers to conduct other research about short story.

45
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