The Use of Story Face Strategy to Enhance Reading Comprehension in Narrative Text

Mery Handrayani; Annisha Dyuli Adha; Rahma Dania

Authors

Mery Handrayani Universitas Putra Indonesia YPTK Padang
Annisha Dyuli Adha
Rahma Dania

Keywords:

Story Face Strategy, Reading Comprehension, Narrative Text, Junior High School Students

Abstract

This study investigates the use of the Story Face Strategy to enhance students’ reading comprehension of narrative texts at one of public junior high school in Padang. The research was motivated by students’ difficulties in understanding narrative texts, particularly in identifying the main idea, characters, setting, conflict, and resolution—common challenges faced by eighth-grade students. The objective of this study is to determine whether the implementation of the Story Face Strategy significantly enhances students’ reading comprehension. A one-group pre-test and post-test pre-experimental design was employed, with instruction delivered using the strategy across multiple sessions. Data were collected through a 25-item multiple-choice reading comprehension test administered before and after the intervention. The results showed a notable enhancement in students’ performance, with the average score increasing from 53.5 (pre-test) to 76.9 (post-test). A paired sample t-test confirmed the statistical significance of this improvement at the 0.05 confidence level. These findings suggest that the Story Face Strategy is effective in helping students understand narrative elements and can serve as an engaging and structured method for enhancing reading comprehension in junior high school contexts.

References

Afflerbach, P., Cho, B. Y., Kim, J. Y., Crassas, M. E., & Doyle, B. (2020). Reading strategy research: A review of research methods and outcomes. Reading Research Quarterly, 55(S1), S163–S179. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.327

Anderson, R. C. (2003). Schema theory and the educational enterprise: General implications and special applications. In R. C. Anderson, J. Osborn, & R. J. Tierney (Eds.), Learning to read in American schools (pp. 243–257). Routledge.

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Brown, H. D. (2001). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy (2nd ed.). Longman.

Grabe, W., & Stoller, F. L. (2020). Teaching and researching reading (3rd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315677011

Guthrie, J. T., & Wigfield, A. (2000). Engagement and motivation in reading. Handbook of Reading Research, 3, 403–422.

Kamil, M. L., Pearson, P. D., Moje, E. B., & Afflerbach, P. (2020). Handbook of reading research (Vol. 5). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315676304

Knapp, P., & Watkins, M. (2005). Genre, text, grammar: Technologies for teaching and assessing writing. UNSW Press.

Lee, J., & Chen, H. (2022). The role of visual strategies in improving reading comprehension among EFL learners. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 13(1), 88–95. https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.1301.11

Leipzig, D. H. (2001). What is reading? Reading Rockets. https://www.readingrockets.org/article/what-reading

Rahayu, M., & Sudarsono, S. (2019). Improving students’ reading comprehension through graphic organizers. Indonesian Journal of EFL and Linguistics, 4(2), 151–170. https://doi.org/10.21462/ijefl.v4i2.123

Staal, L. A. (2000). The Story Face: An approach for improving reading comprehension through story mapping. Florida Educational Research Council.

Wahyuni, S., & Styaningsih, L. (2023). Strategy-based instruction for narrative reading: A classroom action research. Journal of English Language Pedagogy, 7(1), 23–31.

Wijayanti, R., & Emilia, E. (2020). Graphic organizers in EFL reading classrooms: Enhancing students’ comprehension of narrative texts. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 10(2), 357–368. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijal.v10i2.28589

Yildirim, K. (2022). Strategy instruction and reading comprehension in EFL contexts: Effects on low-achieving readers. Reading Psychology, 43(5), 391–414. https://doi.org/10.1080/02702711.2021.2016949

Yunita, W., & Fitriani, S. S. (2021). The effect of reading strategies on students’ reading comprehension achievement. Studies in English Language and Education, 8(1), 187–200. https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v8i1.18151

Yusuf, F. N., & Wulandari, A. (2018). The effectiveness of visual mapping in teaching narrative texts. International Journal of Educational Methodology, 4(4), 275–280. https://doi.org/10.12973/ijem.4.4.275