The particular dialect or language that a person chooses to use on any occasion is called a code 1064 Copyright © 2023 The Author IDEAS is licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0 License Issued by English study program of IAIN Palopo IDEAS Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, Linguistics and Literature ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) Volume 11, Number 2, December 2023 pp. 1064 - 1073 The Use of English Stories Applications in Developing Students' Reading Comprehension Paramita Cahyani¹, Syahrir², Puspa sari³ Paramitacahyani123@gmail.com syahrir@umpalopo.ac.id puspasari@umpalopo.ac.id Universitas Muhammadiyah Palopo Received: 2023-07-1 Accepted: 2023-9-8 DOI: 10.24256/ideas.v11i2.3827 Abstract This study aims to determine students' understanding of reading skills using the English stories application. The method used in this study was Quasi Experimental Design with 20 students at SMPN 10 Palopo as research subjects. Pretest and posttest techniques to collect data in this study. One of the teaching materials used is a story that is in the application with the theme of fable stories with the title the little mouse. Reading comprehension activities last 15 minutes. After that, students are asked questions about the contents of the story for evaluation using a written test. The results of the study showed that there was an activity to improve reading comprehension skills in class VIII students of SMPN 10 Palopo, as evidenced by the processing of the test results given to students. Thus it can be concluded that using the English stories application can improve students' reading comprehension skills significantly. Keywords: Application, English stories, Reading Comprehension Introduction English is a foreign language in Indonesia. Although it is not the language of instruction in daily life, English is utilized as the language of instruction in a number of disciplines. As a result, English instruction in Indonesia is getting better. This is evident from the growth of international standard schools that employ English as the primary medium of instruction throughout the educational process as well as the rising popularity of English language programs. Because they can http://u.lipi.go.id/1457703302 mailto:Paramitacahyani123@gmail.com mailto:syahrir@umpalopo.ac.id IDEAS, Vol. 11, No. 2, December 2023 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 1065 supply thorough knowledge in the realm of education, reading abilities are crucial. To ensure that they don't have any trouble reading the content, students must be aware of its meaning (Megawati, Herlina, and Princess Maharani 2021). Language skills comprise four areas, including listening skills, speaking skills, reading skills, and listening skills, according to the 2006 English education unit level curriculum (KTSP). writing (writing talents) (writing skills). The goal of English instruction in SMP/MTs is to prepare students to utilize the language in functional, performative, and epistemological contexts. Supporting every aspect of the educational process in schools is vital to achieve this. Reading can help with achieving this objective if the reader comprehends the reading's actual substance. Reading plays a crucial part in the advancement of science. Many readers struggle to comprehend the meaning or details in the texts they read. Students in school also have this challenge, one of which is in English classes. Students' capacity for reading when SMPN 10 Palopo (which denotes extremely poor reading comprehension skills) can be noticed from the results of learning English in the four abilities of hearing, speaking, reading, and writing. Reading motivation among students was deemed to be lacking, particularly when it came to reading English-language materials. Reading entails comprehending written material. The process of creating meaning through reading also involves perceptions and thoughts. Moreover, Pang et al. claimed that word recognition (symbol decodification) and understanding are two connected processes that make up reading. (understanding). Decoding symbols and creating meaning are the two processes of reading. Finding meaning is reading's primary goal. These two reading stages are covered in the English curriculum for SMP/MTs. Reading aloud exercises help students learn to decipher symbols, whereas reading comprehension exercises help students learn to create meaning. A solution is required to at least lessen students' difficulty in reading various kinds of English textbooks because reading comprehension is a process of understanding the content of reading. (Sasti Karmiani 2018). Even though they have frequently undergone reading comprehension training at school, many students still struggle to comprehend an English book (Sasti Karmiani 2018). On the other hand, an educated individual must be able to converse both vocally and in writing in a foreign language (English). These children struggled for a variety of reasons, one of which was the limited usage of student terminology (Yusri et al, 2018). This occurs because there aren't enough textbooks, dictionaries, and English reading resources available, students aren't aware of the importance of memorization of vocabulary learnt in class, and vocabulary isn't regularly and continuously used in everyday practice. According to the definitions given above, reading is the process of deriving meaning from written symbols. Students can increase their knowledge and significantly improve their speaking, listening, and writing skills through reading. The practice of reading and looking for instances of concrete literature should be instilled in students, as well as fresh experiences to help them become trained and content readers, particularly of Paramita Cahyani¹, Syahrir², Puspa sari³ The Use of English Stories Applications in Developing Students' Reading Comprehension 1066 English materials. Because it has been demonstrated that using learning methods and media can improve students' reading comprehension skills, particularly in learning English, the teacher can act as a facilitator to help students become more independent in their learning. The teacher is also more skilled and capable of using learning methods and media. To improve student learning results, schools should make it mandatory for instructors to use instructional media in every class. If students are familiar with word, phrase, and sentence meanings, they can comprehend what the text's contents signify. Students' motivation for learning can also be increased by the teaching and learning process. so that it might assist them in achieving their objectives, particularly with regard to speaking. A web-based or mobile application is one of the technologies that is currently in development. One of the uses of these many applications is for educational purposes. Both stationary and moving items can be used as media in educational settings. Learning media are defined by numerous theories. In short, learning media are utilized to aid students in understanding a subject or piece of knowledge. There are many different forms of learning media that can be used (Fitria Indar Nurkhofifah 2022). In order to improve students' English reading comprehension skills, innovative teaching methods are required that can spark their interest in studying. The English Tales program can be used both synchronously and asynchronously to help students with their English reading comprehension (Kade Restika Dewi 2021). The English Stories application is a helpful tool for learning to read English because it has a number of features, including a variety of story themes that can be selected when reading, as well as different types of stories within each theme that can be chosen in accordance with your preferences, as well as voice notes that can train students' speaking and pronouncation skills so that they can read and comprehend what they readBecause the program is downloaded via cellphone, which is always carried wherever, pupils are no longer bored when reading and can read at any time, anyplace. The goal of this study is to determine whether using the English Stories application can enhance students' reading comprehension in the classroom. This is because most students only read aloud without understanding what they are reading, and because technology is becoming more advanced and making it simpler for students to access educational materials anytime, anywhere. using a smartphone that is always carried about and has an application that has been downloaded. Method In order to prove a theory from the learning material that is obtained, this research method employs the experimental method, which involves students directly. The method type used is quasi-experimental design, where the first stage is observation of the school and the subsequent selection of the sample.as well as the people that will serve as the subject of the study. Random sampling is employed in the student IDEAS, Vol. 11, No. 2, December 2023 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 1067 selecting process and will be used as research data. The preparation of instructional materials, including lesson plans, worksheets, and test descriptions, which are distributed to students in the form of narrative texts, is the following stage. Subjects studied The students who will be examined are grade 3 junior high school students. The reason I chose class IX as the sample is because it is a class where most of the teaching and learning processes already use smartphones. The place of research was SMPN 10 PALOPO with a population of 30 students and a sample of 20 students. Analysis tools Pre-test At the beginning of the meeting, 20 students were given a pilot test by reading stories in an application with the theme of Fable Stories with different media to find out students' understanding in reading, then they would answer the questions that had been provided using the 5W + 1H formula. After the pre-test was completed, students were divided into two classes, each consisting of 10 students. Treatment As an experimental class or class that will be given material, students will be given material for 5 meetings totaling 10 people. And the material is in the form of types No Aspect Criteria Score Information 1 Reading skimming and scanning techniques Students are skilled at finding the main idea of each paragraph within 2 minutes 4-1 4 : finished before the time 3 : finish on time 2 : finish exceeding the allotted time 1 : Unable to complete. Skilled students look for the main sentence every paragraph 2 minutes 4-1 Students are skilled at finding the main idea of reading 2 minutes 4-1 2 Read the results of the summary of the contents of the reading text 1. Accuracy of pronunciation 2. Use of intonation 3. Clarity 4-1 4 :very good, 3 : good 2 : enough 1 : less 3 Write a summary of the contents of the reading text Correct spelling Use of standard vocabulary Proper punctuation Writing tidiness 4-1 4 :very good 3:good 2:enough 1:less Paramita Cahyani¹, Syahrir², Puspa sari³ The Use of English Stories Applications in Developing Students' Reading Comprehension 1068 of stories to be read in the same application with different material. Post-test At the end of the post-test, good students from the experimental class were collected with a total of 20 people who would be given a story reading test as in the pre-test. The results of the post-test scores were compared with the pre-test scores. If the post-test scores in the experimental class were higher, students' reading interest increased. If the control class scores were higher than the experimental class, students' interest in reading using the application did not increase. RUBRIK PENILAIAN READING COMPREHENSION score = 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑏𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑥 100 Results The tale in the application was utilized as the teaching resource. Students were given 10 minutes to read it, after which they were asked five questions about its content. They then used their findings to reread the story. The use of the English stories application is very suitable to be used as a tool in learning and teaching processes to improve students' reading comprehension at SMPN 10 Palopo class VIII in the sense that it is effective and learning becomes more alive. Students are very enthusiastic about using the application in learning. Additionally, pupils appear to like the process of comprehending stories and reading more. This is evident from the replies of the students following the reading of the story, when pupils were able to accurately repeat the plot. The last table illustrates how using the English tales application has become more beneficial in helping pupils overcome their reading difficulties. Statistics Pretest Posttest N Valid 20 20 Missing 0 0 Mean 41.5625 57.8125 Std. Error of Mean 2.49485 3.23411 Median 37.5000 56.2500 Mode 37.50 56.25 Std. Deviation 11.15733 14.46340 Variance 124.486 209.190 Skewness 1.145 .625 Std. Error of Skewness .512 .512 Kurtosis .517 .401 IDEAS, Vol. 11, No. 2, December 2023 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 1069 Std. Error of Kurtosis .992 .992 Range 37.50 56.25 Minimum 31.25 37.50 Maximum 68.75 93.75 Sum 831.25 1156.25 Based on the table above, it was obtained descriptive reading comprehension statistics for the class students who were taught before using the English stories application, with an average initial score of 41.56 and an average final score of 57.81. The reading comprehension scores of students who were taught using the English stories application increased. Paired Samples Statistics Mean N Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean Pair 1 Pretest 41.5625 20 11.15733 2.49485 Posttest 57.8125 20 14.46340 3.23411 Paired Samples Test Paired Differences t df Sig. (2- tailed) Mean Std. Deviatio n Std. Error Mean 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper Pair 1 Pretest - Posttest - 16.25000 6.21702 1.3901 7 - 19.1596 5 - 13.3403 5 - 11.689 19 0.001 Paired-sample t-test statistics on the reading comprehension test of students taught with the English stories application show that at 19 degrees of freedom with a significant level of 0.05 a significant value/p-value of 0.001 <0.05 is obtained, then HO is rejected and H1 is accepted. This means that the average English learning outcomes of students taught with the English stories application have increased. So it can be concluded that there are differences in reading comprehension after being taught with the English stories application which has increased. Discussion According to observations made at SMPN 10 Palopo school, it appears that the reading proficiency of students there is still very low because the teacher only uses printed books as a medium for teaching reading in English lessons, which causes students to feel bored and uninterested in learning to read, resulting in low reading Paramita Cahyani¹, Syahrir², Puspa sari³ The Use of English Stories Applications in Developing Students' Reading Comprehension 1070 comprehension. Even if today's technology is highly advanced, it can be used as a new teaching tool because it is well known that when students simply read for pleasure, they do not comprehend the material they are reading.. The students' pre- test score was very low (41.56), as can be seen in the first table above, and when they were exposed to new teaching materials for them to utilize for learning— specifically, the application of English stories—their learning style changes increased, as can be seen in the post-table. 57.81 on the test. Because the English Stories application has the following features, it can be concluded that it has a significant impact on raising students' reading comprehension in schools. New media in teaching and learning are therefore necessary to improve student learning.The advantages of using the English stories application are: The English stories application has several features, namely many types of story themes in it and one theme has many story titles that can be read. The English stories application is also equipped with voice notes which can simultaneously train students' speaking and listening. Zero point four generation students really like internet and digital things, so by using the English stories application in learning, students become more enthusiastic in learning. Other studies that have looked into how using comics might help pupils with comprehension. When compared to the Minimum Mastery Criteria for students' English learning outcomes, the early findings of the class VIII A pupils of SMPN 3 Teluk Kuantan's reading comprehension proficiency are still very poor. The reading comprehension exam (pre-action) with the discourse text "How to make egg and lemon soup," which was taken by all 21 students, demonstrates this. There were 6 students (28.57%) who received grades in accordance with the KKM, and there were 15 students (71.42%) who did not. The pupils' score, which was an average of 57.38 with fewer criteria, serves as an indicator of their reading comprehension abilities prior to the action. Additionally, it was observed that employing comic books to teach English was able to create an engaging, interactive, and exciting environment for students to learn about reading comprehension. The outcomes of this classroom action research, which was planned to be conducted in two cycles with four face-to-face sessions, are in line with the goals of the indicators that the researchers defined. The percentage of pupils who successfully completed the reading comprehension test using traditional methods increased to 80% of those who received a score of at least 70. Students took a reading comprehension test after learning to read comprehension using English comic media in the first cycle, and the results were still sufficient. The average score for students' reading comprehension ability increased to 64.76, with as many as 12 students (57.14%) achieving the KKM criteria. The study's findings suggest that using comics to teach English can improve learning outcomes in the affective domain with a gain score of 0.34 (moderate), increase students' learning motivation with a gain score of 0.55 IDEAS, Vol. 11, No. 2, December 2023 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 1071 (moderate), and improve cognitive learning outcomes with a gain score of 0.42 (moderate). According to the results of the various tests conducted before and after the therapy, there were differences in learning motivation, cognitive learning outcomes, and domain learning outcomes (Puji Astuti 2018). Other research results have been shown to enhance pupils' reading comprehension. Books with graphics and vibrant colors will pique students' interest in reading. The presence of engaging stories and images piques kids' interest in viewing, trying to decipher the messages contained in, and then deciphering information from, visuals, which encourages children to "be able" to read. The pupils' pre-test learning outcomes and data analysis results showed that their scores were still quite low, 19.25 and the posttest improved with 16 respondents and a score of 22.75. Following learning, 100% of pupils showed an improvement in reading skills in the medium-to-high range. Thus, teaching children to read through tale books is a successful way to enhance their reading abilities. This is achievable because youngsters are particularly driven to read stories because, in general, pupils enjoy reading stories. The reading skills of the students at SDN Ngampelsari Candi Sidoarjo improve when the subject matter is changed in the form of a story that really captures the attention of students using story books (Faricha Uswatun Chasanah, Muslimin Ibrahim, Muhammad Thamrin Hidayat, and Dewi Widiana Rahayu). Other study has found that youngsters can be motivated to learn to read when reading is applied in fascinating ways. This research makes use of more sophisticated technology as a teaching tool. They first showed less enthusiasm in learning to read due to the inadequate parental assistance. Downloadable programs for learning to read are available on the PlayStore. Children love to experiment since they have a tendency to enjoy things that are novel and modern. Researchers who serve as teachers must completely master this application in order to use it. This program is used to create instructional materials that reflect new or current events. Given that they are still developing and have a strong interest in technology, children find this reading program to be incredibly engaging. The study's findings in Kentengsari hamlet, Kener, and Kaliwungu Semarang include: (1) children's interest in learning to read; (2) children's awareness of letters and words; (3) children's beginning realization of the value of learning to read; and (4) children's understanding of how to use a book (5) Kenteng-sari hamlet parents of youngsters receive assistance, and android cell phones are used appropriately. (Nurul Hidayat, Damar Kurniawan, Andi Haris Prabawa, Rusnoto, Ahmad, and Nur Shafiq) Regarding different research findings Following observations at SD Negeri Paya Peunaga, it was discovered that some children still needed improvement in their reading skills, while others had already achieved reading fluency. As a result of these findings, the researcher produced a flash learning design that was beneficial for teachers and enhanced students' reading abilities. The next step is for the developer to use the Macromedia Flash tool to generate interactive media, Paramita Cahyani¹, Syahrir², Puspa sari³ The Use of English Stories Applications in Developing Students' Reading Comprehension 1072 which will package all the videos with lessons in such a way that they use images, colors, music, and are supported by navigation buttons. The completed macromedia flash-based learning content is next put to the test by media and subject matter experts, who use a questionnaire to assess its viability. It has been claimed that the learning materials created using macromedia flash are effective. so that children' reading abilities might be improved by using this application. An evaluation of 100% was given to the instructional materials' attractive presentation of the layout employed in Macromedia Flash-based media. This demonstrates how appealing the educational materials' layout is to students. (Mardhatillah,Esi Trisdania). Conclusion Based on the results of research, management, and analysis of data through the English story application in class VIII students of SMPN 10 Palopo, the following conclusions can be drawn: a. There is an increase in the application of the English stories application to the English reading comprehension of Grade VIII students of SMPN 10 Palopo. b. The average English learning outcomes of students taught using the reading comprehension learning model are greater than the average English learning outcomes of students taught using conventional learning Based. on the conclusions above, the following suggestions can be put forward. ✓ Students should be more enthusiastic about learning to use various sources independently. In this case the use of the English stories application can help students read the concepts they want to learn on their own and hone students' skills in reading comprehension even in digital literacy. ✓ In the teaching and learning process it is hoped that students will use the English stories application as an alternative learning to improve students' reading skills, especially in today's increasingly sophisticated technology ✓ The school head is expected to advise teachers to use the English stories application in teaching at school to improve students' learning achievement in reading, so as to produce better student output, especially in English subjects and other subjects in general. ✓ Students are no longer bored in reading every English lesson because they always use printed books which now use the English stories application which makes students enthusiastic and happy to read anywhere and anytime because the application is downloaded on their cellphone. 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