The particular dialect or language that a person chooses to use on any occasion is called a code 1860 Copyright © 2024 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 13, Number 1, June 2025 pp. 1860 - 1865 Collaborative Learning and Its Influence on English Reading Ability: A Study on the Eighth-Grade Students Putri Azhari1, Hastini2, Sudarkam R. Mertosono3, Darmawan⁴ 1,2,3,4Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, FKIP Universitas Tadulako Corresponding E-mail: Azhariputri262@gmail.com Received: 2025-01-22 Accepted: 2025-06-29 DOI: 10.24256/ideas. v13i1.6202 Abstract The Effect of Collaborative Learning on the English Reading Ability of Grade VIII Students of SMPN 1 Sindue Tobata. Collaborative learning using a pre-experimental design with a one-group pre- and post-test approach. The treatment consisting of six meetings, which emphasizes student interaction and cooperation in achieving learning objectives, is hypothesized to improve reading comprehension and engagement. In this study, involving the application of collaborative learning strategies to improve reading skills. The results showed a significant increase in post-test scores (p < 0.05). This study used purposive sampling of 20 students from class 8B at SMPN 1 Sindue Tobata. Its limitations include the absence of a control group and potential due to purposive sampling. The study shows that collaborative learning can have a positive impact on reading ability and shows a significant increase in the improvement of English reading ability of grade VIII students at SMPN 1 Sindue Tobata. Keywords: Collaborative learning, English reading ability, reading comprehension Introduction Reading comprehension is essential for achieving academic success and fostering lifelong learning. Nevertheless, in Indonesia, numerous students encounter difficulties in understanding texts, English: often associated with limited vocabulary, inadequate engagement, and ineffective pedagogical approaches. National statistics show that only 35% of students achieve the minimum standard for reading proficiency (BPS, 2022). At SMPN 1 Sindue Tobata, a public junior high school located in a rural area of Central Sulawesi, Donggala District, Sindue Tobata Regency, students face further obstacles such as limited access to reading materials and reduced motivation, which hinder their reading progress. http://u.lipi.go.id/1457703302 mailto:Azhariputri262@gmail.com IDEAS, Vol. 13, No. 1, June 2025 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 1861 Given these challenges, there is an urgent need for innovative teaching methodologies. Collaborative learning, particularly Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR), has shown efficacy in improving reading comprehension by promoting peer interaction, metacognitive skills, and active participation. Theoretically, collaborative learning facilitates collective knowledge construction among students, aligning with constructivist principles and enhancing comprehension abilities. Collaborative learning is defined as a pedagogical approach in which students are tasked to actively engage in groups and with peers to achieve educational goals. It is widely recognized that collaborative learning involves a teaching strategy in which learners with varying levels of performance collaborate in small groups to achieve learning goals (Jacobs & Tan, 2015). Each student assumes responsibility for their own learning and that of their peers. As a result, the academic success of one student positively contributes to the learning experiences of other students. Educational experts assert that collaborative learning encourages active exchange of ideas within a group of students and fosters their willingness and motivation to learn (Jacobs & Tan, 2015; Felix-Aguelo, 2017). This approach encourages students to articulate their thoughts with each other and engage in active communication to gather and apply information in pursuit of their educational goals (Lin, 2019). At the same time, educators can offer support and ultimately provide scaffolding to enhance the learning experience. Method This research was conducted at SMPN 1 Sindue Tobata, one of the high schools located in Donggala, precisely in Oti Village. The research participants were 20 students in class VIII B, selected based on purposive sampling criteria, namely: (1) students who have a passive attitude towards English, according to the English teacher's recommendation; (2) students who have low initial achievement in reading comprehension, according to pre-test scores; and (3) students who do not take additional English lessons outside of school. This targeted selection was intended to assess the effectiveness of collaborative learning, especially for students who might benefit most from interactive strategies. The purposive sampling criteria were designed to ensure that participants had the same basic characteristics, such as low motivation and limited exposure to English outside of school, which could affect the effectiveness of the intervention. Teacher recommendations were important, as they provided insight into students' passive learning behavior and limited family support for English education, which was in line with the research focus on improving reading comprehension through collaborative methods. The Collaborative Learning intervention involved structured collaborative activities over four weeks, with sessions held twice a week, each lasting 45 minutes. Students were divided into small groups of four to five members, each group was given a descriptive text related to a topic of everyday life. The reading Putri Azhari, Hastini, Sudarkam R. Mertosono, Darmawan Collaborative Learning and Its Influence on English Reading Ability: A Study on the Eighth- Grade Students 1862 comprehension test consisted of 20 multiple-choice items based on the descriptive text used during the intervention. Reliability was established through a pilot test with 15 out-of-sample students, resulting in a Cronbach's alpha of 0.85, indicating high internal consistency. The procedures in data collection were: Pre-test: Conducted before the intervention to assess basic reading skills. Collaborative activity implementation: Conducted over a period of four weeks, with each session following the structured activities outlined above. Post-test: Conducted immediately after the intervention, using equivalent but different items to measure progress. Observation and recording: During the activity, the researcher recorded student engagement and group dynamics. Quantitative data from the pre- and post-tests were analyzed using paired sample t-tests in SPSS to determine significant differences. Effect sizes were calculated using Cohen's d. In addition, descriptive statistics summarizing the level of student engagement, qualitative data from observations and questionnaires were analyzed thematically to explore perceptions of the effectiveness of collaborative learning. The procedures in data collection were week 1: Preparation, instrument validation, and participant selection, week 2: Pre- test administration and orientation to collaborative activities, weeks 3-6: Implementation of collaborative learning sessions, week 7: Post-test administration and data collection, weeks 8-9: Data analysis and report writing. To minimize, this study controlled for variables such as students' initial reading ability (through pre-test scores), attendance, and participation levels. The teachers' teaching style remained consistent throughout the intervention to ensure uniformity. Results The results are discussed and analyzed to determine whether collaborative learning can improve students' reading skills. To answer the formulation of the problem and the research, the researcher used a pre-test and post-test for data collection. In the first meeting, the researcher gave a pre-test to the experimental class consisting of 20 students. The questions were given as many as 10 numbers in the form of multiple-choice questions. Students were given 20 minutes to work on the questions. Each meeting began by providing material and explanations about reading learning through text descriptions in the form of stories, then students were asked to read and translate the text. After being given treatment for 6 meetings, the researcher gave a post-test to determine the final results of students' listening skills. The post-test questions were given the same as the pre-test, namely 10 fill-in questions and were completed within 20 minutes. During the treatment period, students experienced difficulties in reading learning such as lack of vocabulary, and IDEAS, Vol. 13, No. 1, June 2025 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 1863 new sentences that they saw. Therefore, the researcher sought solutions such as giving students the opportunity to find vocabulary from stories that were more familiar and easier to understand. An alternative approach for researchers is to engage in collaborative learning rather than just reading individually in class. The researcher also helped students when they had difficulty completing the assignment. After several meetings, students understood the material better if it was done in groups. Utilization in teaching students reading is the first research topic. There are 20 students in class VIII B as the research sample. The test results showed that no students failed the post-test, as stated by the researcher. Based on the results of the SPSS version 21 output using the paired sample t-test, the significance value of Sig. (2-tailed) is 0.000 <0.05. It can be concluded that this study was successful. There is a difference in the pre-test and post-test which means the hypothesis is accepted. The results of this calculation show that the student scores before and after the treatment are significantly different. In this study, the use of collaborative learning, the researcher argues that learning using Collaborative can make it easier for students to understand the meaning of words or phrases that are less familiar and difficult to understand. With its ease and short time access, collaborative learning is one of the effective means to improve students' reading skills. It can Activities included predicting, questioning, summarizing, clarifying, and evaluating, with roles rotated weekly to promote engagement. Students showed high engagement, active participation, and improved motivation during group tasks, especially in vocabulary and summarizing activities. The significant score improvements (p<0.001) and large effect size demonstrate that collaborative learning effectively enhances reading comprehension. Qualitative observations support these findings, showing increased student engagement and participation. The activities fostered critical thinking and peer support, contributing to better learning outcomes. N Minimum Maximum Mean PRETEST EXPERIMENTAL 20 11 56 36.75 POST-TEST EXPERMENTAL 20 67 89 79.45 Valid N (listwise) 20 Putri Azhari, Hastini, Sudarkam R. Mertosono, Darmawan Collaborative Learning and Its Influence on English Reading Ability: A Study on the Eighth- Grade Students 1864 These results align with previous research indicating collaborative strategies as beneficial for language skill development. Conclusion The researcher concluded that the use of collaborative learning can improve students' reading skills. The results of the study showed that hypothesis testing was used to determine whether collaborative learning improves students' reading skills or not. Sig tailed is 0.05, if Asymp. Sig 2 tailed is less than 0.05 then the hypothesis is accepted or Asymp. Sig 2 tailed is less than 0.05 then the hypothesis is rejected. After the researcher searched for the output results of SPSS version 21 using the paired sample t-test, the significance value of Sig. (2-tailed) is 0.000 <0.05. It can be concluded that this study was successful. Therefore, collaborative learning can improve the reading skills of class VIII students of SMPN 1 Sindue Tobata. References Felix-Aguelo, R. (2017). Enhancing students' language competencies through collaborative learning. In Online Proceedings of the International Conference: DRA. Feri, Z. O., & Erlinda, R. (2014). Building Students’ Learning Autonomy through Collaborative Learning to Develop Their Language Awareness. Proceedings of ISELT FBS Universitas Negeri Padang, 2, 518-523. Hmelo-Silver et al. (2023), teachers are responsible for creating an environment that encourages active participation and collaboration among students Ismayanti, D., Said, Y. R., Usman, N., & Nur, M. I. (2024). The Students Ability in Translating Newspaper Headlines into English A Case Study. IDEAS: Journal on English Language Teaching and Learning, Linguistics and Literature, 12(1), 108-131. Jacobs, G. M., & Shan, T. H. (2015). Advancing Learner Autonomy in TEFL via Collaborative Learning. Online Submission Keraf (2019) describes descriptive text as writing. Lin, S. F. (2019). Students' Attitudes towards Learning English Vocabulary through Collaborative Group Work versus Individual Work. Journal of Education and Learning, 8(4), 93-111. Lenaini, 2021) states Purposive sampling is a non- random sampling method Masruddin, M., & Nasriandi, N. (2022). Lexical and Syntactical Errors Performed by Junior High School Student in Writing Descriptive Text. IDEAS: Journal on English Language Teaching and Learning, Linguistics and Literature, 10(1), 1094-1100. Matthews (2020) collaborative learning is grounded in social constructivist theory. Nizar (2021) underscores the importance of the social aspect of collaborative IDEAS, Vol. 13, No. 1, June 2025 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 1865 learning. Nursisto (2019), descriptive text is a type of writing. Nursisto (2019), descriptive text is a type of writing that depicts an object. Pang, C., Lau, J., Seah, C., Cheong, L., & Low, A. (2018). Socially Challenged Collaborative Learning of Secondary School Students in Singapore. Education Sciences, 8(1), 24. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci8010024 Rokhaniyah, H. (2016). The Implementation of Collaborative Learning to Enhance the Students’ Critical Thinking in Writing. At-Ta'dib, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.21111/at-tadib.v11i1.627 Rotua Persaulian Aritonang (2021) investigated the effectiveness of CSR in improving students' reading comprehension skills. Siti Nur Farahin (2021) examined the influence of CSR and vocabulary mastery on reading comprehension Togatorop, E. (2015). Teaching writing with a web based collaborative learning. International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 5(1S), 247-256. Thayyib, M., Zainuddin, S., & Nur, M. I. (2022, December). English for Tourism Training for Local Community in the Tourism Site of Rinding Allo Village Rongkong Sub District North Luwu Regency South Sulawesi. In The 4th International Conference on University Community Engagement (ICON-UCE 2022) (Vol. 4, pp. 373-379). Usman, N., Hendrik, H., & Madehang, M. (2024). Difficulties in understanding the TOEFL reading test of english language education study program at university. IDEAS: Journal on English Language Teaching and Learning, Linguistics and Literature, 12(1), 755-773. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci8010024 http://dx.doi.org/10.21111/at-tadib.v11i1.627