Research and Innovation in Language Learning 4(2) May 2021, pp. 142-159 P- ISSN: 2614-5960 e-ISSN: 2615-4137 http://jurnal.ugj.ac.id/index.php/RILL Copyright 2021@ Andi Tenrisanna Syam & St. Hartina 142 Article THE USE OF THREE-LEVEL GUIDE STRATEGY IN TEACHING ENGLISH NARRATIVE TEXT: A CLASSROOM-BASED RESEARCH Andi Tenrisanna Syam anditenrisannasyam86@gmail.com English Education Study Program, FTIK, State Islamic Institute of Palopo- Indonesia St. Hartina st.hartina@iainpalopo.ac.id English Education Study Program, FTIK, State Islamic Institute of Palopo-Indonesia Abstract The researcher intended to find out and describe the application of the three-level guide strategy in increasing the students‟ reading skill of narrative text. Through classroom based research, the researcher had conducted nine meetings for three cycles. The participant of this research was the seventh grade students of junior high school. 33 students of VII-2 class were involved in this research, the researcher used observations and objective tests as her instrument. The data were collected and analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The researcher calculated the quantitative data from tests in each cycle through Microsoft excel. The researcher used classroom observation checklist to find out the students‟ participation in learning. There was no improvement in students‟ reading test scores in cycles 1 and 2. However, in cycle 3, students' reading test scores increased. In cycle I the students‟ average score was 48.78, the students‟ average score in cycle II was 58.28, and in the last cycle, the average score was 73.4. The researcher reveals that the three-level reading guide strategy increases students‟ reading skills. This research is useful for teachers, students, and further researchers. Keywords: narrative text, reading skill, three-level guide strategy Sari Penulis bermaksud untuk mengetahui dan menggambarkan penggunaan strategi panduan tiga tingkat dalam meningkatkan kemampuan siswa dalam membaca naratif teks. Melalui penelitian tindakan kelas, penulis telah melakukan sembilan kali pertemuan selama tiga siklus. Subjek penelitian ini adalah siswa kelas tujuh di Sekolah Menengah Pertama. 33 Siswa kelas VII-2 dilibatkan dalam penelitian ini, penulis memutuskan untuk menggunakan observasi dan tes objektif. Data dianalisis secara Research and Innovation in Language Learning Vol. 4(2) May 2021 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 143 kualitatif (observasi) dan kuantitatif (tes). Penulis menghitung data kuantitatif dari tes di setiap siklus melalui Microsoft excel. Penulis menggunakan ceklis pengamatan kelas untuk mengetahui partisipasi siswa dalam belajar. Tidak ada peningkatan nilai tes membaca siswa pada siklus 1 dan 2. Namun pada siklus 3 nilai tes membaca siswa meningkat. Pada siklus I nilai rata-rata siswa adalah 48.78, nilai rata-rata siswa pada siklus II adalah 58.28, dan pada siklus terakhir nilai rata-rata 73.4. Penulis mengungkapkan bahwa strategi panduan membaca tiga tingkat meningkatkan keterampilan membaca siswa. Penelitian ini bermanfaat bagi guru, siswa, dan peneliti selanjutnya. kata kunci: teks naratif, kemampuan membaca, strategi, strategi panduan tiga tingkat Received 2020-11-26 accepted 2021-05-19 published 2021-06-27 APA Citation: Syam, A.T., & Hartina, St. (2021). The Use of Three-Level Guide Strategy in Teaching English Narrative Text: A Classroom-Based Research. Research and Innovation in Language Learning 4(2), 161-178 http://dx.doi.org/10.33603/rill.v%vi%i4395 Introduction One of the most critical skills needed for people‟s success in a latter-day community is reading skill (Mason and Jessica, 2012). However, in Indonesia, the reading skill rate is still very low, this can be reviewed from the results of an international survey related to students' Bahasa Indonesia/English literacy skills and abilities conducted by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) in the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) in the year 2009 - 2015. Reading literacy test in PISA 2009 showed Indonesian students ranked 57th with a score of 402 (OECD average score was 493) whereas PISA 2012 showed Indonesian students ranked 64th with a score of 396 (OECD average score of 496). A total of 65 countries participated in PISA 2009 and 2012 (OECD, 2013). Muhammad, et al. (2018) stated that Indonesia's position remained at 64th place in PISA 2015, with participants consisting of 72 countries. It meant that there was an increase of only one number, from 396 in PISA 2012 to 397 in PISA 2015. This increase was not significant enough when the application of the 2013 Bahasa Indonesia/English text-based curriculum has been applied since 2013 and PISA (also text-based) was pursued in 2015. The level of the literacy ability of Indonesian people are so alarming. The government has set a new policy which can be an alternative to the progress of national education namely by issuing a Minister of Education and Culture Regulation No. 23 of 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.33603/rill.v%25vi%25i4395 Syam, A.T., & Hartina, St. 144 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 concerning Growth of Characteristics (Dewayani and Retnaningdyah, 2017, p. 213). The policy is implemented with the activity space called Literacy Movement in School. This literacy movement in school activity was introduced in March 2016. It was implemented to support the 13 curriculum for all the subjects by applying literacy strategy in teaching and learning process and referring to higher order thinking skills. Dewayani (2017) argued that the existence of the literacy movement program in the school was expected to enhance students' reading skills and to improve the students' ability to understand the contents of the text because the students will have a large vocabulary. Besides, the habituation of this literacy skill as well is believed to foster high confidence in students' abilities. According to Muhammad, et al. (2018) in literacy movement in school, literacy activities in the learning stage aim at developing abilities to comprehend the texts and link it to individual experiences, think critically, and cultivate communication skills creatively through activities of responding to the textbooks. We find information from anything we read and yet we do not read anything for the same purposes, at the same speed, or in the same style (Cuesta College, 2020). Sandhu (2003) argues that reading is a cognitive process that involves converting symbols to get at meaning. Reading is an active process in which the meaning of words is constructed. Reading with a purpose helps the reader to direct information towards a goal and concentrate their attention. People read for many reasons. Kendeou et al. (2015) revealed that we read to look at and comprehend the message or meaning of the text. Sometimes we read a book to learn new material, sometimes we read to satisfy our pleasure, and sometimes we want to follow some instructions. One kind of texts taught in the seventh-grade of junior high school according to the 13 curriculum is narrative text. The expected basic competence of teaching it is the students‟ ability to understand the purpose, language feature, and generic structure of narrative text in oral and written form. So, the researcher was interested in teaching narrative text by using the three-level guide strategy. Three-level guide strategy was first introduced by Harold Herber in 1978 and expanded by Morris and Steward-Dore in 1984. Three-level reading guide strategy may be applied to improve an ability to read Research and Innovation in Language Learning Vol. 4(2) May 2021 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 145 narrative text because it offers active, critical, and interactive learning. Students not only learn individually but also work in a group through discussion activities. The main target of this strategy is enhancing the ability to understand the narrative text through a gradual process ranging from literal comprehension, interpretative comprehension, to applied comprehension. The New Zealand Ministry of Education (2010) stated that three-level guide is a reading strategy which gives assistance to students to read the text closely by giving an obvious intention and guidance for reading. It is one of the strategies designed to improve the reader's understanding of the contents of the text. The three-level guide is a strategy development outcomes from three levels of understanding, which includes literal, interpretative and applicative. A literal understanding involves the ability of students to grasp the meaning shown explicitly. Students only capture information that is located on the literal basis in reading text (reading the lines). Interpretative understanding refers to students‟ ability to grasp the deeper inference meaning of a text. At the highest level, applying understanding demands students to involve the prior experience and knowledge they possess to generalize, hypothesize, be creative and discuss opinion. Vacca, et.al. (2011) argued that learning to read a narrative text by using the three-level guide has led students to actively respond to the provided guiding statements. Any response given should be accompanied by reason. The responses and reasons given by each individual are then discussed in a small group to obtain agreement. Guiding statements help students to think critically and understand reading short stories. If the teacher teaches reading comprehension by using the three-level reading guide strategy, the learners will comprehend well and understand the text critically, they will relate the main message to their prior knowledge and experience, they will think through the implications of the text to real life contexts, and it will develop a good sense of the conceptual complexity of text material. Therefore, the learners may understand the text well (Novitasari, 2013). Davis and Matthews (2020) stated that the three-level guide is an instructional means designed to guide students to a higher level of reading comprehension in three ways: (1) students preview the guide to familiarize themselves with the material and raise expectations before reading, (2) during reading, the guide is Syam, A.T., & Hartina, St. 146 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 used to draw attention to important ideas, and (3) after reading, the guide is used to clarify explicit fact from the text. Several scholars have researched the effect of the three-level reading strategy on reading achievement. Aminah (2013) found that there is a significant effect of using the three- level guide strategy on students‟ reading comprehension. Setyawati (2014) concluded that the eighth year students of SMP Negeri 16 Yogyakarta who are taught short stories by using the three-level reading guide strategy have a better achievement than the students who are taught short stories without using that strategy. Thus, teaching short stories by using the three-level reading guides strategy is effective to be used with the eighth year students of SMP Negeri 16 Yogyakarta. If the previous researchers have taught narrative text, report text and common short stories; the researcher, in this study, has taught Islamic narrative texts using the three-level reading guide strategy. This research was also carried out in three cycles while other researchers have only carried out research in two cycles. The researcher formulated the research question as follows: “How did the three-level guide strategy increase students‟ reading skill of narrative text?” Literature Review The Notion of Reading According to Wulandari & Cahyati (2021), reading is believed to be the primary means of gaining access to new knowledge and alternate explanations and meanings in academic settings. It implies that reading is a fundamental method for students to acquire new knowledge. Textbooks serve as a foundation for all subjects in school, so students should read them if they want to follow the lesson well. Reading is one of the ways in which a writer and a reader communicate. According to EnglishClub (1997), the act of looking at a collection of written symbols and deducing meaning from them is known as "reading." When we read, our eyes obtain written symbols (letters, punctuation marks, and spaces), which we then translate into terms, sentences, and paragraphs that interact with us. Research and Innovation in Language Learning Vol. 4(2) May 2021 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 147 Some Constraints in Reading The difficulties that Indonesian learners face while learning English, such as a lack of vocabulary mastery, a lack of practice, and a low critical reading level. These difficulties occur as a result of the students' lack of reading interest as well as their low self-motivation, self-efficacy, and self-confidence (Alek, 2019). According to Rahman (2018, p. 11), the most significant challenges faced by respondents in reading English literary works were related to language style (especially trope and scheme), linguistic deviation, meaning in context (pragmatics) as well as cultural context (semiotics). Besides, Wulansari & Cahyati (2021, p. 219) found five problems of students in reading English texts namely, (1) students‟ affective factor, (2) lack of vocabulary knowledge, (3) the students had problem in identifying the main idea of the passage of long sentences, (4) poor reading strategy, and (5) poor understanding five aspects in reading. The Concept of Three-Level Reading Guide Strategy Learning activities are a process that is structured in such a way to reach the intended purpose. Conducting activities learning requires stages from preparation, execution, up to evaluation. At the preparatory stage, teachers are the primary stakeholders of education need to determine the learning strategy that suits the needs and goals to be achieved in learning. It is one way to plan learning activities can achieve the desired target. Therefore, it is necessary to have a strategy in learning reading ability. One of the strategies that can be used by the teacher is three-level reading strategy. Three levels of reading guide which means the guide reads three, it is one of the strategies designed to improve the reader's understanding of the contents of the text. That strategy was introduced by Harold L. Herber. Three levels of guides are strategy development outcomes from three levels of understanding. Three-level reading strategy includes literal, interpretative and applicative. Methods This research implemented a classroom based research by Kurt Lewis. Kolk (2020) wrote that the action research process can help us understand what is occurring in the classroom and indicate changes that increase teaching and learning. Action research can Syam, A.T., & Hartina, St. 148 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 assist in answering questions we have about the effectiveness of specific instructional strategies, the performance of specific students, and classroom management techniques. The research was carried out in three cycles, which consisted of three meetings for each cycle. The seventh-grade students of SMP Negeri 5 Palopo, South Sulawesi Province were involved in this research. The students of VII-2 class were chosen. This class consisted of 16 males and 17 females. The researcher decided to use observations and tests. Observation was used to monitor the students‟ activities, to see their motivation during the teaching-learning process, to examine their challenges, and their improvement on comprehending the narrative texts given. To be more objective, the researcher considered asking the collaborator to help her observe the classroom. The form of the reading test was an objective test. The number of the test items were 25. The test was used to obtain data on the students‟ improvement of understanding of various comprehension levels namely literal, inferential, and evaluative/applied. The data were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The researcher calculated the quantitative data from tests in each cycle through Microsoft excel. The researcher used classroom observation checklist to measure the students‟ participation. In each aspect, the observer had four responses that needed to be observed as an answer. Very active, active, adequate, and passive are the four options of answers. Students' attention, responses, activeness and engagement, preferences, skills, excitement, and involvement in the teaching and learning process are the eight things that the observer should pay attention to in the observation sheet of the students‟ behavior. Results and Discussion The Result of Students‟ Pre-test The pre-test had been done before the researcher applied a classroom based research. The writer gave the students pre-test, it was done to know the students‟ reading skill, and therefore, she could compare the score of pre-test and post-test (Table 4.1). Table 4.1. The students‟ score in pre-test Score Category Frequency Percentage 80-100 Excellent 1 3% 70-79 Good 2 6% 60-69 Enough 19 57% 50-59 Less 5 15% 0-49 Total Fail 6 33 18% 100% Research and Innovation in Language Learning Vol. 4(2) May 2021 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 149 From the data above, out of 33 students, 11 students got scores below the standard of minimum completeness (=65). Meanwhile, there were 19 students who had fulfilled the standard of minimum completeness (=65). This result is in line with Cox, et al. (2018) that the students still felt strange when they responded to the reading materials in the pre-test, so that they cannot understand the researcher‟s purpose of the reading text. This situation becomes reasonably expected due to the fact that everyone who encounter new texts have difficulties in understanding the texts well. In other words, to comprehend the text easily, someone should be familiar with it. The Implementation of the Three-Level Guide Strategy in Cycle 1 In every cycle, before teaching, the researcher prepared materials, made lesson plans based on the syllabus, and designed the steps to implement the action. The researcher also prepared the test instrument to know whether the students have comprehended the narrative text or not. Finally, the researcher prepared observation lists. Stage I: Literal The activities in part I can be described as follows. 1. Students individually read the written instructions provided by the teacher and read the statements for part I of the three - level reading guide. 2. Students read all parts of the text shared by the teacher. In this study the text used was a narrative text. 3. Students read the statement in part I, then give signs (√) in statements that support the text and are trusted by students. Then students determine how the text supports their choices. 4. Students were divided into small groups, then small groups gathered to identify, support, compare, debate, and discuss everyone‟s responses to part I statements. Stage 2: Interpretation Activity in part II was aimed at improving students‟ comprehension on understanding of interpretation. Activities in part II can be described as follows: 1. Students individually read and respond to part II statements. 2. Students‟ were divided into small groups, then small groups gathered to identify, support, compare, debate, and discuss everyone‟s responses to part II statements. Stage 3: Applicative Syam, A.T., & Hartina, St. 150 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 Activities in section III required students to use the initial knowledge they had to criticize the contents of reading text. Activities in part III can be described as follows: 1. Students individually read and respond to part III statements. 2. Students were divided into small groups, then small groups gathered to identify, support, compare, debate, and discuss everyone‟s responses to part I statements. 3. The researcher led the entire group discussion to conclude the results of the discovery of reading, and to clarify or to expand ideas from reading and small group discussions. 4. The researcher created ongoing activities to expand information, continuous learning, and reinforcement of the subject matter. The Students’ Test Results in Cycle 1 Out of 33 students, 21 students received scores below the standard of minimum completeness (=65). Meanwhile, there were 22 students who had fulfilled the standard of minimum completeness (=65). The students‟ test result in cycle I are shown in Table 4.2 below: Table 4.2. The students‟ test result in cycle 1 Score Category Frequency Percentage 80-100 Excellent 4 12% 70-79 Good 6 18% 60-69 Enough 3 9% 50-59 Less 3 9% 0-49 Total Fail 17 33 52% 100% From 33 students who were examined by the researcher in the first cycle; there were 4 students who got excellent category, 6 students who got good category, 3 students who got enough category, 3 students who got poor or less category and 17 students who got failure category. The average score of students‟ evaluation test was 49. The researcher stated that the reading comprehension of students in cycle 1 still needed improving. The students‟ score in the reading test was still categorized as “low”. The researcher inferred that most of students did not fulfil the standard of minimum completeness (=65). Chiang (cited in Alek, 2019) also found that some aspects may cause the students‟ problems in comprehending the text such as vocabulary size, prediction capability, and receptive vocabulary. Here, the researcher found that the students faced specific word Research and Innovation in Language Learning Vol. 4(2) May 2021 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 151 reading difficulties. According to Spear-Swerling (2015, p. 515), “the students with specific word reading difficulties are unable to decode unknown words using phonics knowledge. These students are unable to read fluently due to inexact or complicated decoding, and they are bad at spelling.” The Implementation of the Three-Level Guide Strategy in Cycle 2 and 3 Stage 1: Literal This stage had been done by the researcher before reading the narrative text that was shared earlier, at this stage students were asked to work on a problem related to the narrative text that would be read later. The students were required to use their own knowledge by viewing the picture in the question sheet prepared by the teacher. Before reading, the teacher directed the attention of the students by asking them, “What do you think about this picture?” So many responses came from the students and the responses were different. 10 students responded more or less the same as these 15 students. Then after that the teacher shared the story that had been prepared and then instructed students to read the narrative text. "Read the narrative text because in it there is a story that is related to the picture that you saw earlier". Then, the questions were distributed, the students answered the questions before reading the narrative text. This was one of the activities that must be done besides just observing the cover of the narrative text. Then all students tried to do it and were asked to keep the results of their work, after the students had finished working on the problem. Stage 2: Interpretation In this second stage, students were required to understand a story and find information or goals intended by the writer of the narrative text. Some students read with a critical attitude to align their opinions with the information obtained. In this second stage, the students were asked to discuss with the group after which the teacher asked all groups to provide information that they got from a narrative text. Sometimes, there was a debate between students due to the different information obtained. Then, the teacher gave activities to reinforce the information that each student received from the teacher such as questions, but in 1 text there was 5 activities that had to be done, namely: reading checks, word work, finding the words in the narrative text picture, complete the Syam, A.T., & Hartina, St. 152 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 sentence and tick the boxes (true or false and yes or no). From there students could underline or mark vocabulary or sentences that could support their knowledge to complete the activities given by the teacher. Then, in step 2 the researcher started to show chapter 1 and invited students to read the story. After completing the reading in chapter 1 the researcher asked questions related to the story, so the researcher could also see the students' ability to read and whether all students understood the storyline. Stage 3: Applicative The researcher led students to find moral messages and various things that were appropriate or not to be applied in daily life. And at this stage the researcher and the students discussed then drew conclusion from the narrative text. The Students‟ Test Results in Cycle 2 Based on the evaluation results in cycle 2, there was a difference between cycle 1 and cycle 2 because there was a change in the number of students in cycle 2. In cycle 1, there were 33 students who took the test; however, there were only 25 students who had participated in the research. This happened because the other eight students were involved in extracurricular activities such as walking and scouting, so the eight students could not take part in the evaluation test in cycle 2. Out of the 25 students who took the evaluation test in the second cycle, there were 13 students who got scores below the minimum mastery criteria and 12 students got scores above the minimum mastery criteria (Table 4.3). Table 4.3. The students‟ test result in cycle 2 Score Category Frequency Percentage 80-100 Excellent 6 24% 70-79 Good 4 16% 60-69 Enough 4 16% 50-59 Less 1 4% 0-49 Total Fail 10 25 40% 100% From 25 students, 6 students got very good category, 4 students got good category, 4 students got enough category, 1 student got poor category, and 10 students got failure category. The researcher concluded that the students still did not fulfil the standard of minimum completeness (=65). This result is in line with Pitcher et al., (2007) that the Research and Innovation in Language Learning Vol. 4(2) May 2021 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 153 problem on low level of reading motivation is a universal problem. In Alsamadani‟s study (2011), it was revealed that half of his respondents declared that they do not read unless they are asked to read. Al-Nujaidi (cited in Alsamadani, 2011) also found out in his research that extensive reading among Saudi EFL students is an unpopular activity and that they just voluntarily read English materials inside the class. The Students‟ Test Results in Cycle 3 The average score of students was 73.4 showing, which is an increase compared to the first cycle and the second cycle. 21 students got scores above minimum the mastery criteria, and 4 students got scores below the minimum mastery criteria. The students‟ test result in cycle 3 is shown in Table 4 below: Table 4.4. The students‟ test result in cycle 3 Score Category Frequency Percentage 80-100 Excellent 4 12% 70-79 Good 6 18% 60-69 Enough 3 16% 50-59 Less 3 16% 0-49 Total Fail 17 25 52% 100% From the table above, we can see that out of the 25 students, 9 students got very good category, 5 students got good category, 8 students got enough category, 2 students got poor category, and 1 student got failure category. Because most of the students had reached the standard of minimum completeness in English subjects, the researcher ended the action research until the third cycle. The Observation Result of Students’ Active Participation in Cycle 1 The observation results showed that 10 students were very active, 3 students were active, and then 20 students were less active. During the learning process in the first cycle, there were moments when the researcher‟s plans did not match with what happened in the classroom. The students found it difficult to understand the story, not knowing the meaning of the vocabulary and there were students who had difficulty in opening the dictionary because some students took too much time to understand the contents of the narrative text. Then, in the first cycle, the researcher and her/his collaborator observed the students ability to read and understand the vocabulary. Syam, A.T., & Hartina, St. 154 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 The researcher and her/his collaborator found that the ability to read narrative story in English was still poor due to the lack of vocabulary mastery. Because some of the weaknesses found by the researcher during the learning process, the researcher decided to proceed to the second cycle until they were able to understand the contents of the narrative text and could conclude or reproduce the contents of the short stories in their language. The Observation Result of Students’ Active Participation in Cycle 2 During the learning process in the second cycle, the time planned by the teacher was in accordance with what happened in class. In this section, the time that had been prepared by the researcher was enough for students because the researcher decided that all students had to present information they received from the short stories and created classroom atmosphere where the students were more active to give questions when they began to understand the existing reading texts. Although some students were embarrassed to retell important points contained in the story because they had to come forward in the class. The researcher and her collaborator revealed that the reading comprehension of some students had improved if it was compared to the results of the first cycle. There were 10 students who were very active, 4 students were active, 10 students were less active, and 1 student was passive. Students who were active in learning and responding or giving responses about short stories well, namely understanding vocabulary contained in reading short stories, and then these students could reveal the message intended by the researcher. Then, some students were less active, this was due to lack of mastery of vocabulary so that they had difficulty in understanding the story. The Observation Result of Students‟ Active Participations in Cycle 3. During the learning process in the third cycle, the classroom conditions were more active than before. There were nine students who were very active, five students were active, 10 students were less active, and one student was passive. The students were not shy or afraid of asking again when they did not understand what they had to do. When handouts were distributed at the initial stage, there were still 1-4 students who found it Research and Innovation in Language Learning Vol. 4(2) May 2021 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 155 hard to speak and were shy to interact with the teacher. But the teacher saw high curiosity, the teacher tried to use a strategy in the process of reading short stories then for this cycle the number of students who looked embarrassed or lacked vocabulary had decreased. All the students were very pleased during the learning process. After applying the three-level guide strategy, the students' reading skills improved. Susilawati and Suhardi (2016) assert that to gain an understanding of the text, readers can use certain strategies. Strategies are closely related to the factors involved in understanding, namely the reader and context of the texts. The factors of the reader's involvement in understanding the texts explicitly or implicitly included concentration, knowledge of the world, past experience, and memory. Besides, appropriate reading exercises, techniques, and strategies are also needed by improving reading skills that involve the role and power of the brain as the center of language function. In addition, Arifudin (2010, p. 297) revealed that reading also requires practice so that the speed and accuracy in capturing messages written in the text being read will increase. The researcher found that the students still had limited vocabulary. This result is similar to Spear-Swerling (2015, p. 517) that the students had vocabulary weaknesses because they had language disabilities or merely because they were not familiar with the vocabulary. Motivation also influences the reading activity. Learners who have strong motivation to read can spend much of their time in a reading activity. Meanwhile, learners who have low motivation to read tend to avoid reading activity (Guthrie, et al., 2000; Marinak & Gambrell, 2008). Another factor related to reading difficulties is low background knowledge. Previous knowledge is directly related to reading comprehension and is a strong predictor of reading ability (Elbro & BuchIversen, 2013). When a learner lacks previous knowledge about a topic, it will affect his/her reading comprehension (Kintsch, 2013, Tarchi, 2010). Learners who have a basic grasp of what they are reading about can correlate new information to what they already know. This research is in line with Setyawati (2014) who found that three-level reading guide strategy was effective to improve reading comprehension of the students at SMP Negeri 16 Yogyakarta. This strategy gives positive change in the teaching and learning process Syam, A.T., & Hartina, St. 156 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 and helps the students to master the vocabulary. So students find it easy to learn English, especially reading comprehension. Novitasari (2013) found that teaching report text by using the three-level reading guide improved learners‟ reading comprehension. Iskandarwassid and Sunendar (2009) revealed that this strategy can be used to create conducive learning so that the learning objectives can be achieved accordingly with desire and it is one of the strategies designed to help improve the reader's understanding of the contents of the text. According to Herber (1984), the three-level reading strategy guides can be applied in improving the ability to read short stories because it offers active, critical and interactive learning. Students not only learned individually but also they led to work in a group through discussion activities. Learning to read a narrative text using the three-level guide strategy led students to actively respond to the guiding statements provided. This strategy can be categorized as an interesting strategy due to process learning whereby teaching involves the interaction between teacher and students. The three-level guide can improve the students‟ reading comprehension because it stimulates the students to read more. They want to know the new story of the day because in every story there is a keyword to support their knowledge and new vocabulary that can enrich the students‟ vocabulary. These keywords provoked students to think critically. So, the implementation of the three-level guide strategy gives a positive effect on the students' achievement because they can study reading comprehension easily, relax, have fun and the learning atmosphere was conducive and comfortable. Conclusion and Recommendation The recent research is intended to upgrade reading comprehension of the seventh-grade students. To achieve her objective, the researcher gave a pre-reading test, conducted research in the class, and gave post-reading test. The researcher found that in the first cycle, the average score was 48 7, the average score in the second cycle was 58.28 and the average score in the third cycle was 73.4. It indicated that the result of this research had reached the target of standard minimum completeness. Some limitations were still Research and Innovation in Language Learning Vol. 4(2) May 2021 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 157 faced by the researcher when she taught in the class, such as: (1) the students were still undisciplined and confused about their new lesson, (2) the condition of the class was noisy when the researcher divided them into groups. (3) most of the students were unable to accept the explanation of the researcher quickly because the students have different information processing speed and ability, (4) they still need more practice not only in the classroom but also in the environment, and (5) classroom atmosphere also improved the learning process. In spite of the importance emphasized in the class, the students did not ask the researcher for help. Theoretically, this research is useful for the development of English language teaching. Practically, this research can be useful for English teachers in SMP Negeri 5 Palopo to get valuable information about how to upgrade their teaching style. The researcher hopes that after the students are involved in this research, they have developed good strategy and input to comprehend narrative text, and they are encouraged to master and improve their reading skills. The researcher hopes this research can be a good reading source for other researchers to conduct similar research so that this research will be refined. References Alek. (2019). Fostering Undergraduate Students‟ Reading Performance in English Discourse through Problem-Based Learning. IJELTAL (Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, 4(1), 147-157. doi: 10.21093/ijeltal.v4i1.434. Alsamadani, H. A. (2011). Saudi Students‟ Awareness of Reading Strategies and Factors Affecting Their EFL Reading Comprehension. British Journal of Arts and Social Sciences. Retrieved from www.bjournal.co.uk/paper/BJASS_2_2/BJASS_02_02_01.pdf. Aminah, S. (2013). The Effect of Using Three Level Guide Strategy on the Students’ Reading Comprehension in Narrative Text of the First Grade at SMA Al-Muhsinin Rokan Hilir Regency. Riau: Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau. Arifudin. (2010). Neuropsikolinguistik. Jakarta: Raja Grafindo Persada. Cox, Troy L., Bown, J., & Bell, T. R. (2018). In Advanced L2 Reading Proficiency Assessments, Should the Question Language Be in the L1 or L2? Does It Make a Difference? Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/chapter/10/1007/978-3-030- 01006-5-7. Cuesta College. (2020). Reading Comprehension. Retrieved from http://www.cuesta.edu/student/resources/ssc/study_guides/reading_comp/index.ht ml. Davis, E., & Matthews, S. (2013). Three Level Guides. 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Intrinsic Motivation and Rewards: What Sustains Young Children‟s Engagement with Text? Literacy Research and Instruction, 47, 9-26. Muhammad, H et al. (2018). Desain Induk Gerakan Literasi Sekolah. Jakarta: Direktorat Pendidikan Dasar dan Menengah. New Zealand Ministry of Education (2010). Three Level Reading Guides. Retrieved from http://esolonline.tki.org.nz/ESOL-Online/Planning-for-my-students needs/Resources-for-planning/ESOL-teaching-strategies/Reading/Three-level- guides. OECD. (2014). PISA 2012 Results in Focus. Programme for International Student Assessment, 1–44. Novitasari, S.D. (2013). Using „Three Level Guide Strategy‟ to Improve the Eleventh Graders‟ Reading Comprehension of Report Texts in SMA Negeri 1 Driyorejo. Retain Journal, 1(3). Rahman, F. (2018). The Constraints of Foreign Learners in Reading English Literary Works: A Case Study at Hasanuddin University. Journal of Arts and Humanities, 7(2), 1-12. Reading Educators. (2020). Three-level Guide. Retrieved from http://www.readingeducator.com/strategies/three.htm. Sandhu, R. (2003). What is Reading? - Definition & Process. Retrieved from http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-reading-definition-process.html Research and Innovation in Language Learning Vol. 4(2) May 2021 p-ISSN 2614-5960, e-ISSN 2615-4137 159 Setyawati, B. (2014). Keefektifan Strategi Three Level Reading Guides dalam Pembelajaran Membaca Cerpen pada Siswa Kelas VII SMP Negeri 16 Yogyakarta. Unpublished Thesis. Yogyakarta: Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta. Susilawati, T.M., & Suhardi. (2016). Hubungan antara Penguasaan Kosakata dan Ketepatan Menemukan Gagasan dengan Keterampilan Membaca Pemahaman. Ling Tera, 3(1). Spear-Swerling, L. (2015). Common Types of Reading Problems and How to Help Children Who Have Them. The Reading Teacher, 69(5), 513-522. doi:10.1002/trtr.1410. Tarchi, C. (2010). Reading Comprehension of Informative Texts In Secondary School: A Focus on Direct and Indirect Effects of Reader‟s Prior Knowledge. Learning and Individual Differences, 20, 415-420. Vacca, R. T., Vacca, J. A., & Mraz, M. (2011). Content area reading: literacy and learning across the curriculum (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Wulansari, N., & Cahyati, S. S. (2021). Students‟ Constraints in Reading Descriptive Text at MTS Uswatun Hasanah. Professional Journal of English Education, 4(2), 216-222. Conflict of Interest No conflict of interest was reported. Author Biography Andi Tenrisanna Syam is an English lecturer at English Education Study Program of State Islamic Institute of Palopo. She has taught there for six years. She teaches writing, English for Banking and Finance, Reading, Speaking, etc. She is also an editor of ELITE journal UIN Alauddin Makassar and IDEAS journal IAIN Palopo. 6200182 St. Hartina is an English lecturer at English Education Study Program of State Islamic Institute of Palopo. She has taught there for one year. She teaches writing. 6718416