ABSTRACT
This study is entitled “A STUDY ON THE READING COMPREHENSION ABILITY OF THE ELEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMA SUDIRMAN KUPANG IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2014/2015”. This study was conducted to answer the following questions: (1) Are the eleventh grade students of SMA SUDIRMANKupang able to understand theEnglish reading texts they have read? (2) What is the ability level of reading comprehension of the eleventh grade students of SMA SUDIRMANKupang in the academic year 2014/2015? The objectives of the study are the following: (1) to find out whether the eleventh grade students of SMA SUDIRMAN Kupang in the academic year 2014/2015 are able to understand theEnglish reading texts they have read or not. (2) To find out the ability level of reading comprehension of the eleventh grade students of SMA SUDIRMAN Kupang in the school year 2014/2015 in comprehending the reading text.The method used in this study was descriptive method. The total respondents were 24 students. The instrument used in gathering the needed data was a test. The test consisted of 30 items of multiple choice test. The result of analysis indicates that the eleventh grade students of SMA SUDIRMAN Kupang are (1) Able to understand the text they have read, and their level ability are as follows: thirteen (54%) students got very good level of ability ranging from 8.6 – 9.5. Eight (33.5%) students got good level of ability ranging 7.6 – 8.5. Three (12.5%) students got fairly good level of ability ranging 6.6 – 7.5. (2) The average ability of students is good (8,46%). The difficulties faced by the students in comprehending the reading text are the limitation of vocabulary. Although as a class the students are able to understand the text they have read, there is suggestion for the teacher of English, is that the English teacher should check the students mastery on vocabulary used in reading text and for the students should keep on studying to improve their ability particularly their stock of vocabulary.