THE TEXT PARAMETERS AND THE TECHNIQUES OF READING TESTING IN CHRISTIAN AND ISLAM RELIGION INSTITUTES (A CASE STUDY AT INSTITUTE ALKITAB TIRANUS (IAT) BANDUNG AND INSTITUT AGAMA ISLAM NEGERI (IAIN) “SMH” BANTEN) By: DIDI SUKYADI Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (UPI) Bandung ERIKSON TOGATOROP (Politeknik Batam)

Background of the Study  The need of a good reading test which can measure what the teacher wants to measure.  A good reading testing considers many aspects, and some of them are the appropriateness of the test text selection and the techniques chosen.  As a religious higher education institution, both IAT Bandung and IAIN “SMH” Banten teach English as a general compulsory subject (MKDU) covering the four language skills which include reading skills.  The present study tries to see how text parameters and reading test techniques are applied in the reading tests in both institutions.

Research Questions  How are the text parameters applied on the text selection of reading test used at IAT Bandung and IAIN “SMH” Banten?  What reading test techniques are applied at IAT Bandung and IAIN “SMH” Banten?

Theoretical Framework  Two of the important aspects in preparing reading tests are the text selection and the techniques chosen.  To select text candidates for a reading test, Hughes (2003) proposed a number of parameters: intended readership, text topic, text types, text form, text length, text readability, range of vocabulary, and range of grammar.  Hughes (2003) also indicates that the techniques used should interfere as little as possible with the reading itself, and that they should not add a significantly difficult task on top of reading.  As a solution to this problem, he proposes four techniques to be used: multiple choice, short answer, gap filling, and information transfer.

Definition of Terms  English MKDU means English which is taught as a general basic courses to non-English Departments.  Reading Test Texts refer to the texts used for measuring the reading comprehension ability of the students.  Text Parameters are a number of parameters used as considerations to select a text for the reading test texts including intended readership, text topic, text types, text form, text length, text readability, range of vocabulary, and range of grammar.  Reading Test Techniques are means of eliciting behavior from the candidates that will tell us about their reading comprehension abilities (Hughes, 2003)

METHODOLOGY Research Site Institut Alkitab Tiranus (IAT) Bandung and Non-English Department of State Islamic Institute Banten. Research Design This study employed a qualitative research in the form of descriptive since researchers focused on the observing, interpreting, and understanding the texts of the reading tests used in both institutions. Participants of the Study The lecturers who taught English MKDU at IAT Bandung and in Non-English Department of IAIN “SMH” Banten.

 In collecting the data the researchers applied document analysis and interview.  The term “document” refers to a wide range of written, visual, and physical materials.  The written documents used in this study are those of the formative tests from both of the institutions – the mid term test (UTS) and the final term test (UAS), of the last four years (from 2005 – 2008). Methodology

 Based on the purposes of the research, we did not analyze all documents in those formative tests,  We selected only certain tests related to reading skill evaluation instead.  The document analysis was then supported the by interviewing the lecturers.

Instrument Principal instruments of the of the research are the researchers themselves. Data Analysis  In analyzing the data, the researchers categorized and classified the data such as to what specification categories the reading text used belong to, or to what category the test techniques used fit in.  During the categorization, the researcher tried to eye on possible ideas, perceptions, and experiences.  The final phase of the data analysis is to interpret and conclude the findings. METHODOLOGY

FINDINGS 1.The Text parameters Application on the Reading test Used at IAT Bandung and IAIN “SMH” Banten can be seen in the table below.

THE TEXT PARAMETERS APPLICATION ON THE READING TESTS USED AT IAT BANDUNG AND IAIN “SMH” BANTEN NoParametersIAT BANDUNGIAIN “SMH” BANTEN 1 Text Topic about what Jesus done (taken from Bible) all related to Islam (taken from various sources) 2 Range of Vocabulary around the biblical stories around the development of Islam (Koran & Prophet Muhammad – history of Islamic education) 3 Text Types Non fiction: reportsNon fiction: articles 4 Text Form NarrativeArgumentative 5 Text Length Short ( words)Medium ( words) 6 Range of Grammar Easy (limited longer clauses and subordination) Rather difficult (some longer clauses and subordination ) 7 Text Readability Easy level (for college students) Medium level of difficulty (for college students) 8 Intended Readership Christian Readers (with biblical background knowledge) Muslim Readers (with Islamic background knowledge)

Data interpretationThe data described conclude that: Islamic institute chose more varied topics and vocabularies than Christian institute Texts used at the Christian institute tend to be script-centered than those used in Islamic institutes Christian institute prefers to employ narrative texts, while Islamic institute prefers to use argumentative texts The grammar and vocabulary used at Islamic institute are more difficult than those used at the Christian institute. Islamic institute prefers to use longer texts than Christian institute.

FINDINGS 2.The Reading Test Techniques Applied at IAT Bandung and IAIN “SMH” Banten can be seen in the table below.

THE READING TEXT TECHNIQUES APPLIED AT IAT BANDUNG AND IAIN “SMH” BANTEN NoTESTIAT BANDUNGIAIN “SMH” BANTEN 1 M-04/05 Short answer, Information transfer True-false, Multiple choice, Short answer 2 F-04/05 Matching words/phrases, True-false, Short answer, True-false, Multiple choice, Short answer 3 M-05/06 Matching words/phrases, True-false, Short answer, True-false, Multiple choice, Short answer 4 F-05/06 Multiple choice True-false, Multiple choice, Short answer 5 M-06/07 Matching words/phrases, True-false, Short answer, True-false, Multiple choice, Short answer 6 F-06/07 Matching words/phrases, True-false, Short answer True-false, Multiple choice, Short answer 7 M-07/08 Matching words/phrases, True-false, Short answer True-false, Multiple choice, Short answer 8 F-07/08 True-false, Short answer True-false, Multiple choice, Matching words/phrases

THE COMPARISON OF READING TEST TECHNIQUS APPLIED AT IAT BANDUNG AND IAIN BANTEN NoIAT BANDUNGIAIN “SMH” BANTEN 1True-false (6)True-false (8) 2Multiple choice (1)Multiple choice (8) 3Short answer (7) 4Matching words/phrases (5)Matching words/phrases (1) 5Information transfer (1)

Data Interpretation Islamic institute does not use any information transfer technique. Islamic institute uses more multiple choice technique than that of Christian institute. Chritian institute uses more matching technique than Islamic institute.

CONCLUSIONS  There are some similarities and some differences in the text parameters application on the reading text tests used at IAT Bandung and in non-English Department of IAIN “SMH” Banten.  The similarities are in the topic choice in which both institutes used topic related to their field of study and in the intended readership of the reading test texts which is both institution is their students with their religion background.  The differences covered the types of the text which is more scientific in IAIN “SMH” Banten, the text length which is shorter in IAT Bandung, and the ranges of grammar which is also easier in IAT Bandung.

CONCLUSIONS  There are a bit differences in the reading test techniques applied in both institution.  There are five kinds of reading test techniques applied in IAT Bandung; those were True-false, Multiple choice, Short answer, Matching words/phrases, and Information transfer.  While it was only four IAIN “SMH” Banten; those were True-false, Multiple choice, Short answer, and Matching words/phrases.

SUGGESTIONS For IAT Bandung Lecturers:  Try to choose a more scientific text for the reading test.  Try to widen the range of the vocabularies of the text.  Try to vary the text. For IAIN “SMH” Lecturers:  Consider the length of text whether it was too long.  Try to vary the reading test.

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