The Effectiveness of Steinberg Early Reading Programme on the

Ability of Reading at Primary School in Primary School

Tatat Hartati

and Nuri Annisa

Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Jln. Dr. Setiabudhi No.229 Bandung Indonesia

Universitas Langlangbuana, Bandung, Indonesia

tatat@upi.edu, nuriannisaupi@gmail.com

Keywords: Effectiveness of Steinberg Early Reading Program, Ability of Reading, Elementary School.

Abstract: The Effectiveness of Steinberg Early Reading Program on the Ability of Reading at Elementary School. This

is an experimental research to implement Steinberg's Early Reading Program at Elementary School. The main

objective of this research is to study the effectiveness of Steinberg's Early Reading Program on children's

ability to read at elementary school. This reading program, called, "A Four Phase Teaching Program” consist

of: word familiarization, word identification, phrase and sentence identification, texts interpretation. The

result of experimental research shows a significant difference in the achievement of word and sentence reading

test on experimental group (mean 47.00) and control group (mean 6.03). The ability of the Children to read

words (mean 28.30) and sentences (mean 8.23). Learning and testing materials consist of 30 words of family

words, nouns, verbs, and adjectives. The number of 10 consists of simple and complex sentences consisting

of declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamation sentences.

1 INTRODUCTION

Reading has a very important social role in human

life. The first is that reading is a necessary means of

communication in a cultured society. Second, the

reading produced in every age in history is largely

influenced by the social background in which the

language develops. Third is that as far as history is

recorded, reading has resulted in two distinct groups,

groups that unite different social groups by generating

attitudes, ideas, interests and aspirations of society,

while others reinforce differences by stimulating And

reinforce the differences of opinion with a negative

(damaging) difference. Therefore, educational

experts should determine ways to read can best

promote personal welfare and group progress,

especially for students who rank the progress of the

nation and state (Tarigan, 1987). The main purpose of

reading is to get the true meaning (Kamarudin and

Hajar, 1996). While reading, the main task of the

reader is to regain meaning (Smith, 1990; Sougate,

1972; Zaini, 1993).

Based on the above description of the theory of

reading, reading research and general

psycholinguistics, Steinberg (1990) put forward five

basic principles of teaching reading to children. The

principle is:

 Reading should involve meaningful words,

phrases, and sentences.

 Reading should depend on the understanding of

speech and not on the outcome of speech.

 Reading does not have to depend on teaching a

new language or concept.

 Reading does not have to depend on writing

teaching.

 Learning to read should be fun.

Knowing the purpose of reading for teachers and

parents is very important because the introduction of

various goals in teaching reading will encourage

teachers to act as facilitators. Acceptance and

acknowledgment of goal-oriented approaches in

teaching reading indicate a greater responsibility in

education. This means that everything that is done can

be accountable to all parties, namely parents,

educators and students.

The expressive purpose is contained in these

activities:

 Read follow your own volition (self directed

reading).

 Interpretive reading (interpretative reading) is to

find meaning, assess and interpret.

Hartati, T. and Annisa, N.

The Effectiveness of Steinberg Early Reading Programme on the Ability of Reading at Primary School in Primary School.

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Educational Sciences (ICES 2017) - Volume 1, pages 343-348

ISBN: 978-989-758-314-8

343

 Reading creative (creative reading)

It has been said that reading is a complex skill that

involves a variety of abilities. Broadly speaking there

are two important aspects in reading, namely:

 Mechanical, mechanical skills that can be

considered to be in the lower order. These

aspects include: (A). Letter form recognition.

(B). The introduction of linguistic elements

(phonemes, words, phrases, clauses, and

verses), (C). The introduction of spelling and

sound relationships and (D). Slow reading

speed.

 Understanding skills (comprehension skills)

that can be considered to be on the order of

higher (higher order). These aspects include:

(A). Understand the simple sense (lexical,

grammatical, and rhetorical). (B).Understand

signification or meaning. (C). Evaluation or

assessment and (D). Flexible reading speed.

To achieve the goals contained in mechanical

skills (mechanical skills) is the most appropriate

activity is reading loud / read sound, while for the

skills of understanding (comprehension skills) then

the most appropriate is to read (Tarigan, 1987).

According Kamarudin and Hajar (1996), the

aspects related to reading are (1). Speed level, (2).

Eye movement, (3). Know the exact structure of the

sentence, (4) Strong read, (5) Read actively, (6).

Pointing, (7) Motivation, (8).Impulse, (9).Physical

state, (10). Understanding and (11). Exercise

understanding

Books clean, sharing when books are shared).

Next Hartati and Cuhariah (2010), describes

examples of introductory readings as follows:

 Alphabet Method

 Spell Method (Spelling Method)

 Word Method (Syllabic Method)

 Word Method (Whole Word Method)

 Sentence Method (Syntaxis Method)

 Method of SAS (Structural Analytic Syntactic

Method)

1.1 Alphabet Method

Learning to read the beginning with this method

begins by introducing letters alphabetically. The

letters are memorized and pronounced children

according to the alphabetical sound. For some cases,

it is difficult to distinguish letters b, d, p, q or n, u, m,

w. For that teacher to trace the letters repeatedly or by

giving a different color.

After that stage students are invited to recognize

the syllables by coupling some familiar letters.

Example: b and a are read ba

c and a read ca

So the two syllables are read to "read" (has

meaning for the child)

The next process is to introduce a simple sentence.

Example: ani read the book

The learning process of letters, syllables, words,

and sentences is pursued following the principle of a

spiral approach (from easy to difficult),

communicative (language used daily by the child),

contextual (in accordance with the immediate

environment of the child), and constructivism (Child

language experience)

1.2 Spell Method / Spelling Method

This method is similar to the Alphabetical method.

The difference lies in the system of alphabetical or

letter pronunciation (read: some consonant letters).

Example: Letter b is pronounced / eb /:

pronounced with e pepet, as the pronunciation of the

word 'true'

Letter d is pronounced / ed /

Letter g is pronounced / eg /

The letter p is pronounced / ep /

The next step is like the alphabetic method.

1.3 The Syllabic Method

This method begins with the introduction of syllables

such as ca, ci, cu, ce, co, da, du, de, do ka, ki, ku, ke,

ko, and so on. The syllables, then coupled into

meaningful words.

Example:

Cu - ci da - da ka - ki - ki

Cu - cu du - in my ka

This activity can be continued with the process of

sequencing the word into simple sentences.

An example of a sequence of words into the

sentence, as shown in the example below:

Ka – ki ku - da

Ba – ca bu- ku

Cu – ci ka - ki

1.4 Word Method (Whole Word

Method)

This method begins with meaningful, functional, and

contextual words recognition. It should be introduced

to a word consisting of two syllables first. Then

introduce the syllable by reading the word slowly, and

giving pauses to each syllable. This can be combined

with a clapping motion on each syllable. The goal is

ICES 2017 - 1st International Conference on Educational Sciences

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to stimulate the child's motor as well as to train

children to know the syllables. Example: books,

glasses

(Teachers do not teach the syllables and words).

1.5 Sentence Method (Syntaxis

Method)

This method begins with the presentation of several

sentences globally. The sentences are preceded by

teacher's story or question and answer done between

teacher and student. The presentation of this method

can be assisted by a single image.

1.6 Methods SAS (Structural, Analytic,

Syntactic Method)

Learning of this method begins by displaying a whole

sentence. At first the child was treated to a structure

that gave a complete meaning. It is intended to build

meaningful concepts for their self. It would be better

if the sentence structure sentences presented as

learning materials are sentences extracted from the

students' language experience. To that end, in the

introduction of the meeting, the teacher conducted

several activities to explore the students' language

experience. For example by frequently asked

questions, telling stories, and showing pictures.

Then through the analytic process, the children are

invited to get to know the concept of the word. The

whole sentence is broken down into words, syllables,

and letters. In the next stage, the synthesis stage is

done by reuniting the letters into syllables, words, and

sentences.

Example:

ini mama agus

i - ni ma - ma a - gus

i n i m a m a a g u s

i - ni ma - ma a-gus

ini mama agus

1.7 Method 4 Stage Steinberg (Four

Steps Steinberg Method)

According to Steinberg (1990) there are four stages

(steps) in early learning reading, namely:

Stage 1. Know the word and its meaning.

Example: reading a word with a picture

Stage 2. Understanding the word they read

(reading the word without picture)

Example: ball

Stage 3. Read phrases or sentences

Example: ini bola

itu bola

ini bola budi

Stage 4. Read the text / discourse

Example: bola

ini bola budi

bola budi warna merah

budi senang main bola

2 METHOD

This study used a quasi-experimental approach with

the form of the control group design (the equivalent

control group design), (Reaves, 1992). The researcher

has provided a group of experiments and a control

group consisting of subjects that have been combined

before the study begins in class (group) form.

Selection of classes (groups) is selected based on

students' ability to read. This design is appropriate to

examine educational issues because the subject is in

actual learning condition. The research design is as

follows:

Experiment Group O X O

O-O Control Group

Hint: O = Pretest and Posttest X = Treatment

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The analysis made on the data of the results of the

initial and final examinations plus the observations

data to the experimental group indicates that the

initial reading program based on Steinberg gave a

positive impression as an initial grade school teaching

program. The effectiveness of the program is

corroborated by the decision of the t-test. The t-test

shows the effectiveness of the initial reading program

based on Steinberg significantly, i.e. "t" count (11.47)

greater than the "t" table (2.66), at a confidence level

of 0.99. Similarly, in terms of the ability to read aloud

it is known that Steinberg's initial reading program is

effectively convincing from the min score of value

increase for the experimental group of 29.77 and for

the control group of 5.90. The "t" test for the loud

reading aspect also confirmed significant differences

between the experimental groups and the control

group. To see the effectiveness of the program can be

observed in the following table 1:

The Effectiveness of Steinberg Early Reading Programme on the Ability of Reading at Primary School in Primary School

345

Table 1: Effectiveness of Steinberg program.

Experiment

Group

Control Group

Pretest

44,06

45,67

Posttest

91,06

51,7

Increase in

score

6,03

The data from the table shows the average earning

scores on the experimental group and the control

group are not much different. Min value of

preliminary examination test of comparison group

45,67 while experiment group average value is 44.06.

This shows that the initial reading ability of research

subjects is almost the same. Three months after the

experiment, the experimental group showed a high

increase of 47.00, while the comparison group also

increased by 6.03. This data is based on the final exam

results that show the average acquisition value for the

experimental group 91.06 while the control group

obtained 51.70. These values, is a combination of test

scores of reading of words and sentences and tests

read loud and sentence through recording techniques.

More data for each aspect of research can be seen

in the table 2 and 3 below:

Table 2: Comparation of average score of pretest.

Group

Reading for

Understanding

Reading aloud

Total

Word

Sent.

Word

Sent.

17.23

3.60

16.90

6.33

44.06

Con

18.133

3.80

16.233

7.50

45.67

Table 3: Comparation of average score of posttest.

Group

Reading for

Understanding

Reading aloud

Total

Word

Sent.

Word

Sent.

28.70

9.36

28.30

24.70

91.06

Con

18.23

3.83

19.27

10.37

51.70

To clarify the acquisition of the grades of the

students on the initial and final examinations, the

following sets out the values obtained from the

experimental and control groups. Similarly, they

increase in the value of both groups.

From the above description then the four formulas

of research problems that have been put forward can

be answered succinctly as follows:

 The initial reading program based on Steinberg

gave a positive impression on the early reading

mastery of primary school children, especially

children who have just attended primary school.

 Based on posttest (final exams) in the

experimental group of primary school children

can successfully read 28.30 words and 8.23

sentences.

 The types of words that children can read in

early reading learning are:

 Kinship words: mother, father, brother and

sister.

 Nouns, such as animals: chickens, cats,

fish. Goods: milk, rice, dolls.

 The word deed / verb: sleep, read, eat.

 Adjectives: nice, happy, and sad.

The types of sentences that can be read by primary

school students, especially the starting class, are as

follows:

 Statement: ini mama nani, ini baju baru

nana

 Question: nenek mana, kakek pergi ke

mana

 Command: ayo nyanyi, ayo adik minum

susu

 Exclamation: aduh sakit kaki, wah bagus

rumah bibi

The above sentences consist of the most basic

sentences and complex sentences (especially for

primary school children), and most children have

been able to read them.

 From pretest observations, experimental periods

until posttest, it is found some of the difficulties

experienced by primary school children in early

reading learning as follows:

 Phoneme addition:

 The addition at the beginning of the word,

as the word ayam is read hayam

 The addition at the end of the word, as papa

becomes papah, mama becomes mamah,

this becomes sad, and it becomes ituh.

 Phoneme reduction:

 Initial reduction, such as: cat read ucing

 Reduction at the end, such as: younger

brother read ade or adi

 Replacing the consonant:

Example: the bird becomes bulung, angry

into even, sleep becomes iduy.

 Monoftongization (removal of

diphthongs): Example: Diftong au, as in

buffalo word read kerbo or kebo. Diftong

ai, as in the word water is read a-ir or a-er.

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 Digraf:

Like the phoneme ng in happy words, read

senan or senag. The phoneme ny in the

word smile, read sen-yum.

 Changing word:

Like: it became this

Data from the final examination shows that

primary school children aged 6-7 years and enter

primary school can read an average of 28.30 words

consisting of hyphens, nouns, verbs and adjectives.

The type of sentence that can be read consists of the

most basic sentences that are patterned subject-

predicate up to a rather complex sentence for

children, such as subject-subject-subject patterns.

The types of sentences that can be read consist of

statements, commands, and exclamation sentences. In

this study the average children can read 8.23

sentences from the total number of 10 sentences.

Based on statistical tests (t-test) it can be argued

that by early reading based on Steinberg given to

newly enrolled children aged 6-7 years can have a

positive effect so that this program can be used to

teach and improve early reading skills. Similarly,

statistical tests of the ability to read loud words and

sentences based on differences in both groups' values,

experimental and control groups, have proven the

effectiveness of early reading based on Steinberg.

Compared with the control group who had a better

average pretest scores score (45.67), the experimental

group having a lower initial exam scoring average

(44.06) has shown a marked increase in the final

exam score of 47 points. This is much different from

the control group which only reached 6.03 points

increase. It shows structured programs based on

cognitive psycholinguistics theory, as Steinberg's

early reading program is far more memorable than an

unclear reading program without any particular

theory and teaching principles.

Viewed from the achievement of other aspects of

research that is the achievement of reading

comprehension test and loud reading test, the

experimental group has shown a high increase

average, that is 17.23 points for the increase of

reading comprehension test of 29,77 for the increase

of loud reading value. While the average increase in

value in the control group is as follows: to increase

the reading comprehension test of 0.127, and the

increase of the loud reading value is 5,907 points.

Thus the initial reading program based on

Steinberg that has been piloted to 30 newly enrolled

children aged between 6-7 years, has shown positive

signs as an effective early reading program.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The effectiveness of a teaching program gives

meaning that the program guides and improves

students' behavior from incompetence or little

progress into master reading skills in accordance with

the program objectives. Quantitatively and

qualitatively, the initial reading program based on

Steinberg has a positive influence according to its

purpose. The researchers, however, are aware of

some of the limitations of this study, particularly in

terms of research samples, short study time and

limited research instruments. Given the importance of

research results and this program is still considered

new in the world of learning to read early in

Indonesia, then further research is more profound and

comprehensive.

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