Theme-Based Instruction Method in English Reading Comprehension: Using Makassar Local Culture-Based Curriculum Contents

Theme-based instruction is one kind of communicative methods used in the teaching English reading comprehension. Use of Makassar local culture-based curriculum contents as a source of instruction content incorporated in this method is assumed to be able to facilitate English reading comprehension. This study is pre-experiment with the use of one-group pretest-posttest design. Its population was all students of grade 9 of 13 State Junior High School of Makassar in South Sulawesi province, Indonesia. Through the use of cluster random sampling, it took one class as the sample. It aimed to determine students' English reading comprehension achievement level by comparing between the result of pretest and posttest of students' English reading comprehension performance. Besides, the study identified the contribution of theme-based instruction method towards English reading comprehension achievement in the learning of English. Questionnaire and English reading comprehension test as instruments that used to obtain the data, in which they were analyzed descriptively and inferentially. The finding of study showed that the level of students' reading comprehension achievement increased because their post-test reading comprehension achievement was better than the pretest. Furthermore, this instruction method contributed 91.6% towards the learning of the students' English reading comprehension achievement.