INTEGRATING INDONESIAN HISTORICAL NARRATIVES INTO EFL READING INSTRUCTION: EFFECTS ON SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS' CRITICAL READING SKILLS

Abstract

This study examined the effect of integrating Indonesian historical narratives into EFL reading instruction on senior high school students’ critical reading skills. A quantitative approach using a quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test control group design was employed. The participants were 60 Grade XI students at SMA 2 Muhammadiyah Palembang, Indonesia, comprising 30 students in an experimental group and 30 students in a control group. The experimental group received EFL reading instruction integrating Indonesian historical narratives with explicit critical reading activities, whereas the control group received conventional EFL reading instruction. Data were collected using a critical reading test administered before and after the intervention. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, an independent-samples t test for baseline comparison, assumption tests, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), with pre-test scores entered as the covariate. The experimental group’s mean score increased from 56.68 (SD = 6.30) on the pre-test to 66.24 (SD = 6.02) on the post-test, whereas the control group increased from 56.15 (SD = 6.52) to 61.78 (SD = 6.24). The baseline comparison indicated no significant difference between the groups, t(58) = 0.321, p = .749. ANCOVA revealed a statistically significant effect of instructional group on post-test critical reading performance after controlling for pre-test scores, F(1, 57) = 11.190, p = .001, ηp² = .164, indicating a moderate-to-large effect. The findings suggest that integrating Indonesian historical narratives with explicit critical reading activities can enhance students’ critical reading performance in EFL contexts. Culturally and historically contextualized English reading materials may provide meaningful contexts for developing students’ abilities to identify claims and evidence, make inferences, interpret perspectives, evaluate information, and construct evidence-based reasoning. The study contributes pedagogically by demonstrating the potential of culturally relevant materials for critical reading instruction and theoretically by supporting the role of contextualized content in promoting higher-order reading processes.