HOW TO ATTRACT STUDENTS’ READING MOTIVATION?

How to attract students’ reading motivation?

Reading used to be a common habit but no longer since digital mass has come attracting our attention. We used to read piece by piece of articles in books, newspapers,  or magazines, but now we don’t have to do that. To know an article through those of media seems no longer effective and is considered wasting of time. Nowadays, students tend to read captions or even just see pictures to know what the articles tell them about.

SMAN 2 CIKARANG UTARA is trying to solve that problem through a school special activity called READATHON, which stands for Reading Marathon. Here, the school invites students to start to read though little. Having  interest to read is not easy, that’s why bu Lili Apriyani as the initiator of that activity supported by the teachers, tries to keep persistent in holding that activity.

Held before the class begins is the most slot. Students are asked to tell what books they have read and give the conclusion of what the moral message is. Only a few students are appointed to do that since the duration is not enough.  How about the remain who still are not interested in reading? The teachers have an idea to give some books free in the condition they have to read them and will not stop reading till they finish reading them, and this trick has been the best way to stimulate students’ motivation to read. Hope their initiative to read become a habit since Marcus Tullius Cicero (a Roman writer, speaker, philosopher, and politician) said “A room without books is like a body without a soul.”

And also Allah S.W.T. commanded us to read,  ponder, analyze and understand as it is said is surah Al- ‘Alaq verse 1.

Written by Dian Kusumawardani, S.Pd

An English teacher of SMAN 2 CIKARANG UTARA