Sundanese Short Story (Carpon) as an Effort to Improve Reading Ability of Middle School Students

In Indonesia, the literacy level of students is still very low, especially in learning Sundanese. This research is motivated by seeing children nowadays who very rarely even forget about cultures, as well as the lack of literacy in Sundanese literary works, including short stories (known as Carpon or Carita Pondok). Therefore, we are looking for ways to increase Sundanese literacy, one of which is by getting used to reading Carpon. The purpose of this study was to find out how far the level of understanding of student literacy after reading Carpon also fosters reading interest in Carpon. This research is descriptive quantitative. The research instrument carried out was in the form of a pre-test and post-test which was carried out by distributing questionnaires (google form) to students via whatsapp groups, the source of data in this study were students of junior high school. The results showed that the pre-test results were 61% of students who answered yes, and 39% of students who answered no and in the post-test 85% of students answered yes and 15% of students answered no. It can be said that the level of student literacy and students' understanding of Carpon reading activities has greatly increased. © 2021 Kantor Jurnal dan Publikasi UPI Article History: Received 25 Jul 2021 Revised 22 Aug 2021 Accepted 30 Aug 2021 Available online 03 Sep 2021 ____________________ Keyword: Carpon, Interest, Literacy, Read. Indonesian Journal of Multidisciplinary Research Journal homepage: http://ejournal.upi.edu/index.php/ IJOMR/ Indonesian Journal of Multidisciplinary Research 1(2) (2021) 405-412 Ababil et al., Sundanese Short Story (Carpon) as an Effort to Improve Reading ... | 406 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17509/xxxx.xxx pISSN 2776-608X eISSN 2776-5970


A B S T R A C T S A R T I C L E I N F O
In Indonesia, the literacy level of students is still very low, especially in learning Sundanese. This research is motivated by seeing children nowadays who very rarely even forget about cultures, as well as the lack of literacy in Sundanese literary works, including short stories (known as Carpon or Carita Pondok). Therefore, we are looking for ways to increase Sundanese literacy, one of which is by getting used to reading Carpon. The purpose of this study was to find out how far the level of understanding of student literacy after reading Carpon also fosters reading interest in Carpon. This research is descriptive quantitative. The research instrument carried out was in the form of a pre-test and post-test which was carried out by distributing questionnaires (google form) to students via whatsapp groups, the source of data in this study were students of junior high school. The results showed that the pre-test results were 61% of students who answered yes, and 39% of students who answered no and in the post-test 85% of students answered yes and 15% of students answered no. It can be said that the level of student literacy and students' understanding of Carpon reading activities has greatly increased.

INTRODUCTION
Language is a means to express ideas and whole ideas are usually realized in the form of text. Text is interpreted as meaningful speech or writing, which contains complete ideas. Based on these assumptions, the function of language learning is to develop the ability to understand and create or compose texts. The most common literacy understanding is cognitive skills in reading and writing, where as literacy is not only limited to being able to read and write (Harahap et al., 2017).
One of the entrances to improve the quality of education is by building a literate community (Hardiansah & Sauri, 2021). Only through literacy skills can the path of understanding and mastering knowledge, skills, and other life skills be achieved. A person will be said to be literate if that person is able to understand something caused by that person reading the right information and doing something based on his understanding of the contents of the reading (Warsihna, 2016). However, the reality is that the literacy culture among students is in an alarming condition. The low interest in reading makes students often ignore the existence of a literacy culture. In addition to the low interest in reading in students, literature is also considered a difficult thing to understand (Nugraeni & Umaya, 2020).
Interest in reading literary works is the same as interest in reading, but interest in reading literary works is more directed and focused in the field of literature, both poetry and prose (Carpon and novel). The selection of reading sources can be focused on literature because in the reading material literary works are realistic or closely related to everyday life. In learning literature, reading is a very important activity. Because with reading activities students can understand the contents of the literary work and reading activities cannot be separated from students' interest in reading. Reading can take care of brain health, optimize linguistic and logical intelligence so that people who are diligent in reading can more quickly understand a problem, whether related to subjects or daily life (Pritasiwi & Roesminingsih, 2021).
Prose fiction is a type of literary work that presents many stories that raise problems from everyday life and the surrounding environment. Prose fiction is born through the process of the author's imagination and creativity. The imagination presented by the author is often a reflection of real experiences which are then poured into an interesting storyline (Putriyanti et al., 2017).
There are many research studies related to efforts to increase students' reading interest, namely; 1) "The Influence of Reading Interest and Understanding of Intrinsic Elements on Students' Short Story Writing Ability", research results show that there is a significant influence of short story reading interest and short story understanding on writing ability (Yanuar, 2018); 2) "The Relationship between Creative Thinking Ability and Short Story Writing Ability", research results show that there is a positive and significant relationship between creative thinking ability and short story writing ability (Puspitasari, 2017); 3) "Implementation of Media Literacy in Developing Students' Reading Interest in junior high school 1 Kediri", research results show that students' reading interest increases after literacy activities are carried out (Nandasari, 2017); 4) "Application of Ausubel Theory as an Effort to Increase Interest in Reading Short Stories in Class 8 junior high school 6 Malunda", research results show that the ability to read short stories changes their reading interest after applying Ausubel theory (Iwan et al., 2020); 5) "Efforts to Increase Reading Interest Through Reviews of Folklore Content on Youtube Applications", research results show that after being given a program in the form of YouTube reviews, students' reading abilities increase (Anggidesialamia, 2020). However, from several research results that discuss efforts to improve literacy culture with various media including using short stories (short stories) in Indonesian, this study used literacy materials in the form of Carpon or short stories in Sundanese. Lack of literacy is also seen in the cultural realm, namely the lack of interest of today's children in literature, because literature is one manifestation of the culture of a culture, including Sundanese literary works, one of which is in the form of Carpon. Literary work as a representation of the reality of life has a close relationship with the cultural background in which the work was born (Khoiriyah, 2020).
Based on the explanation, we are looking for ways to increase Sundanese language literacy among society in general and among students or children in particular. In accordance with the KIKD of junior high school class 8, namely 3.7 understanding and identifying the structure, elements, and linguistic aspects of the Carita Pondok. 4.7 responding to the values of Carita Pondok by paying attention to intrinsic elements, text structure, and linguistic aspects. Therefore, we conducted a study on literacy understanding after reading Carpon also fosters reading interest in Carpon.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 2.1 Carpon
Carpon is one of the literary genres in the form of prose. The story in the Carpon is packaged in a concise manner. That's why people often call it one sitting reading. That is, in the process of reading the reader's card, it does not take a very long time, but we can immediately find the point. Carpon or in Indonesian often called short stories (short stories) is a work of fiction or imaginative fiction by expressing a problem that is written briefly and densely by having components or structural elements in the form of plot, background/setting, characterizations, point of view, language style, theme, and mandate (Puspitasari, 2017).

Reading Literacy
Literacy is a person's ability to read or write. Literacy culture can be said as a person's habits in terms of reading and writing in order to gain knowledge. Literacy is closely related to reading literary works. At the junior and senior school levels, students prefer light reading materials and the language is easy to understand. Students are more enthusiastic about reading with reading topics that are close to themselves (Nugraeni & Umaya, 2020).

METHODS
By using quantitative descriptive method, we will explain how to improve literacy through Carpon reading activities. We will be directly involved in data collection. The technique used in data collection is the questionnaire survey method in the form of pre-test and post-test which is carried out by distributing questionnaires (google form) to students through whatsapp groups. The population or data sources in this study were students of class 8 junior high school. The sample used in this study were students of class 8 C junior high school with random sampling technique. The pre-test and post-test questions were used to determine the extent of students' understanding both before the reading activity (pre-test) and after the reading activity (post-test) was carried out. Meanwhile, questionnaires were used to find out how students felt about reading activities that had been carried out. The data obtained will be processed and then compared until the final results will be concluded. The stages of this research are as follows:

Preparation phase
At this stage, we prepares all the needs for the research. Such as coordinating with the school to ask for permission. We met with student teachers who are also part of the curriculum. We was directed to meet the teacher in question, namely the Sundanese language teacher. We conveys the intent, purpose, the teacher conveys some difficulties during online learning. The teacher also complained that the students' lack of interest in reading resulted in a lack of literacy skills, and the assignments given were neglected. After that, we asked permission from the teacher concerned to create a mentoring group for students who were very problematic in the learning process. Then the teacher directed them to accompany class 8 C, which was very poor in literacy.

Implementation Stage
At the implementation stage, we asked the students whether there were problems when learning Sundanese, what they thought was a problem. The next day the students were given a test about the students' ability in literacy. After being given the test, the next day students were given reading material in the form of a Carpon as well as a video related to reading literacy. At the end of the meeting, students were asked to fill in the post-test questions aimed at seeing whether it was true that the media in the form of Carpons could improve students' literacy skills. All of these activities were carried out using digital media in the form of zoom and also WhatsApp Group.

Final Stage
The next stage after the implementation stage is the final stage, namely analyzing the results of the pre-test and post-test. The results of the pretest will be compared with the results of the posttest to see how the students' literacy skills are before and after the Carpon reading activity is carried out.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Demographics
This studies was conducted at junior high school class 8 C. Then, we selected samples from the large population and obtained as many as 13 students with details of 3 male students and 10 female students. The study began by preparing instruments in the form of pretest and posttest questions in the form of google form. The number of questions consists of 10 questions regarding students' understanding of the Carpon. The students who were sampled were students who were very lacking in Sundanese language literacy, especially in literacy of Carpon literature in Sundanese language learning. Of the 13 students, as many as 5 students had a little understanding of the Carpon but were still lacking in how to read it, and for the remaining 8 students, they really did not know about the Carpon, ranging from not understanding the contents to having difficulty reading it.

Phenomena in the learning process
After determining the sample and knowing what the problems are, we also conduct research with the following steps: (i) The initial step taken is that students are given pre-test questions to determine the extent of students' understanding of Carpon before being given literacy media in the form of Carpon.
(ii) After students fill in the pre-test questions, students are given additional understanding and are given collection of Carpon to be used as student literacy materials, then students are directed to read them. (iii) After the students read the Carpon that had been given, we also gave post-test questions with the aim of knowing the extent of students' understanding after being given reading material in the form of Carpon. (iv) After getting the results of the pre-test and pro-test, we analyzed and compared the results, also evaluate the level of student ability given after the learning process.

Data analysis
Based on the results of the pre-test and post-test can be said that the level of student literacy and students' understanding of reading Carpon activities is greatly increased. Figure  1 shows that as many as 61% of students who answered yes, and 39% of students who answered no. Figure 2 shows that as many as 85% of students answered yes and 15% of students answered no. Based on the description above, it can be said that there is an increase in students' reading comprehension and interest in Carpon. However, of the 10 questions that we gave to students, there was 1 question that the we gave to students with the aim of knowing whether or not there were difficulties in reading the Carpon, some students had difficulty in reading the Carpon on the grounds that they did not understand the language in the Carpon. This proves the lack of literacy in reading Carpon activities in class 8 C junior high school. When we gave a literacy media in the form of Carpon, they felt challenged to read other Carpon. This is evidenced in the post-test results on the 10th question, namely, "After reading the Carpon, is there any interest in reading other Carpon?". A total of 12 students answered yes. This proves that the media in the form of Carpon is very effective as an effort to improve reading literacy. For clarity, the results of the pre-test and post-test can be seen in the Figure 1 and Figure 2.

Discussion
Literacy is a person's ability to read or write. Literacy culture can be said as a person's habits in terms of reading and writing in order to gain knowledge. Literacy is closely related to reading literary works. At the junior and senior school levels, students prefer light reading materials and the language is easy to understand. Students are more enthusiastic about reading with reading topics that are close to themselves (Nugraeni & Umaya, 2020).
Literacy skills can be obtained from the learning process. There are five reasons why literacy is more directed at the ability to read and write, including: 1) readers are meaning builders, every reader has a reading goal. The goal moves his mind about the topic and activates the connection of his background knowledge; 2) reading and writing are the same knowledge and process; 3) learning to read and write can improve achievement, the combination of learning to read and write leads to an increase in reading and writing skills; 4) reading and writing can help develop communication, reading and writing are not only skills that must be learned to get good grades, but also the process of reading and writing can help students communicate effectively; 5) the combination of reading and writing invites students to think at a higher level (Suandewi et al., 2019).
Interest indicators are frequency, quantity of reading and quantity of reading sources. There are also other indicators in reading interest, namely: 1) reading pleasure; 2) reading awareness; 3) reading frequency, and; 4) the number of books that have been read (Purnama, 2020). These indicators are used as a benchmark to measure a person's level of interest in reading. In addition, a person's very high reading interest is also motivated by other factors such as environmental support, both parents and teachers, as well as the facilities available to support their reading interest. The results of learning Sundanese language students of class 8 C junior high school based on the research are included in the criteria quite well. This condition is supported by a very high student interest in reading. In this study, students' reading interest including indicators of reading pleasure, awareness of the benefits of reading, frequency of reading, and quantity of reading, will also have a positive influence on their learning success.
Therefore, reading is a very important part of the educational process. Students whose reading interest is high, their knowledge is also high. Vice versa, if reading interest is low, then the knowledge possessed is lacking, and it will have an impact on a student's learning outcomes (Purnama, 2020). That is, the more optimal literacy is carried out and the interest in reading in students will also improve student learning outcomes, especially in learning Sundanese.

CONCLUSION
From the results of the study, it can be concluded that the literacy activity of reading Carpon has a positive impact on class 8 students of junior high school. This is indicated by the post-test results which are quite increased from the previous pre-test results that as many as 61% of students answered yes, which means they understand about Carpon and 39% of students who answered no. In the posttest results it was said that as many as 85% of students answered yes, meaning that there was an increase between the results of the pre-test and the posttest and 15% of students answered no. Based on the description above, it can be said that there is an increase in students' reading comprehension and interest in Carpon besides that most of the students stated that with this activity, they felt it was helpful to improve their understanding of Sundanese vocabulary which is quite difficult if they are not used to reading. The low reading interest of students is caused by several factors, one of which is a less DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17509/xxxx.xxx p-ISSN 2776-608X e-ISSN 2776-5970 supportive environment, such as the lack of habituation of Sundanese literacy. Therefore, a literacy culture in students must be developed in school life so that students can get used to seeking information or knowledge on their own and not relying on others, with that habit students will understand the importance of literacy. It is also hoped that this article can be a reference for other study who will or are currently conducting similar research, can provide benefits to the general public and it is hoped that there will be development of the topic studied by the author.