The impact of top-down VS bottom-up strategies on reading comprehension at SMK Negeri 7 Pekanbaru

Abstract

Reading comprehension is an essential skill for vocational high school students, as it supports academic achievement and enables students to understand English texts related to their future professional fields. However, many students still experience difficulties in comprehending English texts due to limited vocabulary mastery, low reading motivation, and the use of conventional teaching strategies that do not actively engage students in the reading process. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of top-down and bottom-up reading strategies in enhancing students’ reading comprehension and to determine whether there is a significant difference in reading comprehension achievement between students taught using the two strategies. This research employed a quantitative approach using a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test and post-test non-equivalent group design. The population consisted of eleventh-grade students of SMK Negeri 7 Pekanbaru. Two intact classes were selected as the samples through purposive sampling. One class was assigned as Experimental Group 1 and was taught using the top-down reading strategy, while the other class was assigned as Experimental Group 2 and was taught using the bottom-up reading strategy. The research instrument was a 30-item multiple-choice reading comprehension test administered before and after the treatments. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Mann–Whitney U test. The findings revealed that both strategies improved students’ reading comprehension; however, students taught using the top-down strategy achieved higher post-test scores than those taught using the bottom-up strategy. Therefore, the top-down strategy was more effective in enhancing students’ reading comprehension.