Abstract:
ABSTRACT
This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of literature circles in
improving critical thinking skills in reading among students at a private university
in Ciamis. This study uses a qualitative method where the participants consist of a
level 2 English Educational Program with a total of 16 students. Using observations
which consist of classroom observation and focus group observation as the
instrument of gained data. Classroom observation aims to find out the teacher's
strategy in applying literature circles as one of the techniques to improve critical
thinking skills in reading. During the focus group discussion observation aims to
determine the improvement of students' critical thinking skills after applying the
literature circles technique in discussing literary works. In analyzing the classroom
observation data, the researcher recorded the learning process and then transcribed
the data into text. While the focus group discussion after the transcription process,
the data was analyzed and interpreted according to the category of critical thinking.
The result of classroom observation revealed that the teacher can implement the
literature circles technique properly where students can apply the literature circles
correctly during the discussion process. In addition, the results of focus group
discussion observation also revealed that during discussions with the literature
circles the students were able to fulfill all the characteristics of critical thinking.
The findings of this study revealed that all categories of critical thinking can be
fulfilled by students. It can be concluded that literature circles is effective in
increasing students' critical thinking skills in reading.
