Teaching English in a Large Class: The Use of Porpe and SQ3R For Science Majors

Abstract

The English course is designed to cater to students from all majors and study programs, including
those pursuing English Language Education. The primary objective of this course is to equip students with the
knowledge, comprehension, and practical usage of English within their respective fields of study. In certain
cases, where students undertake English courses with specific objectives, it can be referred to as English for
Specific Purposes (ESP). The purpose of this research is to find out whether there are differences in reading
comprehension achievement between students who are taught using the PORPE strategy (Predict, Organize,
Rehearse, Practice, Evaluate) and the SQ3R strategy (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review) for
science students. This research uses a quasi-experimental method. The population of the research was the
Biology and Mathematics students who contracted English courses in the academic year 2022/2023. The
sample of this research was 132 students covering 68 students of the experimental class taught using the
PORPE strategy and 68 students of the control class taught using the SQ3R strategy. The findings of this
research are the average reading comprehension of the students in the experimental class after the PORPE
strategy treatment was 82.63. However, in the control class treated with the SQ3R strategy, the average score
of the students' activity ability after the test was 83.97. It shows that using the PORPE and SQ3R strategies
can greatly benefit teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP) students.