STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS DIGITAL TEXT READING

This research is a survey research in line with finding out the dominant perceptions of UPT students of SMA Negeri 7 Ogan Ilir towards Digital Text Reading. The samples of the research were 87 students, 44 tenth graders and 43 eleventh graders. The researchers used collect the data. To analyze the data, the researchers used percentage analysis. The results showed that the students had positive perception towards digital text reading in their daily life. They often learn and do assignment using digital media because it gives positive experience,motivation and improve reading comprehension achievement. In conclusion, It is comfortable, flexible and helpful to search relevant additional text to study.


INTRODUCTION
Language is used as a means of communication, and it always takes place within some kinds of social context (Amberg and Deborah, 2009, p.2). Furthermore. Sulaiman (2017) presumes that the core function of language is to communicate one another. (p.75). By mastering a language, people can make sentences and express their ideas or thoughts both in spoken and written forms.
As the matter of facts, learning a language, like English means learning its four crucial skills (i.e. listening, speaking, reading, and writing), and as one of the important language skills, reading is needed to be mastered since it helps students speak or write well. Reading is not a single activity. It is a complex and engages with attitude and has different objectives and skills in tackling the papers (Liu, 2012, p.702). The ability to read is very crucial due to it backs up reading interest that enables reading comprehension improved.
Yet, reading interests of students nowadays is still low. Many of them were lazy to read. It was proved as the researchers conducted an observation. The researchers found out that the reading interest of the tenth and eleventh graders of UPT SMA Negeri 7 Ogan Ilir was so low, and it was caused by the lack of reading interest that made their reading comprehension achievement was under Minimum Completeness Criteria (KKM) which was 75. Yet, since January 2020, the school provided digital text reading as a media in teaching reading through mobile phones to

Digital Text Reading
Ebrahimi (2016) considers digital reading as a technological device of reading text in the form of smart phones, tablets, or computers both online and offline and it has been powerful and useful in language learning and especially for teaching reading to EFL/ESL students. (p.112). It can be glean from that digital text reading is an online or offline activity which is good to be used in teaching reading using handphones or tablets and computer PC.
Additionally, Vandenhoek (2013) says that screen reading skill used to pose questions inside texts (P.38). Ebrahimi (2016) further says that digital reading such individualised and independent reading that allows students to select reading materials based on their interests and poficiency level as pleasure (p.111). In summary, digital reading a useful and helpful learning media which lets students to take any materials they like to improve reading comprehension.
Like other experts, Nowak (2008) says that students and scholars can learn reading not only through printed texts but also digital text reading or electronis reading (p.1). It means that in learning English reading, students are free to choose what reading devices or tools they want to. They can use either a printed text or a digital text as long as it can make them easy to read and understand.

RESEARCH PROCEDURES
the researchers collect the data through questionnaire or interview a sample. Furthermore, Syahri, et al., (2017)

Sample of the Research
In this research, the researchers used 87 participants of the tenth graders and the eleventh graders of UPT SMA Negeri 7 Ogan Ilir as the samples. Table 2 illustrates sample of the research.

Technique for Collecting the Data
In collecting the data, the researchers used documentation technique in term of distributing questionnaires. Roopa and Rani (2010)

Technique for Analyzing the Data
After the data have been collected, the researchers analyzed the data through percentage analysis formula.

FINDINGS
The researchers used 16 question items in terms of closed ended questionnaire.
It is divided into four categories: motivation and interest in reading digital text, digital text reading efficacy, difficulty in digital text, and preference for reading digital or printed text. The findings of this research have something to do with the results of the questionnaires distributed.

The Results of Closed-Ended Questionnaire
The researchers collected the data from 87 students by using online English-Indonesian questionnaires that distributed in Google Form through Whatsapp Group.
In addition, the researcher illustrates the 6 th questionnaire item I believe that learning with digital text is effective in terms of digital text reading efficacy category.

Digital Text Reading Efficacy
The second category of the questionnaire was about digital text reading efficacy in terms of question six to nine as stated in Table 9. Total N=87 100% Table 9 shows that 14 students responded Strongly Agree (16,1%), 53 students responded agree (60,9%), 19 students responded neutral (21,8%), only one students responded disagree (1,1%), and no one expressed strongly disagree with this 6 th item.

Difficulty in Digital Texts Reading
The third category divided into four question, in terms of ten to thirteen. This category was about difficulty in digital text reading. The researcher got the result of it, as stated in Table 13.  Total N=87 100% Table 14 shows that 8 students responded strongly agree (9,2%), 30 students responded agree (34,5%), 18 students responded neutral (20,7%), 28 students responded disagree (32,2%), and 3 students responded strongly disagree with this item (3,4%). The dominant response of the 11 th item was agree (34,5%). In addition, the researcher illustrates the 12 th item  When I read digital text, the light of the screen makes my eyes hurt as stated in Table 15. Total N=87 100% Table 15 shows that 6 students responded strongly agree (6,9%), 22 students responded agree (25,3%), 23 students responded neutral (26,4%), 30 students responded disagree (34,5%), and 6 students responded strongly disagree with this item (6,9%). The dominant response of the 12 th item was disagree (34,5%). Furthermore, the researcher also explains the 13 th item about I always have the digital text printed before reading it as stated in Table 16. Total N=87 100% Table 16 shows that 4 students responded strongly agree (4,6%), 21 students responded agree (24,1%), 24 students responded neutral (27,6%), 33 students responded disagree (37,9%), and 5 students responded strongly disagree with this item (5,7%). The dominant response of the 13 th item was disagree (37,9%). In addition, the researcher illustrates the 14 th item I more frequently read digital than printed texts in terms of the fourth category, preference for reading digital or print texts.

Preference for Reading Digital or Print Texts
In this research, the questionaire items fourteen to sixteen represented students preference for reading digital or printed text as stated in Table 17.   Table 18 shows that 29 students responded strongly agree (33,3%), 44 students responded agree (50,6%), 9 students responded neutral (10,3%), 4 students responded disagree (4,6%), and only one students responded strongly disagree with this item (1,1%). The dominant response of the 15 th item was agree (50,6%). Furthermore, the researcher also illustrates the last item about I like keeping required digital texts in my mobile phone so I can read them anytime and anywhere want to as stated in Table   19.  responded disagree (4,6%), and only one student responded strongly disagree with this item (1,1%). The dominant response of the 16 th item was agree (52,9%).

DISCUSSIONS
After the researchers analyzed the data of four questionnaire categories, (i.e. motivation and interest in reading digital text in terms of questions first to fifth, digital text reading efficacy in terms of questions sixth to ninth, difficulty in digital text reading in terms of questions tenth to thirteenth, and preference for reading digital or printed text in questions fourteenth to sixteenth). The researchers found out that most students had positive perception on digital text reading in their daily life and it was indicated by most of them responded strongly agree and agree toward the use of Digital text reading. Only fewer responded disagree with using Digital Text Reading because it can make their eyes hurt because of the light of screen on their mobile phone. Yet, when they were reading it they were delighted and feel enjoyable.

CONCLUSION
Based on the results of the research and discussions, it can be concluded that most of the students had positive perception on digital text reading in their daily life.
They feel comfortable when studying or reading using digital texts. When reading digital text, they can get many experiences to learn because they got knowledge from anywhere by using their mobile phone They believe that learning with digital text is effective, and it was good enough to make them motivated to be more active in the class. It can improve their reading comprehension achievement.