THE IMPLEMENTATION OF READING CIRCLES IN TEACHING READING COMPREHENSION IN AN INCLUSIVE SCHOOL

Abstract

Reading comprehension instruction in classrooms can be tough because students have many different reading levels and learning needs. Reading Circles give students a chance to work together and understand texts through group tasks. I wanted to describe how Reading Circles were used to teach reading comprehension and to point out the problems the teacher faced in a school. I used a qualitative case study design in a ninth‑grade English class at an inclusive school in Medan, North Sumatra. I gathered data by watching the classroom, interviewing people, and looking at documents; then I sorted the data, made charts, and concluded. I found that using Reading Circles meant preparing the reading materials, putting together mixed‑ability groups, explaining the steps and roles, leading the group talks, getting students to speak up, and giving extra help based on each student’s needs. The teacher watched the groups and tweaked instructions to help students who learn in different ways. Still, many challenges showed up. Students were confused about their roles and reading levels; some lost focus, and the teacher had a heavy load keeping an eye on many groups. I solved these problems by explaining things, simplifying the instructions, helping directly, and encouraging peers to support each other. In the end, the study shows that using Reading Circles in an English classroom needs flexible teaching, steady support, and constant adjustments so that all students can thrive.

Keywords: English Language Teaching, Implementation, Inclusive Classroom, Reading Circles, Reading Comprehension.