The Correlation between Students’ Digital Literacy Skills and Their Reading Comprehension in Recount Text at SMP Muhammadiyah 2 Pekanbaru

Abstract

Indonesian students’ reading ability remains relatively low, as indicated by reading literacy scores that are still below the OECD average. This condition suggests that many students experience difficulties in comprehending texts and drawing conclusions, which may also affect their writing skills, problem-solving abilities, and overall academic achievement. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the correlation between students’ digital literacy skills and their reading comprehension in recount texts at SMP Muhammadiyah 2 Pekanbaru. This research employed a quantitative correlational design with a total sample of 45 eighth-grade students selected through total sampling. Data were collected using a digital literacy questionnaire and a reading comprehension test, and analyzed using Pearson Product-Moment Correlation. The findings revealed a significant positive correlation between the two variables, with a significance value (Sig. 2-tailed) of 0.000, which is lower than 0.05. This indicates that the alternative hypothesis (H1) is accepted and the null hypothesis (H0) is rejected. In conclusion, students with higher digital literacy skills tend to have better reading comprehension in recount texts. The implications of this research strengthening digital literacy needs to be integrated into English language learning to improve students' reading skills. Teachers and schools play a role in providing supportive media, facilities, and training, so that digital literacy can also improve overall academic achievement.