PENGARUH MEDIA PEMBELAJARAN KOMIK DIGITAL TERHADAP MINAT BACA SISWA KELAS IV PADA PEMBELAJARAN BAHASA INDONESIA DI SDN BEBERAN 2 KABUPATEN SERANG-BANTEN

Abstract

Low reading interest among elementary school students is a major obstacle in Indonesian language learning, as students tend to lose interest quickly, struggle to stay focused, and read only when instructed by the teacher. This study aimed to identify differences in reading interest before and after the use of digital comic learning media and to analyze its effect on the reading interest of fourth-grade students in Indonesian language learning at SDN Beberan 2, Serang Regency, Banten. The study used a quantitative pre-experimental method with a one-group pretest-posttest design. The population and sample comprised all 36 fourth-grade students in the 2025/2026 academic year, selected through total sampling. The treatment involved Indonesian language instruction using a digital comic entitled "Sehatlah Ragaku" (Keep My Body Healthy), combining illustrations, characters, dialogue, colors, and a storyline close to students' daily lives. Primary data were collected through a 20-item reading-interest questionnaire covering interest, attention, motivation, frequency, and involvement, with observation and documentation as supporting data. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, N-Gain analysis, the Paired Sample t-Test, and the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. Results showed the mean pretest score of 66.06 increased to 85.53 on the posttest, a difference of 19.47 points. After treatment, 32 students (88.89%) reached the very high category and 4 students (11.11%) remained in the high category. The mean N-Gain score was 0.561 (56.13%), categorized as moderate. The Paired Sample t-Test produced t = 18.319 with Sig. (2-tailed) < .001, so the null hypothesis was rejected and the alternative hypothesis accepted, reinforced by the Wilcoxon test showing all 36 students improved with no decreasing or unchanged scores. Thus, digital comic learning media had a positive and significant effect on the reading interest of fourth-grade students and can be used as an engaging, contextual, and interactive alternative in Indonesian language learning.