Problem Limitation Problem Formulation

7 1. Learning techniques Learning is acquiring or getting knowledge of a subject or a skill by study, experience, or instruction Brown, 2000:7. In this study, learning techniques are teachers’ techniques through which they conduct learning activities for students by learning and experiencing a subject in order to acquire and gain knowledge, and reach the subject’s instructional goals. 2. English reading activities According to Nunan 2003: 68, reading is a fluent process of readers combining information from a text and uses their own background knowledge to build meaning. In this study, therefore, reading activities refer to students’ activities where they try to obtain information from written texts they read and then compare the information with their background knowledge. English reading activities are learning activities under the English subject which facilitate students in learning English language through texts and reading activities. 3. Curriculum Curriculum is a set of plans and arrangement on goals, contents, and materials of instructional activities which is used as guidelines in conducting learning activities to achieve certain educational objectives BSNP, 2006: 1. In this study, the term curriculum refers to an official document established by Departemen Pendidikan Nasional, which is used as a practical guideline in applying learning techniques for students in school. 4. Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan is an operational curriculum which is 8 designed by and implemented in each school BSNP, 2006: 5. In this study, Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan refers to the same understanding which is as an operational guideline in applying teaching-learning techniques in school.

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter presents a discussion on the related literature as a theoretical base upon which the study presented in Chapter I was conducted. The discussion includes the Theoretical Description and Theoretical Framework.

A. Theoretical Description

In this section, the writer discusses the theories of Language Learning Activities, Language Teaching Methodologies, and Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan.

1. Language Learning Techniques

In The International Encyclopedia of Education, Husen and Postlethwaite

1985: 2961 cite that learning is “a purposeful activity that has meaning to

students at their developmental level, carried through completion and evaluated.” It implies that in learning a certain subject, students are expected to develop their knowledge through activities and through evaluation on the activities they conduct in order to achieve the goals that have been designed before. On language learning, meanwhile, Husen and Postlethwaite 1985: 2884 cite that language learning is a constructive process in which children learn language as they build a system of meaning. It implies that in learning a certain language, students build an understanding on what the language brings about through its meaning. In other words, learning a language is learning to understand