4. Teaching Reading Comprehension in Junior High School in Indonesia a. Curriculum 2013
The learning process based on the curriculum 2013 emphasizes on the students’ competence with the authentic assessment to attain the
attitude, knowledge and skill competencies. The scientific approach is used as an approach to teach the students. The purpose of this approach is
to encourage the students to be able to observe, question, collect the data, associate, communicate, and create. The scientific approach emphasizes
on the process of the study, it does not merely emphasize on the final result of the study. The improvement of the students in the process of
learning will be assessed to be calculated as the final score. The characteristics of learning at any educational institution are
closely related to “Standar Kompetensi Lulusan dan Standar Isi.” In the description of “Pasal 35 Undang-Undang Nomor 20 Tahun 2003,” it is
mentioned that the standard of the graduate’s competence is the qualification of the graduate’s ability involving the attitude, knowledge
and skill of the students that must be attained at the elementary or secondary level.
The learning activities do not just emphasize on one language skill, but the skills are integratedly taught. Thus, the receptive skills listening
and reading may be taught at the same time with the productive skills speaking and writing. Zhang in Al-Sohbani 2014: 75 asserts that
teaching integrated reading gives many advantages for the students since it can motivate them to learn by involving various kinds of tasks and
activities, and it can create interactive atmosphere by focusing on both receptive and productive skills.
b. Core Competencies and Basic Competencies for VII Grade Students of Junior High Schools
Based on the description of the Curriculum 2013 above, the students must attain the core competencies and the basic competencies to
be successful in their study. Both of the competencies require the students to learn the four skills listening, reading, speaking, and writing
in integrated way since each skill cannot be taught separately. The core competencies and the basic competencies for the seventh grade students
of Junior High School in the second semester are shown in the following table.
Table 1. The Core Compatencies and the Basic Competencies Kompetensi Inti
Kompetensi Dasar 1. Menghargai dan menghayati
ajaran agama
yang dianutnya.
Mensyukuri kesempatan dapat mempelajari bahasa Inggris
sebagai bahasa
pengantar komunikasi internasional yang
diwujudkan dalam semangat belajar.
2. Menghargai dan menghayati perilaku jujur,
disiplin, tanggungjawab, peduli toleransi, gotong
royong, santun, percaya diri, dalam berinteraksi
secara efektif dengan lingkungan sosial dan alam
dalam jangkauan pergaulan dan keberadaannya.
2.1. Menunjukkan perilaku santun dan peduli dalam
melaksanakan komunikasi interpersonal dengan guru
dan teman. 2.2. Menunjukkan perilaku
jujur, disiplin, percaya diri, dan bertanggung
jawab dalam melaksanakan komunikasi
transaksional dengan guru dan teman.
2.3. Menunjukkan perilaku tanggung jawab, peduli,
kerjasama, dan cinta
damai, dalam melaksanakan komunikasi
fungsional. 3. Memahami pengetahuan
faktual, konseptual, dan prosedural berdasarkan
rasa ingin tahunya tentang ilmu pengetahuan,
teknologi, seni, budaya terkait fenomena dan
kejadian tampak mata. 3.7 Memahami fungsi sosial,
struktur teks, dan unsur kebahasaan pada teks
untuk menyatakan dan menanyakan sifat orang,
binatang, benda sesuai dengan konteks
penggunaannya. 3.8 Memahami fungsi sosial,
struktur teks, dan unsur kebahasaan pada teks
untuk menyatakan dan menanyakan tingkah laku
tindakanfungsi orang, binatang, benda, sesuai
dengan konteks penggunaannya.
4. Mencoba, mengolah, dan menyaji dalam ranah
konkret menggunakan, mengurai, merangkai,
memodifikasi, dan membuat dan ranah
abstrak menulis, membaca, menghitung, menggambar,
dan mengarang sesuai dengan yang dipelajari di
sekolah dan sumber lain yang sama dalam sudut
pandangteori. 4.8 Menyusun teks lisan dan
tulis untuk menyatakan dan menanyakan sifat orang,
binatang, dan benda, dengan memperhatikan
fungsi sosial, struktur teks dan unsur kebahasaan yang
benar dan sesuai konteks. 4.9 Menyusun teks lisan dan
tulis untuk menyatakan dan menanyakan tingkah
lakutindakanfungsi dari orang, binatang, dan benda,
dengan unsur kebahasaan yang benar dan sesuai
konteks. From the basic competencies in Table 1, it can be seen that the
reading performance is required in the teaching and learning process. For instance, “Memahami fungsi sosial, struktur teks, dan unsur kebahasaan
pada teks untuk menyatakan dan menanyakan sifat orang, binatang, benda sesuai dengan kontaks penggunaannya.” The basic competence in
point 3.7 requires the competence of reading comprehension in which the
students can be taught integratedly with writing. It is related to the point 4.8, that is “Menyusun teks lisan dan tulis untuk menyatakan dan
menayakan sifat orang, binatang, dan benda, dengan memperhatikan fungsi sosial, struktur teks dan unsur kebahasaan yang benar dan sesuai
konteks.” In the practice, reading comprehension may be taught as the
knowledge competence in purpose to get the information related to the text before the students create their own text. The students can get the
information related to the text through the steps of teaching and learning process, those are observing, questioning, collecting the data, associating
and communicating. After doing all of those steps, the students are supposed to be able to create their own text to fulfill the final step of
teaching and learning process that is creating.
c. The Roles of Teachers in Teaching Reading in the Classroom
The teacher holds an important role in the teaching and learning process in the classroom. The success of the students in achieving the
goal of the study cannot be separated from the teacher’s role. The ability of the teacher in managing the class influences to the students’ attitude
during studying in the classroom. Therefore, the teacher has a certain role that will guide the students to learn better.
Based on “Permendikbud No. 68 Tahun 2013 tentang Kurikulum SMP-MTS”, it mentions that the teaching and learning process is the
student-centred, not teacher-centred in which the students can learn by
using their own ways to attain the competencies. Moreover, an interactive learning is used in the class rather than just one-way learning
interaction between teacher and students. The interactive learning is expected can encourage the students to use their knowledge not only in
the classroom, but also in the society and natural environment. The important thing is that the students are supposed to be more active and
critical in delivering and asserting their idea. The group work activity is more considered as one strategy to encourage them to be more active.
In teaching reading, the teacher can be as a tutor and facilitator who can guide the students to discover something, not just telling something
discovery learning. In the practice, the teacher can provide the students with a text to observe that further they will collect the information from
the text, such as the text structure, language features, and so on until they can communicate it. That is the teacher’s role as a facilitator.
d. Assessing Reading
Assessing reading cannot be done directly just by seeing the reading product since it is difficult to observe the certain product of
reading. The product of reading is actually what is stored in the brain and we or even the technology cannot make the assumption of what is
already there in the brain. Whether someone’s reading ability is good or not cannot be assessed easily. Another reason is that the reading
assessment cannot be done in the form of product, but it is naturally in
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