expression, extrusion, and intonation which is related to the social circumstance.
2. Responding the meaning of simple short functional text
accurately, fluently, and acceptable which is related to the social circumstance.
3. Responding the meaning and the rhetoric step of simple short
essay accurately, fluently, and acceptable which is related to the social circumstance in the form of descriptive and recount text
In short, in the first semester there are two forms of texts namely the descriptive and recount texts. They are taught to the students at
junior high schools Depdiknas, 2006: 278. That is why reading comprehension needs to be improved because it has stated in the
English curriculum for Junior High School in Indonesia.
b. Characteristics of Teenagers
The learner here is students of Junior High School or middle school. They are considered as teenagers. It should be different about
the way to teach English to them because the characteristic of teenagers is different from adults. Some experts have different
opinion about the characteristic of teens. Based on Brown 2001: 92, t
he “terrible teens” are an age of transition, confusion, self-consciousness, growing, and changing
bodies and minds. Teens are between childhood and adulthood, and therefore a very special set of considerations applies to teaching them.
Herbert and Michael in Harmer 2001: 38 say that teenagers seemed to be less energetic and humorous than adults. Harmer 2001:
39 explains different things about teenagers. Teenage students may be disruptive in class because of some factors such as the need for
self-esteem, the peer approval, and the boredom they feel. In addition, adolescents also can cause discipline problems. But, if teens are
engaged, they would have a great capacity to learn, a great potential for creativity, and a passionate commitment to things which interest
them. So, teachers have to provoke student engagement with material which is relevant and involving. They also
need to boost students’ esteem and be conscious of their need for identity.
Basically, teenagers have a unique characteristic as it has explained above. Therefore, teachers should prepare relevant
strategies to teach reading to them. The appropriate method, technique, and materials are necessary to help them understand how to
comprehend a text.
c. Principles of Teaching Reading
There are some strategies in reading comprehension so the way to teach it should has principles. Some experts also have their view about
teaching reading. These are principles in teaching reading based on Harmer 2001: 70:
1 Reading is not a passive skill
2 Students need to be engaged with what they are reading
