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5 are physiological factors and psychological factors. The physiological factors
include the function of certain organs that students have. The psychological factors cover students’ intelligence, motivation, and interest.
Intelligence is an important determinant of reading. Reading is a process of thinking. Intelligence is the ability to learn and to apply what has
been learned. A measure of verbal intelligence was significantly more strongly correlated with the rate of reading, single- word reading, vocabulary or word
knowledge, and understanding of what was read in a text Sue, et al., 2009: 2 Considering the characteristics of contextual teaching and learning
method and the intelligence, thus there is an expectation that this learning method will be able to give a positive contribution towards English teaching
and learning particularly in improving students’ reading comprehension. In order to be more convinced whether this research works well, the writer tends
to compare the result of students’ reading comprehension achievement between the control class taught using grammar translation method GTM
and the experimental class taught by using CTL viewed from their intelligence.
B. Identification of the Problems
Based on the background of the study, there are many problems that may arise. The writer identifies some problems as follows:
1. Why do students tend to have low reading comprehension? 2. Do students need a good environment in teaching learning process?
3. Can students apply the knowledge in their daily life?
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6 4. Does the teacher create a real situation in a class which supports teaching
and learning process? 5. What kinds of technique can be used to improve students’ reading
comprehension? 6. To what extent is CTL effective and helpful in teaching reading
comprehension? 7. Does students’ intelligence also influence their reading comprehension?
C. Limitation of the Problems
The research has a broad scope and it is nearly impossible for the writer to handle all of the problems. Therefore, in this research the problems are only
focused on the following aspects: 1. The teaching methods used in this research are CTL and GTM
2. Reading comprehension in this study is limited to the level of literal and interpretative comprehension such as identifying main points,
understanding explicitly stated information, understanding implicitly stated information, guessing the meaning of words from context,
understanding or finding reference, identifying the generic structure of a text and finding the communicative purpose of a text.
3. The effectiveness in this study is based on the mean score of reading comprehension test conducted after the teaching learning process for the
students taught using CTL experimental group and those taught using GTM control group
4. The research is viewed from the students’ intelligence of the eighth grade students of SMP 14 Surakarta in the academic year of 20092010.
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7
D. Statement of the Problems
In order to be operational, the problems of the study can be formulated into the following questions:
1. Is CTL method more effective than GTM in teaching reading comprehension for the eighth grade students of SMPN 14 Surakarta in the
academic year of 20092010? 2. Do the students having high intelligence have better reading
comprehension than those having low intelligence for the eighth grade students of SMPN 14 Surakarta in the academic year of 20092010?
3. Is there any interaction between teaching methods and students’ intelligence in teaching reading comprehension for the eighth grade
students of SMPN 14 Surakarta in the academic year of 20092010?
E. Purpose of the Study
