Based on the elaboration above, the writer is interested in doing a research whether Collaborative Learning is effective in improving
students’ ability in reading descriptive text at the seventh grade students of SMP Pelita
Harapan, South Jakarta.
B. The Identification of Problem
Based on the background of study above, the writer identifies some problems:
1. The students have less vocabulary mastery
2. The students have different knowledge and experience
3. The students have less motivation in reading
4. The inappropriate approach or method or technique used in teaching
reading
C. The Limitation of Problem
In this study, the writer limits the problem on the inappropriate approach or method or technique used in teaching reading. Therefore, the
writer gives Collaborative Learning as a solution to make teaching reading is effective and to improve students’ abililty in reading descriptive text at the
seventh grade students of SMP Pelita Harapan, South Jakarta.
D. The Formulation of Problem
In this study, the writer formulates the problem formulation on: “Is
Collaborative Learning effective in improving students’ ability in reading
descriptive text at the seventh grade students of SMP Pelita Harapan, South Jakarta
?”
E. The Objective of Study
The objective of this study is to know the effectiveness of collaborative learning in improving
students’ ability in reading descriptive text at the seventh grade students of SMP Pelita Harapan, South Jakarta.
F. The Significance of Study
By doing this study, the writer hopes it will be useful for her self in comprehending collaborative learning. For the teachers, they know how to
teach reading well. For the students, they know how to work together in understanding the meaning of English texts well. For the next researcher, she
or he will get a guidance for her or his research about the effectiveness of using collaborative learning towar
ds students’ ability in reading.
6
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A. Reading
1. The Nature of Reading
Reading is one of important aspects in learning English. Reading is needed by people to get more information or knowledge. It is supported by a
term reading is the window of the world. Furthermore, reading gives something from the written text such as realities, point of views, enjoyment,
even feelings of family community from a letter.
1
It means that how important it is, especially in education field. It can be seen that students have
to read many kinds of English texts in order to understand what those texts tell about. It means that reading has great effects in learning process.
Generally, reading is a way to get an information from a text, to make an explanation, and to make a conclusion of that information. As Nuttall
writes that the writers have to create what they express by information in order to be understood by the reader.
2
On the other hand, Daniels and Bizar state that reading is like indistinct process by which a reader receives the
information on a passage.
3
From these views, reading is a process which is a reader has to receives what a writer writes in the text.
Moreover, reading is not a simple activity. It involves some efforts to understand what a text tells about. It is like the communication between a
reader and a text and the transfer of meaning from mind to mind. Readers have to make sense of the text to make their understanding to rebuild the
writer’s meaning. It is supported by Daniels and Bizar’s statement that readers are co-creators of meaning which means readers continually construct
1
Christine Nuttall, Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language, Oxford: Heinemann, 1989, p. 3.
2
Ibid., p. 4.
3
Harvey Daniels and Marilyn Bizar, Teaching the Best Practice Way: Methods that Matter, K-12, New York: Stenhouse Publishers, 2005, p. 37.
7
meaning for themselves as they think of the writer’s text.
4
In addition, Alderson emphasizes that knowing the process of reading means knowing the
main characteristic of reading.
5
Thus, reading is a bit complex process than people had thought previously.
Based on the point of views above, reading is a process to get an information from a text, to make an explanation, and to make a conclusion of
that information which it needs understanding to rebuild the meaning of the text continually as the reader read the text.
2. The Kinds of Reading
Students will need to experience variety of reading tasks to the kinds of reading they plan in the target language in order to be independent
language users. Mostly, teachers want their students to develop reading ability by reading short texts. Besides, students also need to develop their
reading abilty by reading longer texts. Nuttal describes this case as intensive reading and extensive reading.
Intensive reading includes the text used under the close advice of the teacher or under the advice of a duty which power students to pay huge
attention to the text. The goal of intensive reading is to reach detailed understandng of the text, not only what it means, but also how the meaning is
produced. Meanwhile, extensive reading is in order to understand the whole book, students must be able to understand the components of text such as the
sentences, paragraphs, and chapters. Teachers do not have to pay little attention for longer texts which are used in the classroom. Skimming and
scanning can train the practice on reading longer texts.
6
Besides intensive reading and extensive reading, there are also skimming and scanning. Skimming is the ability to find main idea from a
4
Ibid., p. 38.
5
J. Charles Alderson, Assessing Reading, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000, p. 3.
6
Nuttall, op. cit., p. 23.
