developed a set of culture-based supplementary reading materials for grade eight students of Junior High School. Even though she developed a set of
supplementary reading materials, it contains culture-based texts as the input and was developed for grade eight students. While, in this study, the theme was
related to the teenage learners‟ real life and the product was developed for Grade
VII students.
C. Conceptual Framework
Reading is an important activity in English classes. It is not only as a way to collect information and pleasurable activity, but also as a means of extending
learners‟ knowledge of the target language. Therefore, materials become the next important aspect in English teaching and learning. However, it is difficult to find
appropriate English materials for Grade VII students of Junior High School. By developing supplementary English reading materials for Grade VII students of
Junior High School based on their needs, it is expected that the materials will support the teaching and learning process and provide more opportunities to
improve their reading skills focusing on descriptive texts materials. Based on the observation, there were some problems related to the
materials. The first was that there were no English materials for Grade VII students of Junior High School that meet the students
‟ needs. The second was that the English materials that are provided by the government show how little the
exposure that the students receive dealing with their reading skills especialy for descriptive texts.
Therefore, the supplementary English reading materials focusing on the descriptive texts
should be designed based on the learners‟ needs and interests. They also need materials that relevant to their characteristics and their real life.
Finally, it is very important to develop supplementary English reading materials focusing on descriptive texts for Grade VII students of Junior High School in
order to help them in improving their reading skills.
Figure 2.2. Conceptual Framework
D. Research Questions
Developing Task-Based Supplementary English Reading Materials for Grade VII
Students of Junior High School‟ is a Research and Development, thus it does not formulate a hypotheses. However, it has several research questions to
answer. The questions are as follows.
The problems:
It is difficult to find appropriate materials.
The English materials that are provided by the government
contain little exposure dealing with the reading skills.
Teenage learners ’ needs:
Interesting activities, challenging tasks,
appropriate materials, and materials that are relevant
to their real life.
A Set of Task-Based Supplementary English Reading Materials Focusing on Descriptive
Texts for Grade VII Students of Junior High School
