teaching reading to teenage students. Students should be encouraged to respond to texts and situations with their own
thoughts and experience, rather than just by answering questions and doing abstract learning activities. Teachers should give them
tasks which they are able to do rather than risk humiliating them. It is also part of teachers’ job to provoke intellectual activity by
helping students to be aware of contrasting ideas and concepts which they can resolve for themselves. Certainly, it is still with
teachers’ guidance.
7. Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition
a. Definition
Cooperative integrated reading and composition CIRC is one of methods in the cooperative learning stated by Slavin 2005:
200. It is a comprehensive program to teach reading, writing, and the art of speech at the middle class. CIRC is one of alternative
techniques that can improve the students’ reading comprehension. The approaches of cooperative learning focus on group purposes
and individual responsibility. In addition, the development of CIRC is delivered from an analysis of traditional problems in reading,
writing, and art of speech instruction. Slavin 2005: 201-202 also describes some features which
are the focus of CIRC: 1.
Follow-up
A universal feature of reading instruction is the use of reading group that consists of students with the same level of
activity homogeny ability. CIRC in this case makes the use of follow-up time becomes more effective. Students who work
in the cooperative group will be able to fulfill some purposes in the area of comprehending text, vocabulary items, message
reading, and spelling. Students are motivated to work each other on these activities which are based to the instruction of
all members of the team. 2.
Reading aloud Reading aloud is a part of most reading programs. The
research showed that it gives positive influence to the ability of reading and comprehending text. One of purposes of CIRC
program is improving students’ opportunity to read aloud and receive feedback from their reading activities through make
students read for their friends in a team and through drill them how to response their reading activity each other.
3. Comprehension ability
The main purpose of CIRC is using cooperative teams to help students in learning reading comprehension which can be
applied largely. Some components of CIRC are indeed directed to reach this purpose. During the follow-up period, students
work in pairs to identify five important features from each
narrative story: characters, the event background, problems, efforts, final solution.
b. CIRC to teach reading
CIRC is a specific method in cooperative learning to teach reading, especially to young children and teenage students. Here are
the main components of CIRC to teach reading based on Slavin 2005: 207-209:
1. Fundamental activities Students use well a basic text or a novel. The story or text is
introduced and discussed in the reading groups directed by the teacher that spend around 20 minutes every day. In these groups,
the teacher decides the purpose of reading , introduces new unknown vocabulary items, repeats known vocabulary items,
discusses the story after students finish on reading it, and etc. After the discussion, the students are given story package
and do these following activities: a.
Reading in pairs Students read a text in silence and then take turn read
aloud the text in pairs, in rotation for each paragraphs. The listener correct each mistakes made by the reader. The teacher
assesses the students’ work through walking around and listening to students when they read each other.
b. Writing the story and its grammar
