commit to user
d. Intensive Reading
Intensive reading is reading shorter text, to extract specific information. This is more an accuracy activity involving reading for detail. In this course, each text is
read carefully and thoroughly for maximum comprehension.
B. Teaching Reading to Junior High School Students
1. Teaching Reading
Brown 1994:7 says that teaching is guiding and facilitating learning, enabling the learner to learn, setting the condition for learning. Teaching may
be defined as showing or helping someone to learn how to do somtehing, giving instructions, guiding in the study of something, providing with the
knowledge, causing to know or understand. From this defition, it can be concluded that teaching is a process of helping and guiding students to learn
and develop their knowledge. Teaching reading is not only giving a text to the students but also
building their consciousness of reading skill. Teaching reading especially to
read English text is very important. However, there are many students that have low motivation in reading class because of
the teacher‟s poor technique in presenting and carrying out reading activities may appear. Therefore,
teacher should be skillful in motivating learners by selecting and devising material, and choosing appropiate technique. Teaching reading should be the
main priority for teachers to be considered when the students begin their schooling. It means that teaching reading is better to start earlier so that the
students can have a good habit to read effectively to get information widely without going anywhere.
Harmer 1998: 70 suggests five principles in teaching reading. They are:
a. Reading is not a passive skill.
The teacher should motivate the students to be active in reading. The teacher can ask the students to guess what the word mean, see the picture
commit to user
and understand the arguments. Then work out in order that they do not forget it quickly.
b. The students need to be engaged with what they are reading.
The students who are not engaged with the reading text and not actively interested in what they are doing will not get benefit from it. Hence, the
teacher should select an interesting topic. c.
The students should be encouraged to respond to the context of a reading text, not just to the language.
In studying reading text the students not only study the number of paragraph but also the meaning and the message of the text. The teacher
must give the students a chance to respond to that message of the text. d.
Prediction is a major factor in reading. When the students read texts, they often look at hints, such as the content
or book covers, photographs, and headline. These hints are useful for the students to predict what they are going to read. The teacher should give the
students “hints” so that they can predict what is coming. According to Eddie William 1996:51 there are three main phases
need to be followed in teaching reading activity: a.
Pre-reading activities Pre-reading activities are aimed to introduce and arouse interest in the
topic. Giving rea son to read and some questions related to learners‟
background knowledge, ideas, and opinion would motivate learner‟s eagerness to read the whole text.
b. While-reading activities
While reading activities begin with a general or global understanding of the text, and then move to the smaller units such as paragraphs, sentences,
and word. The aims of this activities are 1 to help understanding of the writer‟s purpose; 2 to help understanding of the text structure; and 3 to
clarify text content. There are some while-reading activities.
commit to user
Comprehension question,making lists, and taking notes are while reading type work.
c. Post-reading activities
Traditionally the major, often only, kind of post reading activity consisted of questions which followed a text. The aims of post-reading activities are
1 to consolidate or reflect upon what has been read; and 2 to relate the text to the learners‟ own knowledge, interests, or views.
From the explanation above, it can be concluded that teaching is helping someone to learn something, not transfer knowledge or strategy to
study. Teaching reading is an important job for teacher. The teacher must use a
suitable technique in teaching reading based on the students‟ condition. Because the condition of the students in certain school is different from the
condition of the students in another school, it is important for the teacher to know their students‟ condition first and then choose appropiate technique to
teach their students.
2. Teaching Reading to Junior High School Students
