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1 During early adolescence, youth exhibit a wide range of individual
intellectual development, metacognition, and independent thought. 2
Early adolescence youths tend to be greatly curious and show a wide range of interests, yet few are sustained.
3 Early adolescents are keen to learn something interesting and useful, be
active rather than be passive in learning activities, and prefer communications
with classmates
during teaching
and learning
activities. 4
When they mature, early adolescents begin to understand the nuances of metaphor,
gain meaning
from traditional
wisdom, experience
metacognition 5
As they mature, early adolescents start to understand the shades of metaphors, derive meaning from traditional wisdom, and experience
metacognition awareness. 6
Early adolescents are interested in real-life experiences and authentic learning rather than conventional learning.
7 Early adolescents start thinking about the future, anticipate needs, and
develop personal goals. as cited in Caskey Anfara, 2007, p.2
b. Junior High School Curriculum
Junior high school curriculum guides how teaching English is conducted in junior high school. Starting from the academic year of 20142015, SMP Negeri 2
Yogyakarta uses Curriculum 2013 as the applied curriculum for seventh and
eighth grader. The information about Curriculum 2013 will later help the
25 researcher in implementing English comics as the media to increase students‟
motivation in reading English texts. Based on Dokumen Kurikulum 2013 Curriculum 2013 Document,
Curriculum 2013 is the replacement of Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan KTSP. The implementation of this curriculum was started from July 2013 with
students‟ textbooks and guidance book for teachers. However, in its development, Curriculum 2013 has some improvements in teaching and learning style which is
arranged based on the evaluation of KTSP. The improvements of Curriculum 2013 are shown by its characteristics. Based on Menteri Pendidikan dan
Kebudayaan 2013, there are 7 characteristics of Curriculum 2013.
1 Developing a balance between the development of spiritual and social
attitudes, curiosity,
creativity, cooperation
with intellectual
and psychomotor skills.
2 School is a part of the society that provides planned learning
experiences in which learners apply what is learned in school to the society and make use of the society as learning resources.
3 Developing the attitudes, knowledge, and skills and apply them in
various situations at school and society. 4
Giving enough time freely to develop a variety of attitudes, knowledge, and skills.
5 Competence is expressed in the form of Core Competencies of classes
which further enumerated in Basic Competencies of subjects.
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6 Core Competencies of classes becomes organizing elements of Basic
Competencies, where all of the Basic Competencies and learning process are developed to achieve the stated competencies in Core
Competencies. 7
Basic Competencies are developed based on the principle of accumulative principal, reinforcing and enriching among the subjects
and level of education horizontal and vertical organization. In accordance with Curriculum 2013 characteristics, English teaching and
learning in Curriculum 2013 is also different from Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan
KTSP. According to Kemendikbud 2014, the characteristics of English teaching and learning in Curriculum 2013 are as follows.
1 Studying Through Example and Model
English learning is not started by delivering language rules by the teacher, but by using English to communicate with others in students‟
daily life. Not only the teacher but the parents also take role in giving example by communicating using English to them.
2 Observing by Doing Directly
Students are lead to observe language elements of English while doing learning activities to learn English.
3 Asking and Questioning
In observing the language elements, students will find new information. This condition will lead them to ask to the teacher what they have found
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when observing. The teacher should answer them directly but not theoretically.
4 Trying to Do Directly
Students‟ willingness to learn more about English will lead them to try to practice what they are learning. At this learning process, they need
guidance from the teacher and other students. 5
Improving Cognitive Using Materials from Various Other Sources The students do not learn English by using one source only, but they
should find other sources to learn. By comparing one to other sources, they can understand that every material in each source has different
communication goal and context. 6
Doing Various Activities Using English After learning English, students should practice in using English in their
social life. By doing it, they will find that what they get from school is useful for other people. Besides, this activity can be a medium for the
students to practice and learn more in using English by the contexts. p.2
B. Theoretical Framework
In order to increase the motivation of SMP Negeri 2 Yogyakarta students to read English texts, the researcher use the principles of teaching reading Nation,
2009. There is a principle that students should enjoy learning and feel motivated to learn in reading class. It becomes the foundation of the researcher in providing
