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The interaction between students in group discussion during the process of reciprocal teaching can increase cooperation and greater initiative to finish the
task. It is in line with Kessler 1992: 38, by doing interaction; students get more opportunities to talk, practice and better retention of new information
and ideas. Furthermore, reciprocal teaching is a major instructional strategy that helps readers interact personally with the text and construct meaning as
they increase their ability to ask questions, clarify hard parts, make predictions and summarize what they are reading.
Students involved in the reciprocal teaching process tend to learn the art of checking their own understanding of the material, which they have
encountered. They do this by generating questions, clarifying concepts and summarizing important information from the text. The ultimate purpose of
reciprocal teaching is to help students actively bring meaning to the written word, with or without a teacher. The reciprocal teaching strategies not only
assist reading comprehension but also provide opportunities for students to monitor their own learning and thinking processes. The structure of the
dialogue and interactions of the group members in reciprocal teaching system requires all of the students to participate fosters healthy relationships and
helps to create an ideal learning atmosphere. The reciprocal teaching system benefits for slow learners and above average students in understanding the
text. Considering the explanation above, it is assumed that reciprocal teaching
technique which is based on four strategies; predicting, clarifying, questioning and summarizing can improve the students’ reading comprehension.
E. Action Hypothesis
Based on the above rationale, the hypothesis is: the use of Reciprocal Teaching Technique can improve the reading comprehension of the eighth
grade students of SMPN 13 Surakarta in the academic year of 20102011.
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CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A. Setting of Research
This research was conducted at the Eighth grade students of SMP Negeri 13 Surakarta. It is located in Jl. Jenderal Urip Sumoharjo 49 Surakarta. It was
built in 1979 and has two floors. Its location is close to the shopping complex so that it affects to the teaching and learning process. There is a gate in front
of the school to prevent other people from freely entering the school. There are some rooms which include 12 classrooms, teacher and headmaster’s room,
a computer room, a library, a mosque, toilets, a cafeteria, an administration room and a yard. This research was conducted from February to April 2011.
B. Subject of Research
The subject of the research was the VIIID class of SMPN 13 Surakarta. There were 33 students consisting of 14 boys and 19 girls. Most of them come
from suburban area and medium level of Economic status. They always wear uniform and obey the law.
The students of VIII D class have average in achievement. They have difficulties in comprehending English text. In the teaching and learning
process, the girls are more active and enthusiastic in following the lesson than boys. Some of boys tend to be lazy and are not motivated especially who sit at
the backside. The high scores of test are mostly gotten by the girls.
C. Research Method
The research method used in this method is action research. There are various definitions of action research stated by some experts. Carr and
Kemmis as quoted by Burns 1999: 30 gives the definitions of action research
as follows:
Action research is simply a form of self reflective enquiry undertaken by participants in a social situation including education in order to improve
the rationality and justice of their own and educational practices their
