Introduction T1 112009023 Full text

2 Farrell 2008 asserts that reading “involves both conscious and unconscious actions by the readers” where the unconscious actions of the readers can not be seen. As a result, teaching reading in primary level needs some teaching stages to help the students activate their background knowledge through the particular topic. One of the teaching stages used to teach reading is pre-reading activity. Pre-reading activity is any activities that the teacher used before the students read the text given. Pre-reading activity in Bethany Elementary School, Salatiga is included in the pre-teaching stages. It is because in the school, the students learn English based on the English skill in each meeting. In each meeting, they learn one of English skill only. In fact, there are many kinds of pre- reading activities used in the classroom, such as watching video, telling stories, questioning, and listening stories. According to the previous study about the essentials of pre-reading activity for reading in EFL context conducted by Williams 1984 as cited in Blundell 2002 has shown the reasons why it is used to teach reading. The reasons are to stimulate students‟ interest in the text, to give reasons for reading, and to prepare the reader for the language of the text. In addition, pre-reading activity has purpose to activate students‟ background knowledge and their schemata. Moreover, Liu 2004 as cited in Lee 2007 believes that when the students read, they use their schema to comprehend what is read. Furthermore, Krepel 2000 as cited in Lee 2007 asserts that helping students access and combine the information they already know about the topic, and then studied the information before they read, they will get new information that makes the information easier 3 to understand and remember. In a research study about the use of pre-reading activity, Ghazemi 2011 shows that the students who are have difficulties in comprehending reading can be facilitated using appropriate pre-reading task. Moreover, Haque 2010 asserts that pre-reading activity helps the students comprehending the difficult reading passage easier than not using the pre-reading activity. In fact, among those activities used in the Bethany Elementary School, teachers‟ questions are the most important part in it. Question is one of the teaching strategies that commonly used in the pre-reading activity remembering the students in the school learn English as a foreign language. However, according to Hedgcok and Ferris 2009, pre-reading activity is a step which often-neglected in the reading process. Questions as the part of pre-reading activity in teaching reading sometimes might be forgotten. It might be caused by the development of sophisticated technology, so that teachers might often use media, such as video or any kind of activities rather than ask questions to their students. In accordance with Dolores Durkins 1979, Pressley et al 1998 as cited in Pressley 2000, the classic research shows that most teachers ask questions after the students have read the text. Fraenkel, 1980 believes that the question that a teacher asks becomes the effective teaching strategy. It is because by questioning, the students can actively participate in the classroom discussion. In addition, Lee 2007 asserts that questions make the reading more active and purposeful by introducing new concepts and vocabulary that students will encounter in the reading helps. As a 4 result, students understand the meaning and comprehending the reading material easier. Different with the previous study conducted by Williams 1984 and Liu 2004, where the researchers describe some of the essentials of pre-reading activity in teaching reading, this study will focus on the kind of teachers‟ questions in pre-reading activity in primary level. It is because as English teachers, knowing about what kind of questions that can be used to facilitate the students before reading a particular text is very important. Teachers ‟ questions will help a lot in activating students‟ background knowledge of a particular topic in a text. Moreover, this study will answer the following question: What kind of questions do the teachers use in the pre-reading? Thus, this study is significance to the Educational field, especially for English Education, Reading skill in EFL context. To English teachers at primary level who teach reading, so that they are aware in using the questions to help their students activate background knowledge through the particular topic in their reading. To student-teachers who have their English teaching practicum in elementary school, they can learn how to ask questions in pre-reading. To the further researchers, it is hoped that this study can be applied in other English subject. 5

B. Literature Review

1. The Importance of Teacher Questions

Question is one of the teaching strategies that commonly used in the pre- reading activity, especially for primary level students. It is because even though the teachers ask their students to predict, rearrange the jumbled paragraph, and guess the picture during pre-reading section, the teachers will facilitate their students using questions. Vogler 2008 believes that asking questions to check stude nts‟ understanding has been a main component of teaching and learning. It also builds up the reader‟s background knowledge in the pre-reading activity. Moreover, Fraenkel 1980 asserts using questions as pre-reading activity can be an effective teaching approach. Then, Lee 2007 believes that by using questions, reading can be purposeful and meaningful for the students, so that the students comprehend the reading materials easily. In addition, according to Harrison 2004 questions make the reading more active and purposeful by introducing new knowledge, concepts, and vocabulary that students will encounter in the reading helps. Furthermore, Lapp, Flood, and Farnan 2011 assert that the teachers serve an important role when asking question in pre-reading section. They become guide to lead the students understand the reading material given. Besides, questions are also important in the pre-reading activity to help students activating their background knowledge about the particular topic that they will read later. 6

2. Types of Teacher Questions

There are some types of teacher questions that are classified by Wrag and Brown 2001, the British educationalists. 1. „Conceptual questions‟ are important to get ideas and definitions of the subject that being studied. For example, when teacher teaches reading about Animals, heshe will ask the students, “What do you call animals with and without bones?” 2. „Empirical questions‟ are based on the fact or experimental findings. It aims to show the connection between the facts and observations. This example is asked by the teacher when heshe teaches about Science, “When I blew up the balloon, Sarah said that the air presses against the side of the cup up with the balloon. So what do you think is going to happen if I let go of the cup?” 3. „Value questions‟ are related to the moral value that stated in the reading passage. These kinds of questions are usually used in the post-reading to ask about moral value contained in the story. For example, the teacher asks the students, “What about that man? What are some of the problems you think he might face?” Actually, the examples of the three types of questions above are based on Wragg‟s and Brown‟s observation in the Science-class in the primary level. However, the questions above might often be used in teaching reading in English-class or other subjects. They can be used in the pre-reading, whilst-reading, even in the post- reading. In the pre-reading activity, those questions might help the students