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