The Background of the Study

LKS did not belong to the students themselves. The teacher got them back after the class. Even though each student was given BSE Buku Sekolah Elektronik, the BSE was seldom used because the key answers were attached in the book. Therefore, it was considered ineffective to use the BSE. 2. Teaching Strategy The teacher used the monotonous reading activities in the class. She gave a short explanation about the text by reading the text aloud or translating each word or sentence followed by answering the comprehension questions related to the text. These activities usually made the students bored and sleepy. 3. Media The variation of media was still low. The media often used during teaching and learning process such as board markers and white board did not help much in reading. On the other hand, LCD Liquid Crystal Display projector was rarely used by the teacher. The teacher also did not use other media such as pictures, realia, and so on. 4. Teacher The teacher rarely encouraged students to think about the meanings of some difficult words they found in the learning process. She always asked students to directly find the meanings in the dictionaries. In this situation, the teacher became the centre of reading activity. Students only listened to the teacher’s explanation and the teacher would not explain more if there were no questions from the students. 5. Students The students of Grade VIII A had some problems in reading that affected their reading achievement which was low. The first problem was that students’ mastery of vocabulary was still categorized low. They would give up on the text if they found some difficult words that they had never known before. The second problem was lack of students’ comprehension of the content of the text such as finding a topic, stated and unstated details, and identifying references. The third prob lem was the lack of students’ participation in the class. They were not actively engaged in the teaching and learning process especially in asking and giving their opinions. The fourth problem was the lack of students’ enthusiasm during teaching and learning process of reading. They did not pay attention to the teacher and were busy to have chit chat with their friends.

C. Limitation of the Problems

The researcher limited the problem areas into a more specific one which focused on the lack of students’ reading comprehension. The research focused on the implementation of POSSE strategy to improve the students’ reading comprehension toward narrative texts at Grade VIII A, SMP N 6 Yogyakarta in the academic year of 20142015.

D. Formulation of the Problems

In reference to the limitation of the problem, the problem was formulated as follows: “How could the POSSE strategy be implemented to improve the reading comprehension of the Grade VIII A students of SMP N 6 Yogyakarta ?

E. Objective of the Study

This research aimed at improving the reading comprehension of Grade VIII A students of SMP N 6 Yogyakarta through the POSSE strategy.

F. Significance of the Study

It is expected that the research gives the theoretical and practical benefits. The specifications of the significances of this research as follows: 1. Theoretical Significance The results of this study inform others about the improvement of students’ reading comprehension after being taught using the POSSE strategy. This information is also useful for those who want to do a research on the same subject in the future. 2. Practical Significance a. For the Researcher This research is expected to be able to be used as an exercise in conducting research, and to enrich the researcher’s insight and knowledge regarding the appropriate learning activities and methods. b. For the School The results of this study are expected to be beneficial as the input and model in the implementation of English reading activities. Besides, the results are expected to be consideration of the school in determining policies regarding the learning process, including curriculum, and facilities. c. For the English Teachers This study may provide a solution to the problems related to students’ reading comprehension because basically this study is a way of handling the problems faced by the English teachers in the learning process.