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prepares them before they read a certain kind of text.
b. Answering Comprehension Questions
Answering comprehension question is one of the most common classroom tasks. This learning technique helps students to use what they already know about
question words to understand the questions. This learning technique emphasizes the use of background knowledge. Chamot et al. 1999: 19 state, “Thinking about
what you already know helps you get ready for the content of the text and familiarizing themselves with it.” In addition to that, Chamot et al. 1999: 19 also
state that by having in mind what students already know, students will find it easier to understand and learn see information by relating it to their background
knowledge. This learning technique also facilitates students to check their answers on
comprehension questions. This can be done by asking them to check whether their answers make sense. According to Chamot et al. 1999: 21, asking ourselves
helps us to keep track of how we are doing and to identify problems. The followings are procedures to conduct this learning technique. The
teacher begin the class with students’ activities in reading a text and completing comprehension questions and followed by a discussion on what students do when
they answer a comprehension question. After students finish reading the text and complete the comprehension questions, the teacher models the way how to use
what have been known related to the question words in front of the class Chamot et al., 1999: 193. In modeling the activity, the teacher takes one of
comprehension questions as an example. According to Chamot et al. 1999: 193- 194, the teacher demonstrates and verbalizes his or her way of thinking in finding
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the answer based on the information provided in the text. The teacher also demonstrates the way to check the answer by relating the answer he or she has
found to the question word used in the question. After demonstrating the technique, the teacher asks students to tell the
class the steps the teacher took in answering the question and then do the same steps to answer the other questions in the task Chamot et al., 1999: 194. In
practical guideline Chamot et al. 1999: 194 state, “In pairs, students can review their work on the comprehension questions and revise any answers that are
incorrect. They should not erase old work, but rather write the new answer beside it. Students should use the process you demonstrate.” The teacher asks students to
do the task in pairs and revise any incorrect answers. The students should not erase the old incorrect answers, but write the new answers besides the old one. In
reviewing students’ work, the teacher asks students to give their first and second answer and to explain why they changed their answers Chamot et al., 1999: 194.
c. Reading a Descriptive Text
This learning technique is adapted from a learning strategy of reading a fairy tale presented by Chamot et al. 1999: 209. This learning technique
facilitates students to read a descriptive text in the target language and then retell how it developed. This learning technique emphasizes the use of prediction in pre
reading activities. According to Chamot et al. 1999: 19, “Predicting involves thinking of kinds of words, phrases, and information that you can expect to
encounter based on your background knowledge and or on information you encounter during the task.” This technique leads students to predict the kinds of
words, phrases, and information that students can expect to encounter during
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reading activity. Prediction prepares students to read the text better because it could enrich their background or prior knowledge needed in reading the text so
that they can understand the text better and easier. This learning technique also facilitates students to verify their predictions by checking whether their
predictions and expectations were met while they read. According to Chamot et al. 1999: 209, a learning technique of reading a
fairy tale begins with a discussion on different genres, such as social satire, horror, comedy, mystery, and romance. By adapting this procedure, therefore, this
learning technique begins with discussion on topic of learning. The discussion covers related terms and things deal with the topic of learning. The discussion also
covers how usually a descriptive text develops ideas. By discussing related terms and things along with how they are developed, students are assisted in knowing
the proper way in understanding the content of the text. In the discussion, the teacher then gives an example of prediction for descriptive text in a certain topic
by demonstrating his predicting process. The teacher should not use the topic students are going to learn.
The next technique is students practice in predicting before reading. Adapted from Chamot et al. 1999: 210, the practical guideline for this activity is
summarized and adapted as follows: The teacher asks students to give their prediction when reading a descriptive text. The teacher may give students a
worksheet or write on the board the title of the text, a list of related terms and ideas, and any key vocabulary in the text as prior information. The students are
asked to predict how the text is developed based on the information they have and then write it down.
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After predicting, the students are given the copy of the descriptive text. Before students begin reading, the teacher introduces and explains the way to
verify the predictions by summarizing the story Chamot et al., 1999: 211. The teacher then has students read the descriptive text. After they finish reading, the
students then summarize the text from the beginning to the end of text. This summation will be used to verify their prediction they have. To evaluate their
work, students share their predictions and summaries among others.
d. Finding the Meaning from the Text
Chamot et al. 1999: 215 state that this learning technique aims to help students read and understand a text by using inferencing in order to unlock the
meaning of new words while reading. According to Chamot et al. 1999: 25, inferencing involves guessing the meaning of unfamiliar language based on what
students know, the context, the language, and other contextual clues. In addition to that, inference enables students to quickly solve problem without having to go
to another person or to reference materials Chamot et al., 1999: 25. This learning technique then facilitates students to verify their guess in inferencing activity by
using reference materials such as dictionaries, text books, computer programs, CD-ROMs, and internet Chamot et al., 1999: 26, 215.
This learning technique begins with students’ activity in reading a text with a picture, scan it through, and write down all new word they find Chamot et
al., 1999: 215. After students finish reading and writing down new unfamiliar words, the teacher then discusses with class how students would normally find the
meanings of the new words. Students usually try to find the meaning of new words right after they find it in the text. It could be so disturbing when they find a
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lot of new words because they have to stop reading then find its meaning and start reading again, and it happens again and again. In the discussion, therefore, the
teacher introduces and explains the strategy of inferencing and using reference to find and check the meaning of new words Chamot et al., 1999: 215. This
learning technique provides students with a strategic way in finding the meaning of new words they find when reading.
The teacher demonstrates how to conduct the technique. The following is the researcher’s summation on teacher’s demonstration of the learning technique
according to Chamot et al. 1999: 215-216. The teacher takes a word or some words from the text, which are new for students. The teacher then demonstrates
how to predict the meaning by relating the words to information provided in the text and in the picture. The teacher shows students the correlation between the
sentences containing the new words with information provided in the picture. After the teacher gets his prediction, he checks it by looking up to a dictionary to
make it sure. The teacher’s demonstration explains how to guess the meaning of a certain new word using information provided in the text before clarifying the
prediction result to appropriate resource. As a practice, Chamot et al. 1999: 216 suggest the teacher to ask students
to work in pairs and use inferencing to find the meaning of the words on their list of new words from the text. The students should also explain how they made their
guesses and mention the resource they can use to clarify the meaning.
2. Language Teaching Methodologies
In this part, the writer presents theories of language teaching methodology according to the approach of teaching and learning that are suggested in the
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curriculum applied now. In this study, the researcher presents the theories of Communicative Language Teaching and Cooperative Language Learning.
However, before discussing the theory of Communicative Language teaching and Cooperative Language Learning, the writer will present first the
general view on teaching. Lewis and Hill 2002: 22 state, “Teacher of any subject must have a clear idea of the subject they are teaching- not only the fact of the
subject. But also an overall view of the nature of the subject. This is as true for the language teachers as for any other teacher.” It implies that every teacher,
regardless what subject he or she is teaching, must comprehensively master the subject he or she teaches. A teacher of a certain subject, including language, must
not only master the fact of the subject, but also an overall view and understanding on it. What Lewis and Hill state implies that in order to effectively conduct the
teaching activities a teacher must have an overall understanding of the subject he or she is teaching.
In addition, teachers should also tell the students what kind of activities they are going to do in learning so that they are able to predict what they would
get through the learning activities they have. Mikulecky 1990: 28 cites “Research, mostly with first language speakers, has shown that students of all
ages learn new strategies or thinking processes best when they are consciously aware of what they are doing and what they purposes is for doing it.”
According to Badan Standar Nasional Pendidikan BSNP 2006: 5, a teacher is suggested to vary the learning approach and teaching methodology he
or she applies in teaching-learning techniques. For this study, the researcher takes the teaching methodologies of Communicative Language Teaching and
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Cooperative Language Learning. The researcher chooses these two methodologies because in the researcher’s opinion these two methodologies represent the goals of
language learning, which is to enable students use the target language in real communication activities. The followings are discussion on the language teaching
methodologies which can be applied by the teacher.
a. Communicative Language Teaching
In Communicative Language Teaching, it is clearly understood that this method is the implementation of the Communicative Approach in language
teaching. Freeman 2000: 121 states, Communicative Language Teaching aims broadly to apply the theoretical
perspective of the Communication Approach by making communicative competence the goal of teaching and by acknowledging the
interdependence of language and communication.
In this implementation, the use of language as a communication means is considered important. It becomes the main reason in establishing the target
language competence for communication as the goal of language teaching process.
The goal of using the Communicative Language Teaching is to encourage the students to use the target language communicatively, and to make them able to
perform the target language in the real context of communication. Freeman 2000:128 simply states “The goal is to enable students to communicate in the
target language.” Communication is generally conducted in spoken way, but it is also possible to conduct a written communication in which people communicate
by reading a written text. Reading can be included as a communication activity,
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because in this activity the readers receive information from the writer through the text. In reading activity, a person who is reading a text is communicating with the
writer. Similar to Communicative Approach principle stated by Celce-Murcia
2001: 8, having linguistic competence does not mean that one will be able communicate with others. In order to be able to perform communication, one must
have communicative competence beside the linguistic competence. In short, Freeman 2000: 121 states, “…-knowing when and how to say what to whom.”
From this point of view, it is clear that in communication one should not only know what to say, but also when, how, why and whom he should say something.
One should know when the proper time to say something is; one should know why and how to say something to avoid misunderstanding; and one should know
whom he talks to so that the communication goes properly. In order to be able to communicate well in the target language, one should
be fluently in using the target language skills. Considering that reading is one of language skills needed in communication, teaching-learning activities in reading
class should also be in a communicative way as well. To make the teaching of reading communicative, teachers may take the reading texts material from actual
source which must be authentic texts. According to Williams 1986: 25, “The term authentic text refers to any text that was not written specially for language
learning purposes. In other words, it is a text written to say something, to convey a message and not simplify to exemplify language.” The authentic texts usually
provide real information about a certain topic, and this authenticity builds a real world image in students’ mind through which the reading comprehension
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activities become communicative. The authentic text must also provide students with the communicative uses of words, phrases, expression, and sentences.
b. Cooperative Language Learning
The followings are discussions about Cooperative Language Learning according to Richard and Rodgers 2001: 192-201. Cooperative Learning is an
approach to teaching that makes maximum use of cooperative activities involving pairs and small groups of learners in classroom. The heart of this approach is
cooperative activities; students learn from other and work together in groups. To make it clearer, Richard and Rodgers 2001: 195 cite more practical
understanding upon Cooperative Learning, “Cooperative learning is the instructional use of small groups through which students work together to
maximize their own and each other’s learning.” In language teaching, Richard and Rodgers state that Cooperative
Learning has been embraced as a way of promoting communicative interaction in the classroom and is seen as an extension of the principles of Communicative
Language teaching 2001: 193. Richard and Rodgers imply that in Cooperative Language Learning, the activities of communication exist since students are trying
to encode their ideas and decode friends’ ideas when they discuss, work, and learn the topic of learning together in groups. This method, therefore, is considered as
an extension method of Communicative Language teaching. The use of Cooperative Language Learning has general goal to activate the
students to work and learn the target language collaboratively in groups. The followings are six goals proposed by Richard and Rodgers 2001: 193:
- to provide opportunities for naturalistic second language acquisition
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through the use of interactive pair or group activities - to provide teachers with a methodology to enable them to achieve this goal
and one that can be applied in a variety of curriculum settings e.g., content-based, foreign language classroom, mainstreaming
- to enable focused attention to particular lexical items, language structures, and communicative functions through the use of interactive tasks.
- to provide opportunities for learners to develop successful learning and communication strategies.
- to enhance learner motivation and reduce learner stress and to create a positive affective classroom climate.
Cooperative Language Learning aims to foster cooperation rather than competition, to develop critical thinking skills, and to develop communicative
competence through socially structured interaction activities Richard and Rodgers, 2001: 195. These are the objectives of Cooperative Language Learning.
Through Cooperative Language Learning, students are driven to build cooperative atmosphere in their learning activities. It implies that students should work and
learn together with other students in pairs or groups instead of work individually and compete in order to be the best among the others students.
Cooperative Language Learning encourages students to communicate with other students. In working and learning with friends in group or a friend in pairs, a
student needs to be confident to express his or her ideas and to be able to listen what friends’ ideas are. This basic communication competence is an essential key
to create successful learning in Cooperative Language Learning. The other objective is to develop students’ ways in thinking in order to
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solve a problem or answer a question. In Cooperative Language Learning, students could be as resources for other students and it will lead them to a more
active role in their learning. When being a resource for others, a student needs critical thinking skills in solving the problems and expressing his or her ideas.
Critical thinking skills enable students to understand the problem they face or questions they are asked and then solve the problem or answer the questions with
appropriate theories and ways of thinking. Pairs or group activities are the heart of Cooperative Language Learning,
the learning techniques, therefore, always involve and facilitate pair or group work. Richard and Rodgers 2001: 196 cite three types of cooperative learning
group. They are: - Formal cooperative learning groups
These learning groups last from one class period to several weeks of meeting. They are established for a specific task and involve students
working together to activate shared learning goals. - Informal cooperative learning groups
These learning groups are specific groups for certain task that last from a few minutes to a class period. These groups aim to focus student attention
or to facilitate learning during direct teaching. - Cooperative base groups
These are long term groups and last for at least a year. These groups consist of heterogeneous learning groups with stable membership whose
primary purpose is to allow members to give each other the support, help, encouragement, and assistance they need to succeed academically.
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In Cooperative Language Learning, students are required to be active in learning. However, teachers still have roles which can help students increase and
develop their learning. Richard and Rodgers 2001: 199 state that an important role for teachers is that of facilitator of learning. In his or her role as a facilitator, a
teacher must move around the class helping students and groups as needs arise. In order to make it clearer, Richard and Rodgers 2001: 199 also cite, “During this
time the teacher interacts, teaches, refocuses, questions, clarifies, supports, expands, celebrates, empathizes.”
3. Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan
In this part, the writer presents a brief nature of curriculum which is now being implemented in Indonesian schools. This part briefly discusses Kurikulum
Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan School-Based Curriculum, also known as KTSP. The discussion covers several terms in the curriculum that are related to the research
topic this study concerns about, which is learning techniques teachers apply. According to Badan Standar Nasional Pendidikan BSNP 2006: 5,
KTSP is an operational curriculum which is designed by and implemented in each school. This kind of curriculum allows schools to design their own curriculum
independently. KTSP is a kind of curriculum that gives schools chances to develop their instructional activities in order to improve its quality of outputs.
BSNP defines seven principles in order to help schools develop the curriculum. One of them is:
Kurikulum dikembangkan berdasarkan prinsip bahwa peserta didik memiliki posisi sentral untuk mengembangkan kompetensinya agar
menjadi manusia yang beriman dan taqwa kepada Tuhan Yang Maha Esa, berakhlak mulia, sehat, berilmu, cakap, kreatif, mandiri, dan menjadi
warga negara yang demokratis serta bertanggung jawab. Untuk
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mendukung pencapaian tujuan tersebut, pengembangan kompetensi peserta didik disesuaikan dengan potensi, perkembangan, kebutuhan, dan
kepentingan peserta didik serta tuntutan lingkungan. Memiliki posisi sentral berarti kegiatan pembelajaran berpusat pada peserta
didik.”BSNP, 2006: 5 Curriculum is developed based on principle that learners have a central
position to develop their competencies in order to be human beings who believe in God and have a noble characteristic. The curriculum also
develops students to be healthy, educated, capable, creative, and independent and to be democratic and responsible citizen. In order to
achieve those goals, development of learners’ competencies is matched with learners’ potentials, learners’ development, learners’ needs, learners’
necessities, and society requirement. Having a central position means that learning activities are focused on learners.
From this point of view, it is clear that development of the curriculum which is
going to be implemented focuses on students along with their characteristics as a human being and a learner as well. It is also clear that schools, especially teachers,
have to develop learning techniques which focused on learners; it means that teachers should conduct learner-centered learning activities.
The designed and developed KTSP should cover educational goals of the school, structure and content of curriculum of the school, academic calendar, and
syllabus BSNP, 2006: 5. Among those terms that KTSP covers, a term which a teacher should consider in applying learning techniques is the syllabus. According
to BSNP 2006: 15, syllabus development could be done by a teacher independently or in a group of teachers in a school or several schools, in a group
of Musyawarah Guru Mata Pelajaran MGMP in Pusat Kegiatan Guru PKG, and in Bureau of Education.
When teachers recognize characteristic of students, KTSP requires teachers to design and develop syllabus independently. For teachers who cannot design and
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develop syllabus independently, the school then form a group subject teachers, to facilitate the designing and the development process of the syllabus which is
going to be implemented in the school. BSNP 2006: 14 states, “Silabus merupakan penjabaran standar
kompetensi dan kompetensi dasar ke dalam materi pokok pembelajaran, kegiatan pembelajaran, dan indikator pencapaian kompetensi untuk penilaian.” Syllabus
is standard competency and basic competency which are described into main material or learning material, learning activities, and competencies achievement
indicators for evaluation. This point of view implies that a certain subject’s syllabus contains learning materials, learning activities, and achievements
indicators which are derived from standard competencies and basic competencies. In addition to that, BSNP 2006: 16 states that learning activities are
designed to give students learning experiences that involve mental and physic interaction among students, among students and the teacher, neighborhood, and
other learning sources in order to achieve the basic competencies. This point of view implies that learning techniques applied by teachers should not only cover or
deal with knowledge about the subject being learned, but also involved interaction among students, the teacher, and environment around the school in order to make
the learning activities more meaningful. The learning experiences could be achieved through the use of various learning approach and learner-centered
learning BSNP, 2006: 16. It means that teachers may use any kind of learning approach along with learning methods under the approach. One thing that the
teachers should put as a priority is that the learning techniques must be techniques which focus on learner.
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B. Theoretical Framework
This study aims generally to find out how the English teachers conduct the English reading in the class, especially on teaching techniques applied by the
teachers in order to help students in learning English reading activities. There are two main points to be considered in this study. The first one is
learning techniques in English reading class, which are conducted based on the teaching methodologies of Communicative Language Teaching and Cooperative
Language Learning as suggested in recently applied curriculum, KTSP. The second point to consider about is the applied curriculum; the learning activities
and the teaching technique should be in line with goals that are stated in the curriculum.
English reading class should be communicative as it is suggested in Communicative Language Teaching. In addition, English reading class should
also promote cooperative learning among students as it is suggested in Cooperative Language Learning. An English teacher, therefore, should conduct
English reading class that promotes and facilitates communicative and cooperative learning activities with suitable and acceptable learning techniques. The learning
techniques in conducting teaching-learning activities are expected to be able to help and encourage the students in learning English subject. At the same time,
however, the learning technique the teachers applied should also be acceptable for the students. The learning activities which are conducted with suitable learning
techniques should also meet the goals stated in the KTSP, that has been designed
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by the school before and that has been suggested by government. The research findings and discussion in this study then can be used as a
consideration to describe how the teachers conduct the English reading class for students and how helpful and encouraging the learning techniques are for students
in learning English subject.
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
In this chapter, the researcher presents the methodology of the study conducted in order to answer the research questions presented in Chapter I. This
chapter covers discussion on research method, research subjects, research instruments, data gathering techniques, data analysis techniques, and research
procedures.
A. Research Method
The type of the research employed in this study was a descriptive research. Razavieh et al 1990: 381 point out that descriptive research studies are designed
to obtain information concerning the current status of phenomena. This study observed how an English teacher in SMA Stella Duce 2 Yogyakarta conducted the
English reading activities. In conducting the research, the researcher collected, managed, and then analyzed the data. The characteristic of the descriptive
research is fact finding with interpretation Winardi, 1979: 68. From this point of view, it is clear that descriptive research does not only deal with the data
collection and arrangement only, but also analysis and interpretation of collected data in order to answer the research questions.
B. Research Subjects
The research subjects investigated in this study were an English teacher
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and first year students of SMA Stella Duce 2 Yogyakarta. The researcher chose the research subjects because he once taught in the school so he had been familiar
with the school’s environment. This study was conducted to an English teacher in SMA Stella Duce 2 Yogyakarta who taught the first year students or grade X
students and first year students in SMA Stella Duce 2 Yogyakarta. The reason for conducting the research to the first year class was because the teaching-learning
activities conducted by the teacher and students in this grade still focus on the teaching-learning activities without any other programs such as additional period
to prepare the National Examination like the third grade students usually have. As discussed earlier, this study was conducted in SMA Stella Duce 2
Yogyakarta in November 2006. The research was conducted to a teacher who taught four classes of first year students. This study employed observation
checklist, field notes, and questionnaire as research instruments to collect the research data. This study is a descriptive research that tries to describe learning
techniques applied by an English teacher. This study also discusses the teacher’s reasons for conducting the learning techniques and students’ responses on the
learning techniques through which the learning activities are conducted.
C. Research Instruments
This study required data from the research subjects to be collected and then to be analyzed. In conducting the study, therefore, the researcher used
research instruments to collect the data from the research subjects. The research instruments were observation checklist, field notes, interview, and questionnaire.
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1. Observation Checklist
This research instrument was employed in order to answer the research question number 1, namely “What learning techniques does the teacher apply in
conducting the English reading class?”. Checklist was a certain technique of observation. According to Ary et al. 2002: 234, checklist is a device for direct
observation, which presents a list of behaviors that are to be observed. Observation checklist was a list of statements which were the focuses of attention
in conducting the research observation. Observation checklist contained situations or phenomenon dealing with the research topic researcher investigated. In other
words, this was a guideline for the researcher in conducting the research observation. The researcher used non-participant observation in which the
researcher observed without participating or taking any active part in the situation being observed. The researcher, then, would present the result of the observation
in the form of paragraphs. The checklist consisted of three parts which were based on the focus of the
observation itself. The first part Part A was about kinds of the learning techniques the teacher conducted for students in reading class. The second part
Part B was about reading text materials the teacher used in conducting the reading class. This part covered what kinds of texts, texts’ sources, and form of
the teaching materials the teacher used. The third part Part C was about teaching instruments the teacher used in conducting reading class. It covered what kinds,
sources, and form of the teaching instrument that the teacher used.
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