The effect of directed reading thinking activity and reading interest on students' reading comprehension

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THE EFFECT OF DIRECTED READING THINKING ACTIVITY AND READING INTEREST ON STUDENTS’ READING

COMPREHENSION

(An Experimental Study in the 8th Grade Students of MTs Jamiyyah Islamiyyah Pondok Aren)

THESIS

Completed as Partial Requirement for a Completion

of Master‟s Degree

at English Department, Faculty of Tarbiya and Teachers‟ Training

Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta

By: Yuliana Friska 2113014000012

GRADUATE PROGRAM OF ENGLISH EDUCATION FACULTY OF TARBIYA AND TEACHERS’ TRAINING SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY

JAKARTA 2015


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ABSTRACT

Friska, Yuliana. The Effect of Directed Reading Thinking Activity and Reading Interest on Students’ Reading Comprehension (An

Experimental Study in the 8th Grade Students of MTs Jamiyyah Islamiyyah

Pondok Aren), 2015

This study was aimed to investigate the effect of Directed Reading Thinking Activity and reading interest on students‟ reading comprehension at the 8th students of MTs Jamiyyah Islamiyyah Pd. Aren. This study is categorized as quasi experimental research in which to investigate the effect

of teaching method (DRTA) and reading interest on students‟ reading

comprehension. The sample of this study was two classes of eight grade students (class 8) of MTs Jamiyyah Islamiyyah. One class as experimental class comprised with 40 students, and the other class as controlled class comprised with 40 students as well. The method used in this study is quantitative method with quasi experimental design. The findings of this study are: (1) There was no significant difference of reading comprehension between students who were taught by DRTA and those who were taught by Conventional method (2) There were interactional effects of teaching method and reading interest toward students‟ reading comprehension (3) There was significant effect of students‟ reading comprehension who were taught by DRTA was higher than those who were taught by Conventional method for students who had high reading interest (4) There was no significant

difference of students‟ reading comprehension who were taught by DRTA method and those who were taught by Conventional method for students who had low reading interest.

Keywords: Reading Comprehension, Directed Reading Thinking Activity


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ABSTRAK

Friska, Yuliana. The Effect of Directed Reading Thinking Activity and Reading Interest on Students’ Reading Comprehension (An

Experimental Study in the 8th Grade Students of MTs Jamiyyah Islamiyyah

Pondok Aren), 2015

Penelitian ini ditujukan untuk mengetahui apakah terdapat efek metode DRTA dan minat membaca terhadap kemampuan membaca siswadi kelas 8 MTs Jamiyyah Islamiyyah Pondok Aren. Penelitian ini dikategorikan sebagai Penelitian Experimen (Quasi-Experiment); untuk mengidentifikasi apakah terdapat pengaruh metode pembelajaran (DRTA) dan minat membaca terhadap pemahaman siswa dalam membaca teks narrative. Sampel penelitian ini adalah dua kelas dari kelas 8 yang berjumlah 40 orang pada masing-masing kelas. Satu kelas sebagai kelas experimen dan yang lain sebagai kelas kontrol. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah penelitian kuantitatif dengan disain experimen (quasi-experiment). Hasil yang diperoleh dari penelitian ini adalah: (1) tidak terdapat perbedaan hasil pemahaman membaca antara siswa yang diajar dengan metode DRTA dan siswa yang diajar dengan metode konvensional (2) terdapat pengaruh interaksi metode pembelajaran dan minat membaca siswa terhadap pemahaman membaca siswa (3) terdapat pengaruh pemahaman membaca siswa yang diajarkan dengan metode DRTA lebih tinggi dibanding siswa yang diajar dengan method konvensional untuk siswa-siswa dengan minat baca tinggi (4) tidak terdapat perbedaan pemahaman membaca siswa yang diajar dengan metode DRTA dan siswa yang diajar dengan metode konvensional untuk siswa-siswa dengan minat baca rendah.

Kata Kunci: Pemahaman membaca, Directed Reading Thinking Activity


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ثح لا ص لم

سرف

،

رش ملا ءار لا ير فلا يلمعلا رثأ ، ن يل ي

DRTA)

يملاو )

ل ي ي طت سار ( لم ش ءارق نع ءار لا لإ

نم ثلا تسملا اط

،)نيرأ و ن ف يماسإ ّيعمج يف طس تملا ي ن ثلا سر مب

5102

ثح ا فد

ثأ ع ف ك

DRTA

ءا ق ا اط ا

ق طت ثحب ثح ا . ف ت دق ع

(Quasi-Experiment)

أ

ه

خ ت

سا د ا ج ا ثأ دج

DRTA

اط ا

ث ه ثح ا ع .

ا ءا ق ف اط ا ف ع ءا ق ا

ا ف دحا

ف

،

ف سق ا ث ا تس ا ف ط

ا ج ا ه ثح ا ف دختس ا ج ا . ط س

ف خأا ق طت

) : ه ثح ا ج ت . ق طت ج ا

ت ع

1

(

ب فاتخا دج ا

ا اط ا

سّ د

ق طب

DRTA

ا اط ا

سّ د

ق طب

) . ف ا ج ت ف د قت

2

ع ث اط ا

سا د ا ج

تا (

) .ء ق ا ف ف اط ا دق

3

ا اط ا (

سّ د

ج ب

DRTA

أ ف ا د

ك

ا اط ا ث

سّ د

خ ا ه د قت ج ب

) . ثك ءا ق ا

ا د

ا اط

4

ب فاتخا دج ا (

ا اط ا

سّ د

ق طب

DRTA

ا اط ا

سّ د

ق طب

ء ق ا ف ف د قت

،

ا ه

خ

ءا ق ا

د

ا اط

.ا ق

يح تفم ملك

ا ءا ق ا :

،

DRTA


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Praised be to Allah, Lord of the world, who has given the writer His love and compassion to finish the last assignment in her study. Peace and salutation be upon to the prophet Muhammad SAW, his family, his companion, and his adherence.

It is a pleasure to acknowledge the help and contribution to all of lecturers, institution, family and friends who have contributed in different ways hence this thesis is processed until it becomes a complete writing which will be presented to the Master Program of English Education Faculty of Tarbiya and Teachers‟ Training in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of M.Pd., in English Language Education.

First of all, the writer would like to express her great honor and deepest gratitude to her advisor, Dr. Alek, M.Pd., and Dr. Kadir, M.Pd., whose scholarly suggestions and critical remarks have enabled the writer to refine this thesis. She conveys special gratitude to her beloved mother and

sister who motivated her in accomplishing this thesis.

The writer‟s sincere gratitude also goes to:

1. Prof. Dr. Ahmad Thib Raya, M.A., the dean of Faculty of Tarbiya and

Teachers‟ Training.

2. Dr. Fahriany M.Pd., the head of master program, Faculty of Tarbiya

and Teachers‟ Training.

3. Dr. Jejen Musfah, M.A., the secretary of master program, Faculty of

Tarbiya and Teachers‟ Training.

4. Azkia Muharom Albantani, M.Pd.I., the staff of master program,

Faculty of Tarbiya and Teachers‟ Training.

5. All the lecturers in Master Program of English Department who had transferred his/her knowledge and also for the valuable guidance and encouragement.

6. All the teachers in MTs Jamiyyah Islamiyyah Pondok Aren for their understanding and support.

7. All of people who participated in the process of the thesis that the writer couldn‟t mention one by one. May Allah bless them all.

Ciputat, June 2015 The Writer


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TABLE OF CONTENT

Page

Cover Page ... i

Title Page ... ii

Statement of Originality ... iii

Approval by Thesis Supervisors ... iv

Approval by Examiners ... v

Abstract ... vi

Acknowledgement ... vii

Table of Content ... viii

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. The Background of Research ... 1

B. Identification of the Problem ... 4

C. Limitation of the Problem ... 4

D. Formulation of the Problem ... 5

E. The Objectives of Research ... 5

F. The Significance of Research ... 5

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW A. Theoretical Review A.1. Reading Comprehension ... 7

A.1.1 The General Concept of Reading ... 7

A.1.2 The Purposes of Reading ... 9

A.1.3 The Process of Reading ... 11

A.1.4 The Problems of Reading ... 12

A.2. Narrative Text ... 15

A.2.1 The Understanding of Narrative Text ... 15

A.2.2 The Purposes of Reading ... 17

A.2.3 The Schematic Structure of Narrative Text... 17

A.2.4 The Language features of Narrative Text ... 19

A.3. Teaching Method ... 20

A.3.1 The Understanding of Teaching Method ... 20

A.3.2 Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) ... 20

A.3.3 The Purposes of DRTA ... 21

A.3.4 The Procedure of DRTA ... 22

A.3.5 The Advantages of DRTA... 24

A.3.6 Disadvantages of DRTA method ... 24

A.3.7 Teaching Narrative Text Using DRTA ... 25

A.4. Interest ... 25

A.4.1 The Understanding of Interest ... 25


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A.4.3 Reading Interest... 28

B. Previous Study... 30

C. Conceptual Framework ... 31

D. Theoretical Hypothesis ... 33

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY A. Research Design ... 37

B. Place and Time of Research ... 38

C. The Population and Sample of Research ... 38

D. The Techniques of Data Collection ... 39

E. The Instruments of Research ... 40

F. The Techniques of Data Analysis ... 48

CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION A. Finding ... 51

B. Discussion ... 70

CHAPTER V CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION A. Conclusion ... 75

B. Suggestion ... 76

References Appendices


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LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 The schedule of Research ... 37

Table 3.2 Research Design ... 38

Table 3.3 Range Score in Students‟ Reading Interest ... 41

Table 3.4 The Blueprint of Reading Interest Questionnaire ... 41

Table 3.5 The Formula of Product Moment ... 42

Table 3.6 Validity Test ... 43

Table 3.7 The Blueprint of Reading Comprehension ... 45

Table 3.8 The Formula of Product Moment ... 46

Table 3.9 Validity test ... 46

Table 4.1 Descriptive Statistics ... 51

Table 4.2 Frequency Table of Reading Comprehension by Using DRTA Method ... 52

Table 4.3 Frequency Table of Reading Comprehension by Using Conventional Method ... 54

Table 4.4 Frequency Table of Reading Comprehension with High Reading Interest ... 55

Table 4.5 Frequency Table of Reading Comprehension with Low Reading Interest ... 57

Table 4.6 Frequency Table of Reading Comprehension by Using DRTA Method with High Reading Interest ... 59

Table 4.7 Frequency Table of Reading Comprehension by Using DRTA Method with Low Reading Interest ... 60

Table 4.8 Frequency Table of Reading Comprehension by Using Conventional Method with High Reading Interest ... 62

Table 4.9 Frequency Table of Reading Comprehension by Using Conventional Method with Low Reading Interest ... 63

Table 4.10 Recapitulation of Normality Test ... 66

Table 4.11 The Computation of Homogeneity Test for Reading Comprehension ... 66

Table 4.12 ANOVA Test (2 x 2) ... 68


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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1 Language Features of Narrative Text ... 19 Figure 4.1 Students‟ Reading Comprehension Taught by DRTA Method 53 Figure 4.2 Students‟ Reading Comprehension Taught by

Conventional Method ... 55 Figure 4.3 Reading Comprehension with High Reading Interest ... 56 Figure 4.4 Reading Comprehension with Low Reading Interest ... 58 Figure 4.5 Reading Comprehension by Using DRTA Method with

High Reading Interest ... 60 Figure 4.6 Reading Comprehension by Using DRTA Method with

Low Reading Interest ... 61 Figure 4.7 Reading Comprehension by Using Conventional Method

with High Reading Interest ... 63 Figure 4.8 Reading Comprehension by Using Conventional Method


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LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix 1 Lesson Plan ... 83

Appendix 2 Research Instrument Final ... 102

Appendix 2a Reading Comprehension on Narrative Text Test ... 102

Appendix 2b Reading Interest Questionnaire ... 112

Appendix 3 Research Instrument Try Out ... 115

Appendix 3a Validity of Narrative Reading Test ... 115

Appendix 3a Reliability of Reading Comprehension on Narrative Text ... 115

Appendix 3b Validity of Reading Interest Questionnaire ... 116

Appendix 3b Reliability of Reading Interest Questionnaire ... 116

Appendix 4 Data of Research Finding ... 117

Appendix 4a Data of Reading Comprehension ... 118

Appendix 4b Data of Reading Interest ... 119

Appendix 5 Data Description of Research Finding ... 120

Appendix 5 The Calculation of Normality Test ... 121

Appendix 6 The Calculation of Homogeneity Test ... 122


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1

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents the general description of the study. It covers background of study, identification of problem, limitation of the study, research questions, research hypothesis, aim of the study, and significance of the study.

A. The Background of Study

English in Indonesia is considered as a foreign language in which it is learned by Indonesian students from elementary level up to university level. Moreover it is included into one of subject to be evaluated to improve students‟ ability in comprehending English. As stated in School-Based Curriculum-Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendididkan (KTSP) English lesson is aimed to develop students ability in communicating by that language either spoken or written. The ability to communicate in English involves several skills such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing (Pusat Kurikulum, 2003, p. 17).

Based on the explanation of School-Based Curriculum-KTSP above, it can be interpreted that there are four certain major language skills should be mastered by a language learner. Those are listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Listening and reading skills are regarded as receptive skills while speaking and writing skills are considered to be productive skills. As one of the language skills, reading plays an important role because it helps students to be able to read English articles, magazines, newspapers, and nonfiction books, and it also could be the only way to use and to practice English in non-English speaking countries. Therefore, the ability to read the text in any form will contribute a great advantage for English learners, for instance gaining success at school.

There are numerous reading selections found over the world among fictions or nonfictions literature. One of reading text types that second year of Junior High School students learn and should be mastered is narrative text. It has been obviously stated in the curriculum School-Based Curriculum/KTSP. Narrative text is a kind of text that describes a sequence of fictional or non-fictional events. It consists of orientation, complication, and resolution.

Ideally, the eighth grade students of Junior High School are conveyed to learn and to master some genres of texts including narrative text applied in any aspects of language skills. It has been stated on Standard of Competency and Basic Competence (SK, KD) in the KTSP curriculum. Besides, the policy of the school in determining the minimum passing grade score should be attained; at least the minimal mastery level criterion (KKM) considering English subject gains score 70 (seventy). However, most of 8th grade students at MTs Jamiyyah Islamiyyah are still difficult to achieve those targets


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because their knowledge of English is still low primarily on reading skill, then 8th grade students also has the lowest score in English compared with other classes.

Moreover, based on the unstructured interview result with the teacher on 3rd September 2014 concerning students‟ reading test, there were some difficulties probably faced by students in reading activities such as: First,

most of students just have the ability to pronounce and recognize the individual words without conveying the message what the author extends.

Second, they actually have good knowledge of words and sentence meaning but they fail to understand longer reading materials such as stories. Third,

they were hardly to concentrate as they read. After students read a story, most of them were difficult to analyze the schematic structures of the story concerning orientation, complication, and resolution whereas they had read the text for several times. Consequently, they had difficulty in figuring out the plot of the story. Fourth,the students‟ attitudes toward reading, some of

them are lazy to read the text. Fifth, the next problems came from the teacher related to the strategy, the methodology, the technique of teaching reading

used by the teacher. Based on writer‟s experience, strategy is a way that used

by teacher in teaching learning process. Next, based on the observation started from 10th to 18th September 2014, it was found that the students‟ activity in reading were not very interesting because the teacher usually asked every students to read orally then asking them to translate the story. Besides, during teaching and learning activity, the teacher explained the schematic structures and linguistic features of the story almost all of the time; hence it made students were seldom to participate in the class. Then the teacher gave them some minutes to do exercises meanwhile most of students

did not pay attention to the teacher‟s explanation even they did not do the

exercises. Furthermore, the teacher rarely let his students tried to analyze the story.

Those cases were quite problematical one and it should be solved because it can arise further difficulties to the next reading lesson if their low degree of reading comprehension was not improved soon. As the effect, they will be probably continuous difficulty to understand any other texts. Furthermore, they probably could not pass the policy of minimum passing grade determined by school. Here, it was assumed that circumstances could affect their understanding of a text for instance, students‟ physical condition, their interests toward the materials, the difficulty of the text selections, and hardly sustained attention.

It was considered that it was necessary to find out a suitable and interesting method related to students‟ condition. They needed to be delivered any practices to assist them in developing reading comprehension.


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For the need of research, it was chosen the second year class because this class derived the lowest achievement scores based on the test result among the other classes. Therefore, the students‟ reading comprehension needed to be developed. In this research, the study was focused on narrative text. It was based on texts that taught in Junior High School. Therefore, the writer and the teacher focused on reading skill in comprehending the schematic structures of a story because it was the prior reading problem faced by most of students grade VIII of Mts Jamiyyah Islamiyyah.

Considering those problems above, this study was not going to discuss the whole factors. This study only focused on some factors, in this case, teaching method and reading interest.

Teaching method is one of important factors in determining students‟ achievement in reading. The teacher should apply effective and innovative strategies in teaching reading in order to make students interested to read and to improve the students reading comprehension. There are many methods that can be applied by the teacher in teaching reading comprehension for instance DRTA (Directed Reading Thinking Activity) method. In this case the researcher tried to apply DRTA (Directed Reading Thinking Activity) to solve the problems since DRTA method is one of alternative way to improve reading skills. According to Opitz and Guccione (2009) Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) is a strategy that boosts reading comprehension by making transparent how proficient readers make and confirm predictions while they read (p. 148). That is why Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) was selected as an appropriate method to investigate whether the

students‟ reading comprehension primarily on narrative text would improve. Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) method consists of three main steps: prediction, reading, and confirmation. It encouraged students to make predictions and inferences. It also helped students to understand the whole reading text. In addition, it created a condition in which students could practice and involve in active comprehension by calling on their personal prior knowledge and text knowledge.

Further, as it was mentioned previously that the classical problem encountered by students was their attitude toward reading itself. Interest

becomes one of factors which may affect the students‟ reading

comprehension because reading is a skill. A skill cannot only be developed by learning but it also must be developed by extensive and continual practice. Moreover, the students‟ attitude toward reading is a central factor affecting reading performance. Therefore, it can be assumed that the more positive the attitude, the more likely student will engage in reading activities. In addition,

students‟ positive attitude toward reading is one of the objectives of the reading curriculum in most countries. It stated that students who enjoy


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reading and who perceive themselves to be good readers usually read more frequently and more widely impact which impact to broaden their reading experience and improves their reading skills. Based on the data of TIMSS 7 PIRLS, on average internationally, in every country, students at the high level of positive attitude toward reading had substantially got higher average reading achievement than those at medium or low level.

Therefore, it was important to apply appropriate teaching method in order to help students comprehend the text easily. Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) method would be applied and related it with students‟ reading interest to investigate whether students who had high or low interest in reading would affect their reading comprehension and also to investigate whether it was effective in this institution. Thus, this study was conducted under the title: “The Effect of Directed Reading Thinking Activity and

Reading Interest on Students’ Reading Comprehension”.

B. The Identification of Problem

Based on background of study above, it can be identified several problems as follow:

1. Students of MTs Jamiyyah Islamiyyah grade 8 just had the ability to pronounce and recognize the individual words without conveying the message what the author extends.

2. Students actually had good knowledge of words and sentence meaning but they failed to understand longer reading materials such as stories.

3. Students were hardly to concentrate as they read. 4. Students were lack interest in reading

5. Teacher‟s method in teaching reading was focused on the explanation of generic structure of text.

C. The Limitation of Problem

Based on the problems were identified above, the problems of the present study were limited on teaching method used in teaching reading and

students‟ interest in reading whether it would affect their reading comprehension. Teaching method used in this study was Directed Reading

Thinking Activity (DRTA) method. Besides, the level of students‟ interest in

reading divided into high and low. Therefore, this study concerned to investigate “the effect of directed reading thinking activity and reading


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D. The Formulation of Problem

Based on the problems were identified above, the problems of the study can be formulated as follow:

1. Was there any significant difference of Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) on students‟ reading comprehension between those who were taught by DRTA and those who were taught by conventional method?

2. Was there any interactional effect of teaching method and reading

interest on students‟ reading comprehension?

3. Was there any significant difference in reading comprehension between students who have high reading interest that were taught by DRTA method and those who were taught by conventional method? 4. Was there any significant difference in reading comprehension

between students who have low reading interest that were taught by DRTA method and those who were taught by conventional method?

E. The Objective of Study

Based on the research questions above, this study aimed to obtain empirical evidence about:

1. The effect of Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) on

students‟ reading comprehension between those who were taught by DRTA and those who were taught by conventional method.

2. The interactional effect of teaching method and reading interest on

students‟ reading comprehension.

3. The significant difference in reading comprehension between students who have high reading interest that were taught by DRTA method and those who were taught by conventional method.

4. The significant difference in reading comprehension between students who have low reading interest that were taught by DRTA method and those who were taught by conventional method.

F. The Significance of Study

Generally, the results of this study were expected to improve education quality, here were two significance of this study:

1. Theoretical Significance

Theoretical significance was determined to teacher, students, and other researcher. First, was for teacher, it gave information related to teaching method could be used in reading comprehension primarily to improve teaching quality. Second, was for students to help them to comprehend narrative text easily through DRTA method. Third, was


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for other researcher, it could increase the knowledge related to teaching method, reading interest, and reading comprehension.

2. Practical Significance

First, was for the teacher. It gave the alternative solution in teaching reading primarily in narrative text. Second, was for students. It assisted them to solve their problems in reading activity of narrative text and it could help them to develop their creative thinking skills. Third, was for the institution of MTs Jamiyyah Islamiyyah. It could be beneficial regarding to improve the education quality. Fourth, was for other researcher to provide information in conducting research related to reading comprehension.


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7

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter covers some theories related to the study. The discussion focuses on theoretical review including the reading comprehension, narrative text, teaching method, Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA), reading interest, previous related study, conceptual framework, and theoretical hypotheses.

A. Theoretical Review

A.1. Reading Comprehension

A.1.1 The General Concept of Reading

Reading is regarded as one of English skills that need relatively mechanical skills. In this sense, Linse (2005) assumed that reading is viewed as not merely taking written information on the printed matter but also attributing a meaning-extracting process as the essence of the act of reading (p. 69). It means that reading is not only to get the information from the text passively but also to process it on mind to understand the meaning. That assumption is in line with a linguist expert, Walker (2000) who defined that reading as active process in which readers shift between sources of information, elaborate meaning and strategies, monitor their comprehension, and use the social context to reflect their response (pp. 203—243).

Regarding those definitions above, it can be seen that learning to read is a complex and it has been acknowledged that reading strategies can be taught to learners and that reading strategy instruction can benefit all students (Carol, 2002, pp. 498—513). When a reader reads to get the meaning of the printed written selection, it is obviously needed a great number of mechanical skills and comprehension skills as thinking process. Therefore, it can be said that reading includes many aspects of skills. Davis in Alderson (2000) divided those skills involves recalling, drawing, finding, weaving, recognizing, identifying, and following which are considered toward the readers in understanding the printed symbols as a mental process (p. 14). That is why the readers have to integrate their skills when reading texts because as a complex process, reading needs understanding to process the information on mind.

According to Bernhardt (1991), reading is regarded as a cognitive process in which it demands a process to apprehend the meaning, to gain information, and to learn in which those should be considered to the process of mind (p. 17). Therefore, to understand the meaning of a text in reading activity, the reader makes use of interaction among eyes and mind to grasp the message related to what the author is trying to communicate.


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Based on those statements above, clearly, reading is a complex process in getting meaning or in understanding the message. It is commonly what we call as reading comprehension. It is in line with Daniel and Samuels (1998) who stated that “The actively understanding of the message to construct the meaning concerning the transaction between what the author is trying to convey through his words and the mind of a reader is called as reading comprehension” (p. 30).

However, in comprehending a printed language, it is quite difficult as the reader must accomplish multiple things simultaneously in constructing the meaning from a text. Here, Ur (1996) explained that:

Our aims in (real-life) reading usually go beyond mere understanding. We may wish to understand something in order to learn from it (in a course of study), in order to find out how to act (instructions, directions), in order to express an opinion about it (a letter requesting advice), or for many other purposes. Other pieces of writing, into which the writer has invested thought and care, demand a personal response from the reader to the ideas in the text, such as interpretation, application to other contexts, criticism, or evaluation (p. 150).

The illustration above shows how the complexity of reading. However, these abilities are the important things that should be mastered to completely understand in getting the meaning of a text.

Moreover, in reading comprehension the readers also need to combine the information from the text with their background knowledge to comprehend the text. Lewin (2003) considered this as “prior knowledge”. He said that;

Prior knowledge is regarded as what the readers know toward incoming topic concerning their past knowledge which is stored in the brain then occurring the integration of newly information to evoke retrieving the existing information to save them into their memories in categories called as schemata or it is widely known as „schema

theory‟ (p. 23).

Hence, to grasp the meaning of the text, a reader is sought to gain the ability in interpreting the text meaningfully where he needs prior knowledge to

assist him in making sense of the author‟s message. It is in line with Linse (2005) stated that the reading comprehension refers to for meaning, understanding, and entertainment (p. 71).

Thus, in preparing reading activities the readers mentally access their schemata toward current reading topic then recalling to evoke what they


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already know. It really helps facilitating their comprehension when that knowledge is tapped. Shortly, reading comprehension involves the whole experiences which a reader has.

In sum up, reading comprehension involves many activities, interpretation, convert, and reproduction. For each definition has its own activity, it depends on the reading purpose of the reader.

A.1.2 The Purposes of Reading

In real life, people generally read something because they want to or have a desire to do so and a purpose to achieve. The goal for establishing a purpose for reading is to identify the appropriate motive for reading and to determine the appropriate reading style to fit that purpose (Graves, 2004). Whatever the purpose, it is important to have a purpose set prior to reading. Pressley (2004) express the importance of establishing a purpose for reading by stating “reading is a conscious, deliberate act prompted by plausible purpose, it is what motivates us, helps us focus our attention, or gives us a goal, something tangible to work toward” (p. 267).

Establishing a purpose for reading is also important for monitoring comprehension. A reader will be more alert to certain aspects of the reading if they know their goal. They will be more aware of confusing or unclear sections of the text. When students are aware of their goals prior to reading, they become more motivated to read.

Based on the statement above, clearly, people read for many purposes. Some of them read for pleasure and some read for getting information in which different purposes gain different technique used.

In addition, Nuttal (2005) stated that “whatever your reasons for reading (excluding any reading for language learning), it is not very likely that you were interested in the pronunciation of what you read, and even less likely that you more interested in the grammatical structure used. You read because you wanted to get something from the writing” (p. 3). This statement

also emphasizes on no matter the reader‟s technique used in reading, it aims

to convey the message of the text.

The different purpose of reading is also stated by Harmer. He divided it into some areas such as predictive skills, extracting specific information, getting the general picture, extracting detailed information, recognizing function and discourse patterns, and deducing meaning from context. (Harmer, 1983,pp. 183—184).

Generally, reading purposes mentioned above is to understand or to comprehend the reading passage from the printed text whether there is an action or not after reading a text. It emphasizes on reading is not a general ability. Related to the purpose of reading itself, it embraces a wide variety of


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tasks, activities, skills, and mental process. For instance, when reading for getting specific information, a reader needs to consider the accuracy of words meaning in order to comprehend the information in the text.

In sum up, those definitions above conclude that the general purpose of the reading is to be able to use any techniques of reading activity and to reach the meaning or message toward kinds of reading.

Based on the purpose of reading classified by Harmer, there are two types of reading related to its purpose. Those are extensive and intensive reading. For the detail description of the two reading types are as follows: a. Intensive reading

Nuttal (2005) stated, “Intensive reading involves approaching the text under the guidance of a teacher or a task which forces the student to focus on the text and the aim is to arrive at an understanding not only of what the text means but also of how the meaning is produced” (p. 38).

In other words, intensive reading is used to gain a deep understanding of a text which is important for readers. To reach the comprehension in reading, it is necessary to pay attention of reading accuracy concerning reading text, vocabulary, and organization. So that comprehension of the content may be facilitated.

a. Extensive reading

One of the best ways to improve knowledge of a foreign language is to go and live among its speakers. However many people are hardly to have that opportunity to live in other countries. Therefore, there is another way to improve knowledge that is to read extensively in that language. According to Nuttal (2005), extensive reading is assumed as follow;

It is assumed that in order to understand the whole (e.g., book), we must first understand the parts (sentences, paragraph, chapters) of which it is made up. However, we can in fact often understand a text adequately without grasping every part of it; students have to be encouraged to develop this facility (p. 38).

Based on that statement above, the reading selection which appropriate related to extensive reading is reading for pleasure. In reading activity, a reader does not need to understand every word because the aim is merely needs to get an overall understanding of the text.

In thus, it is necessary to determine the reader‟s purpose in reading beforehand and know for certain what a reader is looking for. In this case, both intensive and extensive reading have the own technique in reading skill. The techniques involve skimming and scanning (Maxwell, 2000, p. 2).

Moreover, Maxwell (2000) viewed skimming is as “the ability to process large quantities of materials very rapidly in order to read for a


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specific purpose, the location of the main idea” (p. 1). In some texts, students can glance a notion of the content or even learn the main ideas just by skimming topic headings and looking at charts and graphs. Skimming would

be helpful when we want to find out quickly about the writer‟s point of view.

We may want to find out what the writer thinks about something. When we

want to know the writer‟s point of view or how a book or article is organized, we do not need to read a whole text or we do not need to know the details for this instead of we just need to read only a few important words.

On the other hand, scanning refers to the ability to locate facts quickly. For instance, when we look up a person‟s telephone number, we do not start reading started from alphabet A. Rather, we scan down the column until we locate the first letter of that person exactly. In addition, according to Maxwell (2000) “scanning is an excellent technique for reviewing to make sure that you have mastered and understood the relevant supporting details (p. 2).” For example, in finding out the supporting details of a text, we need to focus on the facts we want and locate them quickly with a minimum effort. Based on the illustration above, skimming is a part of total reading processes and will help a reader greatly to enhance his speed and understanding in reading. Meanwhile, scanning will lead you to develop confidence and skill in locating main ideas and details quickly.

In conclusion, the purpose of reading will ease the readers in reading appropriate text. That is why they have to decide and know exactly what kind of purposes they have in reading text because in one reading text may have multiple purposes in which for each purpose has its own reading technique.

A.1.3 The Process of Reading

According to Patel and Jain (2008, pp 114—116) there are some process of reading, they are:

1. The first stage is „the recognition stage‟. At this stage the learner simply recognizes the graphic counterparts of the phonological items. For instance, one recognizes the spoken words in its written form. The difficulty at this stage depends upon the difference between the

script of the learner‟s mother tongue and English and between the spelling conventions of two languages.

2. The second stage is „the structuring stage‟. The learner sees the syntactic relationship of the items and understands the structural meaning of the syntactical units.

3. The third is „the interpretation stage‟. This is the highest level in the process of the reading. The learner comprehends the significance of a word, a phrase, or a sentence in the overall context of the discards. For instance, one comprehends the serious and jocular use of words,


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distinguishes between a statement of fact and a statement of opinion. It is stage at which a person really reads for information or for pleasure.

In addition, there are three stages of reading activities which should be consider by the teacher when teaching reading, namely pre-reading, whilst-reading, and post-reading activities (Wallace, 1993, p. 86).

Pre-reading activities which simply consist of questions to which the reader is required to find the answer from the text. The objective of pre-reading activities is to activate students‟ background knowledge, to provide any language preparation that might be needed for coping with the passage, and finally to motivate the learners to read the text. Some activities which can be done in this stage are brainstorming such as content mapping or semantic mapping, predicting from words to title, sequencing illustration, storytelling, sharing existing knowledge, etc (Gibbons, 2002, p. 34) .

Whilst-reading activity refers to activity which intended to help students to understand the specific content and to perceive the rhetorical structure of the text. Activities can be done in this stage are modeled reading, skimming and scanning the text, rereading for detail, summarizing the text etc. one of the activities can be done in pairs or group is to give learners jumbled sentences or sections of text and asked to do the task, but also to give their reasons for ordering the sentences or sections in a particular way, thus making it useful discussion exercise.

Post-reading activity traditionally refers to activities consist of questions

which follow a text which offer the chance to evaluate students‟

understanding of text. Activities can be done in this stage are cloze test, jumbled sentences, true/false questions, and questioning the text (Gibbons, 2002, p. 68).

A.1.4 The Problems of Reading

There are many problems faced by a reader as reading. According to Chard (2008), to comprehend a text is not a simple process, there are some

typical causes which then arise toward students‟ difficulty in reading such as: language delay and difficulties, early reading difficulties leading to fluency problems, lack of knowledge about the world and about the words, lack of knowledge of comprehension strategies and lack of skill in applying strategies appropriately, and difficulties understanding text structures (pp. 396—408).

The five problems above would be explained further concerning the causes and how to overcome those shortcomings in order a reader is able to comprehend kinds of reading selections. In the first problem area, it is known that a fairly close relationship exists between intelligence and the ability to


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read. Since general intelligence is the most important factor in readiness for reading, it is obvious that intelligence tests are useful for appraising certain phases of readiness to read (Alderson, 2000, p. 34).

When we illustrate that correlation, it can be understood that there is a substantial correlation between intelligence and reading ability. It is true that a child who is intelligent enough to go to school is intelligent enough to learn

to read simple materials. Nevertheless, a child‟s ability to comprehend in

reading is limited by the conceptual load that his mental ability enables him to carry. Thus, as a teacher, we should never underestimate a student‟s mental development, but we should adjust the task to his capabilities to grow his power toward reading.

Next, the second problem area is word recognition. Students may get difficulty in recognizing the word as they read. It is caused by the differences

in syntactical patterns of the students‟ native language and the target

language (Aebersold, 1997, pp. 12-13). In order students are able to understand the text, they have to know the words meaning based on the context of the sentence. However, students usually look up the dictionary to find out the words meaning. It will make them confuse if the meaning is not appropriate with a sentence. That is why the teacher may explain to introduce new words through illustrating toward familiar words which students have known first.

The third problem is oral reading, if not done well, it can have an undesirable effect on comprehension. The reader is able to become so conscious of his audience that he will fail to understand what he is reading.

This is strengthened by an assumption that “the general aim for a reading

development program is to enable students to enjoy (or at least feel comfortable with) reading in the foreign language, and to read without help unfamiliar authentic texts, at appropriate speed, silently and with adequate understanding (Nuttal, 2005, p. 31).” In short, reading orally of a selection is particularly difficult for the reader to increase his understanding, since he not only sees but also hears what he reads. Thus, overemphasis on oral reading may also make a reader so self-conscious while reading to others that his concentration may be on how, rather than on what, he is reading.

In the fourth problem area is related to insufficient background for reading a selection. It means that lack of experience background may cause poor comprehension of what is being read. Alderson (2000) stated that “It may seem self-evident that, if readers do not know the language of the text, then they will have great difficulty in processing the text; indeed in studies of first language reading the language knowledge of the reader is often taken for granted” (p. 34). Considering the experience background is then what we call

„schema theory‟. In preparing for reading, students mentally access their


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know. Of course, some students come to the class already knowing quite a bit about the topic; perhaps they remember it from an earlier grade, or they watched educational television shows about it, or they recently read something about it. Typically, the students who gain sufficient knowledge about many reading selections, then, they are able to connect the information they have with the incoming text, so it would be helpful to construct their comprehension in reading.

The next problem is failure to adjust reading techniques to reading purpose and type of reading material. Appropriate techniques should be taught for the reading of specific types of material whenever new material is assigned. In the previously, the writer has discussed two kinds of reading technique; those are skimming and scanning. Beside of those techniques, as a teacher, he should recognize his students‟ other ways in reading technique, that is through bottom-up approaches and top-down approaches. In term of

bottom-up approaches or the parts-to-whole method, (Hudson, 2007) assumed as follows:

A reader constructs meaning from letters, words, phrases, clauses, and sentences by processing the text into phonemic units that represent lexical meaning, and then builds meaning in a linear manner. This approach assumes that the reading task can be understood by examining it as a series of stages that proceed in a fixed order, from sensory input to comprehension and appropriate response. (p. 33)

Based on the definition above, it can be seen that when a reader learns to read, he processes the simplest units that make up a word first, learning letter shapes, names, and sounds. Next, he blends letters together in a left to right sequence to create more complete units. Then words are formed as he studiously sounds out the letters. Words grow into phrases, and eventually a simple sentence is read. So it would continue in a prescribed sequence of steps. In this model, learning is regarded as a one-way process, from the text to the reader, and progress is made one skill at a time. The top-down approaches, on the other hand, assumed:

A reader approaches a text with conceptualizations above the textual level already in operation and then works down to the text itself. Consequently, the reader makes continually changing hypotheses about the incoming information. This reader applies background knowledge, both formal and content, to the text in order to create meaning that is personally and contextually sensible (Hudson, 2007, pp. 33—34).


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In this way, reading is an active process in which the reader brings to bear not only knowledge of the language, but also internal concepts of how language is processed, past experiential background, and general conceptual background. In this approach, efficient reading is not the result of close perception and identification of all textual features.

The last problem regarding ability in reading is lack of appropriate teacher guidance. Normally students should learn to approach a reading assignment in the content fields with clearly conceived purpose. They must know what they are looking and why. Such purposes may arise out of previous class discussions, demonstrations, or experiments. In this sense, Penny Ur stated that:

Sometimes no actual task is necessary, if the passage is easy and motivating to read: the learner reads, as in his or her own mother tongue, for enjoyment or information. But a task is useful for two reasons: first, it may provide the learners with a purpose in reading and make the whole activity more interesting and effective; second, we need to know how well our learners are reading, and we can get this information conveniently through looking at the results of comprehension tasks (Boer and Dallmann, 1964, p.134)

Therefore, if the student‟s purpose for reading arises out of a keen interest of his own, the prospects of successful reading are greatest. Moreover, of course, the problems related to reading comprehension might be prevented earlier.

A.2. Narrative Text

A.2.1 The Understanding of Narrative Text

In order to make the discussion of literature more manageable, it is sensible to view the categories or genres that simply mean a type of literature with similar characteristic. Thus, when one understands a particular genre, he can anticipate what type of content will be found within a volume in that

category. “Readers will notice that literature selections are divided into one

of two large general genres, that of fiction or nonfiction” (Farris, 2004, p. 439). One of genres that Junior High School students learn is narrative text. Chatman and Attebery (1993) defined “the narrative text is a kind of story either fictive or real which contain a series of events in which how the story is told and how the context is presented as aspects of the story construction” (p. 15). Thus, special features of narrative text could be found in its sequence of events to attract the readers in order to build their curiosity throughout the story. In addition, based on Longman (2004), narrative means a description of events in a story.


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Farris (2004) stated that “some think that reading narrative text is often referred to as aesthetic reading because one reads it for enjoyment and pleasure” (p. 490). Narrative text also enables students to make connections such as they may figure out similarities among the text and their own lives, they make links between the text they are current reading and another text they have previously read, they also see connections between the text and the real world. In short, the fact that reading narrative is a cooperative venture between the author and the reader.

Indeed, narrative text requires a content background for understanding. According to Farris (2004), “reading a narrative text in a historical period or related to a scientific finding usually necessitates having some related knowledge in that specific area” (p. 496). Consequently, readers need to develop background knowledge for literary elements in order to make connections. Students who are reading narrative text need to become familiar with the previously reviewed literary elements of character, setting, problem and solution, theme, and writing style.

As students read quality narrative text, they naturally become involved with the characters who may possess similar feelings or may find themselves in like situations. There are numerous types of narrative. They are fairy stories, mysteries, science fiction, horrors, romances, fables, myths, legends, ballads, etc (Anderson, 2003, p.18). Those can be classified into imaginary and factual, or even combination of both.

Beside of various of narrative texts, Chatman (1993) classified

“narrative text into four basic elements” (p. 23). Those are as following: (a) Characters

There are two characters take place within a story. They are main characters and secondary characters. Character is the single most important element in the narrative text. It describes physical of the character such as age, weight, height, even personality traits including the strength and weaknesses. This who plays action in kinds of different situation or reacts the problems in the story. The author can also depict character into dialogue. It tells a reader what the character says or thinks.

(b) Settings

The setting addresses the location (where) and the period (when) of the story whether the story tells a reader among realistic, historical fiction or fantasy. At times, the author gives details in any imagination to tell where and when the story takes place.

(c) Plot

The plot includes a series of episodes or events written by the author

to hold the reader‟s attention and to build excitement as the story progresses.


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of events toward problem solving. The excitement builds until the climax or tension; the high point in the story where the problem is solved.

(d) Conclusion

At the end of a story, the writer ends up the story through figuring out

all the important things happened in the story led to a “conclusion”. This is

the most exciting point in the whole story and tells how the events work out for the characters.

A.2.2 The Purposes of Narrative Text

People read narrative text might be basically for enjoyment and

pleasure; to gain a reader‟s interest. It means they like enjoying themselves to read any kinds of stories because they may possess similar feelings or find themselves in like situations. This is in line with Anderson‟s (2003) statement

“the purpose of narrative text is to present a view of the world that entertains or informs the reader or listener” (p. 6). In sum up, the purpose of narrative text is the readers as if involved within story to get the pleasure.

A.2.3 The Schematic Structure of Narrative Text

An effective narrative text has several significant characteristics which a reader may use as standard to guide his reading. In a traditional narrative, Alderson stated that the focus of the text is on series of actions. Those are as following:

(a) Orientation

Josephine (2007) stated that orientation tells about “the setting in time and place, and characters” (p. 123). Thus, in the first paragraph the narrator tells the audience who is in the story, when it is happening, where it is happening and what is going on.

(b) Complication

This is the part of the story where the narrator tells about something that will begin a chain of events. These events will affect one or more of the characters. Then, telling the problems to be solved by characters.

(c) Sequence of events

This is where the narrator tells how the characters react to the complication. It includes their feelings and what they do. The events can be told in chronological order (the order in which they happen) or with

flashbacks. The audience is given the narrator‟s point of view.

(d) Resolution

In this part of the narrative where the complication is sorted out or the problem is solved. It means that how is the problem that is created in the complication finally solved.


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Takatuliang, the Woodcarver

Long time ago on the island of Simbau, in the Sulawesi Sea, there lived a king and his beautiful daughter. The princess was not only beautiful, but she was also wise and kind.

Many princes wanted to marry the king‟s daughter and this made the king confused. He, then, announced a contest: whoever presented the princess with the most valuable gift would marry her.

Takatuliang, a poor woodcarver, wanted to join the contest but he was so poor that he had nothing to present. Then, he went far into the forest. There he chose the best tree and carved it into a doll. Next, he took an old piece of cloth and sewed it into a dress for the doll. After

that, he cut his own hair and glued it to the doll‟s head.

On the day of the contest, all of the princes gathered before the king and the princess. One by one, they presented their gifts: diamonds, silk, gold, jewelry.

Then came Takatuliang‟s turn.

“What do you have?” asked the princess. “I bring only a doll,” said Takatuliang softly.

“How many dolls like this do you have?” asked the

princess.

“Only this one. I carved it by myself and decorated it with my own hair and my father‟s old cloth. He died and this is

the only thing he left me.” answered Takatuliang.

The princess was very touched to hear

Takatuliang‟s story. She decided to marry Takatuliang

because he had presented her everything he had. Together, Takatuliang and the princess lived happily ever after.

(Adapted from Josephine S.M., 2007)

Orientation

Complications

Resolution Title

Sequence of Events


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A.2.4 The Language Features of Narrative Text

According to Anderson (2003) the language features usually found in a narrative text include: Specific characters or participants, time words that connect events to tell when they occur, the use of simple past tense and past continuous tense, Verbs to show the actions that occur in the story, relational verbs to describe the characters and settings, connectives or conjunctions to sequence the story (p. 8). In the following is the example of language features of narrative text related to the story above:

Figure 2.1

Language Features of Narrative Text

No Linguistic Features Examples

1 Specific Participants Takatuliang

2 Generic Participant

King daughter Prince Princess Father

3 Past Tense

 There lived a king…..

 Many princes wanted to marry …..  This made the king confused.  He went far into the forest.

 He chose the best tree and carved it. 4 Past Perfect Tense  He had presented her everything he

had.

5 Action Verb

Came announced glued Presented went cut

Chose carved decorated

Took sewed left

6 Adverb of Time Long time ago

On the day

7 Adverb of Place

On the island of Simbau In the Sulawesi sea Into the forest 8 Coordinate Conjunction But

And

9 Temporal Conjunction

Then, next, after that Next


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10 Saying Verb

Asked Answered Said

11 Linking Verb Was

12 Modality Would

(Adapted from Josephine S.M., 2007)

In conclusion, the language features play significant role to assist in getting the meaning of a story. For instance, through past tense appeared, it tells the readers exactly as a major feature of a story used. Next, the use of conjunction is relatively necessary to describe the characters and settings. Hence, all of the language features are conveyed to construct the story more alive.

A.3. Teaching Method

A.3.1The Understanding of Teaching Method

For centuries, the language teaching profession may be aptly characterized by series methods that rose and decline in popularity. It appears that some practitioners in this period tried to define the ultimate meaning of

“method” that could be generalized widely with various audiences, context, and languages.

According to Richards (2002), reading has a specials focus in teaching; there are three reasons for this. First, many foreign language students often assume reading as one of their most important goals. Second, written texts can accept various pedagogical purposes. Then, reading is a skill which has something value from students and teacher. In other word, teaching reading is very important in learning process to get information and knowledge (p. 273).

Richard and Rodgers stated in Brown‟s book, Teaching by Principles on Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy, method is a generalized set of classroom specification for accomplishing linguistics objectives. Methods tend to be concerned primarily with teacher and student roles and behaviors and secondarily with such features as linguistic and subject matter objectives, sequencing, and materials.

A.3.2 Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA)

In teaching reading, actually there are many kinds of strategy that can be used by teacher to comprehend the text, one of them is Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) strategy. Directed Reading Thinking Activity is one of strategy that can be used by the teacher in teaching learning reading. According to Stauffer in Bainbridge and Sylvia (1999), DRTA is one of


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strategy to show the active role of readers. Prior to reading, the students are asked to generate prediction of story development based on some limited

information such as the title of the reading selection, the author‟s name, or a

few illustrations (p. 164).

The Directed Reading Thinking Activity is a much stronger model for building independent readers and learners. DRTA is designed to help students in setting a purpose for reading; making justifying, and verifying prediction and coming conclusion. The students will survey the text to be read, make prediction and justify their prediction (Schumm, 2006, p. 241).

Further, Block and Sheri (2008) confirm that DRTA focuses more directly on developing reading skill. In this strategy, the students examined text by looking at the title, illustrations, and the first few pages, and then make prediction what the text would be about. Subsequently, they read the text and confirmers or disconfirm their prediction (p.160).

Furthermore, Odwan (2012) defined Directed Reading Thinking Activity as follows:

The origin of DRTA is intended to develop students‟ ability to read

critically and reflectively. The directed reading thinking activity attempts to equip readers with the ability to determine the purposes of reading, the ability to extract, comprehend, and assimilate information, the ability to make predictions to examine reading materials based on the purposes of reading, the ability to pass judgments, and finally the ability to make decisions based upon information gleaned from reading.

According to Opitz and Guccione (2009) stated that Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) is a strategy that boosts reading comprehension by making transparent how proficient readers make and confirm predictions while they read. It means that in teaching reading by use DRTA strategy, ask students to make and confirm predictions while they read (p. 148).

Based on theories above, the writer concludes that Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) is a strategy which serves the students to be active in reading. Besides, this strategy can help the students determine a purpose of reading. In this strategy, the students will make prediction about the text by

limited information such as title, the author‟s name or a few illustrations.

A.3.3 The Purposes of DRTA

According to Allen (2004), the power of Directed Reading Thinking Activity strategy increases when the teacher guides students to check their predictions after reading. The value of Directed Reading Thinking Activity is to make predictions before reading each section. Requiring students to make


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predictions encourage use of context clues and establishes a purpose for reading. This cycle requires students to use their background knowledge to set purposes for reading and develop their questioning ability. Verifying predictions while reading extend thoughts and promotes interactive learning.

Specifically, the purposes of using Directed Reading Thinking Activity are: To encourage readers to be more aware of the strategies they use to interpret text, to help students understand the reading process, to develop prediction skills, to stimulate thinking and develop hypotheses about text which aid interpretation and comprehension, to increase understanding the purposes and effects of the structures and features of particular text, to increase curiosity about particular texts and text-types, and to encourage students to listen to the opinions of others and modify their own in light of additional information.

In short, the purpose of using Directed Reading Thinking Activity could ease the readers to understand whole parts of a story.

A.3.4 The Procedure of DRTA

The general procedure to follow when preparing a basic story map includes the following steps: The Directed Reading Thinking Activity engages students in a step by step process that guides them through informational text. It is designed to move students through the process of reading text. Questions are asked and answered, and predictions are made and tested throughout the reading. Additionally, new questions and predictions are formulated as the students‟ progress through the text. According to Stauffer in Bainbridge and Sylvia DRTA strategy has several steps:

(a) Prior to reading, choose a text. This strategy works well with both fiction and non-fiction texts.

(b) Then, activate students‟ prior knowledge. Have the students read the title of the text, or tell them the topic of the text. Ask students to brainstorm a list of ideas that come to mind when they think about the title or topic. Write those ideas on the board. When using this strategy with a piece of fiction, you might have students brainstorm a list of ideas that they

associate with an overriding theme of the story, the story‟s setting, or the

author of the story (if the author is someone with whom your students are familiar). Students will be making predictions about what they will read about in the text, so it is important that you activate their prior knowledge on a topic that will allow them to make predictions about what might be included in the text.

(c) The predictions are recorded on the board, a transparency, or a chart. Have students make predictions about what they will read about the text.


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Use all available clues, including the index, table of contents pictures, charts, and tables in the text. Ask students to explain how they came up with their predictions.

(d) After that, have students read a section of a text. Once students have read a certain amount of text, they return to their prediction to see which have been realized, which seem unlikely to be fulfilled, and which may still possibly occur.

(e) Ask students to confirm or revise prior predictions and make new predictions. Students should be encouraged to explain what in the text is causing them to confirm and /or revise prior predictions, and what is causing them to make the new predictions they are making.

(f) The last, students are encouraged to support their opinions and to make further predictions based on their literary and life experience. When students have finished reading, ask questions that promote thinking and discussion (Bainbridge and Sylvia, 1999, p. 164).

Thus, Schumm (2006) stated that there are several steps in DRTA strategy. First, the students survey the text to be read. Second, students should make predictions based on the survey to have students justify their predictions, or give a reason why they think their predictions are correct. The third set a purpose by reading having students read to find out if their predictions are correct. Fourth, ask the students confirm their predictions based on the new information read and create new prediction. The last, ask students read the next section and continue with confirming or altering and creating new prediction until the reading is complete (p. 241).

Furthermore, Brunner (2011) stated that DRTA have some steps in process, there are: Read the selection to select predetermined stopping points, and then tell the students they will need a cover sheet. After that ask students to cover everything but the title of the selection and tell students to read the title and make prediction about the story contents. After reading the title ask

students make predictions; ask for “evidence” supporting their belief that

their predictions are correct and then tell them that they will review their initial predictions, as well as make a new predictions based upon the reading, After students have finished reading the designated text (p. 56).

From the steps above, it can be concluded that DRTA guides the students through information the text. This method requires the students to make new prediction about text by the cover (title, illustration), give evidence about their prediction, reread text and make conclusions.


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A.3.5 The Advantages of DRTA

Any strategy that is used by the teacher in teaching learning process give purposes to the teacher and students. According to Adlit (2008), there are reasons why using Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) strategy in reading class such as: It encourages students to be active and thoughtful readers. The process of predicting, reading, and proving make the students are not passive in reading class. They use their mind to be more aware about the topic given may be known yet by the students. In addition, it activates

students‟ prior knowledge. It will appear prior knowledge by predicting the topic and new information will add students‟ knowledge.

Further, it also teaches students to monitor their understanding of the text as they are reading. The students understand the content of the text step by step. It began from activating prior knowledge, then predicting what they will learn about the topic and the last is proving. From that step, the students will practice how to understand the text accurately. Furthermore, it helps students strengthen reading and critical thinking skills. Reading skill is not passive skill, so that readers must think about the topic accurately.

Moreover, any strategy that is used by the teacher in teaching learning process give purposes to the teacher and students. According Bainbridge (1999) Directed reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) strategy encourages reader/ students to be actively involved in the constructions of meaning (p. 164). It‟s mean that through student‟s predictions in the text to make their active in reading. Thus, Brunner (2011) said that strategy help students read critically and reflect upon what they read. Besides, this strategy help students determine a purpose for reading, carefully examine the text, and remain engaged throughout the lesson (p. 56).

In summary, Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) used to make students actively read the text, carefully examine and remain engaged

in reading by student‟s prediction for the text and constructions of meaning

the text. So, the teacher can designed this activity as creative as possible to make student enjoy in the learning process.

A.3.6 Disadvantages of DRTA method

The disadvantages of DRTA method indeed it is only useful if students have read or heard the text being used. Besides, classroom management may become a problem if it is a big class (the students more than thirty) because the teacher could not control the students personally.


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A.3.7 Teaching Narrative Text Using DRTA

These following steps concerning teaching narrative text using DRTA method are modified and adapted from (Wilhelm, 2001). Those steps are:

Step 1: Determine goals and objectives for the text and choose an accessible text for students to read. Goals and objectives should be immediately transferable and useful. In this study, narrative text considered as a purposeful text to DRTA method. (Selecting)

Step 2: Activate students‟ prior knowledge. Use think-aloud strategies and set the purpose of reading. (Connecting)

Step 3: Direct them to make prediction about the text. Preview the entire text including tables, contents, introductions, headings, indices, etc. ask students to make predictions about the text based on the text preview and prior knowledge. (Predicting)

Step 4: Have students read independently. Guide them through the text. As students read, help them work through a text in terms of main ideas and supporting details, how a text is structured and the role text structure plays in the organization of details. It is at this point in the lesson that readers begin to make personal connections to text and text to world connections. In

order to help students understand the text, determine students‟ stopping

points for students to reflect and monitor comprehension, to employ fix-up strategies, and make connections beyond the text. Teachers need to know how well the reader is using fix-up strategies and making those connections beyond the text. (Reading)

Step 5: After reading, ask students to reflect on what was read. Readers should verify justify predictions while continuing to make text-to-self, text to text, and text-to-world connections. (Verifying)

Step 6: Give students an evaluation. Provide students with opportunities to synthesize the text and move the reader beyond the text in terms of addressing the question, “so what?” how is what was learned in the

text important to students‟ live? To the world? It is necessary to check their

reading comprehension of a story using a printed test to gain working individually. (Reflecting)

A.4. Interest

A.4.1 The Understanding of Interest

Interest is one of a number of motivational variables that has been investigated in relation to student engagement and learning outcomes. Research specifically concerned with interest and learning (e.g., Hoffmann, Krapp, Renninger, & Baumert, 1998; Krapp, Renninger, & Hidi, 1992; Schiefele, Krapp, & Winteler, 1992) has focused on both individual interest, relatively stable orientations that have developed over time, and situational


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interest that refers to interest generated by the specific features of the environment/task.

Interest is one of factors which determines as attitude in working or studying actively. Hidi (2006) defined interest as, “a unique motivational variable, as well as psychological state that occurs during interactions between persons and their objects of interest, and it is characterized by

increasing attention, concentration and affect.” (p. 549). The assumption is that individuals are more likely to attend to and learn from interesting materials as opposed to uninteresting materials.

Researchers have distinguished two types of interest that reflect distinct areas of research focus: individual interest and situational interest.

According to Hidi (2001) individual interest “develops slowly, tends to be

long lasting, and is associated with increased knowledge and value” (p. 103).

Wade et al. (1999) associate individual interest with “personal significance, positive emotions, high value, and increased knowledge” (p. 197).

It has also been equated with “intrinsic” motivation. Many studies cited by Hidi & Baird (1988) have shown that cognitive performance as measured by many different indicators improved with personal interest. Typical indicators of interest are increased attention, greater concentration, pleasant feelings, and increased willingness to learn (Krapp et al., 1992).

Situational interest, on the other hand, is “evoked by something in the

immediate environment, and consequently may or may not have a long-term

effect on individual‟s knowledge and value” (Hidi, 2001, p. 193). It focuses on the environment and contextual factors. In the case of reading, these

include “characteristics of the text, inducements, and social activities surrounding the reading event” (Wade et al., 1999, p. 197). Situational

interest has been associated with “extrinsic” motivation and has been called

“externally triggered motivation” (Hidi, 2001, p. 203).

Personal and situational interests are not mutually exclusive. Both

involve “increased attention and cognitive functioning, persistence, and have

an affective component” (Hidi, 2001, p. 193). Hidi and Harackiewicz (2000) argue that situational interest can lead to “continued and persistent activity

that becomes self-initiated, self-determined and autonomous” and that

“creating environments that stimulate interest is one way for schools to motivate students and help them make cognitive gains in areas that initially

hold little interest for them” (p. 156).

The statement above is parallel with Hidi (2001) in the other paper argued that interest is the monitor in establishing all of activities or information what we want or what we select. It can be concluded that when we are interested in something, we are attentive and focused of object or


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activity that make us interest. The students will study regularly or effectively and they will success if they have a high interest.

Based on the statement above, interest is one of the psychological items which have an important role in human beings especially in education. Learning process will go well if someone has an interest. The students who has an interest in learning a subject matter, will comprehend the material at a deeper level than the student who has not.

A.4.2 The kinds of Interest

Researchers have distinguished two types of interest that reflect distinct areas of research focus: individual/personal interest and situational interest. a. Personal Interest

Personal interest comes from people themselves. Thus, a person‟s interest can also be triggered by a visual stimulus such as a play object, or viewing a picture, an auditory stimulus such as hearing a conversation, or a combination of visual and auditory stimuli like a TV show. According to

Hidi (2001) individual interest “develops slowly, tends to be long lasting, and

is associated with increased knowledge and value” (p. 103). It has also been

equated with “intrinsic” motivation.

b. Situational Interest

Situational interest is different from personal interest in term of the situational interest can be influenced by environment, it does not come from people themselves. Situational interest, in contrast of personal interest; it can change quickly and depends on the current situation. Besides, Schraw and

Lehman (2010) stated that “situational interest is a person‟s current

enjoyment, pleasure, or satisfaction generated by the immediate context.” Hidi (2001) has been an outspoken proponent of utilizing situational interest in motivating children in academic activities as opposed to utilizing individual interest largely because it tends to be impractical for teachers to

develop individualized programs that match students‟ personal interest to the

school curriculum. It can be concluded that the situational interest should be adopted to describe all environmentally-triggered interest.

Research has clearly demonstrated that interest has a powerful facilitative effect on cognitive functioning (Hidi and Harackiewicz, 2000) whether the type of interest under study is individual or situational. In a later

review, Hidi (2001) concluded that research findings “indicate that all types

of interest tend to facilitate reader‟s comprehension and recall” (p. 195).

However, the type of interest that is more applicable to the realities of classroom teaching is situational interest. What follows is a brief summary of studies and writings on situational interest, with a focus on the factors that


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contribute to text-based interest and its influence on reading performance and related outcomes.

A.4.3 Reading Interest

Students‟ reading interest are defined by how often students read about things they are passionate about, spend their free time, spend their free time, and what they are interested in. Reading interest is divided into three instructional parts: “Before You Read,” “While You Read,” and “After You

Read.” This sequence of activities is generally considered helpful in fostering

students‟ understanding of what they read (ERS, 2000). The “Before You Read” activity “prepares students to read by connecting them with the topic,

providing needed background, introducing new words and concepts, and

setting a purpose for reading”.

Studies suggest that “reading for a particular purpose can enhance

text-based interest” (Hidi and Harackiewicz, 2000, p. 154). Connecting students with the topic by tapping into their prior knowledge was also found in the interest research to be one of the factors that evokes interest. Readers

are then guided through the reading process in “While You Read.” For each

selection, a specific focus strategy (e.g., visualizing, comparing, making inferences) is presented and modeled. A study cited by Hidi and Harackiewicz (2000) suggests that the key to maintaining interest after it has

been triggered is to empower students by helping them to attach “meaning or personal relevance” (p. 155) to their reading. The focus strategy, therefore, is designed to keep readers engaged with the topic while locating and connecting personally to information in the text. Also, a graphic organizer is provided for writing or drawing personal responses while reading.

The “After You Read” activities then give readers an opportunity to

think about what they have read and to share their personal responses in a variety of ways, including writing, drawing, dramatization, or listening and speaking. Consequently, as readers share their unique responses, they again

exchange knowledge and reinforce each other‟s interest in the topic. Besides, there are two aspects can influence the reading interest such as cognitive and affective aspect.

1. Cognitive Aspect

The cognitive aspect is based on concept that children develop in the

areas related to the interest. The cognitive aspect of children‟s interest in

reading, for instance is based on their reading concept (Hurlock, 1978). Beside concept, the age and reading achievement have important role in cognitive aspect. The age and reading achievement of readers decide readers‟ interest in choosing book ro theme that they will read.


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APPENDIX 4


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