116 Making prediction activity was also successful to build connection between
the students‘ prior knowledge and the new material. Students were able to make some predictions about the text by looking at the detail of the pictures
and the title of the text. Those activities made the students comprehend the text easier.
In relation to Cycle I, the actions were successfully done in general. In the first step, the activities could attract the students‘ attention toward the
lesson. The students‘ interest also improved. Then, in the second step, the students‘ vocabulary increased. It was because in the step, the students were
asked to mention and to write words related to the picture given and share with others. The next step was building connection between students‘ prior
knowledge and the new material. The students were helped to relate their background knowledge to the material given. Because they were able to do it
well, the students felt at ease in understanding the text. The last session, that is comprehension session, the students could do the comprehension tasks well.
However, there were some actions which could not be done well in Cycle I. Firstly, the picture in the third meeting was not clear enough in terms
of the layout. Besides, the picture was also less attractive. As a result, the students could only explore limited words and prediction from the picture.
Secondly, the pictures were not used maximally. They were not explored deeply. As a result, the detail information in the pictures could not be
delivered well to the students. Then, the activity in exploring key words was monotonous. The students were only asked to mention everything they knew
117 about the pictures orally. As a result, the students who were active were
limited. Some students could not participate well in this activity. In Cycle II, there were some improvements in the implementation of
the actions. The pictures used were clearer in terms of the layout. They were also more attractive since the pictures were varied. The pictures were also
explored deeply in comparison to the first Cycle. There was also a vocabulary game in Cycle II. By conducting the game, the students‘ motivation toward
the lesson improved and their vocabulary related to the topic improved. By implementing those improved actions, the students‘ reading comprehension
increased. This statement was in relation with the improvement of the students‘ reading comprehension scores from the pre-test to the post-test and
from the achievement test I to the achievement II. To sum up, Schema Activation Strategy was effective to improve the
s tudents‘ reading comprehension in the process of teaching reading.
B. Implications
With regard to the results of the research, the implementation of schema activation strategy could improve the students‘ reading
comprehension. Schema Activation Strategy, which consists of some steps, was able to make the students recall their prior knowledge, connect their prior
knowledge with the new knowledge, and use the connection to comprehend the text well. To sum up, Schema Activation Strategy is highly suggested to
be applied by English teachers of junior high schools in the process of teaching reading.
118
C. Suggestions
After covering up the conclusions and the implications of the research, the researcher has some suggestions for the English teachers and further
researchers to be considered. 1.
For the English Teachers In the process of teaching and learning English, especially reading,
English teachers should be able to create some activities which can accommodate the students to access their prior knowledge and connect it with
the new knowledge from the new material. Such activities helped the students in understanding the text since a text does not bring its meanings by itself.
Accessing prior knowledge and connecting it to the new knowledge had a big role in the process of understanding a text. In addition, such media as pictures
should be used in order to attract the students‘ attention and interest. As a result, the process of teaching and learning reading becomes more interesting.
2. For Further Researchers
The implementation of Schema Activation Strategy can improve the students‘ reading comprehension. Further researchers are recommended to use
Schema Activation Strategy on different levels of education in order to see the effectiveness of Schema Activation Strategy in improv
ing the students‘ reading comprehension. They may also have more activities and or other text
types in implementing Schema Activation Strategy.
119
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