Students` perception on pre reading activities in basic reading II class of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION

ON PRE-READING ACTIVITIES

IN BASIC READING II CLASS OF THE ENGLISH
LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
OF SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education

By
Vindy Cahya Ekaningrum
Student Number: 101214001

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2014

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION

ON PRE-READING ACTIVITIES

IN BASIC READING II CLASS OF THE ENGLISH
LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
OF SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By
Vindy Cahya Ekaningrum
Student Number: 101214001

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2014

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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

”A dream doesn t become realityhrough
t
magic; it takes

sw eat, determination, and hard w ork
( Colin Pow ell)

I d ed i ca t e t h i s t h esi s t o m y
m ot h er , m y f a t h er , m y l i t t l e
br ot h er , a n d a l so m y
f r i en d s. Th a n k s f or t h ei r
l ov e.

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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

LEMBAR PER}TYATAAII PERSETUJUAII
PT]BLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH IJNTI]K KEPENTINGAIY AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma

Nama

:

:

Vindy Cahya Ekaningrum

NomorMahasiswa : 101214001
Demi pengembangan ihnu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yaog berjudul:

STI'DENTS' PERCEPTION ON PRE.READING ACTTVTIIES IN B1{,SIC
RET4I'ING ITCLASS OF TIIE ENGLISH LAI\IGUAGE EI}UCATION

STUI}Y PROGRAM OF SANATA DHARMA T'NTVERSITY

beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian

*ru -"J**

kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan,
mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya datam bentuk pangkalan

data mendistibusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau
media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta
maupun

*"-b"rik*

ijin dari saya

royalti kepada saya selarna tetap mencantumkan nama saya

sebagai penulis.

Demikian pemyataan ini yang sayabuat dengan sebenarnya

Dibuatdi Yogyakarta
Padat^nggal: 15 Agustus 2014

Yang menyatakan

(Vindy Cahya Ekaningrum)

vr

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

ABSTRACT
Ekaningrum, Vindy Cahya. 2014. Students’ Perception on Pre-reading Activities
in Basic Reading II Class of the English Language Education Study Program of
Sanata Dharma University. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
In a reading classroom, the teacher needs to prepare the students since the
beginning of a reading process. The teacher can create pre-reading activities
before the students start to read. The pre-reading activities are essential to activate
students’ background knowledge and to develop students’ motivation. They will

create an effective reading classroom. The students’ perception on the teachers’
instruction shows whether the teaching techniques meet the students’ need or not.
Because of this reason, the researcher wants to find out the varieties of prereading activities used by the teacher and the students’ perception on the
implementation of pre-reading activities.
This research was conducted in Basic Reading II class of the English
Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University. In this
research, there were two problem formulations: 1) What kinds of pre-reading
activities that are used by Basic Reading II teacher in the English Language
Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University? 2) How is the students’
perception on pre-reading activities used by the teacher?
This research was a survey research. In gathering the data, there were two
instruments used in this research. They were interview and questionnaire. The
interview was done by interviewing the teacher of Basic Reading II Class. The
interview was used to answer the first research question about the varieties of prereading activities that are used by Basic Reading II teacher. Then, the researcher
distributed the questionnaire to 56 students of Basic Reading II class. The
questionnaire was used to answer the second research question about students’
perceptions on pre-reading activities used by the teacher.
The result of this research showed that brainstorming, pre-teaching
vocabulary, pre-questioning, visual aids, and KWL strategy were the varieties of
pre-reading activities used by the teacher. Among those five, there was one

activity implemented differently. There were two different implementations of
pre-teaching vocabulary. There were also two activities combined together, they
were the use of visual aids and KWL strategy. The students had positive
perception on the implementation of pre-reading activities in Basic Reading II
Class. The students got many advantages from the implementation of pre-reading
activities to help them in understanding reading materials.
Keywords: perception, pre-reading activities, Basic Reading II class

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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

ABSTRAK
Ekaningrum, Vindy Cahya. 2014. Students’ Perception on Pre-reading Activities
in Basic Reading II Class of the English Language Education Study Program of
Sanata Dharma University. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
Di dalam kelas membaca, seorang guru harus mempersiapkan siswa sejak
awal proses membaca. Guru dapat membuat kegiatan awal sebelum siswa mulai
membaca. Kegiatan pra-membaca sangat penting untuk mengaktifkan latar
belakang pengetahuan siswa dan mengembangkan motivasi mereka. Hal itu akan

menciptakan kelas membaca yang efektif. Persepsi siswa terhadap tehnik
mengajar guru itu penting. Persepsi siswa menunjukkan apakah tehnik mengajar
guru telah sesuai dengan kebutuhan siswa. Karena alasan ini, peneliti ingin
menemukan variasi kegiatan pra-membaca yang digunakan oleh guru dan
persepsi siswa tentang pelaksanaan kegiatan pra-membaca tersebut.
Penelitian ini dilakukan di kelas Basic Reading II di Program Studi
Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Universitas Sanata Dharma. Dalam penelitian ini,
ada dua rumusan masalah: 1) Apa saja jenis kegiatan pra-membaca yang
digunakan oleh guru Basic Reading II di Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa
Inggris Universitas Sanata Dharma? 2) Bagaimana persepsi siswa pada kegiatan
pra-membaca yang digunakan oleh guru?
Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian survei. Dalam pengumpulan data, ada
dua instrumen yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini, yaitu wawancara dan
kuesioner. Wawancara dilakukan dengan mewawancarai guru kelas Basic
Reading II. Wawancara ini digunakan untuk menjawab rumusan masalah
pertama tentang variasi kegiatan pra-membaca yang digunakan guru Basic
Reading II. Kemudian, peneliti menyebarkan kuesioner kepada 56 siswa kelas
Basic Reading II. Kuesioner ini digunakan untuk menjawab rumusan masalah
kedua tentang persepsi siswa pada kegiatan pra-membaca yang digunakan oleh
guru.

Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa brainstorming, pre-questioning,
pre-teaching vocabulary, visual aids, dan KWL strategy adalah jeni-jenis kegiatan
pra-membaca yang digunakan oleh guru. Ada satu kegiatan yang dilaksanakan
secara berbeda. Ada dua implementasi yang berbeda dari pre-teaching
vocabulary. Ada juga dua kegiatan yang digunakan bersama-sama, yaitu
penggunaan visual aids dan KWL strategy. Para siswa memiliki persepsi positif
terhadap pelaksanaan kegiatan pra-membaca di kelas Basic Reading II. Para
siswa mendapat banyak keuntungan dari pelaksanaan kegiatan pra-membaca
untuk membantu mereka dalam memahami bahan bacaan.
Kata kunci: perception, pre-reading activities, Basic Reading II class

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I dedicate my deepest and greatest gratitude to Allah SWT for
giving me life, for caring about me, and for the blessing and love in my life. I
have been given the strength to work hard in writing thisthesis. I have been

assisted to keep struggling to finish this thesis.
I would like to express my gratitude to my major sponsor, Carla Sih
Prabandari, S.Pd., M.Hum., for her support, time, and patience to the completing
of this thesis. I also would like to sincerely thank Truly Almendo Pasaribu, S.S.,
M.A. and Markus Budiraharjo, S.Pd., M.Ed., Ed.D., for sharing me their time and
knowledge. My sincere appreciation also goes to all of my lecturers in PBI Sanata
Dharma for their knowledge, advice and guidance that have been given to me
during my study.
My deepest gratitude goes to my beloved parents, Bapak Sukardi dan Ibu
Siti Murniati for their love, support, prayer, and encouragement in my life. They
are my heroes in this life. My deepest thanks also go to my little brother, Fuad
Nur Ihsan for all of his support to me in conducting this thesis.
My sincerest thanks also go to all of my friends. I thank Dita, Yulia, Afri,
Ina, Yunita, and Dhini for their support and love. I thank all class A (2010)
members as my second family and all students of ELESP Sanata Dharma
University, for making my life colorful and meaningful. I thank Indanis, who
always sincerely cares of me in any condition. I also address my thanks to all of
my friends, who inspire me in life. Finally, I would like to give my appreciation

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for all of the people whose names I cannot mention for their contribution in
helping me to finish this thesis.

Sincerely,
Vindy Cahya Ekaningrum

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
TITLE PAGE …………………………………………………………….

i

APPROVAL PAGE ……………………………………………………..

ii

DEDICATION PAGE …………………………………………………...

iv

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ……………………….....

v

PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI……………………………

vi

ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………..

vii

ABSTRAK ………………………………………………………………..

viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………………..

ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………………..

xi

LIST OF TABLES ……………………………………………………….

xv

LIST OF FIGURES ……………………………………………………...

xvi

LIST OF APPENDICES …………………………………………………

xvii

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION
A. Research Background ……………………………...........

1

B. Problem Formulations …………………………………..

5

C. Problem Limitation ……………………………………..

5

D. Research Objectives …………………………………….

6

E. Research Benefits ……………………………………….

6

F. Definition of Terms ……………………………………… 8

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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
A. Theoretical Description ………………………….............. 10
1. Reading ……………………………………………….

10

a. Nature of Reading….. ……………………………..

10

b. Models of Reading…. ……………………………..

11

2. Teaching Reading …………………………………….

14

a. Pre-reading Activities …………………………….

14

1) Brainstorming………………………………….

18

2) Pre-Teaching Vocabulary……………………..

19

3) Pre-Questioning.....……………………………

20

4) Visual Aids …………………………………… 21
5) Conceptual Related Readings…………………

21

6) Previews ………………………………………

22

7) KWL Strategy…………………………………

23

b. While-reading Activities………………………….. 23
c. Post-reading Activities……………………………. 24
3. Perception ………………………….............................

25

a. Definition of Perception…….................................... 25
b. Process of Perception..……………………………..

25

c. Perception on Pre-reading Activities………………

27

B. Theoretical Framework………………………………….

28

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A. Research Method ………………………………………

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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

B. Research Setting …………………………………….....

32

C. Research Participants …………………………….........

32

D. Research Instruments and Data Gathering Technique….

33

1. Interview …………………………………………….

33

2. Questionnaire ………………………………………..

34

E. Data Analysis Technique ………………………………

36

1. Data from Interview ………………………………...

36

2. Data from Questionnaire ……………………………

36

F. Research Procedure ……………………………………

37

1. Planning …………………………………………….

38

2. Defining the Population …………………………….

38

3. Sampling ……………………………………………

38

4. Constructing the instruments ……………………….

38

5. Asking Permission ……………………………….....

39

6. Conducting the Interviews and Survey ……………... 39
7. Analyzing the Data ………………………………….

39

8. Reporting the Results ……………………………….

39

CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH RESULT AND DISCUSSION
A. The Varieties of Pre-reading Activities Implementation
in Basic Reading II Class ………………………………

40

B. Students’ Perceptions on the Implementation of Prereading Activities in Basic Reading II Class…………… 49

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1. Students’ Perceptions on the Implementation of Prereading Activities …………………………………… 49
2. Students’ Perceptions on Pre-reading Activity They
Like the Most………………………………………..

55

3. Students’ Opinions for the Possible Improvement of
Pre-reading Activity in Basic Reading II Class……... 57

CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
A. Conclusions …………………………………………….

59

B.

Recommendations ……………………………………..

62

REFERENCES ………………………………………………………….

65

APPENDICES …………………………………………………………..

67

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LIST OF TABLES
Table

Page

4.1 Students’ Perceptions on the Implementation of Pre- reading
Activities …………………………………………………………….

50

4.2 Students’ Preference on Pre-reading Activity they like the most…….

55

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure

Page

2.1 Reading as an interaction between top-down and bottom-up models..

13

2.2 Perception: An Information-Processing Model……………………....

26

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LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix A:
Permission Letter ………………………………………………………….

68

Appendix B:
Interview Blueprint………. ……………………………………………….

70

Appendix C:
Interview Guidelines... ……………………………………………………

72

Appendix D:
Interview Result……………………………………. …………………….

74

Appendix E:
Questionnaire Blueprint…………………………… ……………………..

80

Appendix F:
Questionnaire………………………. ……………………………………

83

Appendix G:
Samples of Students’ Questionnaire………………………………………

87

Appendix H:
Percentages of Questionnaire Result………………………………………

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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

This study discusses the students’ perception on pre-reading activities in
Basic Reading II class of the English Language Education Study Program of

Sanata Dharma University. This chapter consists of six parts. They are research
background, problem formulations, problem limitation, research objectives,
research benefits, and also definitions of terms. In the research background, the
researcher discusses the importance of the research and the reason why this
research is conducted. In the problem formulations, there are two research
questions that will be discussed in this research. The third part explains the
objectives of the research. The fourth part discusses the limitation of the
problems. Next, the researcher also provides the benefits of this study. Last, there
are the definitions of terms which are used in this study.

A. Research Background

In learning English language, reading skill is one of important abilities to
be mastered by learners. The process of reading brings information that is
provided in a reading text to the readers. According to Stoller and Grabe (2002),
“Reading is the ability to draw meaning from the printed page and interpret this
information appropriately” (p. 9).Therefore, in the reading process, the readers
should be able to understand the meaning of a text and interpret the information
well.

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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
2
The reading process should be a particular concern for a teacher to create
the appropriate instructions in a reading classroom. Hedge (2000) states that
having knowledge of the reading process is important for a teacher before they
start to teach. The teachers have the responsibility to help the students understand
a reading material. Vacca and Vacca (1989) state that a teacher has a
responsibility to plan the instructions which make the students experience the
satisfaction of learning from the text. The teacher should facilitate the students
through creating many kinds of tasks which are related to the reading text.
Wallace (2003) notes that the teachers can facilitate the readers’ interaction with
the textthrough many kinds of text-related tasks. Therefore, to create the
appropriate instructions in teaching reading, the teacher should understand the
process of reading.
The teachers need to help the students get along with the text since the
beginning of the reading process. Through pre-reading activities, the teachers can
prepare the students before they start to read. “Pre-reading activities are especially
important, as they prepare students to read a selection.” (A rmbruster& Osborn,
2002, p. 85).The teachers can create activities which motivate the students and
activate their background knowledge before they start to read. Moreover, the
teachers can teach concept and vocabulary. Colorado (2008) states, “Pre-reading
activities can engage student interest, activate prior knowledge, or pre-teach
potentially difficultconcepts and vocabulary” (p.1). The activities will help the
students achieve the goals of the reading process. Therefore, preparing the
students before they start to read will create an effective reading classroom.

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3
In the pre-reading stage, activating the students’ background knowledge is
essential. The failure of activating the students’ background knowledge in prereading stage will result in students’ incomprehension of a text. Carrel states that
the reader’s failure to activate an appropriate schema in reading may result in
various degrees of non-comprehension (as cited in Navarro, 2008).Schema theory
explains that when individuals get information they will fit that information into
some structures in memory that help them make sense of that information
(Alderson, 2000). If the readers fail to activate their background knowledge or do
not possess the background knowledge, they cannot comprehend a text properly.
It shows that pre-reading activities are important to activate or build the students’
background knowledge to help them understand a reading text well.
Developing students’ motivation through pre-reading activities is no less
important. According to Colorado (2008) in the pre-reading stage, the teachers
should create motivating activities that interest students in the text and motivate
them to read. Motivation is important for the successful learning. Marinak and
Gambrell (2009) state, “Research confirms that student motivation is a key factor
in successful reading” (p.1).It means that, the students who have motivation to
read will perform well in the reading classroom. Therefore, the teacher needs to be
creative. They have to make the students enjoy following the reading lesson.
Variations in teaching readingare necessary.Baghaei and Riasati (2013) state,
“Creative teaching employs flexible and appropriate techniques so that the classes
become fun and interesting” (p.1). Their research also shows that teacher’s
creativity give positive effect on the students’ achievement.In other words, the

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
4
teachers need to be creative in creating pre-reading activities. They need to
develop students’motivation which will help them to be successful in reading.
There are many techniques which can be implemented by the teacher in
the pre-reading stage. The teacher can create the activities from the simple one
which does not involve any technology. For example, they can use printed
pictures or give questions. Moreover, the teachers can also involve the benefits of
technology in pre-reading activities. For example, instead of showing a printed
picture, the teacher can provide it by using projector or viewer.
The varieties of pre-reading activities are also implemented in Basic
Reading II class in the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata

Dharma University academic year 2013/2014. The teacher starts the reading class
with the varieties of pre-reading activities before giving the students the reading
materials. Regarding to the number of the pre reading activities that are used by
the teacher, the researcher wants to conduct a research on what kinds of pre
reading activities used by the teacher of Basic Reading II class.
Moreover, there will be many students’ points of views on the pre-reading
activities used by the teachers. The students may have various views, such as
whether they are effective or not to help them to achieve their reading
comprehension.The students’ perception on the teaching techniques implemented
by the teacher is important. Through finding the students’ perception on the
teachers’ instruction, the teachers can give concern on how to get the students’
interest in a reading classroom. If the students have positive perception, it shows
that the teachers’ instruction meet the students’ need. Considering these

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
5
backgrounds, the researcher would like to discover what kinds of pre-reading
activities are used by the teacher in Basic Reading II class and the students’
perception on the use of pre-reading activities.

B. Problem Formulations
This research tries to answer two research problems which are formulated
as follows:
1.

What kinds of pre-reading activities are used by Basic Reading II teacher in
the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma
University?

2.

How is the students’ perception on the pre-reading activities used by the
teacher?

C. Problem Limitation
The researcher limits the scope of the research on the students’ perception
on pre-reading activities in Basic Reading IIclass of English Language Education
Study Program in Sanata Dharma University. The researcher focuses the research
on two problems. First, it focuses on the varieties of pre-reading activities used by
Basic Reading II teacher. Second, it focuses on the students’ perception on the

pre-reading activities used by the teacher. The researcher will not focus on
students’ achievement in the class but focus on students’ perceptions on the prereading activities implemented by the teacher.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
6
D. Research Objectives
In relation to the questions in the problem formulations, there are two
objectives presented in this research. This research aims:
1.

To find out what kinds of pre-reading activities used by Basic Reading II
teacher in the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma
University.

2.

To identify the students’ perception on pre reading activities used by the
teacher.

E. Research Benefits
There are several benefits which can be obtained from this research. Since
this research is conducted in educational area, the researcher expects that this
research can give contribution to English language teaching.
1.

For Reading Teachers
This research provides the information on how the students’ perception

onpre reading activities used by the reading teacher is. The result of this research
helps the teachers to find out the students’perception on the pre-reading activities.
The students can show positive and negative perception on the pre-reading
activities implemented by the teacher. The reading teachers can consider the
benefits of the pre-reading activities which the students give positive perception
on them. Furthermore, this study helps the teachers to evaluate the use of prereading activities in teaching reading.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
7
Besides, the result of this study is expected to give information of larger
varieties of pre-reading activities which are able to be implemented in a reading
class. The reading teachers can gain a lot of information about pre-reading
activities. They will be able to select the appropriate pre-reading activities while
planning reading instructions.
2.

Students in Reading Classrooms
Through this research, the students may reflect and evaluate the teaching

techniques which are implemented by the teacher, especially the pre-reading
activities. This research finds out the students’ perceptions on pre-reading
activities in Basic Reading II class. The purpose is to identify whether the students
have positive or negative perception. This research is expected to help the students
to be really aware on the use of pre-reading activities. The pre-reading activities
will help them in understanding the reading materials. Moreover, it is also
expected that the implementation of pre-reading activities used by the teacher
meet the students’ need. Therefore, the students may optimize their reading
comprehension.
3.

For Future Researchers
For the future researchers, the researcher expects that this research inspires

them to conduct future research related to pre-reading activities. They may discuss
further related to this topic. For example, they may discuss the different result
between the use of certain pre reading activity and another pre reading activity to
students reading achievement.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
8
F. Definition of Terms
The researcher provides some definitions of terms that are used for this
study. They are stated as follows. The keywords are perception, pre-reading
activities, and Basic Reading II Class.
1.

Perception
A ccording to McShane and Glinow (2005), “Perception is the process of

receiving information about and making sense of the world around us” (p. 76).
Moreover, Kinicki (2008) adds, “Perception is a cognitive process that enables us
to interpret and understand our surroundings” (p. 183). The process of perception
makes us able to interpret and understand information around us. In this research,
perception deals with English Language Education Study Program student’s
opinion on the pre reading activities in Basic Reading II class in Sanata Dharma
University. This research will discuss the way students think about or interpret the
pre-reading activities implemented by the teacher.
2.

Pre-reading Activities
Pre-reading

activities

are

important

to

prepare

students

before

reading(Armbruster& Osborn, 2002).These activities take place before the
students read a text. Vacca and Vacca (1989) state pre-reading activities include
activity and discussion before reading which reduces the uncertainty that students
bring to an assignment. Moreover, Wallace (2003) states that pre-reading
activities may remind the readers of what they already know and think, they
activate existing schematic knowledge. Therefore, pre-reading activities in this
research refers to the activities which take place before reading used by the

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
9
teachers to prepare the students and help them activate their background
knowledge.
3.

Basic Reading II Class (KPE 115)
Basic Reading II is one of the compulsory courses offered in English

Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta.
Based on BukuPanduanAkademik Program StudiPendidikanBahasaInggrisof the
curriculum 2010, this course is designed to help the students develop their reading
skills in achieving their reading comprehension. The teacher encourages the
students to use reading strategies to be able to understand various kinds of texts
given. The students are also encouraged to give simple critical responses to the
ideas presented in the text. This course is offered in Semester II. In this research,
Basic Reading II class is the class where the researcher studies about students’

perception on pre-reading activities that are used by the teacher.

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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter is divided into two main parts namely theoretical description
and theoretical framework. The theoretical description focuses on reviews on
related theories underlying this study. The theoretical framework discusses the
implementation of the theories which are used to answer the research problems.

A. Theoretical Description
This part consists of the reviews of related theories. There are four related
theories to be explained. They are reading, teaching reading, pre-reading
activities, and perception.
1.

Reading

a.

Nature of Reading
Reading is a process to understand information written in a text. Anthony,

Pearson, & Raphael note, “Reading is the process of constructing meaning
through the dynamic interaction among the readers’ existing knowledge, the
information suggested by the written language, and the context of the reading
situation” (as cited in Farrel, 2009, p. 20).While readers construct meaning and
build their understanding, there is a process of making relations between the new
information, the knowledge that readers already have, and the context situation of
the reading.
Reading is considered as an active process though it is receptive.
Goodman states that reading is an active process because the readers combine the

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information from the text and the knowledge which readers have in the process of
constructing the meaning of the text (as cited in Hedge, 2000). Another similar
definition comes from Ambruster and Osborn (2002), they state, “Reading is a
process in which readers actively search for and construct meaning-comprehendby relating what they are reading to their background knowledge” (p.83). In other
words, in the reading process, the readers actively correlate the knowledge they
have and the new information they find in the text.
b. Models of Reading Process
There are three approaches used by the readers to understand a written
text. They are bottom up processing, top-down processing, and interactive
processing.
1) Bottom-up processing
Bottom-up processing is considered as a lower-level reading process. This
process emphasizes that the readers build their reading comprehension from the
detailed structures of the text. The readers approach the texts through
understanding the detailed structures or construction of the sentences of the text.
Stoller and Grabe (2002) state, “Metaphorically, bottom-up models suggest that
all reading follows a mechanical pattern in which the readers creates a piece-bypiece mental translation of the information in the text, with little interference from
the reader’s own background knowledge” (p. 32). In the reading process, the
readers focus on the words and phrases of the sentences of the text. They will
understand the meaning of the text by gathering the elements together.

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2) Top-down processing
Top-down processing emphasizes the importance of the reader’s
background knowledge in the process of achieving their reading comprehension.
Alderson (2000) states that top-down processing emphasizes the importance the
readers’ background knowledge and their contribution which they bring to the
text. Stoller and Grabe (2002) also note that there is an importance of the reader’s
background knowledge in top-down processing. Stoller and Grabe (2002) state,
“Top-down models assume that reading is primarily directed by reader goals and
expectations” (p. 32).Therefore, in top-down processing, the readers bring their
previous knowledge in the process of reading. They also have the expectations of
the information they will find in the text.
3) Interactive Processing
Interactive processing is the process of reading which combines the
models of bottom-up processing and top-down processing. Nunan (2003) states
that interactive models of reading combine the elements of both bottom-up and
top-down models. Stoller and Grabe (2002) note, “The simple idea behind this
view is that one can take useful ideas from bottom-up perspective and combine
them with key ideas from a top-down view” (p. 33). In other words, the interactive
processing was used while the readerscombine the bottom-up ideas and top-down
ideas. From the explanation of both previous processing, it can be concluded that
in the interactive processing, the readers not only approach the reading text by
understanding the detailed structure or construction of the sentences of the text.
However, they also bring their background knowledge and to the text which they

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want to read. The readers see how their prior knowledge and experiences fit into
the text.The illustration of this process can be seen in Figure 2.2.

Top-down:

Experience
Prior Knowledge

Comprehension

Bottom-up:

Words
Sentences
Grammar
Text

Figure 2.2 Reading as an interaction between top-down and bottom-up models (Source:
Farrel; 2002: 2)

The interactive processing has adequate characteristics which are needed
in order to achieve the effective reading process. It draws a complete description
of the reading process. Nunan (2003) states, “Interactive models are accepted as
the most comprehensive description of the reading process” (p.72). Interactive
processing is more adequate method to achieve the reading comprehension.
Alderson (2000) explains, “In fact, however, neither the bottom-up nor the topdown approach is an adequate characterization of the reading process, and more
adequate models are known as interactive models” (p.18). Therefore, the
interactive processing has all necessary and appropriate components needed to
understand the readings. While the readers understand the reading text from the

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detailed structure or construction of the sentences in the text, they also bring their
background knowledge to the text.
2.

Teaching Reading
In the educational field, Nunan (2003) notes that reading is the most

important skill for language learners to study larger knowledge written in English.
That is the background of teaching reading.
For most of these learners it is the most important skill to master in order
to ensure success not only in learning English, but also in any content class
where reading in English is required. With strengthened reading skills,
learners will make greater progress and development in all other areas of
learning (p.69).
Therefore, by mastering reading skill, the learners are able to succeed in any
content class that provides materials in English.
The teachers need to prepare reading instructions in three stages of a
reading activity. According to Wallace (2003), there is an idea of three main types
in the reading activity, those which come before the presentation of the text, those
which go with the text, and those which follow it. Those are pre-, while-, and
post- reading stages.Farrel (2009) also states that one principle to create effective
reading lesson is by dividing lesson into pre-, during-, and post-reading phases.
Therefore, the teachers can make a plan of the reading instructions in the three
stages of reading process. This research discusses students’ perception on prereading activities used by the teacher. Therefore, this section will discuss the prereading activities more than the other stages of teaching reading.
a.

Pre-reading Activities
Pre-reading activities are important to prepare the students before

reading(Armbruster& Osborn, 2002).Vacca and Vacca (1989) state pre-reading

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activities include the activities and discussions before reading which reduce the
uncertainty that the students bring to the texts. Therefore, pre-reading activities
are the activities which take place before students read a text and are important to
prepare the students before reading.
Moreover, pre-reading activities are able to activate the students’
background knowledge. Nunan (2003) states that all experiences which are
accumulated and brought to the reading texts belong to the readers’ background
knowledge.
Background knowledge includes all of the experiences that a reader
brings to a text: life experiences, educational experiences, knowledge of
how texts can be organized rhetorically, knowledge of how one’s first
language works, knowledge of how the second language works, and
cultural background and knowledge (p.74).
Pre-reading activities help the students to relate their background knowledge and
the new information which they find in the text. Wallace (2003) states that prereading activities may remind the readers of what they already know and activate
their existing schematic knowledge. Meanwhile, A jideh (2006) states, “Prereading strategies have been developed to help students relate new information in
written discourse to their existing knowledge” (p.6). Therefore, pre-reading
activities are able to activate the students’ background knowledge and relate it to
the new information which they will find in the texts.
The teachers have the important roles to provide effective instructions in
the pre-reading stage of the reading classroom.There are many activities which
can be conducted by the teacher.Vacca and Vacca (1989) address four purposes of
pre-reading activities which teacher applies in pre-reading activities.

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During the pre-reading phase of instruction, a teacher often places
emphasis on one or more of the following: (1) motivating readers, (2)
building and activating background knowledge, (3) introducing key
vocabulary and concepts, and (4) developing awareness of the task
demands of the assignment and the strategies necessary for effective
learning (p. 70).
In the pre-reading stage, the teachers can create the students’motivation to follow
the reading process. Besides that, the teachers can activate and build students’
background knowledge. Then, the teachers are able to help the students to be
familiar with the key vocabulary and concept of what they want to read. The
teachers can also facilitate the students to be aware of the tasks and tell the
strategy used to achieve an effective reading process.
In pre-reading activities, the teachers have to developthe students’
motivation to follow a reading class. In order to raise the students’motivation, the
teacher should create an interesting reading classroom.Vacca and Vacca (1989)
state, “A key factor related to motivation involves getting students interested in
the text reading” (p. 70). Moreover,Farrel (2009) says, “One of the most important
concerns for teacher is how to make their classes interesting and relevant for their
students” (p. 73). Therefore, the teacher can give efforts to build the students’
motivation by creating interesting pre-reading activities.
In activating students’ background knowledge, the teacher should make
the students realize what they already know about the text they want to read. First,
the teachers need to make the students curious toward the text. Vacca and Vacca
(1989) state, “Curiosity arousal gives students the chances to consider what they
know already about the material to be read” (p. 136). They state that arousing
curiosity will lead the students to anticipate and to have purposes in reading.

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Curiosity also creates motivation for the students to read a text. According to
Vacca and Vacca (1989), “A rousing curiosity about topics to be read and studied
in a content classroom is an important motivational tool” (p. 136). If the students
become curious about what they want to read, they will have the expectations,
purposes and anticipations of the text they want to read. Besides that, it will also
create thestudents’motivation in reading.
Moreover, helping the students to make predictions about the information
which they will find in the text will also help them to activate their background
knowledge. V acca and V acca (1989) state, “Prediction is a sure aid to reading
comprehension.For one thing, strategies and materials for prediction activate
thought about the content before reading” (p.142).However, if the students do not
have the background knowledge related to the information in the text, the teachers
need to build the background knowledge in the pre-reading stage. Nunan (2003)
adds if the topic of the text is unfamiliar for the students, the teachers may need to
build up the background knowledge in the beginning of the reading process.
Next, in the pre-reading stage, the teachers can introducea key vocabulary
and concept of the reading materials to the students. There are some aspects of the
teacher’s considerations to introduce the key vocabulary and concept to the
students. Vacca and Vacca (1989) state there are three questions which should be
considered. They are “What key words will students need to understand?”, “A re
all the terms equally important?”, and “Which new words carry “heavy” concept
loads?”. Therefore, those three questions will help the teachers to choose the right
vocabulary and concept which will be introduced to the students.

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The last, in the pre-reading stage, the teacher can developthe students’
awareness of the task demands nd the strategies necessary for an effective reading
process. Vacca and Vacca (1989) state in the pre-reading stage, the teachers can
help the students to analyze the reading tasks they will face. Moreover, the
teachers can model the learning strategy that the students will need.
The teachers are able to select the appropriate pre-reading activity related
to the reading text. Moreover, the teachers are also able to combine some of the
pre-reading activities in the pre-reading stage. Hedge (2000) says, “A range of
activity types are possible at this stage and teachers can select or combine from a
repertoire, … ” (p. 210). This research addressed the varieties of pre-reading
activities as follows.
1) Brainstorming
In the brainstorming activity, the students need to mention words and
concepts which have associations with the keyword provided by the teacher.
Wallace (2003) states, “This may take the form of giving the class a particular key
word or key concept, or it may be a newspaper headline or book title” (p.91).
Wallace states that in the process of brainstorming activity, the students are asked
to call out words and concepts which they associate with the keyword provided by
the teacher. Therefore, in the process of brainstorming activity, the teacher
provides the keyword of the text then the students mention words or concept
related.
Wallace (2003) claims that there are three advantages of brainstorming.
They are requires little teacher preparation, allows learners considerable freedom

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to bring their own prior knowledge and opinions to bear on particular use, and can
involve a whole class.Therefore, the benefit of brainstorming is the effectiveness
class management because all members of the class are able to be involved.
Moreover, it gives no restriction for the students to give their opinions.
2) Pre-Teaching Vocabulary
Pre-teaching vocabulary is helpful for the students in achieving their
reading comprehension. Introducing the students with the new or difficult
vocabulary which they will find in the text help them to reduce the problems in
the reading process According to Mihara (2011), pre-teaching vocabulary may
help address unfamiliar words or phrases that can interfere with students’
comprehension. Therefore, there is an importance for teachers to make students
familiar with the words related to the text before reading. It will help the students
to achieve their understanding of the text well.Porter (n.d) states, “Unfamiliar key
words need to be taught to students before reading so that new words, background
information, and comprehension can improve together” (p.7). In other words,
introducing unfamiliar words before reading will help the students in the process
of reading.
There is a correlation between vocabulary mastery and reading
comprehension. Armbruster and Osborn (2002) mentionthat there is strong
relationship between the word knowledge and the reading comprehension. If the
students have good vocabulary mastery of the text, they will have better
understanding of the text.

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3) Pre-Questioning
Another pre-reading activity which can be implemented before reading is
giving questions related to the text. A jideh (2006) says, “Some pre-reading
activities simply consist of questions to which the reader is required to find
answers from the text” (p. 6). There are many benefits from pre-questioning
activity. Pre-questioning activity can activate the readers’ background knowledge
and prepare them before reading. Armbruster and Osborn (2002) note there are
three advantages of pre-questioning.
Question asked before reading can (1) help determine whether students
have sufficient and accurate background knowledge about the topic of the
reading, (2) help students access appropriate background knowledge that
they possess but may not recognize as relevant, and (3) help students set a
purpose for reading (p.77).
The pre-questioning activity will help the students to find out whether they have
adequate background knowledge about the topic or not. Pre-questioning activity
also helps the students to access the relevant background knowledge which they
have. Moreover, it will help the students to create the purposes of the reading.
Besides providing the pre-questions for the students, the teacher can ask
them to create their own questions related to the reading text. Vacca and Vacca
(1989) state, “Teaching students to generate their own questions about material to
be read is one of the major instructional goals of prereading preparation.” (p. 146).
Meanwhile Porter (n.d) states, “The teacher can also help students develop their
own questions which will help them establish purpose and focus attention.” (p.4).
Therefore, the teacher will not merely make pre-questions for the students.

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However, the students are also able to create their own pre-questions related to the
reading materials.
4) Visual Aids
The use of visual materials in pre-reading activities can help the students
in activating or building their background knowledge. Navarro (2008) says visuals
have an important role in building schema for English language learners. The
material can be in the form of pictures, videos, or others. Porter (n.d) states,
“Pictures and other visual material can activate a students' prior knowledge.
Therefore, the teachers can give the visual materials related to the topic of the text
to help students in activating or building their background knowledge.
Using pictures related to the reading texts in the pre-reading activities is
helpful for the students to make predictions. Hudson says, “One was a pictorial
strategy: students were asked to look at a set of pictures, discuss the pictures, and
predict what they expected to find in the passage” (as cited in Mihara, 2011, p.
52). Therefore, in pre-reading stage, the teachers can ask the students to look at
some pictures, discuss it, and make predictions about the information they will
find in the text.
5) Conceptual Related Readings
A ctivating the students’ background knowledge and building their frame
of reference can also be achieved by giving multiple texts with the same topic to
the students