THE EFFECT OF TEACHING STRATEGIES AND PRIOR KNOWLEDGE ON STUDENTS ACHIEVEMENT IN READING COMPREHENSION.

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THE EFFECT OF TEACHING STRATEGIES AND PRIOR

KNOWLEDGE ON STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT

IN READING COMPREHENSION

A THESIS

Submitted to the English Applied Linguistics Study Program in a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Magister Humaniora

By:

DEBORA ANGGREINI SIHITE

Registration Number: 8106112029

ENGLISH APPLIED LINGUISTICS STUDY PROGRAM POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL

STATE UNIVERSITY OF MEDAN 2013

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THE EFFECT OF TEACHING STRATEGIES AND PRIOR

KNOWLEDGE ON STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT

IN READING COMPREHENSION

A THESIS

Submitted to the English Applied Linguistics Study Program in a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Magister Humaniora

By:

DEBORA ANGGREINI SIHITE

Registration Number: 8106112029

ENGLISH APPLIED LINGUISTICS STUDY PROGRAM POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL

STATE UNIVERSITY OF MEDAN 2013

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i ABSTRACT

Sihite, Debora Anggreini. Registration Number: 8106122029. The Effect of Teaching Strategies and Prior Knowledge on Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension. A Thesis. English Applied Linguistics Study Program. State University of Medan. 2013

The objectives of this experimental research were to find out whether: 1) students achievement in reading comprehension taught by using directed reading thinking activity (DRTA) strategy was higher than taught by using reciprocal teaching strategy. 2) Students’ achievement in reading comprehension with high prior knowledge was higher than that students with low prior knowledge, and 3) there was interaction between teaching strategies and prior knowledge on students’ achievement in reading comprehension. The population of this research was the students in grade VIII of SMP Dwi Tunggal T. Morawa in 2012/2013 school year. The total number of population of this research was 118 students. There were 3 classes. Two classes were chosen consist of 37 students of each class so 74 students were selected as sample of this research by applying multistage cluster random sampling. The research design was experimental research by using factorial design 2x2. The VIIIa class was taught by using Directed Reading Thinking Activity and VIIIc was taught by using Reciprocal Teaching Strategy. Prior knowledge test was conducted for classifying the students upon the high and low prior knowledge. Students’ achievement in reading comprehension was measured by using reading comprehension test. The data were analyzed by applying two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) at the level of significant . The results of the data analysis proved that: 1) students’ achievement in reading comprehension taught by Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) strategy is higher than students achievement in reading comprehension taught by Reciprocal Teaching strategy, with Fobs(4.054) > Ftable(3.97), 2) Students’ achievement in reading comprehension with high prior knowledge was higher than those students with low prior knowledge, with Fobs (9.172) > Ftable (3.97), and 3) there was interaction between teaching strategies and prior knowledge on students’ achievement in reading comprehension, with Fobserved (62.857)_> Ftable (3.97). Moreover, Scheffe –test result also showed that high prior knowledge students got higher achievement if they were taught by using directed reading thinking activity strategy while low prior knowledge students got higher achievement if they were taught by using reciprocal teaching strategy.

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ii ABSTRAK

Sihite, Debora Anggreini. 8106122029. Pengaruh Strategi Pembelajaran dan Pengetahuan Dasar dalam Membaca. Tesis. Program Study Linguistik Terapan Bahasa Inggris. Universitas Negeri Medan. 2013

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui apakah: (1) hasil belajar siswa dalam membaca yang diajar dengan strategi directed reading thinking activity lebih tinggi daripada siswa yang diajar dengan strategi reciprocal teaching. (2) hasil belajar siswa yang memiliki pengetahuan dasar tinggi lebih tinggi daripada siswa yang memiliki pengetahuan dasar rendah, dan (3) ada interaksi antara strategi pembelajaran dengan pengetahuan dasar siswa terhadap hasil belajar siswa dalam membaca. Populasi Penelitian adalah seluruh siswa kelas VIII SMP Dwi Tunggal tahun ajaran 2012/2013. Populasi penelitian berjumlah 118 siswa. Dari tiga kelas, dua kelas yang terpilih yang masing terdiri dari 37 siswa sehingga 74 siswa menjadi sampel penelitian dengan menggunakan teknik multistage cluster random sampling. Desain penelitian adalah adalah penelitian eksperimen dengan factorial 2x2. Kelas VIIIa diajarkan dengan menggunakan strategi pembelajaran directed reading thinking activity dan kelas VIIIc diajarkan dengan menggunakan strategi pembelajaran reciprocal teaching. Tes pengetahuan dasar diberikan untuk mengelompokkan siswa dalam pengetahuan dasar tinggi dan rendah. Hasil belajar siswa dalam pemahan membaca diukur dengan menggunakan tes pemahaman membaca. Data dianalisis dengan menggunakan ANAVA dua jalur pada taraf signifikasi α 0.05. Hasil penelitian membuktikan bahwa: 1) hasil belajar siswa dalam membaca yang diajarkan dengan strategi directed reading thinking activity lebih tinggi dari hasil belajar siswa dalam memahami bacaan yang diajarkan dengan strategi reciprocal teaching dengan F hitung (4.054) > F tabel (3.97), 2) hasil belajar belajar siswa yang memiliki pengetahuan dasar tinggi lebih tinggi daripada siswa yang memiliki pengetahuan dasar rendah dengan F hitung (9.172) > F tabel (3.97), dan 3) ada interaksi antara strategi pembelajaran dengan pengetahuan dasar siswa terhadap hasil belajar siswa dalam membaca dengan F hitung (62.857) > F tabel (3.97). Setelah melaksanakan uji lanjut dengan menggunakan uji Scheffe, hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa siswa yang memiliki pengetahuan dasar tinggi memperoleh hasil belajar yang tinggi dalam membaca bila diajarkan dengan strategi directed reading thinking activity strategi dan siswa yang memiliki pengetahuan dasar rendah memperoleh hasil belajar yang tinggi jika diajarkan dengan strategi reciprocal.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In the name of Jesus Christ, the most gracious and the most merciful whom she would like to express her sincere gratitude, Jesus Christ the almighty who has given her blessing health, strength and patience in the process of completing this thesis in the title the effect of teaching strategies and prior knowledge on students’ achievement in reading comprehension as a partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Magister Humaniora at the Postgraduate of English Applied Linguistics Program, State University of Medan.

This thesis would not also have been possible brought into existence without the help of a great many people. At first, in particular, the writer would like to express her gratitude to Prof. Dr. Hj. Sumarsih, M. Pd., and Dr. Didik Santoso, M. Pd., her first and second adviser for their so generous assistance, guidance, advice, and precious time they spent on supervising and guiding this thesis.

Secondly, the writer would also like to express her gratitude to the head of English Applied Linguistics Program, Prof. Dr. Busmin Gurning, M. Pd., his secretary, Dr. Sri Minda Murni, M.S and Sir Farid who have assisted her in the process of administration requirement during the process of his study in the postgraduate program. Special thanks to the all lecturers of the English Applied Linguistics Program, State University of Medan who have given their valuable knowledge to her in their lectures.

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Thanks are due to her proposal reviewers and examiners, Prof. Dr. Busmin Gurning, M. Pd., Dr. Sri Minda Murni, M.S., and Dr. I Wayan Dirgayasa Tangkas, M.Hum., for their appropriate and helpful commentaries and constructive suggestions.

She would also very much like to express her gratitude to the all at schools of SMP Dwi Tunggal Tanjung Morawa who have generously given their time and chance, and supplied her with contribution for conducting research of this study, particularly Yensi Susani, S.Pd, the headmaster of SMP Dwi Tunggal Tanjung Morawa. This work is also dedicated to the all teachers and students of SMP Dwi Tunggal Tanjung Morawa who have provided their time and chance in supporting this thesis.

Last but not least, on a personal level, the writer would like dedicate her love and sincerest gratitude to her parents, B. Sihite and R. Purba, her husband Abner Siahaan, her daughter Ayu Siahaan, her brothers Ridwan, Boston, Alexander, and sister Hotmida for their sincere and most reliable comfort, and above all, their love and support.

Medan, July 2013 The writer,

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Page

ABSTRACT……….. i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT... ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS.……….……….. iv

LIST OF TABLES……….……….………..…... viii

LIST OF FIGURES……….……….………..…. ix

LIST OF APPENDICES….……….………..…. x

CHAPTER I : INTRODUCTION ………...…1

1.1 The Background of the Problem………. …1

1.2 The Research Problems ………...…7

1.3 The Objective of the Study………...…7

1.4 The Scope of the Study ………...…8

1.5 The Significance of the Study………. ....8

CHAPTER II : REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE……….……. .. 9

2.1 Theoretical Framework. ………... . .9

2.1.1 The Achievement in Reading Comprehension……...………. 9

2.1.1.1 Levels of Comprehension in Reading ………... ..12

2.1.1.2 The Assessment of Reading Comprehension…...……….…... ..13

2.1.2 Teaching Strategies…....…...……...……….…... ..13

2.1.2.1 Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) Strategy …………... ..16

2.1.2.1.1 Definition of DRTA Strategy………..………..16

2.1.2.1.2 The Principle of DRTA Strategy …..………....17

2.1.2.1.3 The Design of DRTA Strategy ………..………...18

2.1.2.1.4 The Procedure of DRTA Strategy in Teaching Reading………...19

2.1.2.1.5 The Strength and Weakness of DRTA Strategy ……….………..20

2.1.2.2 Reciprocal Teaching Strategy………. 21

2.1.2.2.1 Definition of Reciprocal Strategy………..……....21

2.1.2.2.2 The Principle of Reciprocal Strategy...……….22

2.2.2.2.3 The Design of Reciprocal Teaching Strategy………...24

2.1.2.2.4 The Procedure of Reciprocal Teaching Strategy in Teaching Reading ………....25

2.1.2.2.5 The Strengths and Weakness of Reciprocal Teaching Strategy…....25

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2.1.3.1 High Prior Knowledge of Students on Learning...………...28

2.1.3.2 High Prior Knowledge of Students on Learning..………....28

2.2 Relevant Studies……….……….29

2.3 Conceptual Framework…………..………..31

2.3.1 The Differences of Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension That Taught By Using Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) Strategy and Reciprocal Teaching Strategy………..31

2.3.2 The Difference of Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension that has high prior knowledge and that has low prior knowledge………...32

2.3.3 The Interaction between Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) strategy and Reciprocal Teaching Strategy and Prior Knowledge in Students’ Achievement on Reading Comprehension……....34

2.4 Hypothesis of the Study ………...36

CHAPTER III : RESEARCH METHODOLOGY……….………….. ..37

3.1 Research Design .………..………..37

3.2 Population and Sample ………..………38

3.2.1 Population ……….……….38

3.2.2 Sample …….……….………..39

3.3 Instruments of Data Collection…….………...…………...40

3.3.1 Reading Comprehension Test ………40

3.3.2 Prior Knowledge Text Test………...………...43

3.4 The Procedure of the Treatment...………....45

3.5 Control of Treatment ……….………..………...46

3.5.1 Internal Validity………….………....………….46

3.5.2 External Validity……….…...……….48

3.6 Instrument Tryout of Data Collection..……….….………….49

3.6.1 Validity of the Test……….……….….…………...49

3.6.2 Reliability of the Test……….………...…………..50

3.6.3 Difficulty Index of the Test………..………...………. ..50

3.6.4 Discrimination Index of the Test Items………..…………50

3.7 Technique of Analyzing The Data……….……….…………52

3.8 Statistical Hypotheses………..…………. ..53

CHAPTER IV: DATA AND DATA ANALYSIS……….………. 54

4.1 Description of Data .………..……….. 54

4.1.1Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension Taught by using DRTA Strategy………..……….. 55

4.1.2Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension Taught by using Reciprocal Strategy………..……….. 57

4.1.3Students’ Achievement with High Prior Knowledge……… 59

4.1.4Students’ Achievement with Low Prior Knowledge………. 61

4.1.5Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension with High Prior Knowledge taught by Using DRTA Strategy………. 63

4.1.6Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension with Low Prior Knowledge taught by Using DRTA Strategy………. 65

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4.1.7Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension with High Prior

Knowledge taught by Using Reciprocal Strategy..………. 67

4.1.8Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension with Low Prior Knowledge taught by Using Reciprocal Strategy..………. 69

4.2 Requirement of Data Analysis……… 71 4.2.1Normality Test……… 71

4.2.2Homogeneity Test……….. 72

4.2.2.1 Groups of Teaching Strategies and Prior Knowledge……… 73

4.2.2.2 Group of Interaction……… 74

4.3 Testing of Hypotheses……….. 75 4.3.1Reading Comprehension Achievement of Students taught by DRTA And Reciprocal Strategies……….. 76

4.3.2Reading Comprehension Achievement of Students with high Prior Knowledge and Low Prior Knowledge……….. 76

4.3.3The Interaction Between Teaching Strategies and Prior Knowledge On Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension…………...……. 77

4.4 Discussion……… 80 4.4.1Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension Taught by using DRTA Strategy is higher than taught by using Reciprocal Strategy……. 80

4.4.2Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension with High Prior Knowledge is higher than with Low Prior Knowledge……… 81

4.4.3The Interaction Between Teaching Strategies and Prior Knowledge On Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension…………...……. 83

4.5 Limitation of Research……… 84 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS………… 85

5.1 Conclusions……… 85

5.2 Implications……… 86

5.3 Suggestions……… 88

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LIST OF TABLES

Page Table 1 Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension in SMP Yayasan

Perguruan Dwi Tunggal Tanjung Morawa 2008-2012………. 3

Table 2 Factorial Design 2x2….…..………. 38

Table 3 Specification of Reading Comprehension Test ……….. 42

Table 4 Specification of Prior Knowledge Test.….………. 44

Table 5 Procedure of the Treatments………...……… 45

Table 6 Difficulty Index Criteria………...……… 56

Table 7 The Discrimination Index Criteria………...……… 57

Table 8 The Summary of Data Description………...……… 54

Table 9 Frequency Distribution of Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension Taught by using DRTA Strategy………...……… 56

Table 10 Frequency Distribution of Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension Taught by using Reciprocal Strategy………...……… 58

Table 11 Frequency Distribution of Scores of Students Having High Prior Knowledge 60

Table 12 Frequency Distribution of Scores of Students Having Low Prior Knowledge 62

Table 13 Frequency Distribution of Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension Having High Prior Knowledge Taught by using DRTA………...……… 64

Table 14 Frequency Distribution of Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension Having Low Prior Knowledge Taught by using DRTA………...……… 66

Table 15 Frequency Distribution of Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension Having High Prior Knowledge Taught by using Reciprocal…...……… 68

Table 16 Frequency Distribution of Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension Having Low Prior Knowledge Taught by using Reciprocal…...……… 70

Table 17 Summary on the result of Normality Test………... 72

Table 18 Result Homogeneities of Teaching Strategies and Prior Knowledge……….. 73

Table 19 Summary on the result of Homogeneity Test on group of interaction By using Barlett-Test………... 74

Table 20 Result of Homogeneity Test on Interaction Group………. 74

Table 21 Two-Way ANOVA with 2x2 Factorial Design………... 75

Table 22 Summary on calculation result of Two-Way ANOVA………... 75

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LIST OF FIGURES

Page

Figure 1 Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension Taught by using DRTA ……. 57 Figure 2 Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension Taught by using Reciprocal…. 59 Figure 3 Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension with High Prior Knowledge…. 61 Figure 4 Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension with Low Prior Knowledge…. 63 Figure 5 Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension

with High Prior Knowledge Taught by using DRTA ……….…………. 65

Figure 6 Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension

with Low Prior Knowledge Taught by using DRTA ……….…………. 67

Figure 7 Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension

with High Prior Knowledge Taught by using Reciprocal...……….…………. 69

Figure 8 Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension

with Low Prior Knowledge Taught by using Reciprocal ..……….………….………. 71

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LIST OF APPENDICES

Page

A. Reading Comprehension Test ……….. 93

B. Prior Knowledge Reading Test……….. 99

C. Lesson Plan of DRTA Strategy………. 107

D. Lesson Plan of Reciprocal Strategy ………. 109

E. The Computation of Reading Comprehension Test………. 111

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 The Background of the Problem

Reading is an essential skill for all students at all levels started from elementary school to university. It is supported by Brown (2000: 185) stating that reading is arguably the most essential skill for success in all educational contexts and remains a skill of paramount importance as one creates assessment of language ability. Reading also has one overriding purpose to get meaning from a text. By giving reading activity in the language learning, teacher actually activates students’ schemata. If the students have limited knowledge, they automatically will not be able to write something or speak something even though they master the structure of English well.

In fact, the knowledge will not be reached by students if they lack of comprehending a text. It is because the reading is not only as the process of communication between the reader and the writer through written symbol in the text but also as an activity which must enable the students as the readers to grasp the information implied in the text by activating their thinking process so that the reading comprehension is earned.

The above ideas principally respond to Irwin (1986: 9) stating that comprehension is an active process to which each reader brings his or her individual attitudes, interests, expectations, skills, and prior knowledge. It is as the process of using one’s own prior experiences (reader context) and the writer’s

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clues (text context) to infer the author’s intended meaning. This process can involve micro processes, integrative processes, macro processes, and elaborative processes. These processes work together and can be controlled and adjusted by the reader as required by the reader’s goals (metacognitive processes) and the total situation in which comprehension is taking place (situational context).

In addition, Light and McNaughton (2012) utter that the reading comprehension require the learner to decode or recognize by sight the words in the written text, understand the meaning of the words/ sentences, relate meaning of the sentence(s) to the rest of the text, activate prior knowledge and experience about the topic, use this prior knowledge to infer meaning and support understanding, monitor understanding of the text continually.

In Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan (Educational Oriented Curriculum) 2006, reading is one of language skills that must be taught in English classes of Junior High School students. Through the teaching and learning of reading, the students are expected to be able to comprehend the reading passages they read well. The objective of reading instruction in Junior High School is to develop the students’ reading skill in order they can read English texts effectively and efficiently.

In reality, reading is not as easy as people think; it is not easy to have ability of drawing a meaning from a text and interpret the information appropriately. There are so many students who are able to read out loud some texts in the class with the appropriate pronunciation but they do not know what they are reading about. They spent their time to earn the meaning word by word,

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then consult the unknown vocabularies, continue with the meaning of each sentences. The students need twice, three times or even more to read a text and comprehend a text to get the meaning or information from the text.

The same problem also happened to the students of SMP Dwi Tunggal Tanjung Morawa. It is found that students’ achievement in reading comprehension score of eleven grade students at SMP Dwi Tunggal Tanjung Morawa only 30% got high score in reading comprehension. This is actually the phenomenon teacher faced in the class included in SMP Dwi Tunggal Tanjung Morawa. The detailed data can be seen in the following table:

Table1. Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension in SMP Dwi Tunggal Tanjung Morawa 2008-2012

Academic Year KKM Highest Score Lowest Score Average

2007/2008 65 78 40 59

2008/2009 68 80 45 62.5

2009/2010 70 85 50 67.5

2010/2011 75 90 50 70

(Source of Daftar Kumpulan Nilai (DKN) SMP Dwi Tunggal)

The result shown by the table indicates that the students’ achievement in reading comprehension is still satisfactory. It is concluded that the students’ achievement do not meet Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal (The minimum Passing Grade; MPG) determined which 75 are as long as the academic year 2011-2012.

Considering the condition above, it is necessary to find factors may affect the students’ reading comprehension achievement. The low level of the students’ achievement in reading comprehension actually was influenced many factors.

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Alexander (1988) identifies some factors that influence reading comprehension, they are: reading material, the total program of reading instruction, the children own personality, attitudes, interest, motivation, habits and their out of school environment.

As cited above, the teachers should have effective reading instruction strategies to improve students’ reading comprehension, because effective reading instruction strategies beyond literal and inferential comprehension by challenging students to make inferences about text, to think critically about the material they read, and to creatively transform the text they encounter into other format and form. Moreover, effective instruction in comprehension should be designed in way that challenge students to think creatively and to display their creative thinking to work in ways that are engaging, authentic, and enjoyable. And the effective strategies are chosen by the researcher in this study that can be used by teacher to accommodate these skills and improve the students’ reading comprehension are directed reading thinking activity (DRTA) and reciprocal teaching.

Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) is a strategy that 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. Research findings have provided evidence of the superior effect of various types of DRTA used to

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facilitate reading comprehension (Dougherty Stahl, 2004 and Riley, 2006). The findings also prove that the directed reading thinking activity yielded statistically significant effects on fluency as measured by a timed maze task and effects on reading comprehension. The value of directed reading thinking activity is to make predictions before reading each section. Requiring students to make 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. The power of the directed reading thinking activity strategy increases when the teacher guides students to check their predictions after reading (Allen, 2004).

While the reciprocal involves explicit instruction by the teacher in the students’ use of the strategies, such as predicting, clarifying, questioning and summarizing, to develop their reading comprehension. Reciprocal teaching is based on meta-cognitive strategy instruction (Hashey & Connors, 2003). Reciprocal teaching has been heralded as effective in helping students improve their reading ability in pre-post trials or research studies (Pearson & Doyle, 1987). As the students become more familiar with the use of the strategies, the teacher plays a less prominent role and the students develop the ability to work co-operatively with their peers (Wisaijorn, 2010). In the area of reading comprehension interventions, reciprocal teaching has been proven to increase the reading comprehension abilities of students (Lederer, 2000).

One of the internal factors which also affect reading processes is readers’ prior knowledge. Prior Knowledge is a determining factor when it comes

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to comprehension (Daniels & Zemelman, 2004). Good readers are active in constructing meaning through the process of interacting with what they read and connecting this knowledge with what they already know (Anderson, et al 1985). These connections, or associations, help to elucidate meaning and deepen comprehension. Successful reading comprehension depends primarily on the integration of readers’ prior knowledge with the information in the text (Goldman & Bisanz in Kandeou 2003). Experts or novices Van den Broek, et al (2002) argue that readers’ prior knowledge is one of many factors that affect learning from texts. The findings are first, readers with high or low knowledge, readers possessing or lacking misconceptions, all remember information from the texts they read largely as a function of the interactions between their prior knowledge and the features and ideas contained within the text. Second, a reader’s prior knowledge is subject to incorrect assumptions and beliefs.

According to underlying facts, this study is intended to discover the use of the two strategies and students’ prior knowledge of text in teaching reading and to find out which of the two strategies and students’ prior knowledge have significantly affect on the students’ reading comprehension. It means that the effect of applying the two strategies will be proven whether they are effective towards the reading comprehension of students with high prior knowledge and low prior knowledge.

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1.2 The Research Problem

In relation with the background, therefore it is concluded that the problems of this research are formulated as the following:

1. Is the students’ achievement in reading comprehension taught by using Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) strategies significantly higher than taught by using Reciprocal Teaching strategies?

2. Is the students’ achievement in reading comprehension for those students with high prior knowledge significantly higher than those students with low prior knowledge?

3. Is there any significant effect between teaching strategies of reading and prior knowledge?

1.3 The Objective of the Study

The primary objectives of this study are to answer the questions that mentioned in the problem of the study, they can be listed as follows:

1. To find out whether the students’ achievement in reading comprehension taught by using Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) strategy is significantly higher than Reciprocal Teaching strategy.

2. To find out whether students’ achievement in reading comprehension with high prior knowledge is significantly higher than with low prior knowledge.

3. To find out whether there is a significant interaction between teaching strategies and prior knowledge in students’ achievement on reading comprehension.

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1.4 The Scope of the Study

Achievement in reading comprehension is caused by many factors namely internal and external factor, including teaching strategies and prior knowledge. In this study, the researcher restricts the study to two teaching strategies, namely Directed Reading Thinking Activities (DRTA) Strategy and Reciprocal Teaching Strategy in reading comprehension. Then, the researcher will identify the level of students’ prior knowledge text. By knowing the level of prior knowledge of the students whether they have high or low prior knowledge, it is expected that this research will give clear description on the effect of teaching strategies and prior knowledge on students’ achievement in reading comprehension.

1.5 The Significance of the study

First of all, findings are expected to be useful for development of theory and practice. Theoretically, this study will give positive input for teaching in overcoming problem in area of reading comprehension either to the teachers, students, or researchers through value finding in the area of teaching reading.

Practically, the finding of this research will provide students to improve their reading comprehension and to be more enjoyable when reading process and also teachers with series of guides of reading strategies (DRTA and Reciprocal) related with reading comprehension. So, they can practice both strategies in their classroom when they are teaching reading. Then, it is also hoped that the finding of this study will lead the teachers, students, and other researchers to multi- dimensional perspectives and give beneficial solution to the problem faced by them so that they can follow up the strategies in other settings.

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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS

5.1 Conclusions

Based on data analysis, hypotheses testing, research findings, and discussion, it can be concluded that :

1) Reading comprehension achievement of students taught by using DRTA strategy is significantly higher than those taught by using Reciprocal strategy. It can be concluded that both strategies DRTA and Reciprocal significantly affect Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension 2) reading comprehension achievement of students having high prior

knowledge is significantly higher than those having low prior knowledge. It can be concluded that Prior Knowledge significantly affect students’ achievement in reading comprehension

3) Students with high prior knowledge showed significant effect in their reading comprehension achievement if they were taught by using DRTA strategy while students having low prior knowledge showed significant effect in their reading comprehension if they were taught by using Reciprocal strategy. It can be concluded that there is significant interaction between teaching strategies and prior knowledge on students’ achievement in reading comprehension.

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5.2 Implications

The findings of this study gives implication to the students who want to improve their reading comprehension achievement and to the teachers who want to develop reading comprehension skill of their students when learning and teaching process takes part in the classroom. This study has examined two reading strategies, namely DRTA and Reciprocal. They are applied to students with high and low prior knowledge in order to know which teaching strategy is more suitable for them in improving their reading comprehension achievement.

The first finding of this research shows that students with high prior knowledge have higher achievement in reading comprehension when they were taught by using DRTA strategy. it implies that English teacher should try to apply this strategy for it can activate students’ prior knowledge, retrieve information from the text, interpret it, and reflect their understanding by creating their personal knowledge. This strategy really helps the students become active readers. Moreover, DRTA strategy also can make English teachers become easier in managing learning activity because they just function as facilitator. At the end of DRTA session, the teachers clarify the findings of the students during reading process. Therefore, this strategy can be a good choice for English teacher in teaching reading comprehension.

The second finding of this research showed that reading comprehension achievement of students with high prior knowledge is higher than those with low prior knowledge. It gives implications for English teacher that before teaching

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reading comprehension, the teacher should identify their students’ prior knowledge. The identification of students’ prior knowledge can determine the teachers in deciding what efforts they will do to make the students pay more attention when they are teaching reading comprehension. So, understanding that students have different prior knowledge is the key to success in teaching reading comprehension since the teachers can choose which strategy is more suitable to apply in the classroom.

The third finding of this research reveals that there is significant interaction between teaching strategies and prior knowledge on students’ achievement in reading comprehension. It implies that any teaching strategy applied by the teachers should be related to the levels of students’ prior knowledge. The way the teachers provoke students’ prior knowledge determine the attitude of the students in learning reading comprehension. Finally, it is suggested that DRTA strategy is applied to students with high prior knowledge while Reciprocal is applied to students with low prior knowledge in order that they can achieve their reading comprehension achievement significantly.

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5.3 Suggestions

In relation to the conclusions presented in previous chapter, it is suggested that:

1) English teachers are recommended using DRTA and Reciprocal strategy because both strategies can improve students’ reading comprehension achievement.

2) English teacher should provoke and encourage students based on their prior knowledge to participate more active in the classroom in order that they can achieve better achievement in reading comprehension.

3) Other researchers can develop further study in the area of DRTA and Reciprocal strategies in order to improve students’ achievement in reading comprehension.

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