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
i
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
iv
”A dream doesn t become reality t
hrough
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
vii
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 pre-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 pre-reading 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.
viii
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.
ix
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.
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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,
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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
xii
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
xiii
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
xiv
1. Students’ Perceptions on the Implementation of
Pre-reading 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
xv
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
4.1 Students’ Perceptions on the Implementation of Pre- reading
xvi
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
xvii
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:
1 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),
“R eading is the ability to draw meaning from the printed page and interpret this
information appropriately” (p. 9).Therefore, in the reading process, the readers
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.
W allace (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. C olorado (2008) states, “Pre-reading
activities can engage student interest, activate prior knowledge, or pre-teach potentially difficultconcepts and vocabulary” (p.1). T he activities will help the
In the pre-reading stage, activating the students’ background knowledge is
essential. The failure of activating the students’ background knowledge in pre -reading 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.
D eveloping 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
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.T he students’ perception on the teaching techniques implemented by the teacher is important. T hrough 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
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 pre
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. T o 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.
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. T his 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. T herefore, the students may optimize their reading
comprehension.
3. For Future Researchers
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 McS hane 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). T he 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
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’
10 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, & R aphael note, “R eading 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.
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, “R eading is a
process in which readers actively search for and construct meaning-comprehend- by 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.
S toller and Grabe (2002) state, “Metaphoricall y, bottom-up models suggest that
all reading follows a mechanical pattern in which the readers creates a piece-by-piece 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
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,
“T op-down models assume that reading is primarily directed by reader goals and expectations” (p. 32).T herefore, 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. S toller and G rabe (2002) note, “T he 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
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.
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
top-down 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
Top-down: Experience Prior Knowledge
Bottom-up: Words Sentences Grammar Text
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 pre
-reading activities used by the teacher. Therefore, this section will discuss the pre-reading activities more than the other stages of teaching pre-reading.
a. Pre-reading Activities
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 rhetoricall y, 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 pre-reading activities may remind the readers of what they already know and activate their existing schematic knowledge. Meanwhile, A jideh (2006) states, “Pre
-reading 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.
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,F arrel (2009) says, “One of the most important
concerns for teacher is how to make their classes interesting and relevant for their
students” (p. 73). T herefore, 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, “C uriosity arousal gives students the chances to consider what they know already about the material to be read” (p. 136). T hey state that arousing
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. T hey are “W hat key words will students need to understand?”, “A re
all the terms equall y important? ”, and “W hich new words carry “heav y” concept loads?”. T herefore, those three questions will help the teachers to choose the right
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) . T his 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.
W allace (2003) states, “T his 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.
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.
3) Pre-Questioning
Another pre-reading activity which can be implemented before reading is
giving questions related to the text. A jideh (2006) says, “S ome pre-reading
activities simply consist of questions to which the reader is required to find
answers from the text” (p. 6). T here 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, “T eaching 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).
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
to develop concepts of what they read. They are multiple textbooks, popular books, pamphlets, or magazine. Therefore, by giving other texts that have similar topic with the reading material to the students will help them to activate or build their background knowledge.
Furthermore, by reading similar topic in the different texts will help the students in achieving their reading comprehension. Vacca and Vacca (1989) state,
“reading about a topic can dramatically improve comprehension of related readings on the same topic” (p. 126). T herefore, the teachers can provide the other
texts that have the same topic with the reading texts which will be read by the students. It will help the students to get better understanding of the reading materials.
6) Previews
7) KWL Strategy
T here is a technique named K W L strategy. F arrel (2003) states, “One
method that will encourage students to have a personal connection to a reading assignment is the K-W-L ” (p.13). T he abbreviation stands for “What do I
Know?”, “What do I Want to know? ”, and, “What have I Learned?”.Farrel (2003) states that these questions will activate the students’ prior knowledge and
motivates them to find the answer from the text.
In activating and building students’ background knowledge, Vacca and
Vacca (1989) state that the students can ask two of the most appropriate questions about reading selection. By asking what the students need to know helps them to activate their background knowledge, make prediction on what they want to read and find out the purpose they read the text. Then, by asking what students have already known of the text helps them to search their experiences and knowledge related to the text.
b. While-reading Activities
The activities provided in while-reading have to be able to assist the students in the process ofachieving their reading comprehension. According to
A rmbruster and Osborn (2000), “D uring-reading activities should facilitate or enhance students’ reading comprehension during the actual reading process” (p.
87). Meanwhile Hedge (2000) states that there are many kinds of while-reading activities that the teachers can provide to the students.
Students can be given activities which require them to do any of the following: follow the order ideas in a text; react to the opinions expressed; understand the information it contains; ask themselves question; make notes; confirm expectations or prior knowledge, or predict the next part of the text from various clues (p.210).
It shows that in the while-reading activities, the teacher can provide many tasks to the students which assist them to follow the order of the ideas in the text. The students also need to react to the opinion in the text, understand the information written, ask themselves questions, make notes, relate with their expectation or prior knowledge, or make a prediction of the next part of the text. The activities will keep the students active in the reading process.
c. Post-reading Activities
Hedge (2000) states that there are many variations of post-reading activities. The ideal activity is the one which has relations to the reading purpose. Therefore, the students can check and discuss the activities in the while-reading and get the benefits from what they have read.
Post reading activities can be varied as the texts they follow, but ideally will tie up with the reading purpose set, so that students check and discuss activities done while reading and make use of what they have read in a meaningful way, for example, by discussing their response to the writer’s
Hedge (2000) mentions that there is a wide range of activities in post-reading stage, for example, debate, role-play, reading of contrasting texts, or focusing on its language. Moreover, Armbruster and Osborn (2002) mention some helpful post-reading activities are further questioning, discussion, writing, drama, art, music, and dance, and application and outreach in the real world . Thus, there are many activities can be applied in the post-reading stage.
3. Perception
The theories related to perception are needed because they are related to the research objectives. They are essential to identify the students’ perceptions on
pre-reading activities in Basic Reading II Class. a. Definition of Perception
A ccording to McS hane and Glinow (2005), “Perception is the process of receiving information about and making sense of the world around us” (p. 76). It
is stated that in the process of perception, somebody will receive information from their surroundings. Then, the person will give meaning on the information
received. Moreover, K inicki (2008) states, “Perception is a cognitive process that
enables us to interpret and understand our surroundings” (p. 183). T herefore, the
process of perception makes us able to interpret information around us and understand the information.
b. The Process of Perception
Kinicki (2008) says, “Perception involves four-stage information-processing sequence (hence, the label “information-processing”)” (p. 184). It can
1) Selective Attention/Comprehension
People do not have enough mental capacity to comprehend all information in the environment, they selectively choose from all of the information. Therefore, while there is a lot of information in a situation, one stimulus will be chosen as the important information and the otherswill be ignored. It is because they do not have the ability to accept all of the information.
Stage 1
Figure 2.1 Perception: An Information-Processing Model (Source: Kinicki; 2005: 184)
2) Encoding and Simplification
In this process, there are interpreting or translating and evaluating processes of raw information in environment. The information will be categorized based on equivalent consideration. The raw information is compared with the
characteristics of the information consisted in schemata or a person’s mental
picture or summary of a particular stimulus.
Every person will interpret something differently. There are four aspects
which influence someone’s interpretation. T he first is the different information
possessed. The second is mood and emotions. The third is the recent cognitive categories. If people recently think about positive categories or events, they will more likely interpret something positively. The last is individual differences, whether a person is pessimistic or optimistic. Therefore, people can interpret the same situation or event differently.
3) Storage and Retention
This phase includes storage information in long-term memory. The interpretation and evaluation of something will be stored in the long-term memory. The schemata as the result of interpretation and evaluation will be available for immediate retrieval. Therefore, people can describe something that they have experienced base on their long-term memory.
4) Retrieval and Response
People’s judgments and decisions about something are based on their
perception. They are the processes of drawing on, interpreting, and integrating categorical information stored in long-term memory. Therefore, the way people perceive events or situations, people, or objects will influence their judgment and choice of how people will act to response those matters.
c. Perception on Pre-reading Activities
People will give their responses to stimuli from the surroundings. Their perception about something will affect their behavior towards that, whether it is positive or negative. McShane and Glinow (2005) state, “T he resulting
perceptions influence our emotions and behavior toward those objects, people,
people or objects are made base on the process of perception. Therefore, people’s
perception about something will influence the way they response about something.
The research of the students’ perception on pre-reading activities is worth
doing to know the students perception on the teaching instructions implemented by the teacher. If the students perceived positively toward the teaching techniques used by the teacher, they will think that the teaching techniques are helpful and important for them to be successful in the reading class.The students will show their interest to the pre-reading activities. They will think that the pre-reading activities help them in achieving their reading comprehension. On the other hand, if the students respond to the instructions negatively, the students are not interested to the pre-reading activities. T he students’ perception on pre-reading
activities which are based on their experiences will affect their way of thinking or interpreting the pre-reading activities implemented by the teacher.
B. Theoretical Framework
This research focuses on students’ perceptions on pre-reading activities in
Basic Reading II class of the English Language Education Study Program of
Sanata Dharma University. As stated in Chapter 1, there are two objectives to be achieved in this research. The first one is to find out the varieties of pre-reading
activities used by the teacher and the second one is to identify the students’
activities. Those theories will give more explanation about the research. In this theoretical framework, the researcher tries to relate those theories to the research.
First, the researcher elaborates the theories of teaching reading in order to explain the three stages of teaching reading. According to Wallace (2003), there is an idea of three main types in 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. Then, the researcher implements the theories of pre-reading activities in order to answer the first research problem. The researcher explains the definitions of pre-reading activities to help everyone having the same understanding of what pre-reading activities are. Pre-reading activities are important to prepare students before reading(Armbruster& Osborn, 2002).The 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) state that pre-reading activities may remind the readers of what they already know, they activate existing schematic knowledge. Therefore, the teacher used pre-reading activities which take place before students read a text to
prepare the students and are able to activate students’ background knowledge.
There are many kinds of pre-reading activities can be applied by the teacher in the pre-reading stage. The teachers are able to select the appropriate pre-reading activity related to a reading text. Moreover, the teacher is also able to combine from some of the pre-reading activities. Hedge (2000) says, “A range of
repertoire, … ” (p. 210). T herefore, teachers may apply many activities in the
pre-reading stage and combinethe pre-pre-reading activities they use.Vacca and Vacca (1989) address some purposes of pre-reading activities which the teacher applies in pre-reading activities.In the pre-reading stage, the teacher creates students’
motivation to follow the reading process. Besides that, the teacher activates and builds students’ background knowledge. Next, the teacher helps the students to be
familiar with the key vocabulary and concept on what they want to read. The teacher also facilitates students to be aware of the task and tell the strategy to achieve effective reading process.
31 CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter discusses the methodology used in conducting the research. The research methodology consists of six parts. They are research method, research setting, research participants, research instruments and data gathering technique, data analysis technique, and research procedure. The research method explains the methodology which is used in this study and the reason why the methodology is used. The research setting explains the setting while the research is conducted. The third part discusses the participants which are taken in this study. The fourth part explains the instrument and the data gathering techniques used to obtain the data. The fifth part discusses the analysis of the data which is obtained. The last part explains the procedure of the research.
A. Research Method
The focus of this research was the varieties of pre-reading activities used by Basic Reading II teacher in the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University and the students’ perceptions on pre-reading activities
used by the teacher. The researcher used survey research to get the information.
“In survey research, investigators ask questions about people’s beliefs, opinions,
characteristics, and behavior” ( A ry, acobs, & S orensen, 2010, p.372). T he
researcher asked questions about student’s opinion on the pre reading activities in
The researcher asked questions to the respondents in gathering the data needed.A ry, acobs, and R azavieh (2002) state, “S urvey is research technique in
which data are gathered by asking questions of a group or individuals called respondents” (p. 374).T he respondents were asked about the way they interpret
the pre-reading activities implemented by the teacher.
Through survey research, the researcher was able to explore and analyze the characteristics of pre-reading activities in Basic Reading II class of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University. Moreover, the
researcher could explore and anal yze the students’ perception on the
implementation of pre-reading activities.
B. Research Setting
This research was conducted in the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University. The researcher conducted the research in April 2014. This research was done in Basic Reading II classes in the academic year 2013/2014. There were two classes that became the setting of this research. They are class C and D.
C. Research Participants
namely class C and D. The participants were expected to give the information which was needed in this research. To keep the participants confidential, the researcher made the coding of participants’ name.
The researcher used purposive sampling to select the participants. Cohen,
Manion, and Morrison (2000) state, “In purposive sampling, researchers handpick
the cases to be included in the sample on the basis of their judgement of their typicality.” (p.103). The sample is the one which is satisfactory to the specific
needs. The reason is because the participants had experienced the implementation of pre-reading activities in the classroom. Moreover, those two classes were taught by same teacher.
D. Research Instruments and Data Gathering Technique
There were two instruments which are used in carrying out this research. They were the interview and the questionnaire.
1. Interview
The researcher chose an interview to gather data of the implementation of pre-reading activities in Basic Reading II classes. Fraenkel and Wallen (2006)
state, “ T he purpose of interviewing people is to find out what is on their minds -what they think or how they feel about something” (p. 455). T he researcher
The participant was the teacher of Basic Reading II classes where the researcher distributed the questionnaire to the students. This instrument helped the researcher to find detailed explanation of all information from the aspects to be found out. The result of the interview was used to explain the varieties of pre-reading activities implemented by the teacher.
In collecting the data, the researcher conducted the interview to the teacher face to face. Through following the interview guidelines, the researcher was going to find out the implementation of pre-reading activities that the teacher applied. The researcher would find the information of the varieties of pre-reading activities used by the teacher, the reason of the choices, and the effect for the students. 2. Questionnaire
The researcher used the questionnaire as the instrument in collecting datato answer the second research question. Johnson and Christensen (2012) said,
“R esearcher uses questionnaires to obtain information about the thoughts,
feelings, attitudes, beliefs, values, perceptions, personality, and behavioral
intentions of research participants” (p. 197). T he purposes were to explore students’ perception on the implementation of pre-reading activities, the students’
perceptions on pre-reading activity they like the most, and the students’ opinions
for possible improvement of the pre-reading activities implementation.
The questionnaire used was designed in two types. They are close-ended questions and open-ended questions. The format used in the close-ended questions is the rating scale. The researcher wanted to find the students’ perceptions on pre
rating scale. ohnson and C hristensen (2012) state, “R esearchers often obtain data
from research participants by providing questions or statements (the item stem)
and rating scales (the response choices) with instruction judgments about each
item stem using the rating scale that is provided.” (p.172). It required the
participants to choose and put tick in column of 1, 2, 3, or 4 for each statement
based on their perception. Each column represented different value. The values
are:
1 is strongly disagree 2 is disagree
3 is agree
4 is strongly agree
Next, the researcher used open-ended question. Cohen, Manion, and
Morrison (2000) state, “Open questions, on the other hand, enable respondents to
write a free response in their own terms, to explain and qualify their responses and
avoid limitations of pre-set categories of response.” (p.248). It is different with
close-ended question, in open-ended question, the respondents are free to answer
the questions. There are the opportunities for the participants to share their
preference of the pre-reading activities they like the most. Besides that, the
students have to state their opinion for possible improvement of the pre-reading
activities implementation.
The researcher distributed the questionnaire to the students in two Basic
Reading II classes. They were class C and D. The researcher distributed the
questionnaire at the end of learning process. The researches gave the explanation
given some minutes to complete the questionnaire. The researcher collected the questionnaire in order to be analyzed after it was completed.
E. Data Analysis Technique
Data analysis techniques were divided into two data analysis. They were the data from the interview and the data from the questionnaire.
1. Data from Interview
The interviewee was the teacher of two Basic Reading II classes where the researcher distributed questionnaires. The purpose of the interview was to find the varieties of pre-reading activities implementation in Basic Reading II classes. In the interview, the researcher took notes and used a tape recorder as the tool to obtain the data. The researcher transcribed the result of interview recording. Then, the researcher made a summary based on the data collection. After that, the researcher analyzed the data and drew a conclusion based on the data which is obtained. The data was to gain detailed explanation of the varieties of pre-reading activities in Basic Reading II class.
2. Data from Questionnaire
value. The values are: (4)is strongly agree, (3) is agree, (2) is disagree, and (1) is strongly disagree. The students who had positive perception on the use of pre-reading activities tended to choose strongly agree or agree column. On the other hand, the students who had negative perception tended to choose strongly disagree or disagree column.
Then, the researcher calculated the percentages in order to know the result in numbers. The data obtained and the numbers of the respondents were calculated. The formula of the percentages was as follows.
I
n which,∑ χ = T he numbers of participants based on the degree of agreement ∑ n = T he numbers of participants
The data from open-ended questions were used to explore further on the
students’ perceptions on the use of pre-reading activities they liked the most and student’s opinions for the possible improvement of pre-reading activities
implementation. The researcher discussed the data after reading it. The researcher
classified the respondents’ answer to anal yze the data. T hen the data were
presented in the percentages and discussed in the form of paragraphs. F. Research Procedure
1. Planning
The researcher defined the problems. The researcher found the importance
of students’ perception on pre-reading activities used in Basic Reading II class in
English Education Study Program in Sanata Dharma University. Then, the researcher found the theories and sources related to the topic and the problem. 2. Defining the Population
The researcher found the target population of the matter. The target population was the students in English Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University. The particular students were the students of Basic Reading II classes in the academic year 2013/2014.
3. Sampling
The researcher could not select all students or participants in each class of Basic Reading II class. Based on some considerations, the researcher chose two
classes as the sample of this research. The classes chosen were classes C and D in the academic year 2013/2014.
4. Constructing the Instruments
The researcher used the interview and the questionnaire to answer the research question. The interview was done to find the implementation of pre-reading activities in Basic Reading II classes based on the teacher’s point of view.
5. Asking Permission
The researcher asked the permission from the chairperson of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University before conducting the survey. Asking permission was conducted by writing a letter and asking signature. Those all were conducted in the beginning of April 2014.
6. Conducting the Interview and Survey
The researcher conducted interview to the teacher of Basic Reading II classes and distributed questionnaires to the students. The interview was done face to face. In the questionnaire distribution, the researcher gave the explanation first about the procedure of how to fill the questionnaire given.
7. Analyzing the Data
After gathering the data, the researcher analyzed the data obtained from the interview and the questionnaire. The researcher transcribed and analyzed the result of the interview. Then, the data from close-ended questionnaire was analyzed in numerical data. From open-ended questionnaire, the researcher
classified the respondents’ answer and presented it in percentages. Then, the
researcher made the analysis based on the data collection. 8. Reporting the Results
40 CHAPTER IV
RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter presents the data and the discussion to answer the two formulated problems as presented in the first chapter. There are two discussions presented in this chapter. The first discussion is related to the varieties of pre-reading activities implemented in Basic Reading II class. The second discussion is
the students’ perceptions on the implementation of pre-reading activities.The
findings are divided into two parts. The first is part A that explains the varieties of pre-reading activities implemented in Basic Reading II class. The second is part B
that explains students’ perceptions on pre-reading activities in Basic Reading II
class.
A. The Varieties of Pre-reading Activities Implementation in Basic Reading II Class
The first research problem finds out the information about thevarieties of pre-reading activities implemented in Basic Reading II class. In order to answer the first research problem, the researcher used the interview to gather the data. The researcher interviewed the teacher of Basic Reading II class. From the interview result, the researcher analyzed the pre-reading activities used by the teacher as follows.
1. Brainstorming
