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THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TEAMS-GAMES-TOURNAMENTS (TGT)
TO TEACH READING COMPREHENSION VIEWED FROM
STUDENTS’ READING HABIT
(An Experimental Study at MTsN 2 Paron Ngawi in the Academic Year of
2009/2010)
By
HUSNUL IMAROH S.890907013
Submitted to Graduate School of Sebelas Maret University as Partial Fulfillment for Getting Graduate Degree in English Education
SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL ENGLISH EDUCATION
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THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TAMES-GAMES-TOURNAMENTS (TGT)
TO TEACH READING SKILLS VIEWED FROM
STUDENTS’ READING HABIT
(An Experimental Study at MTsN 2 Paron Ngawi in the Academic Year
2008/2009)
Research Proposal in Writing a Thesis to fulfill one of the Requirements for Completion of Graduate Degree in English Education
By
HUSNUL IMAROH S.890907013
This proposal has been approved by the consultants of the thesis examiners
On:
Consultant I Consultant II
Dr. Ngadiso, M.Pd Drs. Abdul Asib, M.Pd
NIP. 131 792 932 NIP. 130 814 585
The Head of the Education Department of Graduate School
Sebelas Maret University Surakarta
Dr. Ngadiso, M.Pd
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APPROVAL PAGE
This thesis entitled “THE EFFECTIVENESS OF
TEAMS-GAMES-TOURNAMENTS (TGT) TO TEACH READING COMPREHENSION VIEWED FROM STUDENTS’ READING HABIT (An Experimental Study at MTsN 2 Paron in the Academic Year of 2009/2010)”, has been approved by the consultants on………
By
HUSNUL IMAROH S 890907013
Consultant I Consultant II
Dr. Ngadiso, M.Pd Dr. Abdul Asib, M.Pd
NIP. 19621231 198803 1009 NIP. 19520307 198003 1005
The Head of English Education Department Graduate School
Sebelas Maret University
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LEGITIMATION FROM THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TEAMS-GAMES-TOURNAMENTS (TGT)
TO TEACH READING COMPREHENSION VIEWED FROM
STUDENTS’ READING HABIT
(An Experimental Study at MTsN 2 Paron Ngawi in the Academic Year of
2009/2010)
By
HUSNUL IMAROH S.890907013
This thesis has been examined by the Board of Thesis Examiners of English Education Department of Graduate School of Sebelas Maret University on
……….
Board of Examiners: Signature
Chairman Prof. Dr. H. Joko Nurkamto, M.Pd ____________
NIP. 19610124 198702 1001
Secretary Dr. Sujoko, M.A ____________
NIP. 19510912 1980031 002
Members of Examiners:
1. Dr. Ngadiso, M.Pd ____________
NIP. 19621231 198803 1009
2. Dr.Abdul Asib, M.Pd ____________
NIP. 19520307 198003 1005
commit to user PRONOUNCEMENT
This is to certify that I myself
write this thesis, entitled “THE
EFFECTIVENESS OF
TEAMS-GAMES-TOURNAMENTS (TGT) TO
TEACH READING
COMPREHENSION VIEWED FROM
STUDENTS’ READING HABIT (An
Experimental Study at MTsN 2 Paron
in the Academic Year of 2009/2010)”.
It is not a plagiarism or made by others.
Anything related to others’ work is
written in quotation, the source of
which is listed on the bibliography.
If then this pronouncement
proves wrong, I am ready to accept any
academic punishment, including the
withdrawal or cancellation of my
academic degree.
Surakarta, January 2011
commit to user ABSTRACT
Husnul Imaroh, S890907013. The Effectiveness of
Teams-Games-Tournaments (TGT) to Teach Reading Comprehension Viewed from Students’ Reading Habit (An Experimental Study at MTsN 2 Paron Ngawi in the Academic Year of 2009/2010). A Thesis: Graduate School, Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta 2010.
The objective of the research is to know the effectiveness of Teams-Games-Tournaments(TGT) to teach reading comprehension viewed from students’ reading habit. The method used is experimental study. The population is the students of MTsN 2 Paron Ngawi in the academic year of 2009/2010. The samples are the seventh year students which are taken by using cluster random sampling. There are two classes used in the research: experimental class, and control class. The data are resulted from students’ reading habit and students’ reading comprehension. The data of the students’ reading habit are taken by the close-typed questionnaire, while the data of the students’ reading comprehension are taken by multiple-choice test with four options. In analyzing the data, Multifactor Analysis of Variance and Tukey Test are used.
The results of this research show that (1) TGT is more effective than DIM to teach reading (F(8.98)>Ft(a) = 0.05 (4.08) and Ft(a) = 0.01 (7.31), qoA1 and A2 (4.24)>qt(a) = 0.05 (2.95) and qt(a) = 0.01 (4.02), and mean score of A1 (70.86)>A2(66.5), (2) The students having high reading habit have better reading comprehension than those having low reading habits F(18.55)>Ft(a) = 0.05 (4.08) and Ft(a) = 0.01 (7.31), qoB1 and B2 (6.09)>qt(a) = 0.05 (2.95) and qt(a)=0.01 (4.02), the mean score of B1(71.82)>B2 (65.55), (3) there is an interaction between methods of teaching and students’ reading habits, TGT is more effective than DIM for students having high reading habit, DIM is more effective than TGT for students having low reading habits (F(54.24)>Ft(a) = 0.05 (4.08) and Ft(a) = 0.05 (7.31), qoA1B1 and A2B1 (10.33)>qt(a) = 0.05 (3.11) and qt(a) = 0.01 (4.39), the mean score of A1B1 (79.36)>A2B1 (64.27, q0A1B2 and A2B2 (4.36) > qt(a) = 0.05 (3.11), the mean score of A1B2 (62.36)>A2B2 (68.73).
From the results of the research it is known that the first hypothesis saying that TGT method is more effective than DIM for teaching reading is accepted. The second hypothesis saying that the students having high reading habits have better reading comprehension than the students having low reading habits is accepted. And the third hypothesis saying that there is an interaction between teaching methods and reading habit in teaching reading is accepted.
commit to user MOTTO
–
Actually, after getting difficulties, we will find easies (The Holy Quran, Al Insyirah: 5)–
Many of life’s failure are men who did not realize how close they wereto success when they gave up
(Thomas Alfa Edison)
–
When you feel like hope is gone, look inside you and be strong, andyou finally see the truth that the hero lies in you
(Song “Hero” by Mariah Carey)
–
Look at your strength and ignore your weaknesses to be successcommit to user DEDICATION
This thesis is dedicated to:
– Her beloved father and mother (Bapak Suhardi and Ibu Siti Aisjah), for their
love and affection, patience, support and prayer along her life
– Her beloved parents-in-law (Bapak Samsudi and Ibu Kinarti) for the nice,
welcoming, affection, as she becomes the new part of their life
– Her beloved husband, Nurkholis, for his endless love, patience, inspiration,
and never ending supports in her depressed feeling while working on this
thesis
– Her beloved brothers and sister (mas iput, mas ipul, mbak iffah, and mas
fuad), and the lovely niece and nephews (keysa, naufa, and faiz), and for de’
umi and de’ hari, thanks for the supports
– The little angel who will come to this world soon. She loves you so much.
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many people. She would like to express her profound gratitude and appreciations
to:
1. The Director of Graduate School of Sebelas Maret University for giving
opportunity to study and permission to write the thesis
2. The Head of the Education Department of Graduate School Sebelas Maret
University for giving facilities to complete the thesis writing
3. Dr. Ngadiso, M.Pd for being her first consultant who has given his guidance,
correction, and suggestion to the writer in writing the thesis
4. Dr. Abdul Asib, M.Pd for being her second consultant who has given his
patience and guidance to the writer to the perfection of this thesis
5. The Headmaster of MTsN 2 Paron Ngawi who has given his permission to the
writer to conduct the research
6. All of the seventh year students of MTsN 2 Paron in the academic year of
2009/2010, especially for VIIC and VIID class, who have given their help and
cooperation during the research
7. The greatest appreciation goes to her beloved parents, her beloved
parents-in-law for their understanding, never ending prayers and supports during her
study, and her everything, the beloved husband for his supports and
everlasting love and affection to the writer
8. Her beloved brother and sisters for their supports, niece and nephews for their
smile and inspiration
9. The big family of Justice House, ENKA Course, Nursada Computer,
Primagama Gendingan, and all teachers in MTsN 2 Paron, who have given the
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10.And all her friends who cannot be mentioned here for their motivation and
support
Finally, the writer realizes that this thesis is far for being perfect. She will
accept the correction to improve her thesis.
Surakarta, January 2011
commit to user CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter deals with background of the study, identification of the
problem, limitation of the problem, problem statement, the objective of the
study, and the benefit of the study.
A. Background of the Study
Reading as one of four language skills is highly needed for junior high
school students because its skills have to be mastered first than other skills.
Reading involves understanding written text that needs simultaneous
experiences which are influenced by reader’s attitude and exercises which can
be facilitated by employing appropriate strategy and technique.
However, one of the insufficient results in junior high school is on
reading comprehension. As students face a reading text, they often argue that
it is difficult enough for them to pronounce it, know the meaning of such
words, and further understand the written text. What are the causes of this
condition? The teacher’s decision to use the method takes place in a higher
position. Nearly all teachers believe that students are bored when they study
English in the conventional classroom-atmosphere which puts them as passive
learners rather than active learners. In reading class, the students only receive
teacher’s message rather than actively involved in learning process. Students
are only expected to pay attention to teacher’s presentation, do the exercises in
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the classroom and finally do the independent exercises at home. These phases
are the principals of Direct Instruction.
In addition, in this teacher-centered classroom students must compete
and work individually in order to obtain high score. Some students succeed
but others fail. Thus, success depends on beating, defeating, and getting more
than other people. Whereas social values like building students’ awareness to
help other students, cooperate in groups, trust each other that their friend will
do their best in the group, are very crucial to be recognized by students
because later they will be in real life situation where cooperation is more
intended than competition.
Students’ reading habit influences their ability in comprehending the
text since it deals with the willingness to either approach or avoid reading
situation. When students have desire to read, they will approach it, and when
students do not have desire to read, they will avoid it. By reading habits
students get used to read English text and understand it. The level of reading
habits –high and low- is a favor discussion: Whether students only depends on
material from teacher or seek other resources, whether they read in the
purpose of passing the examination or getting the pleasure, whether or not
they have a certain time to read books. So, one is considered as having High
Reading habit (HR) when he/she likes to read and approaches reading, while
those having Low Reading habit (LR) dislike to read and avoid reading.
There are probably many approaches that can tackle those problems.
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the umbrella of Communicative Language Teaching. It is leaner-centered
approach that emphasizes on all students’ success, so that not only
high-achieving students succeed but also average and low-high-achieving students.
Teams-Games-Tournament (TGT) is one of CL models, that places students
in group work where in the last phase students must play individually in
tournaments. The scores in tournament contribute points to team score and
promote students’ awareness that they should do maximally if they want their
group to become champion. In addition, when students’ individual score
contributes to group score, it will promote high-achieving students to “teach”
others-average and low-achiever.
As learner-centered approach, CL places students as active learners,
those who have awareness that they are the key to their successes and not fully
from their teacher. In the contrary, DI views that teacher takes more dominant
role in classroom. Consequently, students become more passive. Passive
learners depend on their teachers’ help and assistance. They need more
pressure as well as teacher’s on-going instructions.
At the same time, teacher perhaps identify students’ activeness based
on their intentions to the lesson, for instance, active learners perhaps seek
additional material, provide time to study and read more to improve
understanding on the lesson. Therefore, it can be said that active learners have
high reading habit. On the other hand, passive learners may be identified as
those who are fully dependent on teacher, have weak motivation in study, and
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lesson. Hence, passive learners are assumed to have low reading habit. What
is more, active learners-those who have high (good) reading habit-are assumed
to choose learner-center approach (TGT) but passive learners-those who have
low reading habit-are assumed to choose teacher-center approach (DI).
Nonetheless, approach used by teacher can probably elevate students’
reading habit. The appropriate method will motivate students to read more and
more. Although it is rather difficult to check students’ reading
habit-improvement, because it deals with reading outside classroom activity
(extensive reading), teacher can check it by giving them exercises on reading
comprehension in classroom activity. By this way, hopefully students from
day to day become good reader and have high reading habit and are finally
aware that reading comprehension can be improved by simultaneous activity,
that is reading habit.
B. Identification of the Problem
From the previous descriptions, there are some possible problems
which can be identified:
1. What are the causes of insufficient result of reading test in junior high
school?
2. What is the appropriate approach to teach reading comprehension?
3. Is the use of CL (TGT) effective to teach reading comprehension?
4. Is TGT effective for high or low reading habit-student?
commit to user C. Limitation of the Problem
The above questions show the complexity of the problem which is
nearly impossible for the writer to handle. Therefore, the study is focused on
the effectiveness of TGT to teach reading comprehension viewed from
students’ reading habit. And the research subjects are seventh grade students
of MTs Negeri 2 Paron in the academic year of 2009/ 2010.
D. Problem Statements
This study sought to address three key research questions:
1. Is TGT more effective than DI to teach reading comprehension for the
seventh year students of MTsN 2 Paron Ngawi in the academic year of
2009/ 2010?
2. Is reading comprehension of the students having high reading habit
better than those having low reading habit for the seventh year students
of MTsN 2 Paron Ngawi in the academic year of 2009/ 2010?
3. Is there an interaction between teaching methods and reading habit in
teaching reading for the seventh year students of MTsN 2 Paron Ngawi
in the academic year of 2009/ 2010?
E. The Objective of the Study
The objectives of the study are:
1. To know whether TGT is more effective than DI to teach reading
comprehension for the seventh year students of MTsN 2 Paron Ngawi in
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2. To know whether reading comprehension of the students having high
reading habit is better than that those having low reading habit for the
seventh year students of MTsN 2 Paron Ngawi in the academic year of
2009/ 2010
3. To know whether there is an interaction between teaching methods and
reading habit in teaching reading for the seventh year students of MTsN
2 Paron Ngawi in the academic year of 2009/ 2010.
F. The Benefit of the Study
In accordance with the reason that encourages the writer to do the
study, hopefully the study will be beneficial in the area of teaching learning
process. The benefits of the study are:
1. For the teachers
a. Teachers can get better insight into TGT and make them realize
that that it is also worth trying in teaching reading.
b. Teacher should realize that every student has different level of
reading habits, and it is teacher’s responsibility to promote them
into higher level of reading habit.
2. For the students
a. Students can get different classroom situation which can make
them more active in the teaching and learning process
b. Students can get better reading comprehension through active
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3. For the other researcher
a. The other researcher can get better insight into TGT so that he/she
can implement it in the different field
commit to user CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter deals with the nature of reading, the nature of
cooperative learning, the nature of direct instruction, the nature of reading
habit, rationale, and hypothesis.
A. The Nature of Reading
1. The Definition of Reading
Reading is the essential skill for students since it is the core to nearly
all subjects (Davis, 1988: 241). In learning every subject, reading activities
are involved. Reading in general sense is what happens when people look at
a text and assign meaning to the written symbols in that text.
There are many definitions of reading proposed by experts, one of
which is stated by Grape (in Pan, 2006: 1). It is stated that reading is not
only a receptive process of picking up information from the page in a
word-by-word manner since it is a selective process and characterized as an active
process of understanding. In the same perception, Ur notes, “Reading means
reading and understanding” (1996: 138). These theories imply that an
activity is called reading if there is understanding from what has been read,
if not it cannot be said so.
Meanwhile, Gipe states, “Reading is a transaction that takes place
between a reader and text in a particular situation” (in Ashmore, 2001: 4).
Clay (in Ashmore, 1991: 4) gives a comprehensive definition of reading.
His remark is as follows:
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I define reading a message-getting, problem-solving activity which increases in power and flexibility the more it is practiced. My definition states that within the directional constrains of the printer’s code, language and visual perception are purposefully directed by the reader in some integrated way to the problem of extracting meaning from cues in a text, in sequence, so that the reader brings a maximum of understanding to the author’s message.
The writer elaborates that reading is a process of getting the message
and solving the problem from the text to be able to extract meaning and cues
in the text and finally retain the maximum understanding to the author’s
message. It is quite obvious that reading depends on the reader’s objective,
and is not just an activity to read what is printed and written. Further, there
should be understanding of the author’s message after reading the material.
In addition, Nuttal (1996: 3) says “[reading is] the transfer of a
message from writer to reader”. Aeborsold agrees by stating that reading is
what happens when people look at a text and assign meaning to the written
symbols in the text (1997: 15). According to Derajavan, as cited in Tella
(2007: 119), reading has been described as “the art of interpreting printed
and written words”.
Likewise, Goodman (1988: 15) express that in reading activity there
is close interaction between language and thought, in which the writer
encodes thought as language and the writer decodes language as thought
(http://www.nadasisland.com/reading).
It can be deduced from the theories that reading is the activity of
getting the message and understanding to the written symbols that are
commit to user 2. Reading Comprehension
Comprehension refers to an ability to understand the meaning or
importance of something (www.thefreedictionary.com/comprehension).
Meanwhile, it is also stated that comprehension is the capacity of the mind
to perceive and understand (http://www.brainyquote.com/comprehension).
Further, comprehension means to understand what is being communicated
(www.readingisgood.com/2008/05/comprehension-a-definition/). It can be
summarized that one has comprehension when he/she is able to understand
and gets the importance of something.
Reading comprehension is how far we can understand of what we
read (www.readingisgood.com/2008/05/comprehension/). Ashmore (2004:
7) stated that there are three processes in reading comprehension: active,
cognitive, and affective process in which the reader actively engages with
the text and builds his/her own understanding of the text. Meanwhile, Gipe
(in Ashmore, 2001: 4) stated that in reading [comprehension] the reader
construct the meaning by using background knowledge or past experience in
order to build new thoughts.
It can be concluded from the theories that reading comprehension is
the degree to which the reader understand what he/she read, which is
resulted from the what he/she knows before reading the text (the
background knowledge) and how well he/she reads it. However, types of
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strategies for reading comprehension should be clearly exhibited. The next
discussions are on those issues.
3. Types of Comprehension
The primary objective of reading is comprehension. Thus, teacher
had better give reading comprehension assessment to test student’s abilities.
Mohamad (1999: 2) mentions three stands of comprehension, literal,
interpretive, and critical comprehension. The first comprehension involves
“surface meaning” in which students are asked to find out information and
idea that are explicitly stated in the text; the second comprehension involves
“deeper meanings” that needs student’s critical reading with kind of
activities such as drawing conclusion, making generalization; the third level
involves critical reading whereby ideas and information are evaluated and it
occurs when students have understood the ideas and information that the
writer has presented (http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Nunn-interacting.html).
The more comprehensive explanation is stated by Day (2005) in the
journal Reading in a Foreign Language. In his article entitled Developing
Reading Comprehension Questions, Day presents a detailed picture of six
types of comprehension. Below are the explanations of each.
a. Literal comprehension: understanding of the straightforward
meaning of the text and can be answered directly from the text. b. Reorganization: it is based on literal understanding of the text;
students must use information from various parts of the text and combine them for additional understanding.
c. Inference: making inferences involves more than a literal
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involves students combining their literal understanding of the text with their own knowledge and intuitions.
d. Prediction:…involves students using both their understanding of
the passage and their own knowledge of the topic and related matters in a systematic fashion to determine what might happen next or after the story ends.
e. Evaluation:….requires the learner to give a global or
comprehensive judgment about some aspect of the text.
f. Personal response:…requires readers to respond with their
feelings for the text and the subject.
(http://nflre.hawaii.edu/rfl/April2005/day/day.html).
The above comprehension types are from the lowest to the highest
comprehension. The higher level the students are in, the higher
comprehension they will be. The writer assumes that generally students in
junior high school are on the literal comprehension although in some cases
might go further on the reorganization comprehension-level. Due to the fact
that the students where the writer will retain research are on the average
level, she is quite sure that her students are on literal comprehension-level.
She elicits example, when the students are given a text entitled “ Tina’s
Family”, the question might be “what is Tina’s father’s name?, what is
Tina’s mother’s name?, How many sister does Tina have? Where does Tina
live?” what is more, those questions can be answered explicitly from the
text.
4. Micro Skills for Reading Comprehension
Harmer (1991: 183) postulates that there are six receptive skills,
namely: predictive skills, extracting specific information, getting the general
picture, extracting detailed information, recognizing function and discourse
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Harmer (2002: 201) describes that the skills in reading and listening are:
identifying the topic, predicting and guessing, reading and listening for
general understanding, reading and listening for specific information,
reading and listening for detailed information, and interpreting text.
In the concept of micro skills for reading comprehension, Edge
(1993: 108) agrees that the skills teacher teaches to students, make students
able to get general understanding of the text (skim), get main points, get
specific information (scan), make inferences; for example about opinion,
implications and the attitudes to the written words; comprehend in detail,
and make evaluation what the readers have learnt and what the readers will
do after reading the text.
Reading the skills stated above, it can be closely seen that there are
some similarities although in some cases only a matter of diction/choice of
words. The writer might give example of what is remarked by Harmer
(2002: 202) and Edge (1993: 108). “Identifying the topic” in Harmer’s view,
is stated with “Extract main point” in Edge’s view, and so does in reading
for general understanding (skimming), get specific information (scanning)
etc.
In the more detailed picture it is stated by Brown (2000: 307). He
emphasizes:
2. Discriminate among the distinctive graphemes and orthographic
patterns of English.
3. Retain chunks of language of different lengths in short-term memory.
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5. Recognize a core of words, and interpret word order patterns and
their significance.
6. Recognize grammatical word classes (nouns, verbs, etc),
systems (e.g; tense, agreement, pluralization), patterns, rules, and elliptical forms.
7. Recognize that a particular meaning may be expressed in
different grammatical forms.
8. Recognize cohesive devices in written discourse and their role in signaling the relationship between and among clauses.
9. Recognize the rhetorical forms of written discourse and their sign1ificance for interpretation.
10.Recognize the communicative functions of written texts,
according to form and purpose.
11.Infer context that is not explicit by using background
knowledge.
12.Infer links and connection between events, ideas, etc., deduce causes and effects, and detect such relations as main idea,
supporting idea, new information, given information,
generalization, and exemplification.
13.Distinguish between literal and implied meanings
14.Detect culturally specific references and interpret them in a context of the appropriate cultural schemata.
15.Develop and use a battery of reading strategies such as scanning and skimming, detecting discourse makers, guessing the meaning of words from context, and activating schemata for interpretation of texts
The above explanation shows us the wide trap of micro skills for
reading comprehension which are nearly impossible to be taught to students
who are in junior high school that are still in the basic level of
understanding. It is, then, the teacher’s responsibility to assure which of the
skills that would be easily learnt and which of the skills that would be rather
difficult to be learnt by students. In conclusion, the red thread is the
teacher’s choice and decision.
For instance “identifying the topic” skill is possible to be taught in
junior high school if only the topic is explicitly stated in the text (literal
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be taught in junior high school since it needs students’ critical thinking so
that it is probably appropriate in either senior high school or university.
As the writer has explained before, the red thread is the teacher as
decision maker; to select the skills to be taught. Thus, the writer (as the
teacher) intends to select some skills as follows: identifying the topic,
predicting and guessing, get general understanding (skimming), get specific
information (scanning), and get detailed information. Identifying the topic
means students are asked to look for the main idea/topic from a certain text
(once more, it should be explicitly stated). Predicting and guessing can be
referred to predicting and guessing the meaning of words as well as
synonym and antonym from the text provided. Getting general
understanding (skimming), together with getting specific information
(scanning) are getting the information by straightforward manner. In getting
detailed information (in multiple choice questions), students are expected to
determine which one of the statements is correct or which one of the
statements is incorrect from the given text.
Meanwhile, in the SKL (Standard Kompetensi Lulusan) of SMP it is
stated that in reading students are able to understand the meaning of short
written text both functional and simple essay in the form of descriptive,
procedure, report, narrative, and recount in the daily contexts ( Depdiknas,
2007: 2). Further, it is stated that in reading comprehension, students are
intended to get general idea and main idea, get explicitly and implicitly
commit to user 5. Extensive and Intensive Reading
There are two kinds of reading performance that are well-known
seen from the teacher’s role in choosing the reading text namely extensive
and intensive reading. According to Harmer (2002: 210) extensive reading
means teacher encourages students to select for themselves whatever
reading materials to choose in the purpose of pleasure and language
improvement while intensive reading means teacher selects the reading
material in the purpose of developing specific receptive skills.
Likewise, the same opinion is emphasized by Brown (2001: 312). He
emphasizes that intensive reading is the classroom activity which focuses on
the “surface structure details text”, while extensive reading is the
outside-classroom activity which attempts to achieve a “general understanding of a
longer text book”. Recently, Richards and Schmidt says “extensive reading
means reading in quantity and in order to gain a general understanding of
what is read” (inYamashita, availableat http://nflrc./Yamashita.html).
According to Waring as cited in Jarrel (2003: 200) “[intensive
reading]……to learn new vocabulary, to look at text organization, to help
(learners) discover and develop reading skills, and so on”. Then, he reveals
Nation’s opinion:
…….the procedures involved (in Intensive Reading) direct a lot of attention to the vocabulary, grammar and discourse of the text. This deliberate attention to language features means that intensive reading fits within the strand of language-focused learning”
(2003: 201).
On the other hand, extensive reading “…………is generally
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overall understanding of the material” (Bamford & Day, as cited in Jarrel,
2003: 201).
Furthermore, Jarrel’s research shows that extensive reading appears
to be more effective than intensive reading of turning a weak reader into a
good reader. Jarrel’s says that extensive reading emphasizes on
“motivation,” “comprehensible input,” and ‘building confidence” that can
help the weak reader to improve reading speed and deepen understanding of
what is read.
To conclude, the activity done by both teacher and students in the
classroom holds on intensive reading, vice versa, the activeness of students
to improve their skills outside school time holds on extensive reading. In
intensive reading programs, students are expected not only to read a text but
also demonstrate understanding to a degree as detailed as possible which is
usually concerned with vocabulary, text organization, and overall, improve
reading skills, while in extensive reading students read relatively large
amount of the text with the purpose of getting general understanding of what
is being read.
Provided that one reads outside school time simultaneously, from
time to time, one can develop his/her reading habit. In other words, one is
considered as high reading habits-person if he/she always reads the books,
and other reading materials such as magazines, newspapers, etc. wherever
he/she is, the reading activity is involved. It is stated by Richards and
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“[extensive reading] is intended to develop good reading habits, to build up
knowledge of vocabulary and structure, and to encourage a liking for
reading”.
6. Strategies for Reading Comprehension
In order to get beneficial result in every single effort, people are
advisedly to do their effort maximally with both best strategies and
approaches, and so does reading. According to Barnet and Ken as cited in
Nishino, reading strategies can be broadly defined as the mental process
operations formed by a reader to achieve the goal of textual comprehension
(www.cooperation-org/pages/CL and D.htm#nature).
In addition, strategies can be operationalized as “learning techniques,
behaviours, and problem-solving or study skills that enhance learning more
effectively and efficiently” (Oxford and Crolkall, in Pan, 2006: 1). Further,
Phan cites Branmeier’s opinion about the strategies as follows:
The strategies may involve skimming, scanning, guessing, recognizing, cognates and word families, reading for meaning, predicting, activating general knowledge, making inferences, following references, and separating ideas from supporting ideas (2002: 1)
Brantmeier’s strategies for reading comprehension seem to be
overlapped with what the writer has discussed on the micro skills for
reading comprehension. She advocates that micro skills as well as strategies
might be used interchangeably since those strategies show how readers
tackle a reading task, how they interpret their reading and what they do
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In the same way, Nuttal (1996: 16) proposes the well-known
strategies ever known, namely top-down and bottom-up approach. In
Nuttal’s opinion, the former approach relies on schema theory (a reader’s
intelligence, experience, and background knowledge is essential for
understanding the text); while the latter focuses on the smaller units of
language that help the reader decodes a message: word and structure
recognition, the sound-letter relationship, making meaning of syntactic units
(phrases and sentence).
Top-down approach or knowledge/background/schemata-based as
well as bottom-up or text-based processing has limitations. Eskey (in
http://www.nadasisland.com/reading/) points out “this model [top-down
approach] is good for the skillful, fluent reader for whom perception and
decoding have become automatic, not for the less proficient, developing
reader”. Further, he points out:
The decoding model [bottom-up approach] is inadequate because it underestimates the contribution of the reader who makes predictions and processes information. It fails to recognize that students utilize their expectations about the text, based on their prior knowledge of language and how it works
The above statement shows us that only if the reader is skilful, the
top-down approach is more appropriate to be used than bottom-up approach.
Meanwhile, in bottom-up approach, there is the ignorance of the importance
of the student’s way to predict the content of the text using background
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In spite of appearance limitation above, teacher ought to use these
approaches interchangeably with the reason it influences one another; if
bottom-up approach is underestimated there is the risk of misunderstanding
the basic meaning from which top-down approach is built. On the other
hand, if bottom-up approach is underestimated learners become passive
readers and do not develop the skills to be good readers. So, it is necessary
to create a balance between those two approaches. As there is no single/best
approach, the combination approach is needed so that result on a couple
beautiful approaches, then the skills learnt get into the reader’s mind
completely. It is known as interactive approach.
According to Eskey (in http://www.nadasisland.com/reading/),
interactive approach in reading means “interaction between reader and text”.
Moreover, he explains that good readers are good decoders and good
interpreters of text, their decoding skills become more automatic but no less
important as their reading skills develop.
Notwithstanding, in the preceding discussion on micro skills of
reading comprehension, the writer has mentioned some reading skills that is
used in this research, which (in the writer’s perception) also have to be
taught using interactive approach. For example, in identifying the topic; in
order to be able to identify the topic, reader’s experience becomes important
because reader points out it after reading the text in which bottom-up
approach relies on. By contrast, for predicting and guessing such as
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From all the explanation about reading, it can be concluded that
reading is the activity of getting the message and understanding the written
symbols that are written by the authors. In reading comprehension, students
are able to understand the meaning of short written text both functional and
simple essay in the form of descriptive, procedure, narrative and recount in
the daily contexts There are six skills in reading comprehension, they are
getting general idea, getting main idea of the paragraph, getting explicitly
stated information, getting implicitly stated information, getting meaning of
certain words as well as synonym and antonym from the text provided, and
word references.
B. The Nature of Cooperative Learning
1. The Definition of Cooperative Learning
Nowadays, in the era where everyone demands improvement in
education quality, the sound of active, creative, and innovative teachers
resound everywhere. The teachers whose learning strategies are monotonous
become left behind. Similarly, students who are taught by monotonous
approach seem to be less motivated in learning that results in low
achievement.
Alternatively, teacher had better attempt to other approaches to fresh
student’s mind, emerge the motivation, improve the skills, elevate good
habits, above all to have long impact on student’s improvement. One of the
methods proposed is cooperative learning, which implements cooperative
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centered approach, as its name proposed, students become the center of the
learning as they are actively involved in the teaching and learning process.
Cooperative learning stems from the word ‘cooperation’. Johnson &
Johnson remark that cooperation is working together to accomplish shared
goals (www.co operation.org/pages/CLandD.htm#nature). Further, both say
that within cooperative learning group students are given two
responsibilities: to learn the assigned material and make sure that all other
members of their group do likewise. Johnson, Johnson, and Holubec say that
Cooperative learning is the instructional use of small groups so that students
work together to maximize their own and each other learning (www.co
operation.org/pages/CLandD.htm#nature).
Olsen and Kagan, as cited in Richards and Rodgers (2001:192)
acknowledge:
Cooperative learning is group learning activity organized so that learning is dependent on the socially structured exchange of information between learners in groups and in which each learner is held accountable for his/ her own leaning and is motivated to increase the learning of others.
Based on the theories above, it can be concluded that in cooperative
learning students are involved in small group activities formed by the
teacher, where each group has the same aim to tackle the problem given by
the teacher, and in order to embark this purpose, everyone in each group is
responsible for the success not only his/her own but also other members in
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Teacher may think their classroom activities reflect cooperative
learning, for instance having students sit side by side at the same table,
doing the task (from teacher), and then assigning to write a report to a
group. The most possibility happening in such activities is, one (the
high-achieving student) does all the work alone while the others (average and
slow-achieving students) only put their name on the paper without knowing
the content of the task.
As a consequence, in order for a lesson to be cooperative, five basic
elements are essential and need to be included. Here are the five elements
which are taken from Johnson, Johnson, & Holubec, 1993) as cited in
http://www.co-operation.org/pages/and http://.kennesaw.edu/intech.
a. Positive interdependence
Positive interdependence is the perception that one is linked with
others in a way so that one cannot succeed unless they do (and vice versa),
that is, their work benefits him/her, and one’s work benefits others. It
promotes a situation in which students work together in small group to
maximize the learning of all members. As students are in the group they
must believe that they “sink or swim” together. For a learning situation to be
cooperative, students must perceive that they are positively interdependent
with other members of their learning group so that the success of the group
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b. Individual Accountability
Individual accountability exists, when the performance of each
individual student is assessed and the result given back to the group and the
individual. It is crucial to bear in mind that each student knows who needs
more supports in completing the assignment. It is also important to let each
student know that he/she has his/her own responsibility in their groups.
c. Face-to- Face Promotive Interaction
Students meet in the learning group which promotes each other’s
success by helping, assisting, supporting, encouraging, and praising each
other’s effort to learn. The cores of this activity are praising the difference
and fulfilling the weaknesses among students.
d. Social Skills
Contributing to the success of a cooperative effort requires
interpersonal and small group skills. Social skills must be taught: leadership,
decision making, trust-building, communication, and conflict management
skills.
e. Group Processing
Group processing exists when group members discuss how well they
are achieving their goals and maintaining effective working relationships. In
addition, group processing describes what members’ actions are helpful and
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2. Theoretical Background of Cooperative Learning
In his book Classroom Instruction and Management, Arends (1995:
114-118) clearly exhibits the roots of cooperative learning practiced which
started from John Dewey up to Slavin. To sum up, Dewey gives the concept
that every classroom should mirror the “larger society” and function as “real
life learning” (1995: 114). Like Dewey, Thelan argues that classroom
should be “a laboratory or miniature democracy the purpose of which was to
inquire into important social and interpersonal problems” (in Arends, 1995:
114). Then, Sociologist, Allport argues “unmediated, interethnic contact
occurring under conditions of equal status was needed to reduce racial and
ethnic prejudice” (in Arends, 1995: 115).
The writer emphasizes Dewey, Thelan, and Allport view that
classroom is not only as the place where teacher transfers knowledge, but
also as media to equip students for real life situation they will face later on,
in the society they will live in, where problems may occur.
The trace of cooperative learning comes from the work of
educational psychologist and pedagogical theorists where two theories are
as a basis of cooperative learning, namely as social learning theory and
cognitive constructivism (Arends, 1995: 10). Meanwhile, according to
Slavin (1996) the theories are motivation and cognitive, in which motivation
theory is divided into developmental theories and cognitive elaboration
theories (17-18). In the writer’s perspective, what is stated by Arends as
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while “social learning theory” is the same as “development theory”.
Arends’s view as well as Slavin’s view comes from schools of thought,
namely as constructivism with Vygotsky and Piaget as the expert on the
theory.
Despite the different name of theory used, the writer intends to draw
out it under the umbrella of motivation theory and cognitive theory in which
cognitive theory is divided into development theory and cognitive
constructivism. To obtain what does the theory mean, below are clear
definitions of each.
a. Motivation Theory
There are three types of social interdependence; positive
(cooperative), negative (competition), and none (individualistic efforts) in
which every type has its own values. The example is competition where
“individuals work against each other to achieve a goal that only one or a few
can attain” (Johnson & Johnson, 1989). In such kind of social
interdependence, if one can succeed, others fail. Thus, success depends on
beating, defeating, and getting more than other people. While individuals’
effort means “when a situation is structured individualistically, there is no
correlation among participants’ goal attainments” (Johnson & Johnson,
1989 in http://www.co-operation.org/pages/CLandD.html#nature). In other
word, each individual perceives that he/she can reach his/ her goal
regardless of whether other individuals attain or do not attain their goals
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working together to accomplish shared goals” (Johnson & Johnson in http://
www.co-operation.org/pages/CLandD.html#nature). Within cooperative
activities individuals seek outcomes that are beneficial to themselves and
beneficial to all other group members. Within cooperative learning students
are given two responsibilities: to learn the assigned material and make sure
that all other members of their group do likewise. In cooperative learning
situations, students perceive that they can reach their learning goals only if
other students in the group also do so (
http://www.co-operation.org/pages/CLandD.html#nature).
This does not mean, however, the competitive and individualistic
efforts should be banned in schools. Students should learn how to compete
appropriately for fun and enjoyment, work individualistically on their own,
and work cooperatively as part of team. Cooperative learning, then, should
be used in the majority of the school day.
b. Cognitive
Constructivist views learning is constructed. It is elaborated by
Spipey as cited in Brown (2000: 11) as follows:
An emphasis on active process of construction (of meaning), attention to texts as a means of gaining insights into those processes, and an interest in the nature of knowledge and its variations, including the nature of knowledge associated with membership in a particular group.
Furthermore, the constructivist theory views that learning is
constructed. New knowledge is built using what the students already know.
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From a couple theories above, it can be drawn out that learning as the
result of mental construction. Needing either understanding or insight,
students are actively constructing their own understanding by fitting new
information together with what they already know. That is, their prior
knowledge influences what they construct. Learner autonomy and initiative
is accepted and encouraged that is not like traditional model.
There are many different schools of thought within this theory, all of
which fall within the same basic assumption about learning. The main two
are social constructivism and cognitive constructivism. Vygotsky is
well-known in social constructivism while Piaget is well-well-known in cognitive
constructivism.
Vygotsky’s social developmental theory has also been termed social
constructivism. The primary assumption of the social developmental
perspective is that interaction among students increases the mastery of the
concept in the task. Vygotsky (1978: 57) as available at http://stemnet.nf..
argues:
Every function in the child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (inter psychological) and then inside the child (intra psychological).
The writer concludes that learning first takes place in interaction
among students before it becomes mental processes for the individual.
On the contrary, Piaget gives more emphasises on “the importance of
individual cognitive development…….social interaction was claimed only
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seems that Vygotsky and Piaget are little bit different in the extent of
emphasizing social context. Vygotsky maintains that social interaction
emerges first that becomes foundation in cognitive development, while
Piaget maintains that individual cognitive development emerges first as well
as emphasizes that social interaction as an additional factors which appear at
the right time.
3. Types of Cooperative Learning
There are three types of CL, namely formal CL, informal CL and
cooperative base group. Below are clear definitions of each.
a) Formal CL
It is students working together for one class period to several
weeks with outcomes to achieve shared learning goals and complete
jointly specific tasks and assignments. For instance, reading a chapter or
reference books, learning vocabulary, or answering questions at the end of
the chapter.
It should be bear in mind that in every lesson there should be an
academic objective specifying the concepts and strategies to be learned
and social skills objective specifying the interpersonal or small group skill
to be used so that teacher should emphasize on these. Furthermore, teacher
has to decide on the size of the group, the method of assigning students to
groups, the roles students will be assigned, the materials needed to
conduct the lesson, as well as the way the room will be arranged. In
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concepts and strategies, specify the positive interdependence and
individual accountability, and give the criteria for success. Besides, he/she
monitors students’ learning and intervenes within the group to provide
task assistance or to increase students’ interpersonal and group skills.
Finally, at the end of the lesson teacher had better assess students’
learning and help students process how well their group functioned.
It can be concluded that formal CL may be used to teach specific
content since teacher should ensure that students have adequate
understanding of the purpose of the lesson and all the values in CL so that
students see the importance of CL.
b) Informal CL
It consists of having students work together to achieve a joint
learning goal in temporary, ad-hoc groups that last from a few minutes to
one class period. In this case, CL can be used to focus students attention
on the material to be learned, set a mood conducive to learning, help set
expectations as to what will be covered in a class session, ensure that
students cognitively process the material being taught and provide closure
to an instructional session during a lecture or demonstrations.
c) Cooperative base groups
It is long term, heterogeneous cooperative learning groups with
stable memberships that are permanent (lasting from one to several years)
and provide the long-term caring peer relationships necessary to influence
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The purpose of cooperative base groups are to give supports, help,
encourage, and assistance each member needs to make academic progress
(attend class, complete all assignments, learn) and develop cognitively and
socially healthy ways. The use of base groups tends to improve
attendance, personalize the work required and the school experience, and
improve the quality and quantity of learning.
4. Kinds of Cooperative Learning
Some kinds of CL are proposed by experts from the easiest to the
most difficult to be implemented in the classroom, above all, they can be
used interchangeably in different classrooms, not only in mathematic class
for instance, but also in science, reading class, etc. Due to the importance of
knowing some kinds of CL, below are short explanations of these which are
often used.
a) Students-Teams Achievement Divisions (STAD)
STAD is originally researched and developed by the Hopkins
University. This method emphasizes that the success of the group
(which consists of different gender and achievement) can only be gained
through the way in which each group member maximizes their ability to
solve the content being studied. Each of the members in the team should
know the strengths and weaknesses of each other so that they are able to
do the test because finally all students must take individual test on the
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b) Teams-Games Tournament (TGT)
Actually, learning activities used in TGT is the same as STAD by using
teacher’s presentations and teamwork. This has purpose that the
cooperation among member team is necessary because in the next time
they join tournaments which make it different from STAD in which the
students play academic games with members of other teams to
contribute points to their team score. The clear explanation will be
discussed separately in special section.
c) Jigsaw II
Jigsaw II is an adaptation of Aronson’s jigsaw technique in 1978. This is
most appropriate to be used in teaching concept than ability. Students
work in heterogeneous teams as in STAD and TGT with four-member
where they are assigned chapters, short books or other material to be
read, usually social studies, biographies, or other expository materials.
Each member in all groups is assigned to be the expert on some aspects
of the reading assignments. After reading the material given, experts
from all groups meet in order to discuss their topics, and they return to
their own group to tell topics to their teammates. At the end of the
jigsaw class, there should be assessments which cover all topics.
5. Advantages of Cooperative Learning
According to Arends (2007: 8-9), CL gives three effects: (1)
cooperative behavior: students in cooperative learning class show that they
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the better relationship among students from various race; and (3) academic
achievement: CL promotes better academic achievement than those who are
not taught by CL.
6. Teams-Games Tournaments (TGT)
Before conducting TGT, teacher had better recognize five
components of it: Class presentation, Teams, Games, Tournaments, and
Team recognition.
a. Components of TGT
1) Class presentation: teacher explains the material and ensures that
all students are really focused on the lesson. Teacher may use
audiovisual presentation, gives encouragement, and gives
motivation.
2) Teams: each team consists of four or five members consisting of
different gender, academic performance, race or ethnicity. It is
group member’s responsibility to ensure that their member know
well on the material since it will be tested in the tournaments. To
ensure it, they may discuss the material, compare the answer
between members, or evaluate the answers of each other.
3) Games: students answer the questions from numbered-card and
allow other two students as challenger to challenge it, is the games
in TGT. In short, the games in TGT is played in tournament table.
4) Tournaments: tournaments are held after teacher’s presentation as
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teacher places three highest students on the table 1, the next three
to table 2, and so on. It is a hope that each student gives their best
to their team by giving their maximal score on tournament. In the
second tournament, the place of each student is changed based on
their last score in the first tournament. The winner of each table
move to the higher table, the looser moves to the lower table,
while the student with the constant score is still in his/her previous
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5) Tim Recognition: teacher ought to give reward for each group
based on their score whether they are, for instance, super team or
good team. It is very essential because students feel that their
teacher takes care of their achievements.
b. Schedule of Activities
Teacher should prepare as perfectly as possible so that it runs
beautifully. In preparation section, first teacher should prepare material that
will be used together with numbered-card to be used in tournament. Second,
it is necessary for assigning students to teams. Since each team represents a
cross-section of the class, teacher should rank the students (whether one is
high, average, or low-achieving students), then, distribute it in balance in
each team. Students, however, do not need to know that they are placed
based on their performance. Third, teacher also needs to prepare how to
assign students to initial tournament table. It is based on students’
performance on the team work.
After the teacher has proper preparation, the next activities are:
1. Teach: the main idea is teacher presents the lesson so lesson plans
are needed
2. Team study: students work on their teams tackling the problems or
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3. Tournament: after students on their team, they work individually
on ability-homogenous tournament tables. First, ask students to
pick cards to determine the first reader in which student who picks
the highest number is the first reader. The first reader must read
and answer the question. After answering the question, the first
challenger (the student to his or her left with highest number) is
permitted to challenge and give different answer or pass it and give
it to the second challenger. The second challenger may challenge
either the first reader or the first challenger if he/she has different
answer (challengers must be careful because they must return the
previous won card to the deck if they are wrong, but for the reader,
if he/she is wrong, there is no penalty). Finally, the second
challenge checks the answer sheet, whoever right keeps the card. In
the next round, the first challenger becomes the reader, the second
challenger becomes the first challenger and the reader becomes the
second challenger.
4. Team Recognition: first, see the tournaments points of each table
from game score sheet. Second, transfer each students tournament
point to the summary sheet for his/her team, add all the team score
and divide by the number of team members present. The criterion
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Criterion Award
40 Good team
45 Great team
50 Super team
Table 1. The criterion of recognizing team accomplishment
C. The Nature of Direct Instruction (DI)
1. The Definition of Direct Instruction
Conventional method which is contrasted to Cooperative Learning is
Direct Instruction (DI). In the previous discussion it is obvious that CL is
learner-centered model, but DI is teacher-centered model. When teacher
becomes the center of the teaching and learning, it means he/she is the real
actor in the classroom. Teacher gives explanation, presents the material
thereby it can be concluded that DI is also closely related to “lecture and
presentation” (Arends, 1997: 64). Nunan (1996: 49) argues “………….in
direct instruction, the teacher explicitly instructs the learners”. It seems that
both Arends and Nunan agree with its name proposed, the essential thing in
DI is “instruction”. Teacher instructs the students while students listen to
teacher’s instruction as well as do the required things by teacher.
There are two phases of DI ”Planning Tasks and Interactive Tasks”
(Arends, 1997: 75). The clear phases are as follow:
a) Planning Tasks
1. Preparing Objective
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3. Performing Task Analysis
4. Planning for Time and Space
b) Interactive Tasks
1. Providing Objectives and Establishing set
2. Presenting and Demonstrating
3. Providing Guided Practice
4. Checking Understanding and Providing Feedback
5. Providing Independent Practice
Before conducting DI model, first, teacher must prepare the objective
of the teaching and learning process and decide whether the objectives are
appropriate with the students. Second, choose contents either from books or
other resources which must be in line with the curriculum. Third, it must be
considered that complex skills cannot be learned at one time so that it needs
tasks analysis. Arends (1997: 77) states that it can be done by:
Find out what a knowledgeable person knows or does when the skills is performed, divide the overall skills into sub skills, order sub skills logically so that some are prerequisite to others, design strategies to teach of the sub skills and then combine them”
The last in the planning tasks is planning time and space. It means
teacher should clearly state in his/her lesson plan time and space that will be
used so that the learning process does not go around the bush since it has
allocated time.
Interactive task takes place in the main point (in the teaching and
learning process). First, teacher must establish set by explaining the
