IMPROVING STUDENTS’ ABILITY IN GETTING MAIN IDEA USING SKIMMING TECHNIQUE

(A Classroom Action Research in the Second Year of MA Pembangunan UIN Jakarta year 2010/2011)

By:

HENDRA

106014000383

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TARBIYAH AND TEACHERS TRAINING

SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY

JAKARTA

2011

IMPROVING STUDENTS’ ABILITY IN GETTING MAIN IDEA USING SKIMMING TECHNIQUE

(A Classroom Action Research in the Second Year of MA Pembangunan UIN Jakarta)

A “Skripsi”

Presented to the Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teacher’s Training

in a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of S.Pd. (Bachelor of Art) in English Language Education

By:

HENDRA

106014000383

Approved by the Advisor

Nida Husna, M.A. TESOL

NIP. 19720705 200312 2 002

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TARBIYAH AND TEACHERS TRAINING

SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY

JAKARTA

2011ABSTRACT

Hendra. 106014000383. Improving Students’ Ability in Getting Main Idea Using Skimming Technique (A Classroom Action Research in the Second Year of MA Pembangunan UIN Jakarta year 2010/2011). Skripsi, Department of English Education Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers Training “Syarif Hidayatullah” State Islamic University Jakarta. Advisor: Nida Husna, MA.TESOL.

Key Words: Reading, Main Idea, Skimming Technique

The aim of the study is to improve the students’ ability of XI social class at MA Pembangunan UIN Jakarta year 2010/2011 in getting main idea using skimming technique.In conducting this study, the writer uses Classroom Action Research (CAR). The instruments used in this research are the pretest and posttest, observation sheets, and interview.

The result of posttest in cycle 1 showed that only 17 students (53.12%) could pass the minimal mastery level. This result still could not fulfill the successful criteria determined, so the study was continued to cycle 2. In cycle two, the result of the posttest showed that there were 27 students (87.56%) passed the minimal mastery level. This achievement could successfully fulfill the target of the CAR – more than 75% of the students could pass the minimal mastery level. Based on the above improvement, which could exceed the criteria which have been determined, the writer draws a conclusion that skimming technique can improve the students’ ability in getting main idea of XI social class at MA Pembangunan UIN Jakarta year 2010/2011.

ABSTRAK

Hendra. 106014000383. Improving Students’ Ability in Getting Main Idea Using Skimming Technique (A Classroom Action Research in the Second Year of MA Pembangunan UIN Jakarta year 2010/2011). Skripsi, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Fakultas Tarbiyah dan Keguruan, Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta. Pembimbing: Nida Husna, MA.TESOL.

Kata Kunci: Membaca, Ide Utama, Teknik Skimming

Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk meningkatkan kemampuan siswa kelas 11 sosial, MA Pembangunan UIN Jakarta. Dalam melaksanakan penelitian ini, penulis menggunakan desain Penelitian Tindakan Kelas (PTK). Instrumen yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah, pretest dan posttest, lembar observasi, dan wawancara.

Hasil tes yang dilakukan pada siklus 1 menunjukkan bahwa hanya 17 siswa (53.12%) yang dapat melewati Kriteria Kelulusan Minimal (KKM). Hasi ini belum dapat memenuhi kriteria yang ditentukan sebelumnya, jadi penelitian dilanjutkan ke siklus 2. Pada siklus 2, hasil tes yang dilaksanakan menunjukan bahwa 27 siswa (87.56%) lulus Kriteria Kelulusan Minimal (KKM). Hasil ini telah dapat mencapai target PTK yang ditetapkan – lebih dari 75% dari siswa dapat lulus KKM. Berdasarkan hasil tersebut, penelitian dianggap telah dapat memenuhi kriteria yang ditetapkan, penulis menyimpulkan bahwa teknik skimming dapat meningkatkan kemampuan siswa kelas 11 sosial MA Pembangunan UIN Jakarta tahun akademik 2010/2011 dalam memahami ide utama.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Praised be to Allah, Lord of the world, who has given the writer His love

and compassion to finish the last assignment in his study. Peace and salutation be

upon to the prophet Muhammad SAW, his family, his companion, and his

adherence.

This skripsi would not have been possible without the guidance and the help of several individuals who in one way or another contributed and extended their valuable assistance in the preparation and completion of this study.

First and foremost, the writer’s utmost gratitude to his advisor, Nida

Husna, M.A. TESOL, whose sincerity, encouragement, scholarly suggestions and

critical remarks have enabled the writer to refine this skripsi.

The writer’s sincere gratitude also goes to:

1. Drs. Syauki, M. Pd., the Head of English Education Department

Neneng Sunengsih M.Pd., the Secretary of English education Department.

Prof. Dr. Dede Rosyada, M.A., the Dean of the Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers’ Training Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta.

Next, the writer thanks his parents for supporting him throughout all his

studies at University. Lastly, the writer offers his regards and blessings to all of

those who supported him in any respect during the completion of the study.

Jakarta, May 2011

The Writer

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE

APPROVAL

ABSTRACT i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF TABLES vi

LIST OF FIGURES vii

LIST OF APPENDICES viii

CHAPTER I : INTRODUCTION

A. Background of Study 1

Limitation of the Problem 4

Formulation of the Problem 4

Aim of the Study ………………………………………………… 4

Method of the Study 4

Organization Writing 5

CHAPTER II : THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

B. Reading 6

1. The Understanding of Reading 6

Reading Comprehension 9

Main Idea 15

B. Skimming Technique 16

CHAPTER III : RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

C. Method of Research 22

D. The Subject and the Object of Study 24

1. The Subject of Study 24

The Object of Study 24

E. The Writer’s Role on the Study 24

F. The Time and Place of the Study 25

The Research Design 25

The Classroom Action Research (CAR) Procedures 27

1. Planning Phase

27

Acting Phase 28

Observing Phase 28

Reflecting Phase 28

G. The Technique of Collecting Data 29

The Technique of Data Analysis 30

The Validity of Data 31

The Trustworthiness of Study 32

The Criteria of the Action Success 34

CHAPTER IV : RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

H. Data Description

1. Before Implementing the Action 35

a. The Preliminary Interview Result 35

The Preliminary Observation Result 37

The Preliminary Test Result 38

2. The Implementation of CAR 40

a. Cycle 1 40

a.1. Planning 40

a.2. Acting 40

a.3. Observing 42

a.4. Reflecting 43

b. Cycle 2

43

b.1. Planning 43

b.2. Acting 44

b.3. Observing 44

b.4. Reflecting 45

3. The Discussion of the Data after CAR 46

a. The Result of Post Interview

46

The Result of Post Observation 47

The Result of Post Test 48

B. The Data Interpretation 50

CHAPTER V : CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

A. Conclusion 52

B. Suggestion 53

BIBLIOGRAPHY 54

APPENDICES 56

LIST OF TABLES

1. Table 3.1 Schedule of the Study 25

Table 3.2 Discriminating Scale33

Table 3.3 Difficulty Item Criteria33

Table 4.1 The Interpretation of the test scores39

Table 4.2 The Students’ Result of Pretest39

LIST OF FIGURES

I. Figure 3.1 Kurt Lewin’s Action Research Design26

Figure 3.2 The Writer’s Action Research Design 26

LIST OF APPENDICES

1. Appendix 1 Pretest 56

2. Appendix 2 Pretest Result 60

3. Appendix 3 Posttest 1 61

4. Appendix 4 Posttest 2 69

5. Appendix 5 Posttest 1 and Posttest 2 Result 77

6. Appendix 6 Lesson Plan 78

7. Appendix 7 The Guideline of Teacher’s Observation 82

8. Appendix 8 Observational Notes for Need Analysis 83

9. Appendix 9 Item Test Distribution 85

10. Appendix 10 Item Analysis of English Test 88

11. Appendix 11 Interview Guidelines 93

12. Appendix 12 Answer Key 97

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of The

study

English, as other languages, has main function as a tool of communication. To be

able to communicate using it both actively and passively, a native speaker and a

competent language user, at least, have to possess its four basic skills, i.e.: listening,

speaking, reading, and writing1. Listening and speaking, for example, are usually used in

verbal communication, while reading and writing are used in written communication.

These four skills are also usually divided into two categories: productive and receptive

skill. Speaking and writing are considered as productive skills, because they involve

language production. On the other hand, listening and reading are considered as receptive

skill because they involve receiving message2.

Although regarded as receptive skill, the reading process is not that simple. It employs relatively mechanical skills. Nuttall stated that reading is not like opening reader’s mind and let the meaning pour in, instead, the reader is actively involved and often has to work to get the meaning out.3 In other word, the meaning of the text does not come to the reader mind automatically. Rather, the meaning of the text is gotten through a complex

1 Jeremy Harmer, The Practice of English Language Teaching, (New York: Longman, 1989), p.16.

2 Ibid. p.16.

3 Christine Nuttal, Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language, (Oxford: Macmillan Publisher, 2005), pp. 5-10.

process in the reader mind. That assumption is in line with Willis who stated that reading comprehension involves several essential and interrelated phases: information intake - focusing and attending to the pertinent environmental stimuli, fluency and vocabulary

associating the words on the page with stored knowledge to bring meaning to the text,� patterning and networking recognizing familiar patterns and encoding new information� by linking it with prior knowledge.4

Based on Standar Kompetensi (SK) and Kompetensi Dasar (KD), reading is one of four skills that have to be taught from Elementary School (SD) to Senior High School (SMA). Meanwhile, based on Standar Kompetensi Lulusan (SKL), reading is also one of two skills – reading and writing - required to graduate from Junior High School (SMP/MTS/SMPLB), and also one of two skills – reading and listening – required to graduate from Senior High School (SMA/SMK/MA/SMALB). So, it means that to be able to graduate from junior and senior high school level, students should be able to pass the minimum standard of reading written in SKL.

Furthermore, the objective of reading in the second grade of Senior High School is to be able to comprehend short functional texts as narrative, descriptive, news item, spoof and hortatory exposition. This objective requires students to master such an effective skill which can help them get the gist of the text. Because of this reason, the writer chose skimming technique to improve the students’ reading ability in getting main idea.

Many of the students often regard reading as a quite easy skill. Some of them think that, to be able to comprehend the text well and effectively, they only need to know every single word in the text without knowing and mastering any reading technique. In fact, reading is not that simple. Reading is a complex process that requires thinking.5

Pretest conducted by the writer showed that the students of XI Social class of Madrasah Aliyah Pembangunan UIN Jakarta seemed to have difficulties in the reading comprehension skills – especially in getting main idea. From the all questions given, 21 students (or 65% of total students) are still considered as poor in getting main idea, 7 students (21% of total students) belong to Average to Good group, and only 4 students (or 4% of total students) belong to Good to Excellent Group.

to overcome the problem, the writer decided to do a classroom action research using skimming technique. Because, Nuttal mentioned that by skimming, we mean glancing rapidly through a text to determine its gist”6. This ability to get main idea quickly will be very useful for students in facing several formal tests, such as mid and final term tests, and UN test.

4 Judy Willy, Teaching the Brain to Read, (New York: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2008), p. 11.

5 Dorothy Rubin , A Practical Approach to Teaching Reading, (New York: CBS, 1982), p. 17.

6 Nuttal, Teaching Reading Skills in Foreign Language, p.182.

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B. Limitation of

The Problem

The writer limits the discussion on improving students’ ability in getting main

idea using skimming technique of the second year students of MA Pembangunan UIN

Jakarta academic year 2010/2011.

1.A.1.A.C.

Formulation of

The Problem

To make the study easy to understand, the writer formulates the problem as

follows: “Can skimming technique improve students’ ability in getting main idea?” “How

does skimming technique improve students’ ability in getting main idea?”

1.A.1.B.D. Aim of

the Study

Based on the formulation above, this study is intended to improve the XI Social

Class year of MA Pembangunan UIN Jakarta students’ reading ability in getting main

idea using skimming technique.

1.A.1.C.E. Method of

the Study

This paper is written based on Classroom Action Research (CAR) and library

study. The writer took MA Pembangunan UIN Jakarta as a place for study. He tested the

students to know their problems in reading comprehension and conducted CAR to solve

the problem.

The library research is done through reading several books, periodical issues, articles, and other written or electronic sources dealing with the topic of the discussion.

1.A.1.D.F.

Organization of

Writing

To give more explanations of this paper, the writer divides it into five chapters.

Chapter I is introduction. In this chapter, the writer describes the background of study, the limitation, the formulation of the problem, the objective of the study, the method of the study and the organization of writing.

Chapter II is theoretical framework that consists of the definition of main idea,

key ideas, main ideas in paragraphs, and the definition of skimming.

Chapter III is research methodology which consist of the method of research, subject, and object of the study, time and place, research design, the Classroom Action Research (CAR) procedures technique of collecting data, technique of the data analysis, data validity, the trustworthiness of study and criteria of the action success.

Chapter IV is result and discussion.

Chapter V is conclusion and suggestion.

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CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

This chapter reviews the literatures to this study by focusing on two main

domains. First, it focuses on reading. Second, it focuses on skimming. Review of the

literature in each of these domains is presented below.

A. Reading

1. The Understanding of Reading

There are a lot of definitions about reading given by linguists, but most of them

agree that reading is one of four basic languages that relatively needs complex process.

According to Nuttall stated that reading is not like opening reader’s mind and let the

meaning pour in, instead, the reader is actively involved and often has to work to get the

meaning out.7 Here, he emphasizes that the meaning of a text does not come to

readers mind by itself; instead, the readers should employ its meaning actively. �

Another definition about the complexity of reading process is given by Burnes and Page. They define reading as an interactive process in which the readers engage an exchange of ideas with an author via text8. In other words, readers understanding of the text is a� kind of exchange ideas with the author. It is the process of expression and reception of meaning as the primary goal of both parties. Other definition given by Nuttal, he defines reading as a meaningful interpretation of printed or written verbal symbols.9 It means that reading is a result of interaction between the perception of graphic symbols that

7 Ibid., pp. 5-10

8 Don Burnes and Glenda Page, Insight and Strategies for Teaching Reading, (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanich Group. Pty. Limited, 1985), p.45.

represent language and the reader 痴 language skills, cognitive skills, and the background knowledge of the world. By these two definitions, we can see that, in the reading process, the reader tries to get meanings intended by writer.

Latham as quoted by Burnes and Page that reading is the art of reconstructing from the printed page the writer’s idea, feelings, moods and sensory impressions.10 It means that the reader will try to construct the writer 痴 idea, feelings and imagine the visual images during reading the text in understanding the meaning of the text.

Meanwhile, in the field of language teaching, reading has also been interpreted in several ways. The differences of how reading is interpreted are reflected in the following group of words: “1) decode, decipher, identify, etc.; 2) articulate, speak, pronounce, etc.; 3) understand, respond, meaning, etc.”11 Teachers who agree with group one (decode, decipher, identify) usually put their special emphasis on teaching the first thing of all about reading to their early reading level students. The key task for teachers here is to help learners to recognize the written words. Words in group two (articulate, speak, pronounce) are another idea used by the teachers whose students are early readers as well; they are already able to recognize printed, but they still get difficulty in sounding them. Accordingly, the teaching activity is concerned on reading aloud. Those whose ideas belong to what is stated in group three (understand, respond, meaning, etc.) would see reading as the purposes of understanding. To them, reading activity would not mean anything if the students could tell nothing about the text they read. Therefore, their fundamental goal in teaching reading is to make students comprehend what is being read.

In this study, the meaning of reading refers to the aforesaid ideas in the group three which has the point of similarity with what is stated by Elizabeth B. Bernhardt: “1) to receive or to take in the sense of (as letters or symbols) by scanning; 2) to understand the meaning of (written or printed matter); 3) to attribute a meaning or interpretation to (something read)”12. It is what we commonly call as reading comprehension.

Gibbons states that reading is the process of getting meaning from print.13 It means that reading is an activity to get information from written text. In this activity, there is interaction between the author and the writer because the writer delivers her/his idea to the readers through the texts. The reader can also improve their understanding through reading activity. In this case, reading is very useful activity that should be done as a habit for everybody because reading will enlarge their knowledge about something.

In conclusion, reading is an interactive and a thinking process of transferring printed letters into meaning in order to communicate certain message between the writer and the

9 Nuttal, Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language, p.14.

10 Burnes and Glenda, Insight and Strategies for Teaching Reading, p.25.

11 Nuttal, Teaching reading Skills in a Foreign Language, p.2.

12 Elizabeth B. Bernhardt, Reading Development in a Second Language: Theoretical, Empirical, and Classroom Perspectives, (New Jersey: Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1991), p.5

13 Pauline Gibbons, Learning to Learn in a Second Language, (Cambridge: Heineman, 1993), p.51.

1

reader. In reading actively, a reader brings her or his background knowledge, emotion, and experience to construct his or her idea in understanding the meaning of the text.

2. Reading Comprehension

The major goal of reading for high school students is comprehension14. Burnes

and Page also point out that to understand or remember what is read, the child must be

able to relate new information to the previous knowledge.15 It means that the knowledge

that was had by the readers influence the ability of the readers in comprehending what

they read. The readers have to be able to use their prior knowledge in order to help them

to comprehend the texts that they read. If they do not have background knowledge or

information about the materials that they read, they will face some difficulties in

understanding the texts or they have to work hard to understand it. It is also as Gibbons

states that readers bring their own background knowledge of the 素 ield or topic, and�

their understanding of language system itself.16 On the other words, the prior knowledge

had by the readers is an important tool that can help the readers in comprehending the

reading materials. It will guide them to have better understanding about something, so

that reading activity can improve their knowledge because it can give many advantages.

The more people read, the more they will get.

It is stated by Burnes and Page that comprehension is the process where background knowledge or the world knowledge of the reader interacts with the message encoded in the text to generate an understanding of an author’s message.17 Then, Ahuja and Ahuja states that comprehension is the product of reconstructing the facts within the nervous system of the reader.18 These two theories support the using of background knowledge in reading comprehension process.

Another argument about reading comprehension is given by Devine. He argues that reading comprehension is a process of activating the prior knowledge of the reader which cooperates with his appropriate cognitive skills and reasoning ability to find out the concept from a printed text.19 In these words, the reader must be able to understand, to

14 PERMENDIKNAS No. 22 tahun 2006 dan PERMENDIKNAS No. 23 tahun 2006.

15 Burnes and Page, Insight and Strategies for Teaching Reading, p.66.

16 Gibbons, Learning to Learn in a Second Language, p.52.

17 Burnes and Page, Insight and Strategies for Teaching Reading, p.46.

18 Pramila Ahuja, and G.C Ahuja, How to Increase Reading Speed, Procedures and Practices. (New Delhi: Sterling Publisher Pvt. Ltd. 4th Edition, 2001), p.10.

19 T.G. Devine,, Teaching Reading Comprehension from Teaching to Practice, (Boston: Merril Publishing, 187), p.7.

interpret and to select actual information from text. It means that the reader will reconstruct her or his background knowledge in understanding the text.

Burnes and Page state that reading comprehends written discourse. The readers also need to understand about the materials that they read because it is one of the purposes of reading activity.20 In other word, the readers have to be able to comprehend the written discourse that they read. If they can understand the text, it means that they can comprehend the text.

In addition, Diptodadi states that comprehension can be defined as an active integrative process in which readers try to relate what they read with what they already know about the topic.21 This definition means that the information from the text becomes integrated with the readers comprehension process. There is also relationship between the� knowledge that students have and their ability in comprehending the text. The readers can use their prior knowledge to guess about the materials that they will read, so it will give contribution to the readers achievement in reading. At least, it can give general� description about something on the texts or reading materials.

The best known description of the traditional levels of comprehension is probably the taxonomy of reading comprehension proposed Barrett as quoted by Burnes and Page:

a. Literal

Literal comprehension requires the recognition or recall of ideas, information and happenings that are explicitly stated in the materials read.

b. Inference

Inferential comprehension in demonstrated by students when they use a synthesis of the literal content of a selection, their personal knowledge, intuition and imagination as a basis for conjectures or hypotheses.

c. Evaluation

Evaluation is demonstrated by students when they make judgments about the content of a reading selection by comparing it with external criteria, for example, information provided by the teacher on the subject, authorities on the subject or by accredited written sources on the subject; or with internal criteria, for example, the reader’s experiences, knowledge, or values related to the subject under consideration.

d. Appreciation

20 Burnes and Page, Insight and Strategies for Teaching Reading, (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanich Group. Pty Limited, 1991), p.45.

21 L. Veronica Diptodadi, Reading Strategies to Improve Comprehension in EFL (Indonesia: TEFLIN Journal, 1992), p. 85.

1

Appreciation has to do with students’ awareness of the literary techniques, forms, styles and structures employed by authors to stimulate emotional responses in their readers.22

In comprehending the texts, the readers need to prepare themselves by knowing

some skills that they can apply while they are reading so that the goal of reading can be

achieved. Mc Neil D. John, et. al explains about some specific comprehension skills that

can help the reader in reading activity, they are: understanding sequence, interpreting

sentence, interpreting meaning through punctuation, recognizing main idea in the

paragraph, drawing logical conclusion and obtaining meaning of words through text.23

Understanding the sequence will help the reader to understand the text easier because there are many advantages that they can get by understanding it. One of them is to help them determine which events come first or last, so that they can understand the text well.

Next is interpreting sentence structure. The sentence structure will give the reader clear view of what the text is like. It also helps the reader to get the idea of the text and also the details of it. Third, punctuation in a text has crucial roles because it can influence the meaning of the sentence.

Then, the main idea is the most important statement about the topic, so that the reader should recognize it well in order to comprehend the text easier. The readers also need to know how to draw logical conclusion in comprehending reading text. They can draw conclusion from their reading is to sensitize them to words serve as support or signals to the ideas that are to be presented. Finally, the readers should infer the meaning of an unfamiliar word by using context clues. It includes the new word is defined by using the sentence itself, comprehend an unknown word that is linked to a familiar term and understand an unknown word because they know the opposite.

King and Stanley state that there are five components contained in reading texts, which are appropriate with the senior high school curriculum, i.e.:

2. Finding factual information

Factual information requires readers to scan specific details. The factual

information questions are generally prepared for students and those which

appear with WH question word. There are many types of questions; reason,

purpose, result, time, comparison, etc in which of the answer can be found in

the text.

2. Finding main idea

22 Burnes and Page, Insight and Strategies for Teaching Reading, (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanich Group. Pty Limited, 1991), p.53.

23 McNeil, D. John, et. al., 1980. How to Teach Reading Successfully, (Canada: Little,

Brown and Company), p.11.

Recognition of the main idea of a paragraph is very important because it

helps readers not only understand the paragraph on the first reading, but also

helps readers to remember the content later. The main idea of a paragraph is

what the paragraph develops. An efficient reader understands not only the

ideas but also the relative significance as expressed by the writer. An

efficient reader understand not only the ideas but also their relative

significance, as expressed by the author, in other words, some of the ideas as

super ordinate while other subordinate.

3. Finding the meaning of vocabulary

in context.

It means that the reader could develop his or her guessing ability to the word

which is not familiar with him or her, by relating the close meaning of

unfamiliar words to the text and the topic of the text that is read. The words

have nearly equivalent meaning when it has it or nearly the same meaning as

another word.

4. Identifying references.

In English, as in other language, it would be clumsy and boring to have and

repeat the same word or phrase every time you used it. Instead of repeating

the same word or phrase several times, after it has been used we can usually

refer to it than repeat it. For this purpose, we use reference words.

Recognizing reference words and being able to identify the word to which

they refer to will help the reader understand the reading passage. Reference

words are usually short and very frequently pronoun, such as; it, she, he,

they, this, etc.

5. Making inferences

Inference is a skill where the reader has to be able to read between lines.

King and Stanley divide into two main attentions, draw logical inferences and

make accurate prediction. 24

McNeil also states that to comprehend well, reader must have schematic or

cognitive patterns that can be filled in with specific content and embedded upon each

24 King Carol and Nancy Stanley, Building Skills for the TOEFL, (Jakarta: Printed and bound by Binarupa Aksara, 1989), p.330.

1

other.25 It means that the schema theory in reading comprehension suggests that good

readers have a set of scenarios in their head, so that they can relate the information to a

single concept, idea or symbol.

Actually, the relating information to the schema is the basis for understanding. Reading comprehension as discussed above indicates that it is a complex process by which a reader tries to reconstruct a message encoded in graphic language by a writer. It is an interaction between reader and author. In conclusion, comprehension will occur if the textual information actives expectation about what is in the text and the interactive process will continue until the reader is satisfied with the match between background knowledge. Comprehension of written text is at the very heart of the reading process. Background knowledge of the reader, the reader’s purpose for reading and the text itself all interact to ensure that reading is a meaning getting activity. Based on the School-Based Curriculum, Senior High School students are not only expected to know about the social function and generic structure of the several kinds of texts, but also expected to comprehend the factual information, main idea, meaning of difficult words, reference and inference of the texts.

3. Main Idea

Main idea is slightly different with topic or subject of a passage. According to

Beatrice S. Mikulecky and Linda Jeffries, the main idea of a paragraph is the author’s

idea about the topic. It is always a complete sentence that includes both the topic and the

idea that the author wishes to express about the topic.26 Therefore, the main idea of a

passage is more specific than the topic.

The topic is the subject that the text is about. The main idea can usually be located if you can determine what the topic is. To find the topic of a selection, ask the simple question, “Who or what is the text about?”27

EXAMPLE:

Lightning is a sudden, violent flash of electricity between a cloud and the ground, or from cloud to cloud. A lightning flash, or bolt, can be several miles long. It is so hot, with an average temperature of 34,000° Centigrade, which the air around it suddenly expands with a loud blast. This is the thunder we hear. Lightning occurs in hot, wet storms. Moist air is driven up to a great height. It forms a type of cloud called cumulonimbus. When the cloud rises high enough, the moisture freezes and ice crystals and snowflakes are formed. These begin to fall, turning to rain on the way down. This rain meets more moist air rising, and it

25 D. John McNeil, et.al., How to Teach Reading Successfully, (Canada: Little, Brown and Company, 1980), p.144.

26 Beatrice S. Mikulecky and Linda Jeffries, More Reading Power (Boston: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1996), p.89.

27 Ibid.,p.90.

is the friction between them which produces static electricity. When a cloud is fully charged with this electricity, it discharges it as a lightning flash.

(Source: Achmad Dody, Ahmad Sugeng, Efendi,

Developing English Competencies for Senior High

School Students XI Science and Social Study

Programme, Jakarta, Pusat Perbukuan Depdiknas,

2008.)

TOPIC OF THIS PARAGRAPH: Lightning

If we refer to previous example, we can notice that all information after the first

sentence is about the description of lightning. The first sentence is the most general – it

states definition of lightning. The following sentences are the details about what lighting

is and how it occurs.

Main idea is usually stated in the topic Sentence; statement of the main idea. It is the statement under which all other material in the paragraph – examples, reasons, facts, details and other evidence – can fit.28

Topic sentences are usually in the first sentence of the paragraph, but not always. They may also be located within the paragraph or at the end of the paragraph. They may even appear twice – at the beginning and at the end.

From the definitions above, we can conclude several important points about main idea. First of all, main idea is not always a topic, but, it mostly specifies the topic. Next, main idea is usually supported, described, or explained by most or all of the sentences in the paragraph. Finally, main idea includes both the topic and the idea that the author wishes to express about the topic.

As it has been discussed previously, finding main ideas is one of comprehension skills that is still poorly mastered by the second grade students in MA Pembangunan UIN Jakarta. To help students solve this problem, the writer together with the teacher used skimming technique as the method.

B. Skimming Technique

Skimming is one of several useful skills to be applied in reading. Nuttal mentions

that by skimming, we mean glancing rapidly through a text to determine its gist, for

28 Carol and Stanley, Building Skills for the TOEFL, p.33

1

example in order to decide whether a book is relevant to our own work, or in order to

keep ourselves superficially informed about matters that are not of great importance to

us29. In other words, when a reader skims, he/she is looking for the 組 ist or the most�

central part of what the author is saying without a lot of details.

From the definitions above, it may be concluded that skimming is one of the

ways in reading that the reader doesn’t have to read all the words in passage. He or she

just needs to go quickly and selectively through a passage, looking for and marking off

important ideas but skipping secondary material. We can then go back later to read more

closely and take notes on important points. Skimming might be helpful when someone

wants to find out quickly about the writer’s idea. It is necessary to know that in

skimming, reading word by word is not important, because only the writer’s point of view

is needed.

Skimming is very useful for the students in getting the general idea of a text. It also helps students to predict the text by reading it quickly. Mikulecky and Jeffries gave some procedures in working on reading skill as follows30:

1. Previewing

Asking questions as we read

Guessing what new words mean

Finding the topic and the main idea. The topic and the main idea let us know what is important. To find the topic and the main idea, ask two questions:

a. What is this about?

b. What does the writer want to say about this?

2. Understanding pattern in English

3. Using signal words

Furthermore, Mikulecky and Jeffries also suggested that there are some

procedures of how to skim for ideas as follows 31

29 Nuttal, Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language, p.182.

30 Mikulecky and Jeffries, More Reading Power, p.2.

31 Ibid., p.145.

1. Read the first few sentences at our usual speed and ask our self, “What is it about?”

Go to the next paragraph as soon as we can. Guess the general idea. Remember that we do not need to know the details. We only want to learn something very general about the chapter or article.

Read only a few words in each paragraph after that we should look for the words that tell us more about the general idea. Often they are at the beginning of the paragraph, but they may also be at the end.

2. Always work quickly. Remember that details are not important.

Then, Beatrice C. Mikulecky and Linda Jeffries stated that a reader skims she/he

has a general question in mind, something you need or want to know about the text, such

as:

1. What is the general meaning?Does this agree with what I already know about this subject?

What is the writer's opinion?

2. Will this information be useful to me? 32

Skimming is also viewed as the ability to process large quantities of materials

very rapidly in order to read for a specific purpose, the location of the main idea.33 In

some texts, students can glance a notion of the content or even learn the main ideas just

by skimming topic headings and looking at charts and graphs. Skimming would be

helpful when we want to find out quickly about the writer 痴 point of view. We may want

to find out what the writer thinks about something. When we want to know the writer 痴

point of view or how a book or article is organized, we do not need to read a whole text or

we do not need to know the details for this instead of we just need to read only a few

important words.

One of the most important points to keep in mind when teaching reading

comprehension is that there is not one type of reading but several depending on one’s

32 Ibid., p.150.

33 Martha J. Maxwell, Skimming and Scanning Improvement: Section 2 Exercises, (Berkeley: McGraw-Hill Book Company), p. 1.

1

reasons for reading. Students will never read efficiently unless they can adapt their

reading speed and technique to their aim when reading34. Skimming to get an overview

is an important skill for students. They will find that more reading will be assigned and

suggested to them as their level of study increase. By skimming to get the ‘gist’ of the

material, the students are able to cover all of it. However, be certain they do not skim

materials that require careful reading. The same procedure used for preview skimming

could be used to get an overview.

Another method would be to read only key words. To skim by reading key words

the students must convince themselves that they can skip words and still be reading. This

is done by omitting the unnecessary words, phases, and sentences. With concentration

and practice the students can learn to select key words and phrases in order to cover the

material rapidly.

To skim effectively, we must be able to apply several of the comprehension skills. We must know how to do the following things:

1. Find Definitions

Remember that they are often signaled by special type, especially Italics. Look also for one example that makes a definition clear to us.

2. Locate Enumeration

And remember that it does not help to locate a numbered series of items if we do not know what label the series fits under. So be sure to look for a clear heading for each enumeration.

3. Look for relationship between headings and subheadings

Such relationships are often the key to basic enumeration. And when it seems appropriate, we will also want to change headings into questions and find the answers to the questions.

4. Look for emphasis and main idea

If time permits, look for points marked by emphasis words and for main ideas in what seem to be key paragraphs35.

It is important to remember that skimming is a skill that requires concentration,

and adequate comprehension skills. Practice is necessary in order to skim and fulfill the

34 Grabe, William, The Transition from Theory to Practice in Teaching Reading: in Teaching Second Language for Academic Purpose, (London: Addison Wesley Publishing Company, 1986), p.17.

35 J. Langen, and B. Broderick, Ten Steps to Building College Reading Skills, (Townsend: Townsend Press, 1987), p. 388.

students’ purposes. So, by learning to skim, the students may develop the skill in

strengthening the comprehension of main ideas.

In skimming skill, there are various activities to practice searching for the main idea, for example:

1. Cut the topic sentence out of a paragraph. Let them write the topic sentence.

Give students a series of captions and picture. Have them correctly match the picture with caption.

Have students give a sentence phrase "title" for a particular passage.

Have students write new titles for stories or article.

2. Have students write titles for book chapter that are only numbered36.

Christine Nuttall suggests that students can also be asked several

specific questions based on the text to practice skimming, for example:

1. Supply a text and several tittles

Task: which title fits the text best? (The title must not differ in subtle ways, or careful reading would be needed)

2. Supply a text and a list of topics

Task: Which topics are dealt with in this text?

3. Supply a text and several figures (photographs, diagrams, etc.)

Task: Which figure(s) illustrate the text?

4. Supply a dozen or so letters (you might collect suitable items for newspapers or magazines)

Task: Categorize the letters in some way, e.g. which letters are complaining about something? Asking for help? Praising? Offering an opinion on an issue?

Note: one category only, initially. Make sure there are several letters in category, several not.

5. Supply copies of news items from different papers about the same incident.

36 Estill, J. A, Teaching Reading, (London: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1988), pp.17–173.

1

Task: categorize the stories in some way, e.g. which imply that X is guilty? Which include opinion/conjecture? Which explain the background to the events? Note as for 4.

6. Supply several texts, some dealing with topic X, some not.

Task: Which of these texts deals with topic X.37To answer the questions, the students can answer by glancing quickly over the

surface of a text, reading selected important parts rapidly in order to get an overview of

content and organization. This rapid reading is done at a speed faster than the speed with

which one usually reads a text of average difficulty and still faster than the slower than

average speed at which one reads a particularly important and difficult text.38

In sum up, skimming involves some procedures and activities. Students should know the techniques of how to get the general idea of a text. They should use their mind to decide the location of the main ideas and concentrate in such a way so that their mind can focus on the topic of the text or what the text is about without reading word by word, and also keep in mind that the materials are not too difficult for them. If the first reading task to deal with is relatively simple, their anxiety will be decreased. So they can do tasks with more confidence.

37 Christine Nuttall, Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language, (Oxford: Macmillan, 2005), p.50.

38 Simanjuntak, Edithia G, Developing Reading Skills for EFL Students, (Jakarta: Proyek Pengembangan Lembaga Pendidikan Tenaga Kependidikan, Direktorat Jenderal Pendidikan Tinggi, Depdikbud, 1988), p.55.

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the method of research, subject, and object of the study,

time and place, research design, the Classroom Action Research (CAR) procedures

technique of collecting data, technique of the data analysis, data validity, the

trustworthiness of study and criteria of the action success.

A. Method of Research

Research contributes to more effective teaching, not by offering definitive answers to pedagogical questions, but rather by providing new insights into teaching and learning process. As Johnson puts it,

The importance of research is not so much that it supplies definitive answers to questions such as “What is the best way to learn a language?” or “Which is the most effective method of L2 teaching?” It does not. Rather, research can help us gain a richer understanding of the many interrelated factors involved in learning. It can help us see how the ways we organize learning environments can promote or inhibit growth.39

In this study, the method used is Classroom Action Research (CAR) method

which is derived from the root an action research. It is called CAR because it occurs in

the classroom frame. According to Michael J. Wallace, CAR is a type of classroom

39 D Johnson, Approaches to Research in Second Language Learning, (New York: Longman, 1992), p.5.

1

research carried out by the teacher in order to solve problems or to find answers toward

context-specific issues.40 It means that to begin the CAR, the researcher or the teacher

needs to identify any problems real found in the classroom concerning

students condition in learning. �

Action research has been defined in a number of ways but, as Nunan points out, it

typically has three major characteristics: it is carried out by practitioners (i.e., classroom

teachers), it is collaborative, and it is aimed at changing things.41 Burns expands on these

characteristics, maintaining that action research exemplifies the following features.

1. Action research is contextual, small-scale and localized―it identifies and investigates problems within a specific situation.

It is evaluative and reflective as it aims to bring about change and improvement in practice.

It is participatory as it provides for collaborative investigation by teams of colleagues, practitioners and researchers.

Changes in practice are based on the collection of information or data which provides the impetus for change.42

There are several features of this definition that are important to highlight. First,

action research, as the name implies, involves action in that it seeks to bring about

change, specifically in local educational contexts. It is also research because it entails the

collection and analysis of data. Finally, it is participatory and collaborative in that

teachers work together to examine their own classrooms.

Based on the several definitions above, we can conclude several things. First,

CAR is conducted by teacher or other stakeholders. Second, the object of CAR is the

problem (s) found by the teacher or other stakeholders related to students’ learning in the

classroom. So, the purpose of CAR is to improve the learning quality of the students.

40 Michael J. Wallace, Action Research for Language Teachers, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), p. 5.

41 David Nunan, Research Methods in Language Learning, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992), p. 52.

42 Anne Burns, Collaborative Action Research for English Teachers, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), p.30.

B. The Subject and the Object of Study

1. The Subject of Study

The subject of this study is students at grade IX Social class of Madrasah Aliyah

Pembangunan UIN Jakarta, academic year 2010/2011. The number of students consists of

32. It is chosen based upon the unstructured interview result with the English teacher at

that class proving that they have the lowest achievement of reading test among the other

second grade classes. That is why they need an appropriate strategy to help them improve

their scores toward reading.

2. The Object of Study

The object of this study is to improve students’ reading ability in getting main

idea of the text using skimming technique.

C. The Writer’s Role on the Study

In this role, the writer is not only as the observer whilst the action but also he makes a lesson plan and the assessment or test before CAR (pre-test) and after CAR (post-test) in each final cycle. To simplify the writing, now and then, the the writer will use the terms pre-test and posttest. The pretest here is used as a diagnostic test and the posttest is used as an achievement test.43

Furthermore, the writer also collects and analyzes data then reporting the result of

study. On the other side, the teacher carries out the action based upon the lesson plan had

been made.

D. The Time and Place of the Study

This research is carried out for five weeks started from 11 April 2011 up to 9 May 2011. The place is at grade IX Social class of Madrasah Aliyah Pembangunan UIN

43 Arthur Hughes, Testing for Language Teachers, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989), pp.10-12.

1

Jakarta. The schedule is as follow:

Table 3.1

Schedule of the Study

No Activities

Week

April May

1 2 3 4 1 2

1 Interview X2 Observation X3 Proposal X X4 Instrument X5 Cycle I X6 Cycle II X7 Report X

F. The Research Design

The CAR procedure used in this research is Kurt Lewin’s design. He stressed the importance of the researcher to work collaboratively with others. He described action research as being a spiral of steps: Planning, Acting, Observing and Reflecting.44

Figure 3.1

Kurt Lewin’s Action Research Design

44Anne Burns, Collaborative Action Research for English Teachers, (Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press, 1999), p. 32.

Based on the above design, the writer arranged his design as follow:

Figure 3.2

The Writer’s Action Research Design

F. The Classroom Action Research (CAR) Procedures

1

The Classroom Action Research used was based on the model proposed by Kurt

Lewin. The design consists of a four-stage action cycle: planning, acting, observing, and

reflecting. In this cycle researchers,

• develop a plan of critically informed action to improve what is already happening,

act to implement the plan,

observe the effects of the critically informed action in the context in which it occurs, and

reflect on these effects as the basis for further planning, subsequent critically informed action and so on, through a succession of stages.45

During the final stage of analysis and reflection, researchers may decide to

implement another cycle, thus continuing the research process.

Based on those models, the writer arranged the research procedures as follows:

1. Planning Phase

The writer together with the teacher identified and diagnosed students’ reading problem occurred in the classroom by observing and interviewing. The planning phases, then, are divided into two types. Those are general planning and specific planning. The general planning is aimed at organizing whole aspects referred to CAR. Meanwhile the specific planning is aimed at organizing the plan related to cycle-to-cycle. The organized planning will be formed into lesson planning based on the current used syllabus. The lesson plan has been prepared to be implemented in IX Social Class of Madrasah Aliyah Pembangunan UIN Jakarta.

2. Acting Phase

In this phase, both the writer and the teacher collaborate to carry out the planned action. The teacher uses the determined strategy as she is teaching while the writer observes the class condition during teaching learning activity. Here, it begins the process of going more deeply into the issue being researched. Related to the condition of limited teaching learning period, that is why the writer and the teacher take the action phase during two weeks within two cycles in which each cycle consists of two meetings in action.

3. Observing Phase

In this phase, the writer carries out observation toward implementation of

the action using field note or unstructured observation sheet. The writer observed

the outcomes of the intervention and reflecting on its effectiveness. When

observing, the observer should notice and note all of activities in the physical

45 Ibid., p. 32.

classroom. It may be about the teacher’s performance, class situation, students’

response, etc. In this phase, it also collects the data derived from evaluation or

post-test.

4. Reflecting Phase

This phase is aimed to reflect the completely done action based upon data that have been collected, and then it is necessary to hold evaluation for completing the next cycle. This phase is carried out collaboratively, that is to discuss further some problems occurred in the class. Thus, the reflection is able to be determined after implementing the action and observation outcomes. If there still might have found some problems, so it needs to move to the next cycle concerning re-planning, re-acting, and re-observing. Therefore, the unfinished problems yet could be solved.

G. The Technique of Collecting Data

Technique of collecting data in this research uses qualitative data and quantitative

data. The qualitative data consists of observation within the physical activity in the

classroom and interview to be presented for the teacher. On the other side, the

quantitative data uses pre-test and post-test.46 The completely explanation as follows:

1. Observation

The writer uses open observation to know the occurrences within learning

process. It is intended to observe about the teacher’s performance during CAR,

class situation as reading activity, and students’ response concerning the use of

skimming technique. In general, all of the need aspects that should be noticed are

to make sure whether the teaching learning process in line with the lesson plans

or not.

2. Interview

Before implementing CAR the writer asks the teacher to know students’

difficulties in getting main ideas, students’ condition involving in reading

46 Suharsimi Arikunto, Penelitian Tindakan Kelas, (Jakarta: Bumi Aksara, 2009), pp. 127-132.

1

activity, and the method or kinds of strategies usually adopted by the teacher in

teaching reading. The interview also will be carried out after accomplishing CAR

to know the teacher’s response toward the idea of skimming technique.

3. Test

The test used in this study is pretest and posttest. The pretest is done before

implementing skimming technique used as a diagnostic test. It is to measure

students’ reading comprehension at first. Meanwhile, the posttest is implemented

after using skimming technique and used as an achievement test. In this study, the

test is done in form of multiple choices.

H. The Technique of Data Analysis

The analysis of qualitative data used in this study is the observation of students’

activities during teaching learning process, and the interview before and after CAR. In

this case, the writer collected the entire data which have gained. In analyzing the

numerical data, first the writer tries to get the average of students’ reading score per

action within one cycle. It is used to know how well students’ score as a whole on reading

skill. It uses the formula:47

_

X : mean

x : individual score

n : number of students

Second, the writer tries to get the class percentage which passes the KKM 70

(seventy). It uses the formula:48

47 Sudjana, Metoda Statistika, (Bandung: PT. Tarsito, 2002), p. 67.

48 Anas Sudijono, Pengantar Statistik Pendidikan, (Jakarta: PT. Raja Grafindo Persada, 2008), p. 43.

P = percentage

F = frequency

n = the number of the students

I. The Validity of Data

Validity is an essential criterion for evaluating the quality and acceptable of the

research. Regarding validity in action research, the writer adopts Anderson, Herr, and

Nihlen’s criteria that mention the validity of action research including democratic

validity, outcome validity, process validity, catalytic validity, and dialogic validity.49

Anderson defines outcome validity as:

“Outcome validity requires that the action emerging from a particular study leads to the successful resolution of the problem that was being studied, that is, your study can be considered valid of you learn something that can be applied to the subsequent research cycle.”50

Based on the explanation above, the outcome validity could be seen from the

result of the test. When the result of cycle two is better than cycle one, it means that the

study is successful. Then, Process validity is “the validity that requires a study has been

conducted in a “dependable” and “competent” manner.”51 It could be seen from the

49 Geoffrey E. Mills, Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, (Columbus: Merrill Prentice Hall, 2003), p. 84.

50 Ibid., p. 84.

51 Ibid., p. 84.

1

outcome of observation. In this case, the writer notes all events happening during the

CAR. When there might have some mistakes in the method of teaching, then the writer

discusses with the teacher to modify the further strategies. Next, the dialogic validity; 妬 t

involves having a critical conversation with peers about research findings and

practices.52 In this case, the writer and the teacher discuss and assess the students test�

result of cycle one and cycle two together. It is done in order to avoid invalid data.

J. The Trustworthiness of Study

To analyze the examined test items, the writer implements the trustworthiness of the test. There are some phases including:

1. Discriminating Power

The analysis of discriminating power of test items is to know the

performance of the test through distinguishing students who have high

achievement and low achievement. Discriminating power provides a more

detailed analysis of the test items than does item difficulty, because it shows how

the top scores and lower scores performed on each item.53 The computing of

discriminating power uses the formula as following:54

U – L

D = ────

N

In which, D : The index of discriminating power

U : The number of pupils in the upper group who answered the item correctly

L : The number of pupils in the lower group who answered the item correctly

N : Number of pupils in each of the groups

52 Ibid., p. 85.

53 Kathleen M. Bailey, Learning about Language Assessment: Dilemmas, Decisions, and Direction, (London: Heinle & Heinle Publisher, 1998), p. 135.

54 Wilmar Tinambunan, Evaluation of Student Achievement, (Jakarta: Depdiknas, 1998), p. 139.

Next, the discriminating scale uses:55

Table 3.2

Discriminating Scale

DP REMARK0.6 – 1.0 Very good0.4 – 0.6 Good0.1 – 0.3 Ok-1 – 0.0 Bad

2. Difficulty Item

The difficulty item analysis concerns with the proportion of

comparing students who answer correctly with all of students who follow the test.

Item difficulty shows how easy or difficult the particular item proved in the test.

56 The formula as following:

R

FV = ──

N

In which, P : Index of difficulty

R : The total number of students who selected the correct answer

55 J. B. Heaton, Classroom Testing, (New York: Longman Inc, 1990), p. 174.

56 J. B. Heaton, Writing English Language Test, (London: Longman Group Limited, 1995), p. 178.

1

T : The total number of students taking the tests

The criteria used as follows:57

Table 3.3

Difficulty Item Criteria

ID REMARK0 – 0.30 High0.30 – 0.79 Medium0.80 – 1.00 Low

K. Criteria of the Action Success

CAR is able to be called successful if it can exceed the criteria which have been

determined, and fail if it cannot exceed the criteria which have been detained. In this

study, based on the agreement between the researcher and the teacher, when there is 75%

of students could achieve the minimal mastery level 70 (seventy) of reading test started

from the pre-test until the second post-test in cycle two.58 It means that this research

could be called success. Then the next action would be stopped, but if this condition has

not been reached yet, the alternative action would be done in the next cycle.

57 Ibid., p. 179.

58 Syaiful Bahri Djamarah dan Aswan Zain, Strategi Belajar Mengajar, (Jakarta: PT Rineka Cipta, 2006) p. 108.

CHAPTER IV

RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter presents the result and the discussion of the research. The discussion of the result is divided into two main parts. Those are data description and data interpretation.

A. Data Description

1. Before Implementing the Action

The writer conducted three preliminary activities before doing the study. The

activities here are: preliminary interview, observation, and test. The details of the

activities are as follow:

C. The Preliminary Interview Result

The writer conducted the preliminary interview, which was an open

interview, on Monday, April 11th 2011 started at 11.00 A.M and finished at

11.50 A.M. The questions given by the writer to the teacher were divided into

1

three main categories: the students’ reading achievement and performance, the

difficulties faced by the students in reading comprehension, and the technique

used by the teacher in teaching reading comprehension.

Related to the students’ reading achievement, which is the first category,

the teacher said that the score of the students in grade IX Social class of

Madrasah Aliyah Pembangunan UIN Jakarta is the lowest one (6.0) among other

classes in the same grade from the average of 7.1. The teacher also said that

almost a half of them were hardly to pass the minimal mastery level concerning

the school policy which is 7.0.

In the second category, the teacher said that the first problem that they often could not differentiate between the main idea of the passage and the main idea of one of the paragraphs, or to differentiate main idea and the details. Next, the teacher said that the students also often complained about the length of the passage that they have to read. The students also argued that the length of the reading passage is one of the factors which made them lazy and felt sleepy while reading.

The third category is the technique (s) used by the teacher in teaching reading comprehension. The teacher said that he always tried to use various techniques such as previewing and mind mapping to teach reading comprehension to the students. He did so because the students would ignore his explanation if he had used the same technique for different meetings. The teacher also said that he sometimes used work group to make the students learnt to share what they had known to the others. The work group is also intended to minimize the gap of English knowledge that the students had, he added.

D. The Preliminary Observation Result

The preliminary observation was held at XI Social Class of Madrasah

Aliyah Pembangunan UIN Jakarta academic year 2010/2011 on the 18th April

2011. It was started at 08:30 A.M and finished at 10:05 A.M.

The teacher started the class by telling the class that they are going to have reading comprehension. He, then, asked the students to make a small group consist of three persons each. The students move and gathered to their small group. Most of them made their group with the friends next to them. Next, the teacher gave the students a same copy of an English text complete with several questions. He asked the students to read the text and answered the question. He told the students that they had 10 minutes to read the text and 15 minutes to answer the question. Although they had been in small group, they did not work together. In most of the group, there were one or two students who worked, the rest only cheated or did anything else. After the time passed, the teacher asked

them to submit the paper. After that, he gave back the paper to the students in the different groups. Then he discussed the answers. Again, only few students participated in the activity. Before closing the class, the teacher asked the students if they had any questions or comments, but they were all silent. Then the teacher asked if they had understand the day’s learning, and the students said yes.

E. The Preliminary Test Result

The preliminary test was conducted on Monday, May 2nd 2011 – before

the CAR held. It consisted of 20 multiple choices which tried to see deeper about

students’ problem in reading comprehension. The questions are divided into four

main categories: asking about main idea, details, meaning of a word based on

context, and respond to rhetorical steps of a text. Each category consisted of 5

questions. The details of the number of correct answers on each category and the

score that the students got can be seen in the appendix.

There are 20 test items, 5 questions for each category, and the maximum score is 100, the students’ scores in reading comprehension test were calculated by the following formula:

S=

in which,

S is the scores of each student,

C is the number of correct answer, and

N is the number of test items in each category.

Harris59 states that the test scores can be generally classified into four

groups as follows:

59 C Harrison and F. Smith, Reading Instruction, (New York: Owen Publishers Inc. 1980), p.11.

1

Table 4.160

The Interpretation of the test scores

Test Score Probable Performance 80-100 Good to Excellent60-79 Average to Good50-59 Poor to Average0-49 Poor

Based on the above table, the result of the students’ reading

comprehension test can be presented as in table below:

Table 4.2

The Students’ Result of Pretest

Probable Performance Main Idea Detail Word Meaning

Rhetoric

Good to Excellent 4 14 10 18Average to Good 7 4 14 12Poor to Average - - - -Poor 21 4 8 -

From the table above, we can see that 21 students (or 65% of total

students) are still considered as poor in getting main idea, 7 students (21% of

total students) belong to Average to Good group, and only 4 students (or 4% of

total students) belong to Good to Excellent Group.

2. The Implementation of CAR

60 Ibid., p.11.

b. CYCLE 1

a.1. Planning

In this phase, the writer and the teacher made a plan based on the

problems faced by the students in getting main idea. The discussion in the

planning phase included: choosing the technique, materials, media, and scenario

in conducting the class. From the discussion, the writer and the teacher agreed to

choose skimming as the technique used in overcoming the problem. The

materials used in the study were taken from electronic school book (BSE). BSE

was chosen because of its simplicity – it can be copied to presentation slide

relatively easy, and the difficulty level of the suitable texts for the students also

vary. The media that would be used in the teaching-learning process was laptop

and LCD in focus (which is available in the class).

a.2. Acting

The action of the cycle 1 was done on May 2nd 2011. The teacher and the writer implemented the teaching learning process based on the lesson plan had been made. The teacher started the class by explaining to the students that they were going to learn about how to get main idea using skimming technique. The teacher then showed a picture to the class. He asked to them: “What is the picture about?” Some students rose up their hands. The teacher pointed out to the one of the students, and said, “Yes, what do you think the picture is about?” The student answered that the picture is about a music concert. The teacher said that the answer is correct. Next, the teacher explained that we can also use the same technique to the text – see the general idea. He explained that when we were looking at the picture and trying to figure out what is the picture about we focus on the general idea of the picture not the details of it.

After giving time to the students to ask several questions, the teacher showed a text. He asked the students to read it in five minutes. After the students finished reading, the teacher showed them several different pictures. Then he asked the students which picture illustrate the text.

The teacher went to the next slide, a text and a list of main idea. The

students started to mumble. Most of them said that they were lazy to read such a

long text. The teacher smiled and said, “That what we are going to discuss,

1

getting main idea of relatively long text without getting bored or sleepy. Come on

try your best first!” Then one of the students rose up her hand. She said, “May I

answer the question, sir?” “Sure” replied the teacher. The student said that the

text is about “telephone”. The teacher smiled and said that the answer is almost

correct. He said that “telephone” was only discussed in the first paragraph. He

reminded the students that the main idea should cover all of the text not only one

or two paragraphs. Then, several students attempted to answer. But, their answers

were still the details of the text. The teacher told that they could get the main idea

of the text quickly by reading few words of each paragraph and at the same time

asking, “What or who is the text about.” The teacher gave the example of doing

the technique. This activity was done for several different texts and ended when

the teacher was sure that most of them could do the technique.

a.3. Observing

In the observation phase, the writer tried to notice all of the physical classroom activities as the teacher’s performance, classroom situation, and students’ response to the teacher explanation. In whole, the teacher did the teaching-learning process based on lesson plan made. The teacher also could deliver the materials relatively well. It could be seen from the responses of the questions given by the teacher during the class. The teacher also could successfully make the class active. It was indicated from the participations of the students. However, the teacher still could not control the whole class. There were still some students who did not pay attention during the class. Some of them cheated with their friends and some others slept. The teacher tried to make them pay attention to him, but it only lasted for few minutes, then, they went back chatting. To overcome this, the teacher did some ice breaking during the class. This could minimize the amount of the students who did not pay attention.

From the observation of the first cycle, it could be known that the main problem of the inability of the students in getting main idea occurred from their lack knowledge of what main idea is, and how to differ main idea from details. In general, the teacher had been able to overcome of the problem. However, to make sure that the students had understood the materials, the teacher and the writer gave posttest I.

a.4. Reflecting

It could be seen that there were some improvements of the students after the treatment of cycle I. Now, most of them now could differentiate between main idea and details. They also now felt more interested in reading relatively long text. However, from the posttest I score, we could also see that though most of them have gotten score above 70, but the mean was still below 70 (only 65.62). This showed that there was also still problem in the first cycle, i.e.: the

understanding gap between students. This gap could be seen from the students who responded to the questions given in the teaching-learning process and also the posttest I result. There were almost the same students who responded to the questions given. These students also who got highest students at the posttest I.

The improvements made in the cycle I had not yet fulfilled the success

criteria defined by the teacher and the writer. Because of that the writer and the

teacher agreed to continue the study into cycle 2.

c. CYCLE 2

b.1. Planning

In the cycle 2, the writer and the teacher agreed to make some

improvements related to the students’ posttest score and participation of the class

activity. As it had been known that the problems that had not been yet solved in

the cycle I were students’ ignorance of the explanation, score related to KKM,

and the understanding gap between them. To overcome this, we arranged a plan

that was hoped could make students interested of the explanation and, at the same

time, minimize the understanding gap between students.

b.2. Acting

The action of the cycle II was done on May 4th 2011. The teacher started

the class by reviewing previous meeting discussion. Then he told the class that

they were going to have game. The teacher explained that it was reading game.

Next, the teacher told the class that they were going to divide them into several small groups. The teacher had the students count from one to four. After that, he had them be with their group. After the teacher was sure that all of the students had been with their group, he distributed the several different texts (some dealing with the topic presented in the LCD projector some not) to each group. The teacher asked the students to read the sentences they got and discuss it with their friends. Then, he asked one student from each group to tell about what the text they got. This activity was replayed three times. After that, the teacher asked the students which texts dealing with the topic and which text not. Instead of inviting students to rise up their hands and answer the question, the teacher

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chose some of ‘inactive’ students to answer it.

b.3 Observing

As the teacher reviewed previous meeting discussion, some students

cheated with their friends and some others played their mobile phones. However,

after they are divided into several groups, which meant they were separated from

their cheating friends, they relatively paid attention to the teacher explanation. In

the small groups, some students, who formerly were shy to give opinion, now can

freely discuss with their friends – though it did not work to all shy students in the

class. The initiative from the teacher to call out the students who relatively

‘silent’ in the class could make the class be more active. The small group created

also could minimize the understanding gap between them. The indicator of this

improvement was the participation of the students both when they were in small

work group and after it. Another indicator of it is the posttest II score they got.

b.4 Reflecting

The treatment in cycle II had brought several improvements to the class both individually and collectively. Now, the students could relatively easy get main idea from such long text. They also felt more interested and did not felt sleepy facing English text. Moreover, the students also learnt how to share knowledge and work in group as the same time. They also could help each other to understand the materials given by the teacher and this brought the understanding gap between them smaller.

Since the result of posttest II showed that 27 students (or 84.3%) had successfully passed the KKM, the CAR was regarded as succeed, and the teacher and the writer decided to stop the CAR. According to the result of the evaluation between the writer and the teacher, it could be assumed that the implementation using skimming technique in getting main idea was appropriate with the planning that had been discussed by the writer and the teacher previously.

3. The Discussion of the Data after CAR

The discussion of the data after implementing the action consisted of two parts. Those were the result of post interview and the result of posttest. For further descriptions as following:

c. The Result of Post Interview

The post interview with the teacher, after implementing skimming

technique in getting main idea, was conducted on May 9th 2011, started from

10.05 A.M to 10.30 A.M. the purpose of the interview was to know the teacher’s

response concerning the result of the CAR that had been done. In this case, the

writer divided into three criteria of questions. Those were the general condition in

English class during CAR, the difficulties in implementing skimming technique

during CAR, and the strategy that had been used to overcome the revised plan.

The first category was the general condition in English class during CAR. The teacher said that the students’ condition were better than before. He said that the students could pay attention better than before the CAR. He also said that he could see the improvement of the students’ reading ability, especially in getting main idea. Besides, the teacher also said that the skimming technique was uniquely able to make students more interested in reading. The best part of it, he added, the students now did not felt sleepy while reading English text.

The second category was the difficulties of the teacher in implementing skimming technique during CAR. The teacher said that at the first time, he got difficulty in explaining the concept and the use of skimming technique. The teacher was confused because all of students had not recognized yet what skimming was. The students also still could not differentiate clearly between main idea of the text and main idea of the paragraph or even the details of the text. Moreover, most of students at first still felt lazy to read such long text.

The third category was the way the teacher overcame the problems and difficulties using skimming technique during CAR. In this case, the teacher said that he always tried to encourage and motivate the students in using skimming technique to get main idea. He told to the students that skimming technique was easy to carry on. Besides, he also tried to link the technique with the students’ world especially in choosing the text. Next, he also showed how to do skimming instead of only explaining it. The last, he tried to deliver the material systematically.

d. The Result of Post Observation

The post observation was conducted after the study had been finished.

The purpose it was to know all of the physical classroom activities as the

teacher’s performance, classroom situation, and students’ response to the teacher

explanation. After having the study, the teacher could explain the material more

systematic. He also could link the students’ background knowledge with the

subject were going to be delivered. The classroom situation also became more

conducive. There were fewer students who tried to cheat than before the study.

There were also more students who participated in the teaching-learning process.

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e. The Result of Post Test

Both posttest I and II were used as an indicator of the achievements that

the students gotten after having given CAR using skimming technique. The score

of the posttest was hoped to give a clear view of the improvement. The result of

posttest I and posttest II can be seen in the in the appendix 5 (page 77).

There are three steps used by the writer to compare the result between posttest I and posttest II. The steps meant are calculating the students’ mean score of the test, calculating the class percentage, and calculating the students’ improvement score from pretest to pretest I and pretest II.

In analyzing the posttest I and posttest II data, the first step is to get the mean

score of the class. It is calculated as following:

Posttest I

=

= 65.62

Posttest II

=

= 75.44

In which:

= mean

n = the number of the students

From that calculation, we can see that the mean score of the class in posttest I is

65.62 and posttest II is 75.44. These results showed the improvement of the

students’ ability in getting main idea using skimming technique. Moreover, the

= the sum of the score

posttest II result indicates that most of the students have passed the KKM (70).

Furthermore, to know percentage of the students who passed the KKM from each test, the writer used the following calculation:

Posttest I

P =

=

= 53.12%

Posttest II

P =

=

= 87.5%

In which,

P = percentage

F = frequency

n = the number of the students

From the calculation above, we can see that there are 17 students (53.12%) who could pass the KKM on cycle I and it gained into 28 students (87.5%) on cycle II.

B. The Data Interpretation

The score students got in the pretest indicated that they still had difficulties in getting main idea. The score of twenty four students (75%) was still below the minimal mastery level (70), and only eight students (25%) could pass the level. In cycle I, some students showed that they get some improvements. More than half of them, 17 students or 53.12%, could pass the minimal mastery level. However, the average score (65.62) was still under the minimal mastery level. Both of these achievements could not be regarded as success since the target of the CAR is that more than 75% of the students can pass the minimal mastery level. Because of the result of cycle 1 has not yet fulfilled the successful criteria of the CAR, the teacher and the writer decided continuing the study into cycle 2.

Next, the average score in the posttest of second cycle is 75.44. This average was 9.82 point higher than the previous cycle. Furthermore, the number of the students who could pass the minimal mastery level also increased 34.44% from the previous cycle. In this cycle, there were 27 students (87.56%) passed the minimal mastery level.

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Besides the improvements in the score that the students got, the writer also noticed some improvements from the observations and interviews conducted. From the observation in the first cycle, it was known that the inability in getting main idea occurred from the students’ lack knowledge of what main idea is, and how to differ it from details. In the second cycle, the teacher was able to explain and deliver the material systematically. The teacher also could use the students’ background knowledge and link it to the materials which were going to be learnt. This, then, could help the students in understanding main idea and differ it to the details. From the post interview, the teacher said that the students’ condition was better than before the study. The teacher could see some improvements in the students’ participation during the class, their response and also ability in getting main idea.

From the achievements in posttest II which could successfully fulfill the target of the CAR (more than 75% of the students could pass the minimal mastery level), the post observation and post interview, the CAR was regarded as success and could be stopped.

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

1. Conclusions

As it is stated in Chapter I, the objective of this classroom action research (CAR)

is to improve the students’ ability in getting main idea using skimming technique. The

subjects of the study were the second grade students of MA Pembangunan UIN Jakarta in

the academic year of 2010/2011.

The posttest of second cycle showed that the students’ mean is 75.44. This average was 9.82 point higher than the previous cycle. Furthermore, the number of the students who could pass the minimal mastery level also increased 34.44% from the previous cycle. In this cycle, there were 27 students (87.56%) passed the minimal mastery level. Those results have successfully fulfilled the target of the study, so the writer came to the conclusion that skimming technique can successfully improve the students of MA MA Pembangunan UIN Jakarta in the academic year of 2010/2011 ability in getting main idea.

2. Suggestions

After doing the CAR, the writer concludes that skimming is an effective technique used to improve students’ ability in getting main idea. Regarding to the scope of the CAR and the diversity of each class, the writer suggests that the teacher should combine the technique with different classroom oriented activities that could encourage

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students to participate actively when doing the technique.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

AS hornby. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English. (Oxford

University Press, 2000)

Bamford, Julian and Richard R. Day (editor). Extensive Reading Activities for Teaching Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Brown, H. Douglas, Principle of Language Learning and Teaching, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1980.

Burns, Anne. Collaborative Action Research for English Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.

Day, Richard R. and Julian Bamford. Extensive Reading in the Second Language Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Dubin, E. et.al. Teaching Second Language, Reading for Academic Purposes, Addison Wesley Publishing Company, 1986.

Dullay et. al, Language Two, New York: Oxford University Press, 1982.

Grellet, Francoise, Developing Reading Skills, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1994.

Hood, Susan, Nicky Solomon, and Anne Burns. Focus on Reading. Sydney: National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research (NCELTR), 1996.

Krashen, D. Stephen, Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition, New York: Pergamon Press Ltd., 1982.

Kustaryo, Sukirah, Reading Techniques for College Students, Jakarta: P2LPTK Diejen DIKTI Depdikbud, 1988.

Maker, Janet and Minnette Lenier, College Reading Book 2 (third edition), California: Wardsworth, 1982.

Mikulecky, Beatrice S. A Short Course in Teaching Reading Skills. New York: Addison-

Wesley Publishing Company, 1990.

Mikulecky, Beatrice S. and Linda Jeffries. More Reading Power. New York: Addison-

Wesley Publishing Company, 1996.

Mikulecky, Beatrice S. and Linda Jeffries. Reading Power (second edition). New York: Addison-Wesley Longman, Inc., 1998.

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Nunan, D. Research Methods in Language Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.

Nuttal, Christine, Teaching Reading Skills in Foreign Language. London: Heinemen International, 1996.

Silberstein, Sandra. Teaching and Resources in Teaching Reading. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.

Wallace, Michael J. Action Research for Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.

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APPENDIX 1

Pretest

An 80-year-old man goes to a doctor for a checkup. The doctor is amazed at his shape. "To what do you attribute your remarkably good health?""I am a turkey hunter and that's why I'm in good shape. Get up before daylight, chase turkeys up and down the mountains."

The doctor says, "Well, I'm sure it helps, but there have to be genetic factors. How old was your dad when he died?"

"Who says my dad's dead?"

"You're 80 years old and your dad's alive? How old is he?"

"Dad's 100. In fact, he turkey hunted with me this morning."

"What about your dad's dad – how old was he when he died?"

"Who says my granddad's dead?"

"You're 80 years old and your grandfather's still living? How old is he?"

"118."

"I suppose you're going to tell me he went turkey hunting this morning?"

"No. He got married."

The doctor looks at the man in amazement. "Got married? Why would a 118-year-old guy want to get married?"

The old-timer answers, "Who says he wanted to?"

Taken from Developing english competencies 2: for Senior High School (SMA/MA) grade XI/Achmad Doddy, Ahmad Sugeng, Effendi; Pusat Perbukuan, Departemen Pendidikan Nasional, 2008.

1. What is the main idea of the text? A. A story about turkey hunterA marriage of 118 year-old man

A funny story about 80 year-old man

A medical check up

A description of an old man

2. What is the type of the text above? A. ReportNarrative

Recount

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Spoof

Announcement

3. Why is the old man in good shape? Because…A. he goes for medical checkup he exercises

he does turkey hunted

he gets married

he loves to eat turkey

4. What does the word ‘it’ in the clause "I am sure it helps" refer to? A. Turkey Old man’s dad

The age of the old man

Turkey hunted

The checkup

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

Ali Baba was such a poor man that he had only one shoe for his two feet. Even the mice in his house were hungry.

One day, his wife said, "We have no food in the house. No rice. No potatoes. Go and collect leaves in the forest so that I can make a soup."

Ali was a lazy man. He looked for leaves for about ten minutes and then he climbed a tree to sleep. He was afraid of wolves. When he woke up, he was surprised to see forty thieves on forty horses. They stopped in front of a big rock.

"Open Sesame!" shouted the leader. A door on the rock opened. The thieves carried sacks full of gold into the cave. When they had finished, the leader shouted.

"Close Sesame!" and the door closed. As soon as the thieves had disappeared Ali Baba jumped down from the tree, said, "Open Sesame" and went into the cave.

There were shelves all around the walls. The shelves were full of sacks. And the sacks were full of gold. Ali took a sack home with him.

Unfortunately, one of the thieves saw Ali's footprints on the sand. He followed them to Ali's home. He took out his knife and made a cross on the door.

"Now I shall know which house it is," he said.

He rode off to get the other thieves. But Ali had seen the thief.

He and his wife took brooms and swept away the footprints. Then he made crosses on every door at the street. When the forty thieves arrived they had their knives between

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their teeth. But they couldn't find either Ali – or the gold. And Ali and his wife lived happily ever after.

Taken from Developing english competencies 2: for Senior High School (SMA/MA) grade XI/Achmad Doddy, Ahmad Sugeng, Effendi; Pusat Perbukuan, Departemen Pendidikan Nasional, 2008.

5. What is the text mainly about? A. A story about Ali Baba and his wife Thieves

A poor man

A story about happy family

A story about forty thieves

6. What is the major resolution of the story? A. Ali Baba went and collected leaves in the forestAli Baba saw the thieves

Ali Baba and his wife took brooms and swept away the footprints

The thieves followed Ali to his home

Ali Baba and his wife lived happily ever after

7. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE based on the text above? A. Ali saw forty thieves on fourteen horsesAli was a lazy man

Ali was not rich man

Ali took a sack of gold

Ali made crosses on every door at the street

In the past days and weeks schools across Indonesia have been opening up their doors again to receive students entering the new school year. Naturally enough, this has been a time of many trials and tribulations as existing students join new classrooms and new students try to find their way around a new school.

Such times would be difficult enough for even adults. In adult life we need time to adapt to new settings and find our footing and direction to settle in and come to terms with what lies ahead. This kind of experience, difficult enough in adulthood, can prove extremely challenging for the, as yet, still young and forming hearts and minds of school-age children.

During the first days back at school great opportunities exist to try to develop a sense of community that will help students settle in and have a firm foundation on which to build their studies during the coming year. There are almost constant complaints Students' First Days in School Need to Be Made Constructive that there is too much to study for school students and yet time is, every year, wasted on negative and useless orientation day pranks and fooling around. Surely, when time pressures are of such a concern and teachers complain that they have too much to teach from the curriculum, the

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first days of school would be a great time to help students prepare for the challenges ahead. Constructive team building and guidance towards much needed study skills would serve these students far better than nonsense tasks and ridicule.

Schools should design these days carefully and not let them be so negligently and dangerously wasted. The benefits of good early learning experiences can be considerable and the duty that schools should exercise to consider a child's psychological welfare really have to leave little room in the first days of school for such waste and ridiculousness.

Taken from Developing english competencies 2: for Senior High School (SMA/MA) grade XI/Achmad Doddy, Ahmad Sugeng, Effendi; Pusat Perbukuan, Departemen Pendidikan Nasional, 2008.

8. The main idea of paragraph 3 is...A. Complaint of the use of time of first days back at school.The needs of constructive team building and guidance.

Teachers' complaint.

Pressure of time.

Students’ complaint

9. The synonyms of the word settle (paragraph 3) are as follows, except…A. inhabitreside

steady

set

live

We brought our newborn son, Adam, to the pediatrician for his first checkup. As he finished, the doctor told us, "You have a cute baby."Smiling, I said, "I bet you say that to all new parents."

"No," he replied, "Just to those whose babies really are good-looking."

"So what do you say to the others?" I asked.

"He looks just like you."

Taken from Developing english competencies 2: for Senior High School (SMA/MA) grade XI/Achmad Doddy, Ahmad Sugeng, Effendi; Pusat Perbukuan, Departemen Pendidikan Nasional, 2008

10. What was the baby taken to the pediatrician for? A. bet having good looking

see a doctor

B. checkup C. having treated

11. What is the text about?

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A. A baby first checkup A newborn son

A baby named Adam

A funny story about a doctor

A funny story about a baby first medical checkup

Should Americans be Forced to Use Public Transportation?

First, let me define what the question is and isn’t asking. It isn’t asking if we should we all abandon cars right now, nor is it asking if we should abandon them completely, nor is it asking if every American should do so. It is asking whether some Americans should have to take public transit some of the time, and I would say yes.

Oil use and pollution aside, in some cities like Los Angeles and New York there just isn’t room for any more roads, so in order for large cities to grow, they need more people to take public transit or risk permanent traffic jam. One bus can safely hold 40 people, so even at half capacity that’s nearly 20 cars’ worth of space in traffic cleared up, and nearly 20 parking spaces that don’t need to be built.

There are a lot of people that can take public transit with little inconvenience but simply don’t because they never have in the past. If residents in areas with plenty of transit had to buy transit passes as part of their property taxes then they would have little excuse not to bus occasionally. A number of universities already bundle a ‘U-Pass’ with their tuition fees, forcing their students to take the bus. When given the chance the majority of those students have voted to keep these programs.

A similar system in apartments where a portion of the tenants are not issued parking spaces in exchange for a discount on their rent would also be forcing people to use public transit. This is already being done with the assignment of one community car to several apartment tenants that arrange a schedule for the car, and this program gets many positive reviews.

So yes, I would say that Americans should be forced to use public transit, as Americans whom are already forced to do so find that it works well for them.

Taken from Interlanguage : english for Senior High School Student XI language study programme, Pusat Perbukuan, Departemen Pendidikan Nasional , 2008.

12. What is the purpose of the article?A. Defining the functions of public transportations.Arguing that American should not use public transportations.

Suggesting American the ways to use public transportation.

Suggesting that American should be forced to use public transportations.

Asking for more public transportations.

13. What is the function of the first paragraph?A. Repeating the thesis or proposal

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Stating the proposal

Stating the reasons behind the thesis

Describing the problem

Giving arguments

14. In the article you find the word ‘transit’ a few times. What does it mean?A. TransportationExit

Entrance

Bus stop

Stop

15. What is the function of the last paragraph?A. Giving argumentsDescribing the problem

Stating the reasons behind the thesis

Stating the proposal

Repeating the thesis or proposal

The Jackal who Saved the Lion

Once upon a time, there lived a lion in a forest. One day, when he went to drink water in a river, one of his feet got stuck into the damp mushy mud of the river. He tried a lot to get out 136 of the mud, but didn’t achieve. He had to lie without food for days because he didn’t find any help. On one fortunate day, a kind jackal came to drink water from the river. When he saw the lion, he went closer to the lion and said, “What is the matter? Why are you resting here?”

The lion narrated him the pathetic story. The Jackal instantly made a way out from the sand but the lion was unable to move his feet. As he was set in the same posture for last several days, his body became stiff. The jackal understood the condition of the lion and helped him to get out of the mud with an extra effort. The Lion was really thankful to jackal for his kind help. He was very happy to get free after so many days.

The Lion appreciated the effort made by the jackal. He offered the jackal to live close to him and also promised to give food to him whenever he caught food. The jackal accepted the offer and started living with the lion. Thus, they lived happily sharing the food. With the passing time, they expanded their families. The lion had cubs and the jackal had kid jackals. Both, the lion and the jackal were passing their days happily. They didn’t have any idea that their friendship was not liked by their families.

One day after a long time, the lioness, lady of the lion’s house, told her cubs that she didn’t like the amity between the jackal and her husband. The cubs passed the message to the kid jackals. The kids complained the matter to the lady jackal. The lady jackal passed the complaint to her husband.

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The jackal went to the Lion and asked,” I helped you without any thought in return. You had asked me to live with you, so I started living with you. Now, if you don’t want me to live with you, you should have told me yourself. What did you involve your wife and cubs to convey this? “ The Lion was shocked to hear such words. He said, “My dear friend, what are you saying? I don’t find any problem with you or your friendship”. He assured the jackal that he had no such ill-feelings for the friendship between them. The Lion also assured that he would talk to the lioness and solve the whole matter. The jackal was intelligent and understood the situation. He said to the lion, “Dear friend, I know you are sincere, but our families could not exactly respond the same level of friendship. So, let us stay apart and meet often as friends. We could also hunt together. It would be better, if our families stay apart”. The Lion agreed to the proposal with a heavy heart.

The two families parted from each other as friends. The Jackal and the Lion continued to share the friendship. They often met each other and hunt together. Thus, the two friends shared a healthy friendship throughout their life.

Taken from Interlanguage : english for Senior High School Student XI language study programme, Pusat Perbukuan, Departemen Pendidikan Nasional , 2008.

16. What is the story about?A. The friendship between the Lion and the Jackal family.The rivalry between the Lion and the Jackal.

The evilness of the Lioness.

The thoughtfulness of the Lion.

The friendship between a lion and the jackal.

17. Who are the main characters of the story?A. The lion’s family and the Jackal’s familyThe Lioness and the Lady Jackal

The Lion and The Jackal

The lion cubs and the Jackal kids

B. The Lion and the Jackal’s family18. How did the story end?

A. The Jackal’s and the Lion’s friendship ends.The Lion and the Jackal still live together and hunt together.

The Lion and the Jackal lived apart and doesn’t hunt together.

The Jackal is very angry and cannot accept the Lion as his friend anymore.

The Lion and the Jackal lived apart but still be friends.

19. What does the lion do in return of the Jackal’s help?A. He told the Jackal to always hunt with him.He told the Jackal to live with him in his house.

He gave him a home.

He told the Jackal to live near the Lion and give him food.

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He gave him a present.

20. What did the lioness feels of the lion’s and the jackal’s friendship?B. She was not pleased.C. She was pleased.She was delighted.

She was happy about it.

D. She was content about it.

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Appendix 2

Pretest Result

Student

1 12 23 24 25 26 17 18 29 210 111 212 113 214 415 416 117 318 219 420 121 222 423 224 125 226 427 328 429 330 431 232 4Total 78

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Appendix 3

Posttest I

There is a holiday called Labour Thanksgiving Day (Kinrô kansha no hi)

in Japan. It is a national holiday in Japan and it takes place annually on November

23. It is held as an occasion for commemorating labour and production and giving

one another thanks.

Events are held throughout Japan in this holiday, such as Nagano Labour

Festival. The event encourages thinking about the environment, peace and human

rights.

It is not unusual for early grade elementary students to create drawings for the holiday and give them as gifts to local kobans, or police stations.

Labor Thanksgiving Day is actually the modern version for an ancient rice harvest festival known as Niiname-sai (新嘗祭), believed to have been held as long ago as November of 678.

Traditionally, it celebrated the year’s hard work; during the Niiname-sai ceremony, the Emperor would dedicate the year’s harvest to kami (spirits), and taste the rice for the fi rst time.

The modern holiday was established after World War II in 1948 as a day to mark some of the changes of the postwar constitution of Japan, including fundamental human rights and the expansion of workers’ rights. Currently Niiname-sai is held privately by the Imperial Family while Labour Thanksgiving Day has become a national holiday.

B. What is the information about?

a. Labour Thanksgiving Day.

Labour Day

Thanksgiving Day

Niiname-sai

Japanese national holidays

Gawai Dayak

Gawai Day or Gawai Dayak, is a festival celebrated in Sarawak. It is both

a religious and social occasion. Gawai Dayak literally means “Dayak Festival”.

Dayak visit their friends and relatives on this day. Those far away receive greeting

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cards. The mode of celebrations varies from place to place.

The festival is celebrated on the 1st of June every year. However, it actually starts on the evening of 31st of May. Gawai Dayak celebration may last for several days.

On the evening of 31st of May, the ceremony to cast the greediness spirit away (Muai Antu Rua) is held. Then, offering ceremony (miring) is conducted. Thanking gods for the good harvest, guidance, blessings and long life is done through sacrifi cing a cockerel. At midnight spirit welcoming procession (Ngaluh Petara) is held. Then, the celebration gets merrier as people start singing and reading poems.

On the 1st of June, the homes of the Dayaks are opened to visitors. Cock-fi ghting, blowpipe skill demonstration, and ngajat competitions are held. It is also during this time of the year that many Dayak weddings take place. Today, it is an integral part of

Dayak social life. It is a thanksgiving day marking good harvest and a time to plan for the new farming season or activities ahead.

Adapted from: http://www.wikipedia.com

C. What is the text about?

2. A festival

A ceremony

A celebration in Sarawak

Gawai Dayak

Dayak

New York (city), the largest city in the United States, the home of the

United Nations, and the center of global finance, communications, and business.

New York City is unusual among cities because of its high residential density, its

extraordinarily diverse population, its hundreds of tall office and apartment

buildings, its thriving central business district, its extensive public transportation

system, and its more than 400 distinct neighborhoods.

The city’s concert houses, museums, galleries, and theaters constitute an

ensemble of cultural richness rivaled by few cities. In 2000 the population of the

city of New York was 8,008,278; the population of the metropolitan region was

21,199,865. New York City consists of five boroughs they are Queens, Brooklyn,

1

Staten Island, The Bronx, and Manhattan.

There are so many attractive places in the city. One of its most popular landmarks is the statue of liberty. It is a symbol of freedom for many, was one of the first sights to welcome immigrants arriving in the United States. The statue stands 93 m (305 ft) tall on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. It was designed by French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi and is a gift from France commemorating the first centennial of U.S. independence from Britain.

New York’s 250 museums cater to every specialty and every taste. It has museums in such fields as natural history, broadcasting, fire-fighting, crafts, and ethnic cultures.

D. What is the text about?

o Washington D.C.

New York City

The statue of Liberty

New York boroughs

The culture of New York

Fluffy Bunny Rabbit

After a long day at the office, Chris came home one day and found his dog

with the neighbor's pet rabbit in his mouth. The rabbit was obviously dead. Chris

panicked!

“If my neighbors find out my dog killed their bunny, they’ll hate me forever,” he thought.

So he took the dirty, chewed up rabbit into the house, gave it a bath and blow-dried its fur.

Chris knew his neighbours kept their backdoor open during the summer, so he sneaked inside and put the bunny back into the cage, hoping his neighbours would think it died of natural causes.

A couple of days later Chris and his neighbour saw each other outside.

“Did you hear that Fluffy die?” the neighbour asked.

“Oh. Uhmm... Sorry to hear that. What happened?” Chris mumbled.

The neighbour replied, “We just found him dead in his cage one day. But the strange thing is that the day after we buried him, we went out to dinner and someone must have dug him up, gave him a bath and put him back into the cage!”

1

Adapted from: http://www.webwombat.com.au

E. What does the story tell us?

a. A rabbit and a dog

A boy who petted a rabbit

Neighborhood in America

A boy who tried to maintain neighborhood.

A boy who was angry with his neighbors because their dog killed his rabbit.

A Small Experiment

An elderly gentleman of 85 feared his wife was getting hard of hearing. So

one day he called her doctor to make an appointment to have her hearing checked.

The Doctor made an appointment for a hearing test in two weeks, and meanwhile

there’s a simple informal test the husband could do to give the doctor some idea of

the state of her problem.

“Here’s what you do,” said the doctor, “start out about 40 feet away from her, and in a normal conversational speaking tone see if she hears you. If not, go to 30 feet, then 20 feet, and so on until you get a response.”

That evening, the wife is in the kitchen cooking dinner, and he’s in the living room. He says to himself, “I’m about 40 feet away, let’s see what happens.”

Then in a normal tone he asks, “Honey, what’s for supper?” No response.

So the husband moved to the other end of the room, about 30 feet from his wife and repeats, “Honey, what’s for supper?” Still no response.

Next, he moves into the dining room where he is about 20 feet from his wife and asks, “Honey, what’s for supper?” Again he gets no response.

So he walks up to the kitchen door, only 10 feet away. “Honey, what’s for supper?” Again there is no response.

So he walks right up behind her. “Honey, what’s for supper?”

“Damn it Earl, for the fi fth time, CHICKEN!”

Adapted from: http://www.writers-free-reference.com

F. What is the story about?

1

a. A doctor who had a hard-hearing patient.

A doctor who was hard-hearing.

A husband who tested his wife’s hearing.

A doctor who had a hard-hearing wife.

A patient was hard of hearing.

Every time see illegal logging in their area, the women and children cry

out, “Where can we settle and make a living if our forests were gone?”

They are the forest people, members of the local Anak Dalam tribe, in

Mangkekal (Makekal), Bukit Duabelas National Park, Jambi province. They have

tried very hard to protect the forest zone from illegal logging operations. “Adult as

well as children are fighting for the conservation of this forest,” said tribal chief

Tumenggung (Regent) Meriak. The national park zone is about 60,000 hectares. It

is home for about 1,500 Anak Dalam. The tribesmen llive in Mangkekal,

Kedasung, Air hitam, and Terap.

G. The text mainly tells us about …

a. forest people

illegal logging

National Park

forest conservation

illegal operation

The Incas used to be a large empire of 990 000 km2 in Peru of South

America. Their city was high up in the Andes Mountains. They were well-known

for their great wealth, especially gold. This great empire was unfortunately

destroyed in an attack by the Spaniards who were searching for famed gold.

Although this empire existed way back in 1493, it was not backward but complex

and well-organized.

The empire was ruled by the Sapa Inca, Lord of the World, Son of the Sun.

he owned everything in the empire – the land, soil, gold and even the people. The

people, therefore, had no freedom.

Boys and girls were to live a life of obedience and tradition. They began working in their ayllu or family group. The rule was Ama sua, ama llulla, ama

1

sheklla, which means, “Do not steal, do not lie, do not be lazy.”

Despite this difficult way of life, the Incas were very skilful. They constructed drainage system and underground water reservoirs. Their buildings were made from huge stones. These were cut to fit perfectly together so that no mortar was needed. Their rope bridges were so strong that even a horse could gallop across them!

The Incas had no written language Information was recorded on knotted strings called quipus. These were also used as calculators. Strong and healthy young boys were chosen as chasquis or couriers to carry messages from one place to another.

H. The text mainly tell about …

a. Sapa Inca

chasquis

the Incas

Spaniards

The Andes

Tom!

I’m going to Anula supermarket to get some sugar. Would you like to turn the stove on when you are home? I’ve put some soup there. Just heat it for about 5 minutes and then take it out from stove before you have dinner.

I. What is the message about?

b. Telling Tom to eat the soup

Asking Tom to buy some sugar.

Telling Tom to heat the soup.

Asking Tom to go to supermarket.

Telling Tom to wait for about 5 minutes.

Hotel Cannero

28051 Cannero Riviera, Italy

Phone: 323788046

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Waiters / Waitresses (2), Swimming Pool Attendants, Bar Staff.

Around $150 per week. 12 hours per day, 6 days week. Free board and

accommodation. Knowledge of German, Italian or French required. Period of

work 3 or 6 months between end of March and end of October. Applicants should

be fit and healthy, organized and clean. Applications from 25 March to the end

and send to Maria Carla at the above address.

J. What is the text about?

A. A week tour to Italy.

Three day tour to European countries.

A healthy and clean environment.

The description on Cannero Riviera.

A job vacancy in Hotel Cannero.

Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, is also a city steeped in history. Under its

former Dutch name of Batavia, it was a major trading port of the east for several

centuries. Jakarta today is a metropolis of more than seven million people with

modern shopping, hotels and industry.

Jakarta’s nightlife and shopping are described as ‘the best kept secret in Asia’. An array of modern nightclubs and discotheques are open till all hours. Its many shopping centers are stocked with a wide variety of goods, from local art and handicraft, electronic equipment garments, jewelry, etc. at very competitive prices. There are also many top class hotels and restaurants in Jakarta providing international cuisine as well as a variety of Indonesian, Chinese, Japanese and European food.

The city is home to Taman Mini, a vast complex of Indonesia in Miniature; and Ancol, a sophisticated amusement park. Pasar Seni (the art market) is also situated in Ancol, where artists sit at work and a wide variety of carvings, paintings and marble, wood, brass and leather souvenirs can be bought at reasonable prices.

This text tells us about....

A. Jakarta now and in the past

Jakarta with its various facilities

Jakarta as the best kept-secret in Asia

Jakarta’s nightlife and its shopping centers

1

Jakarta with its international cuisine

1

Appendix 4

Posttest 2

Dear Rossa,

I am a guy, twenty-eight years old. I have a problem with a girlfriend. She

is twenty five years old. We have been dating each other for years, since we were

high school students. Now we have jobs. I feel very sure that we love each other.

Now it is time for me to get married. Unfortunately, her parents never approve of

our relationship ever since the very first time. My family, anyhow, does not really

mind. At first I thought my girlfriend had the power to defend our love. But then

she surrendered. She loves, me and she loves her family, too. On the one hand she

said, "I'll be happy if my family is happy." It means she had to get approval from

her parents.

For this^ I was shocked. My heart was broken. She ended our relationship just at

the time when I was ready to marry her. When I was with her, we were very

happy. We had a lot in common and there were no conflicts. The truth was, we

separated only because of her parents. They want her to marry her cousin, her

aunt's son (this is one of the traditions in the Karonese).

For the time being I am very upset. When I miss her I call her. Then we

can eat together, talk together for hours. We act like elating because she loves me,

too. The real problem is, she cannot refuse what her parents want. So, should I

forget my girlfriend, the only one that I truly love? Or else, should I just wait, and

dream that one day she will be back to me?

Rio N., Padang

2. The main idea of the first paragraph is that

4. the writer wants to get married

the writer has a problem with his girl friend

the writer has been dating for years

the writer feels sure that they love each other

the writer's parents disapprove of his relationship

The Hen with the Silver Eggs

One day, in an Arabian city, a woman went to the market and bought a

1

beautiful hen. A few days later to her surprise the hen she bought laid a silver egg.

If the hen could only be persuaded to lay more than one egg each day, the woman was sure she would never have to work again.

So the woman decided to make the hen eat more, so that it could lay more eggs. But the only result was that the hen died of indigestion and did not lay more eggs at all.

3. Paragraph 3 mostly discusses about...

b. the hen's eggs

what the hen did for the woman

what the hen eats to lay more eggs

what the woman did to her hen

why the woman wanted to get more eggs

We, a mining consultant company, are looking for …A SENIOR SECRETARY

Female, graduated from a reputable universityMin. 5 years of work experience

Good command of English (oral & written)

Computer literate (min. Word, Excel, Internet)

Please submit your complete application, resume & recent photograph not more than 10 days

after this ads to :

HRD PT CITRA ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

Wisma Emha Jln. Wijaya I No. 11A, Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan 12170

Fax no. 021-7207978

e-mail address : mitraenergy@cbn.net.id

only short listed candidates will be notified

4. What is the text about?

b. A job vacancy.

Wisma Emha.

A senior secretary.

An application letter.

PT Citra Energy Development.

1

Mangrove Trees

A mangrove is a tropical marine tree or shrub of the genus Rhizhopora.

Mangroves have special aerial roots and salt-filtering tap roots that enable them to

thrive in brackish water (brackish water is salty, but not as salty as sea water).

There are several species of mangrove trees found all over the world. Some prefer more salinity, while others like to be very close to a large fresh water source (such as a river). Some prefer areas that are sheltered from waves. Some species have their roots covered with sea water every day during high tide. Other species grow on dry land, but are still part of the ecosystem.

Mangroves need to keep their trunk and leaves above the surface of the water. Yet they also need to be firmly attached to the ground so they are not moved by waves. There are three types of mangrove roots that play an important role for it:

a.i.support roots which

directly pierce the soil.

level-growing roots which twist upwards and downwards, the upward twists emerging on the water surface.

level-growing roots whose downward twist (sub-roots) appear on the water surface.

Any part of a root that appears above the water flows oxygen to the plant

under water surface. As the soil begins to build up, these roots produce additional

roots that become embedded in the soil.

5. The main idea of the text is…

b. Mangroves grow on dry land

There are many species of mangroves

Mangroves are tropical marine trees

Mangroves roots filter the salt of the sea-water

Mangrove roots are attached firmly to the ground

1

6. What is the announcement about?

a. A school debate.

A school competition.

Extracurricular activities.

Participants of the debate.

A debate competition.

Is it important to know what your kids are watching? Of course yes.

Television can expose things you have tried to protect them from, especially

violence, pornography, consumerism, etc. A study demonstrated that spending too

much time on watching TV during the day or at bedtime often causes bedtime

disruption, stress, and short of sleep duration.

Another research found that there is a significant relationship between the amount of time spent for watching television during adolescence and early adulthood, and the possibility of being aggressive.

Meanwhile, many studies have identified a relationship between kids who watch

1

TV a lot and being inactive and overweight.

Considering some facts mentioned above, protect your children with the following

tips:

1. Limit television viewing to 1 – 2 hours each day.

2. Do not allow your children to have a TV set in their bedrooms.

3. Review the rating of TV shows that your children watch.

4. Watch television with your children and discuss what is happening in the show.

7. What is the text about?

B. The program shown on TV.

Watching TV is disadvantageous.

The effects of watching television on kids.

Reviewing the ratings of TV shows is important.

The importance of knowing the program watched by our children.

Last week I took my five-year old son, Willy, to a musical instrument store in my

hometown. I wanted to buy him a set of junior drum because his drum teacher

advised me to buy him one. Willy likes listening to music very much. He also

likes asking me everything he wants to know. Even his questions sometimes seem

precocious for a boy of his age. He is very inquisitive.

We went there by car. On the way, we saw a policeman standing near a

traffic light regulating the passing cars and other vehicles. He blew his whistle

now and then.

Seeing the policeman blowing his whistle, Willy asked me at once, “Dad, why is the policeman using a whistle, not a drum?”

Hearing his unexpected question I answered reluctantly, “Because he is not Phil Collins!”

8. What does the text talk about?

b. Willy and his new drum.

The writer’s five-years old son.

Phil Collins and his drum.

1

A policeman and his whistle.

Willy’s drum private teacher.

Despite criticism over the National Final Examination policy, schools

across the nation still plan to hold the examination this month. The National Final

Examination itself has caused a great deal of controversy because it is used as a

single criterion for students to graduate from schools. As prerequisite of

graduation, students must cram for math, economics, Bahasa Indonesia, English,

Physic, Sociology, Historical study, Chemistry, and Biology. In addition, they

must have scores above 5.5 for those subjects and have average scores 5.5 for all

other subjects. For some reasons, I personally think that National Final

Examination must be ended.

Firstly, the National Final Examination will only encourage schools to give tasks which develop students’ ability to answer typical examination questions. It will only benefit students who are good at exams rather than students who comprehend the subjects better. By doing this, it will not easy to meet the objective of learning, that is to develop students’ cognitive, affective, and psychomotor.

Secondly, The National Final Examination gives an impression that a student will only be considered as good student if he/she can get good scores in written test. Whereas, there are some other valid methods that can used to evaluate students’ performance, such as portfolio, pair/group work activity, etc. It will be unfair if the students’ evaluation is solely based on a centralized standard. As a matter of fact, it is teacher who actually has a great role to decide which students pass and which students are not because they know much better about the learning process of their students.

Thirdly I personally believe that the National Final Examination can only be used for evaluating the education system and to determine its weaknesses. The National Final Examination will not be fair for students in remote areas because they do not have the same level of education quality as schools in the city. The system of national Final Examination will make sharp differences in the number of students passing the National Final Examination in each region.

From the facts above, it is obvious that the National Final Examination is the wrong fit for national education system. The success of student’s leaning cannot be determined solely by one test called the National Final Examination. Therefore, the government should drop the National Final Examination.

9. The main idea of paragraph 3 is …

A. The National Final Examination is only thing that evaluate the

1

students’ performance

The National Final Examination is the proper program in the end of studying

Portfolio is only way to evaluate student’s performance

The national Final Examination is the best way off all methods to evaluate the students’ performance

There are other valid method to evaluate the students’ performance

Borobudur is a Hindu-Buddhist temple built in the 9th century under the

Syailendra dynasty of Java. It is located near Magelang, on the island of Java,

Indonesia.

Abandoned in the 11th century and partially excavated by archaeologists in the

early 20th century, Borobudur temple is well-known all over the world.

Influenced by the Gupta architecture of India, the temple is constructed on

a hill of 46 m (150 ft) high and consists of eight – step like stone terraces, one on

top of the other.

The first five terraces are square and surrounded by walls adorned with Buddhist

sculpture in bas – relief; the upper three are circular, each with a circle of bell –

shaped stupas (Buddhist shrines).

The entire edifice is crowned by a large stupa at the center of the top circle. The way to the summit extends through some 4.8 km of passages and stairways.

The design of Borobudur, a temple-mountain, symbolizing the structure of

the universe, is similar to the temples built at Angkor, Cambodia.

The Borobudur Temple, rededicated as an Indonesian national monument in 1983, is a valuable treasure for Indonesian people.

(Taken from :’Children

Knowledge Bank II’)

10. The main idea of the text is…

A. Indonesian heritage

A Hindhu – Buddhist Temple

The Gupta Architecture

The Borobudur Temple

The Syailendra Masterpiece

1

When we buy mobile phone, we have to consider some points. Doing so,

we will be able to make a wise decision.

If we decide to buy a mobile phone, we start asking ourselves the usefulness of the equipment. We may ask, ‘do we want it for our prestige or for it usefulness?’

After we decide to use mobile phone, we should make a choice on the type of

mobile phone. With the various choices in the market, we should decide the one

that make our needs. We must know what we need.

As the consequence of its high operational cost, we have to pay more for a

mobile phone compared to a fixed telephone. That is why we have to think

carefully before we decide to use it. Therefore, we only use the mobile phone for

important talks. It’ll not be wise if we use it for a chat with a friend.

With all the consequences of the mobile phone, we indeed should give serious consideration before using it. They are:

3. Ask yourself, ‘do I really need it at that moment?’

Buy the mobile phone that suits your budget.

Prioritize the function of the mobile phone for you, rather than it features that may interest you.

Use the mobile phone for important talks.

11. What is the text about?

A. Mobile phone equipment

How to operate mobile phones

Some considerations before owning a mobile phones

A wise decision to have a mobile phone

Some features to have in a mobile phone

1

Appendix 5

Posttest I and Posttest II ResultStudent Posttest I Posttest II

1 85.71 85.71

2 85.71 85.71

3 71.43 85.71

4 71.43 71.43

5 71.43 71.43

6 71.43 57.14

7 71.43 85.71

8 57.14 57.14

9 85.71 100

10 57.14 71.43

11 57.14 71.43

12 71.43 71.43

13 71.43 71.43

14 71.43 71.43

15 57.14 71.43

16 57.14 71.43

17 71.43 71.43

18 57.14 71.43

19 57.14 71.43

20 85.71 71.43

21 28.57 85.71

22 71.43 85.71

23 57.14 71.43

24 85.71 71.43

25 57.14 71.43

26 28.57 85.71

27 85.71 85.71

28 57.14 71.43

29 85.71 100

1

30 57.14 57.14

31 57.14 85.71

32 42.86 57.14

Mean : _ ∑xX = ── n 65.62 75.445625

1

Appendix 6

RENCANA PELAKSANAAN PEMBELAJARAN

(Cycle 1)

3. IDENTITAS

SMA/MA : MA Pembangunan UIN JakartaMata Pelajaran : Bahasa Inggris

Kelas/Semester : XI (Sepuluh)/Genap

Aspect of Skills : Reading

Tema : Narrative, spoof, dan hortatory exposition

Alokasi Waktu : 1 x Pertemuan (2 x 45 menit)

4. STANDAR KOMPETENSI :

Membaca

Memahami makna dalam esei pendek sederhana berbentuk narrative, spoof, dan hortatory exposition untuk berinteraksi dengan lingkungan sekitar.

5. KOMPETENSI DASAR :

Merespon makna dalam teks monolog sederhana yang menggunakan ragam bahasa lisan secara akurat, lancar dan berterima dalam berbagai konteks kehidupan sehari-hari dalam teks: narrative,

spoof, dan hortatory exposition

6. TUJUAN PEMBELAJARAN

Pada akhir pembelajaran siswa dapat menemukan dan menentukan gagasan umum dari teks berbentuk narrative, spoof, dan hortatory exposition.

1

7. INDIKATOR

Siswa dapat menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang berkaitan dengan main idea dari teks yang diberikan.

8. METODE PEMBELAJARAN: Presentation

Group Discussion

Question and Answer

9. MODEL PEMBELAJARAN : Active Learning

10. MATERI PEMBELAJARAN

a.i.Mendiskusikan Main Idea dan Skimming

Prosedur dalam melaksanakan Skimming

Teknik skimming untuk mendapatkan main idea

11. KEGIATAN PEMBELAJARAN

12. Kegiatan Pendahuluana. Melakukan Starting Point, tema; how

to get most from longer text (10 menit)

13. Kegiatan Inti1.A.S

Siswa mendiskusikan kesulitan-kesulitan yang mereka hadapi dalam menemukan main idea.

Siswa mendiskusikan main idea dari sebuah gambar yang ditunjukkan di power point.

Siswa mendiskusikan main idea dari beberapa text (dengan genre yang berbeda)

(10 Menit)

(15 menit)

(15 menit)

(20 menit)

c. Kegiatan Penutup

1

1. Menanyakan dan mendiskusikan kesulitan siswa dalam memahami main idea dari sebuah text

Membuat kesimpulan pembelajaran

Membicarakan tugas individu untuk pertemuan selanjutnya

(10 menit)

(5 menit)(5 menit)

5. Guru menutup pelajaran dengan salam.

XI. SUMBER BELAJAR : Silabus, Buku Pelajaran Bahasa Inggris kelas X, dan Internet (www.manythings.org, www.bbc.com)

XII. MEDIA PEMBELAJARAN: Fotokopi paragraf rumpang.

XIII. PENILAIAN :

A. Jenis : Tugas kelompok.

B. Instrumen : Terlampir

C. Kriteria Penilaian :

Bentuk penilaian : Teks tertulis

Aspek yang dinilai : kognitif (pengetahuan)

Jenis penilaian : penilaian proses dan penilaian hasil

1

RENCANA PELAKSANAAN PEMBELAJARAN

(Cycle 2)

12. IDENTITAS

SMA/MA : MA Pembangunan UIN JakartaMata Pelajaran : Bahasa Inggris

Kelas/Semester : XI (Sepuluh)/Genap

Aspect of Skills : Reading

Tema : Narrative, spoof, dan hortatory exposition

Alokasi Waktu : 1 x Pertemuan (2 x 45 menit)

13. STANDAR KOMPETENSI :

Membaca

Memahami makna dalam esei pendek sederhana berbentuk narrative, spoof, dan hortatory exposition untuk berinteraksi dengan lingkungan sekitar.

14. KOMPETENSI DASAR :

Merespon makna dalam teks monolog sederhana yang menggunakan ragam bahasa lisan secara akurat, lancar dan berterima dalam berbagai konteks kehidupan sehari-hari dalam teks: narrative, spoof, dan hortatory exposition

15. TUJUAN PEMBELAJARAN

Pada akhir pembelajaran siswa dapat menemukan dan menentukan gagasan umum dari teks.

16. INDIKATOR

1

Siswa dapat menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang berkaitan dengan main idea dari teks.

17. METODE PEMBELAJARAN: Presentation

Group Discussion

Question and Answer

18. MODEL PEMBELAJARAN : Active Learning

19. MATERI PEMBELAJARAN

a.i.Mendiskusikan Main Idea dan Skimming

Prosedur dalam melaksanakan Skimming

Teknik skimming untuk mendapatkan main idea

20. KEGIATAN PEMBELAJARAN

I. Kegiatan Pendahuluana. Melakukan Ice

Breaking Mereview pelajaran pada pertemuan sebelumnya

(10 menit)

J. Kegiatan Inti4. Siswa

mendiskusikan perbedaan antara main idea, topic, dan detail

Siswa mendiskusikan dan menentukan topik, main idea dan detail dari sebuah gambar yang ditunjukkan di power point.

Siswa mendiskusikan main idea, topic dan detail dari beberapa text (dengan genre yang berbeda)

(10 Menit)

(15 menit)

(15 menit)

(20 menit)

1

Siswa mendiskusikan main idea dari beberapa text yang berbeda dengan menggunakan teknik skimming

c. Kegiatan Penutup3. Mena

nyakan dan mendiskusikan kesulitan siswa dalam memahami main idea dari sebuah text

Membuat kesimpulan pembelajaran

Membicarakan tugas individu untuk pertemuan selanjutnya

(10 menit)

(5 menit)(5 menit)

6. Guru menutup pelajaran dengan salam.

XI. SUMBER BELAJAR : Silabus, Buku Pelajaran Bahasa Inggris kelas X, dan Internet (www.manythings.org, www.bbc.com)

XII. MEDIA PEMBELAJARAN: Fotokopi paragraf rumpang.

XIII. PENILAIAN :

A. Jenis : Tugas kelompok.

B. Instrumen : Terlampir

1

C. Kriteria Penilaian :

Bentuk penilaian : Teks tertulis

Aspek yang dinilai : kognitif (pengetahuan)

Jenis penilaian : penilaian proses dan penilaian hasil

1

Appendix 7

The Guideline of Teacher’s Observation

(During CAR)

No. Indicators

I Pre Teaching

Preparing the students to start the teaching learning processEngaging the students using language clearly and easy to understand

Giving positive response to the students in engaging them by media

The teacher helped the students to memorize the previous lesson

II While Teaching

Material

The material was appropriate with the lesson objective

The teacher explained the material systematically

Connecting the material with other knowledge

Exploring the material as clearly as possible

Lesson Strategy

Doing the teaching learning process which appropriate with students’ competence

Doing teaching learning systematically

The teacher was able to manage the class

The teacher involved the students in teaching learning process

Material Resource

The material was appropriate with the lesson objective and the students’ level

The teacher used the environment as the material resourceInvolving the students in finding the material

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Using the media efficiently

III Post Teaching

Evaluating

Doing pre evaluating

Doing process evaluating

Doing post evaluating

The assessment was suitable with the material

Closing

Doing reflection

Making conclusion of the teaching learning process

Giving suggestion to the students

Giving home work

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Appendix 7

The Guideline of Teacher’s Observation

(During CAR)

No. Indicators

I Pre Teaching

Preparing the students to start the teaching learning processEngaging the students using language clearly and easy to understand

Giving positive response to the students in engaging them by media

The teacher helped the students to memorize the previous lesson

II While Teaching

Material

The material was appropriate with the lesson objective

The teacher explained the material systematically

Connecting the material with other knowledge

Exploring the material as clearly as possible

Lesson Strategy

Doing the teaching learning process which appropriate with students’ competence

Doing teaching learning systematically

The teacher was able to manage the class

The teacher involved the students in teaching learning process

Material Resource

The material was appropriate with the lesson objective and the students’ level

The teacher used the environment as the material resourceInvolving the students in finding the material

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Using the media efficiently

III Post Teaching

Evaluating

Doing pre evaluating

Doing process evaluating

Doing post evaluating

The assessment was suitable with the material

Closing

Doing reflection

Making conclusion of the teaching learning process

Giving suggestion to the students

Giving home work

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Appendix 8

Observational Notes for Need Analysis61

Action : 1st cycle

Date : Monday, May 2nd 2011

Time : 08.40 A.M – 10.00 A.M

Topic : Getting Main Idea Using Skimming Technique

What learners do What this involves

Teacher’s purpose Comment

II. Listening to the teacher’s explanation about how to get main idea using skimming technique.

Doing exercise in group work (group of five); to answer the main idea of the texts presented in LCD projector.

Doing exercise in individual

III. Students’ are involved in:

- Group work

Individual work

IV. Students read several texts presented on the LCD projector.

21. To give explanation about what main idea and skimming technique are and how to do skimming.

To let students practice using skimming technique (both individually and in group)

V. Most of students didn’t pay attention to the teacher’s explanation

Most of students didn’t work together

Most of students cheated each other and the teacher ignored them

Some students were

61 Penny Ur, A Course in Language Teaching; Practice and Theory, (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1996), p. 323

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work (answer some questions about main idea)

sleepy.

Observational Notes for Need Analysis

Action : 2nd cycle

Date : Thursday, May 4th 2011

Time : 08.40 A.M – 10.00 A.M

Topic : Getting Main Idea Using Skimming Technique

What learners do What this involves

Teacher’s purpose Comment

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VI. Reviewing how to skim to get main idea

Doing exercise in individual work(answer the questions based on the texts given)

VII. Students’ are involved in individual work and in group

2. Review the previous meeting material.

Make the students work in group to minimize the ignorance and the knowledge gap among students.

Encourage shy students to participate more.

VIII. Some students could answer the teacher’s questions correctly related to the reviewing of the last material

The students could pay attention more to the teacher and cheated less.

IX. There were more students participate in the teaching-learning process

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Appendix 10

ITEM ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH TEST

N = 32 MG = 14UG = 9 LG = 9

Item No.

Group

Options

ID

A B C

1 UG 0 1 *8

LG 2 2 *2

2 UG 0 *8 0

LG 4 *1 1

3 UG 0 0 *8

LG 2 1 *1

4 UG 0 0 1

LG 2 2 3

5 UG *8 1 0

LG *2 3 2

6 UG 0 0 1

LG 4 2 2

7 UG *9 0 1

LG *2 3 1

8 UG *9 0 0

LG *1 2 2

9 UG 1 *8 0

LG 1 *3 1

10 UG 0 2 1

LG 1 2 4

11 UG 0 0 0

1

LG 1 1 0

12 UG 1 1 *6

LG 2 3 *3

13 UG 0 *9 0

LG 1 *6 1

14 UG 0 0 0

LG 4 1 2

15 UG *8 1 0

LG *3 2 3

16 UG 2 2 2

LG 3 3 1

17 UG 0 0 *9

LG 1 1 *5

18 UG 0 0 0

LG 2 1 2

19 UG 2 2 1

LG 3 4 2

20 UG 0 *8 0

LG 3 *4 1

1

Item No

1 UG

LG

2 UG

LG

3 UG

LG

4 UG

LG

5 UG

LG

6 UG

LG

7 UG

LG

8 UG

LG

9 UG

LG

10 UG

LG

1

Item No

1 UG

LG

2 UG

LG

3 UG

LG

4 UG

LG

5 UG

LG

6 UG

LG

1

7 UG

LG

8 UG

LG

9 UG

LG

10 UG

LG

PEDOMAN PENILAIAN

DISCRIMINATION

POWER (DP)

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-1 – 0,0 Bad

0,1 – 0,3 OK

0,4 – 0,6 Good

0,6 – 1,0 Very Good

Revisi:Pretest

12. What does the article intend to deliver?

A. Defining the functions of public transportations.

B. Arguing that American should not use public transportation.

C. Suggesting American the ways to use public transportation.

D. Asking for more public transportations.

3. What is the purpose of the article?2. Defining the functions of public transportations.

Arguing that American should not use public transportations.

Suggesting American the ways to use public transportation.

Asking for more public transportations.

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Appendix 11

Interview Guidelines for the Needs Analysis (Before CAR)

(Monday, April 11th 2011)

R : The researcher

T : The teacher

R : Bagaimana keadaan siswa pada saat Bapak mengajar? Apakah mereka menyimak dengan tenang atau ribut?

T : Kelas XI Sosial merupakan kelas yang ‘spesial’. Kelas ini berbeda dengan kelas lainnya. Perbedaan yang terlihat dengan jelas adalah tingkat kemampuan mereka yang sangat beragam. Misalnya, ada seorang siswa yang berasal dari Kanada. Ia memiliki kemampuan Bahasa Inggria di atas rata-rata kemampuan teman sekelasnya. Namun, ada beberapa siswa yang sama sekali belum memahami bahasa Inggris. Disinilah letak kesulitannya. Terkadang, anak-anak yang merasa bisa akan ribut dan bercanda dengan teman-temannya jika saya menyampaikan bahan ajar yang mereka anggap terlalu mudah. Padahal, mungkin bagi sebagian besar teman mereka, bahan pelajaran tersebut masih baru dan belum mereka kuasai.

R : Berapa nilai KKM untuk pelajaran Bahasa Inggris? Dan bagaimana hasil perolehan nilai Bahasa Inggris di kelas XI Sosial?

T : KKM untuk pelajaran Bahasa Inggris 70 (tujuh puluh). Untuk kelas XI Sosial, rata-rata perolehan nilainya memang paling rendah dibandingkan dengan kelas lainnya. Rata-rata nilai bahasa Inggris kelas XI Sosial adalah 60.

R : Skill Bahasa Inggris apa yang dianggap paling sulit oleh siswa?

T : Dari keempat skill bahasa Inggris, reading merupakan yang paling sulit bagi mereka. Kesulitan ini semakin terlihat jelas dengan pola KBM bahasa Inggris yang berdasarkan text (text based). Mereka sebenarnya paham dengan jenis-jenis teks dalam bahasa Inggris, terutama ciri-ciri kebahasaan dan grammar-nya. Namun, sebagian besar mereka masih kesulitan dalam menangkap isi dari bacaan tersebut.

R : Dari kesulitan dalam memahami isi bacaan yang mereka hadapi, skill apa yang paling mereka anggap sulit?

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T : Kemampuan mendapatkan ide utama dari bacaan. Mereka seringkali terkecoh dengan detail bacaan.

R : Tehnik pengajaran apa yang Bapak gunakan untuk mengajar reading comprehension?

T : Saya biasa menggunakan tehnik yang berbeda untuk setiap pertemuan. Hal ini bertujuan untuk mengurangi kebosanan siswa. Dalam mengajar reading comprehension, tehnik yang sering saya gunakan adalah previewing dan mind mapping.

Interview Guidelines for the Needs Analysis (After CAR)

(Friday, May 9th 2010)

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R : The researcher

T : The teacher

R : Bagaimana pendapat Bapak tentang keadaan siswa dalam pembelajaran reading setelah menggunakan tehnik skimming?

T : Mereka sekarang jauh lebih baik. Dulu mereka sering mengantuk, tertidur atau bercanda dengan teman sebelah saat KBM berlangsung. Sekarang mereka bisa lebih menikmati pelajaran reading. Dan mereka pun sekarang tidak mengantuk lagi di kelas saat belajar reading.

R : Adakah kesulitan yang Bapak hadapi saat menerapkan tehnik skimming di kelas?

T : Ya. Pada awalnya saya merasa kesulitan untuk menjelaskan konsep dan cara penggunaan skimming. Hal ini dikarenakan tehnik skimming merupakan hal baru bagi mereka. Ditambah lagi, sebagian dari mereka, pada awalnya, masih sulit untuk membedakan antara main idea teks secara keseluruhan dan main idea dari sebuah paragraph dari teks tersebut. Bahkan, sebagian dari mereka masih kebingungan untuk membedakan antara main idea dengan detail.

R : Lantas, bagaimana Bapak mengatasi kesulitan-kesulitan tersebut?

T : Pertama saya memotivasi siswa dan meyakinkan mereka bahwa tehnik skimming itu tidaklah sulit, malah sebaliknya. Untuk melakukan hal ini, saya memulai pengajaran dengan menunjukkan sebuah gambar konser musik kepada mereka. Saya pilih konser musik karena hal ini berkaitan dengan dunia mereka. Selain itu, saya juga senantiasa mencoba untuk menunjukan, bukan hanya menjelaskan, penggunaan tehnik skimming untuk memperoleh ide utama. Selain itu, saya percaya bahwa pengajaran yang diberikan secara sistematis akan jauh lebih mudah dipahami, ketimbang pengajaran yang tidak sistematis. Oleh karena itu, saya selalu menyampaikan bahan ajar secara sistematis.

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Answer Key

Pretest 14. CB

C

D

A

E

A

A

B

D

E

C

B

D

A

E

C

E

D

B

Posttest IK. A

E

B

D

C

B

A

C

E

D

Posttest IIb. B

D

A

C

E

A

B

E

D

C

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