THE EFFECTIVENESS
OF USING RAPQ (READ, ASK, PUT, QUESTION) TECHNIQUE IN TEACHING READING
COMPREHENSION TO THE TENTH GRADERS OF SMA N 3 KOTA MAGELANG IN THE SCHOOL YEAR
OF 2017/2018
A
PAPER
Presented
as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Final Test of the
Qualitative
Research Class
By:
Teza
Putra Handika (1420302168)
ENGLISH
DEPARTMENT
FACULTY
OF EDUCATION AND TEACHERS TRAINING
TIDAR
UNIVERSITY
2017
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Background
of the Study
Reading
has an important role in learning process because the students’ success in
learning other subjects is very much determined by the high degree of mastering
reading. Therefore, teacher should try to make reading interesting, enjoyable,
meaningful and challenging.
Bernhard
et al. (2000:6), reading is about understanding written text. It is a complex
activity that involves both perception and thought. Reading consists of two
related processes word recognition and comprehension. Word recognition refers
to the process of perceiving how written symbols correspond to one‟s spoken language. Comprehension is the process
of making sense of words, sentences and connected text. Readers typically make
use of background knowledge, vocabulary, grammatical knowledge, experience with
text and other strategies to help them understand written text. What we know
about reading is mostly based on studies conducted in English.
Many
reading methods have been used in classroom to help students have better
understanding when they read. The result shows that some are successful with
particular group students but some are not. Actually, what should be taken into
consideration now is the way the knowledge is presented. As we know, teacher
centre approaches in tradition all classroom learning activities do not produce
active recipients. It is not effective enough to promote language acquisition.
Sometimes
teacher assumes that the students’ reading comprehension will develop naturally
without any teaching technique. But in fact, it has significant influence to the
students’ achievement. The students may not be motivated to read because the
text is not interesting and sometime the text is too long. The students are
also unfamiliar with the word used in the text or they lacking of vocabularies.
However, the main factor that causes students uninterested in reading is the
technique for teaching reading used by the teachers is not appropriate to their
need. So,teacher have to find a breakthrough in use of more innovative method,
one of which is RAPQ (Read, Ask, Put, Question).
RAPQ
(Read, Ask, Put, Question) technique is very simple to apply. In this research,
RAPQ technique was used to increase students’ reading achievement. RAPQ is
intended to increase students’ ability in finding the main idea, construct
meaning, and making question, involved using a four-step process towards
greater reading comprehension. Students were read a paragraph, ask about the
information of the text, especially mention the main idea, and put the
information into their own words by paraphrasing, then made question based on
the story of the text.
Based
on the problem and explanation above, the researcher is aimed at finding out
the difference of students’ reading comprehension achievement through RAPQ
technique. Therefore, this research will be conducted by the title "The
Effectiveness of Using RAPQ Technique in Teaching Reading Comprehension to the
Tenth Graders of SMA N 3 Kota Magelang in the School Year of 2017/2018".
1.2 The
Identification of the Problem
Based on the background
of the study, the researcher identifies the following problems in teaching
reading comprehension in Senior High School, they are:
1. The
students feel complicated in pronouncing and understanding the text.
2. The
students get difficulties in getting the main idea of the text.
3. The
teacher is still using traditional technique in teaching reading.
4. The
lack of students’ motivation in studying English.
5. The
English teacher has little creativity in using a teaching technique.
6. The
students’ handout do not support the learning process.
7. The
students’ consciousness in learning English is still low.
1.3 The Limitation
of the Study
To
avoid the expansion of the writing, and because of the limited time and
knowledge the researcher, the researcher makes limitation of the problems on
the effectiveness of using rapq technique in teaching reading comprehension to
the tenth graders of SMA N 3 kota magelang in the school year of 2017/2018.
1.4 The Formulation
of the Problems.
Based
on the identification and limitation of the problems, the researcher formulates
the problems as follow:
a. Is there any significant differences of
students’ reading comprehension mastery between those who are taught using RAPQ
technique and those who are taught using reading aloud technique?
b. How great is the significant difference of
students’ reading comprehension mastery between those who are taught using RAPQ
technique and reading aloud technique?
1.5 The Objective of
the Study
The
objectives of the research can be stated as follow:
a. To know whether there is significant
difference of the students’ reading comprehension mastery between those who are
taught using RAPQ technique and those are taught using reading aloud technique.
b. To know whether the students who are taught
using RAPQ technique have better reading comprehension mastery than those who
are taught using reading aloud technique.
1.5 Significance of
the Study
By
conducting this study, some significances could be expected in contribution for
students, teachers and further research.
Students.
This
study will help them to use and adopt creative way in learning English,
especially in reading comprehension, so that they can understand the text
easily and fun, and also they are expected to have more attention and interest
to improve their reading comprehension mastery.
Teachers.
The
research supports the teachers to apply this technique in teaching reading
comprehension. Hopefully, this technique can make the teachers to be more
creative in teaching reading especially reading comprehension or choose some
more appropriate techniques.
Further Research.
For
further research, this study can be one of references in research about reading
comprehension, both in learning and teaching reading.
CHAPTER
II
REVIEW
OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1
Theoretical Background
2.1.1
Reading Skill
2.1.1.1
Definition of Reading
Reading
is one of the four language skills. Nuttal (2000:2) assumes that reading means
a result of interaction between the writer’s mind and the reader’s mind. It can
be seen from the way the reader tries to understand and get the writers’
message on the text. To understand the writer’s message, readers have to do
word recognition first before doing comprehension. Pang (2003:6) also
emphasizes that reading is defined as understanding written texts. He says that
reading consists of two related processes: word recognition and comprehension.
Word recognition is defined as the process of getting how written symbols
correspond to one’s spoken language while comprehension is the process of
making the meaning of words, sentences and connected text. He adds his
statement that the reader who has background knowledge, vocabulary, grammatical
knowledge, experience with text and other strategies can help them understand
written texts.
The
central purpose of reading is to understand a text. Consequently, Grabe
(2009:14) defines reading as a comprehending process. Readers read to
comprehend what the writer intended to convey in writing. They also want to
figure out about the text and what information they can get from the text.
Readers read to comprehend what the writer intended to convey in writing. They
also want to figure out about the text and what information they can get from
the text. Added to this, Grellet (1981:3) claims that reading as a constant
process of guessing and what a reader bring to the text is often more important
than what he or she find it. In line with Grellet, Nunan (2003:68) concerns
that reading is a fluent process of readers combining information from the text
and their own background knowledge to build meaning. Furthermore, the efforts
do not only come from the readers, but also come from the writer. The writer
also tries to share message in his mind to the reader. He or she need to make
the message clear to his or her readers. Therefore, Nuttall (1996:11) adds that
reading as an interactive process. It means that while a reader reads a text to
comprehend the writer’s intention, the text provides information that the
writer wants the reader to understand in certain ways.
The
relation from those definitions above, reading can be defined as the process of
comprehension written symbol that meaning and message were contained in it. It
means that when a reader interacts with printed messages, he tries to imagine
their understanding what the writer was intended to say and get the final
meaning of it. It also can be said that reading is not only the process of
getting the written 10 symbols correspond to one’s spoken language but it is
also the process of making the meaning of words, sentences and connected text
called comprehension.
2.1.1.2
Reading Comprehension
According
to Snow (2002; 11) explains these
three elements are the reader, the 11 text and the activity. The first element
is the reader who is doing the comprehending. A reader, when he tries to
comprehend a text, brings all his capacities, abilities, knowledge and
experiences to the act of reading. The text that is to comprehend is also has a
large effect on reading comprehension. The third element is the activity in
which comprehension is a part. This includes the purposes, processes and
consequences associated with the act of reading. These three elements are
interrelated in the reading process.
Klingner
(2007:2), reading comprehension is “the process of constructing meaning by
coordinating a number of complex processes that included word reading, word and
world knowledge, and fluency”. It refers to the ability in interpreting the
words, understanding the meaning and the relationships between ideas conveyed
in a text. He summarizes reading comprehension instruction for the teacher as
following a three-step procedure: mentioning, practicing and assessing.
Teachers mention the skills that students want to use then, they give them
opportunities to practice those skills through workbooks or work sheets, and
finally assess whether or not they use the skills successfully.
From
the reference about definitions from the experts, we can get that reading
comprehension as the aim of reading is not only a process of identifying the
word but also a process of constructing and understanding a meaning from a
written text to get information related to the text and also to give students
pleasure. Moreover, reading comprehension can be seen as the ability to find
the stated or unstated writer’s idea in the text, because the essence of
reading comprehension is to understand all information delivered by the writer.
It also refers to the ability to connect between the words in a text, to
understand the ideas and the relationships between ideas conveyed in a text.
2.1.2
Teaching Reading
2.1.2.1
Principle of Teaching Reading
Principle
of Teaching Reading Reading is a complex process. There are a lot of subskills
and strategies of reading that students should know. These subskills and
strategies facilitate students to understand a text. In order to help students
master these skills, a good teacher should know first the principles of
teaching reading.
Understanding
the principles of teaching reading can help a teacher design and practice a
reading lesson. Nation (2009:6-8) states that there are four strands of
principles of teaching reading. They are explained as below
a. Meaning-Focused
Input
This strand of principles
has three issues. First, the activities in reading should be done for a range
of reading purposes. These purposes consist of reading to search for
information, reading to learn, reading for fun, reading to integrate
information, reading to critique text, and reading to write. Second, a teacher
should design a reading lesson that suits with his or her students’ language
proficiency level. And the last, reading should be used as a way of developing
language proficiency and developing reading subskills.
b. Meaning-Focused
Output
Meaning-focused
output principle emphasized how reading can be related to other language
skills. A teacher should design activities that do not only involve reading
skills, but also involve the others language skills (listening, speaking, and
writing). It is because each skill is connected with each other.
c. Language-Focused
Learning
There
are four issues which are emphasized in this strand of principle. The first
issue is that a teacher should help students to develop the skills and knowledge
needed for effective reading. The lesson should work on the subskills of
reading and the features needed to read, including phonemic awareness
activities, phonics, vocabulary learning using word cards and grammar study.
The 18 reading strategies should be mastered by the teacher. Moreover,
activities that integrate a range of strategies should also be given to
students. Finally, students should be introduced with a various text structure,
such as narrative or descriptive.
d. Fluency
Development
Fluency
development principal has some crucial issues. First, a teacher should help and
persuade students to develop their fluency in reading. Second, a teacher should
give extensive reading activities. Third, the reading process should engage and
encourage students’ enjoyment and enthusiasm. These strands of teaching reading
principles can help a teacher design a well-thought out reading lesson. A
teacher can consider the important points in teaching reading, such as
designing activities that relates not only one skill, but also the other
skills. The principles should guide a teacher in teaching reading.
2.1.2.2
Teaching Reading at the Senior High Schools
The
curriculum of 2013 is not implemented in every school in Indonesia. Later,
there is a swift of curriculum from the curriculum of 2013 into SchoolBased
Curriculum in schools in Indonesia included Central Java. The government has
chosen several schools to implement this curriculum. SMA N 3 Kota Magelang has
been selected to be one of the schools that were still continuing the
implementation of the Curriculum of 2013.
The
curriculum of 2013 is used as the guide for the teaching and learning
implementation in all levels of educational institution including primary
school and High School. This new reform is believed as the one more effective
in enhancing the learning process than the current curriculum.
The
different between the curriculum of 2013 and the curriculum of 2006 is that the
curriculum of 2013 adds some characteristics that are not stated in the earlier
curriculum. According to Peraturan Menteri Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan No. 68
tahun 2013, the curriculum of 2013 does not just focuse on knowledge
competences but also focuses on the spiritual and social competences.
In
the curriculum of 2013, the content of teaching learning materials seems look
simple than before. Here, teachers were asked to be creative, teachers should
develop their teaching materials from the book. Teachers should let the
students more active in the teaching and learning process. There are so many
ways and strategies that can be used by teachers in teaching learning process.
They can freely select the appropriate teaching strategy according to the
students’ characteristics and also depending on the materials being taught. It
is only teachers who know the appropriate teaching methods that are going to be
used in delivering the teaching material.
2.1.3
The Process of Reading
Burns
et al. (1996:8-18) claim that there are nine aspects of reading process. They
are sensory aspect, perceptual aspect, sequential aspect, associational aspect,
experimental aspect, learning aspect, thinking aspect, affective aspect and
constructive aspect. These aspects of reading process enhance the degree of
comprehension of the reader to the text he or she reads. In this case, some
aspects are having a direct relation to the topic of this research are
enclosed.
a. Sensory Aspects of Reading
The
reading process begins with a sensory impression, either visual or tactile
Burns et al. (1996:93). A normal reader perceives the printed symbol visually
but a blind reader uses a tactile sense. The auditory sense is also very
essential, since a beginning stage in reading. Reading is the association of
printed symbols with spoken language.
b. Perceptual
Aspects of Reading
Perception
involves interpretation of the sensory impressions that reach brain. Burns et
al. (1996: 11). Experiences background help a reader process and recognize
sensory data. When a person is reading, the brain receives a visual sensation
of words and phrases from the printed material. To recognize and understand the
meaning of these words and phrases, the reader should link them to his or her
previous experience with the objects, ideas, or emotion represented. Different
people may have different meanings to a thing depends on their experience which
build different perceptions.
c. Sequential
Aspect
English
language printed material generally appears on a page in a left-toright, top-to
bottom sequence Burns et al. (1996:12). A person’s eyes must follow the
sequence in order to read. A reader occasionally regresses, or looks back to
earlier words and phrases, as they read. Another sequential is pattern of
grammar and logic. The reader must be able to follow the grammatical and
logical pattern 24 of a text in order to understand the written language. To
fully get the sense of a text, a reader may follow those sequences in reading
process.
d. Experiential
Background in reading
Meaning
derived from reading which is based on the reader’s experiential background Burns
et al. (1996:12). When a reader read something new, it does not imprint on his
or her brain directly. However, he or she searches through their minds for
information and understanding that they already have seen and connect the
existing knowledge with the new information. So, by having much experience, it
helps the reader develop their vocabulary and concepts they found in reading.
e. Affective
Aspects of Reading Process
Interest,
attitudes and self-concepts are three affective aspects of the reading process.
These aspects affect how hard children work at reading task Burns et al.
(1996:15). For example, children who are interested in the materials force
themselves to put forth much more effort on the reading process than children
who have not interest to the materials. In the same manner, children with
positive attitude toward reading expend more effort on the reading process than
children who have negative attitudes. Their interest and positive attitude
toward reading influence the comprehension degree of the reader to the text he
or she reads.
Thisis
explain how the readers construct the meaning. It also influences the
comprehension degree of the reader to the text she or he reads.
2.1.4
RAPQ (Read-Ask-Put-Question) Technique
2.1.4.1
ReadingTechnique
Parker
et al. (2002: 46), “A learning strategy is a systematic approach to completing
a task.” Verschaffel and Ven (2001:71) also claim that using learning
strategies to help increase comprehension helps diminish the problems students
with special needs have with comprehension. Implementation of learning
strategies has proven to increase application and generalization of reading
comprehension skills.
Additinally,
Parker et al. (2002: 46) mention that learning strategies also help students
maintain interest and concentration during many learning tasks. Tutors, who
teach learning strategies, teach students how to learn, rather than teaching
them specific curriculum content or specific skills. The use of learning
strategies helps students maintain interest and concentration during many
learning tasks (Clark et al. 1984; Nelson and Smith, 1992 as cited in Parker et
al. 2002:47). Often children’s lack of understanding will impinge on their
ability to process their reading and a limited vocabulary does not enable them
to successfully respond to what they have read.
2.1.4.2
The Definitions of RAPQTechnique
RAP
is a mnemonic strategy to teach the strategy of reading comprehension. It is a
four-step technique, which is decoded as follows:
a.
Read the text.
b.
Ask the main idea of the text.
c. Put the idea into the reader’s own word
d.
Question is make and answer Question
RAPQ
is reading technique presented in Everly on cited Schumaker J.B (2008:2), in
technique helps students stay focus on the main idea of what they read.
2.1.4.3
The Benefits of RAPQ Technique
The technique can increase the students’
reading comprehension achievements, therefore the researcher decides to
implement RAPQ in teaching reading to improve their reading comprehension. By
this technique, the students were asked to be more active so they did not feel
bored anymore in the class.
2.2
Conceptual Framework
Reading
is one of the four language skills that students have to master. Trough
reading, students can get and discover new knowledge and actively involved in
the classroom discussion. So, it is clear that reading is really important to
be learned. Students find many problems and difficulties to learn a foreign
language, especially when they have to
comprehend it in the written form. To overcome the problems regarding reading
activities in the classroom, the teacher should creatively find a new
breakthrough in designing the activities.
Unfortunately, many teachers seem to see
these problems as something simple. They do not understand that the way
teaching of a teacher and the lesson influence the students’ interest to learn
a second language in the classroom. So, if the teacher wants to improve
students’ language mastery, he or she must be aware of the students’ feeling
and create a supporting learning atmosphere in the classroom. In teaching
reading, the teacher should be more creative and be a motivator. Teacher should
choose a strategy to make the students to read actively. If the students are
interested, they will be motivated to read. A high enthusiasm to practice
reading will improve their reading comprehension.
The problems arising in SMA N 3 Kota
Magelang were that many of the students were passive during teaching and
learning process. They just focused on the text and listened to teacher’s
explanation. The clever students tended to be more active but the other
students tended to be more passive. The clever students answered teacher’s
question and be dare to share their opinion. The other students would feel safe
and most of them just accepting the ideas that the clever students were saying.
It is because, they don’t have enough self esteem and still afraid or shy to
share their opinion. Moreover, there were few teaching methods that taught the
students how to read and comprehend a text efficiently because in the reading
class, teaching and learning processes took more time only in reading the texts
and answering some questions related to the texts. So many students were less
motivated and felt bored in learning reading English in the classroom. These
made the students do not learn reading optimally.
Then, to solve these problems, the
researcher used the RAPQtechnique in teaching learning in the classroom. It is
one of strategies that can be used for increasing reading comprehension skills
for adolescents in high school.
2.3
Research Hypothesis
Researchers
determine the hypotheses of the reaserch as follow :
a.
There is
significant difference of students’ reading comprehension ability mastery
between those who are taught using RAPQ technique and those who are taught
using reading aloud technique.
b. The
student who are taugh using RAPQ technique have better reading comprehension
mastery than those who are taugh using reading aloud technique
CHAPTER
III
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
3.1
Type of Research
The
method that was used in this research is classroom action research (CAR).
According to Burns (2010: 2), action research is related to the ideas of
‘reflective practice’ and ‘the teacher as researcher’. Further, he also says
that action research involves taking a self-reflective, critical and systematic
approach to explore teaching contexts.
Burns
(2010: 6) claims that for a teacher who is reflective and committed to
developing as thinking professional, action research is an appealing way to
look more closely at puzzling classroom issues or to delve into teaching
dilemmas. Action research also encourages teachers “to reach their own
solutions and conclusions and this is far more attractive and has more impact
than being presented with ideals which cannot be attained” Burns (1999:7) in
Burns (2010: 7). He (2010: 7) adds that doing action research can reinvigorate
our teaching, lead to positive change, raise our awareness of the complexities
of our work, and show us what drives our personal approaches to teaching.
This
research focuses on the attempt to improve students’ English reading
comprehension skill in the tenth graders of SMA N 13Kota Magelang by
RAPQtechnique.
3.2
The Population
The
population of the research is tenth graders of SMA N 13 Kota Magelang in the
school year of 2017/2018. The sample will devided into two groups.
3.3
Procedure of the Research
Using
the model of Kemmis and McTaggart as quoted in Koshy (2005:4), this study
consisted of four stages: planning, acting, observing and reflecting.Those were
explained as follows.
1. Determining
the Thematic Concern-Reconnaissance
In the beginning of this stage, the researcher
did reconnaissance steps. These steps were aimed to find out information
concerning the teaching reading comprehension in the VIII E class. First, the
researcher did a classroom observation. The result of the observation described
the real teaching and learning process in the classroom. The researcher also
interviewed both the teacher and 35 some students that are chosen randomly. The
researcher gathered information from the teacher about the students’
achievement in the English teaching and learning process, especially their
achievement in reading class. The students were also interviewed to know their
opinion about the English teaching and learning process. Finally, the
researcher gave a pre-test for the students. This test was aimed to know
students’ achievement in reading
In this stage, the
researcher identified any information related to the students’ reading skill.
After doing the observation, the researcher found out some problems in the
teaching and learning process.
In
this stage, the researcher identified any information related to the students’
reading skill. After doing the observation, the researcher found out some
problems in the teaching and learning process.
Table:
The Problems and Solutions in the Teaching and Learning Process
|
No
|
Problems
|
Actions
|
|
1
|
The
students still have low ability in reading especially (comprehension)
|
Using
RAP as the strategy for teaching reading comprehension in the classroom.
|
|
2
|
The
teachers still could not find the proper strategy to teach reading
comprehension.
|
|
|
3
|
The
students lacked of vocabulary
|
Using
synonyms activity in the form of game and group discussion to gain the
students’ interests and enthusiasm during the teaching and learning process.
|
|
4
|
The
students have not enthusiasm in reading text and did not actively participate
and involve in the reading activity
|
|
|
5
|
The
teaching activities focused on using worksheet.
|
Provide
and use different media as learning tools (board game, song, and video) for
the teaching and learning process.
|
|
6
|
The
learning activities were still monotonous
|
|
|
7
|
The
teaching and learning process still lacked of media
|
According to the
problems in the teaching and learning process, the researcher determined the
topic of this research. Meanwhile, the researcher also 36 reviewed the
literature to support the solutions. The solutions that the researcher proposed
guided the researcher to plan some actions to improve the students’ reading
comprehension. Finally, the researcher determined the best solution to solve
those problems.
2. The
Research Cycles
a. Planning
In this step, the researcher collected much
information from the observations and the interviews done to the teacher and
the students. The researcher observed the English classroom teaching and
learning process. This aimed to identify the problems which happened during the
teaching and learning process. Furthermore, the researcher also designed a
lesson plan to implement the action. Finally, organizing the steps in
implementing the RAP strategy in the reading class was done before the
researcher acted in the teaching and learning process.
b.
Action and
observation
In this stage, the action was done in
the same time with the observation. It was because both stages cannot be done
separately. During the action, the researcher needed to observe the students’
behavior and achievement. In this stage, the researcher and the English teacher
in collaboration implemented the action in the teaching and learning process.
The action was conducted until the students showed improvement. The action was
based on the lesson plan and the materials that have been designed.
While the researcher doing the action,
the researcher and the English teacher observed the applicant and the effect of
this strategy. The researcher wrote field note to describe everything that
happened during the action in the teaching and learning process. Meanwhile, the
interview was done before and after the teaching and learning process. The
students and the English teacher were the source of information to tell their
opinions, feeling and perceptions about the teaching and learning process.
c.
Reflection
Together with the teacher, the researcher made some reflections on the changes
during the implementation of the actions. From the discussion, the researcher
made an evaluation. This influences to the researcher in designing the actions
for the next cycle or in deciding whether there would be the next cycle or not.
After doing the observation, the researcher reflected to the actions. Then, the
researcher discussed the problems and the achievement during the implementation
of the action with the English teacher and the collaborators. From the
discussion, the researcher made an evaluation. This gave influences to the
researcher in designing the actions for the next cycle or in deciding whether
there would be the next cycle or not.
3.4
Data Collection Techniques
In
this research design, the collected data were qualitative and quantitative.
Still, there were quantitative data from students’ pre-test and post-test mean
scores. The qualitative data were collected by observing the teaching learning
38 process. The quantitative data attained from pre-test and post-test that has
been done by the students. The data collection techniques that researcher used,
namely:
a. Observation
During the teaching and learning process
in classroom, the researcher observed the teaching and learning activity.
Researcher observed several aspects in the teaching and learning process. They
included how the teacher teaches reading, students’ behavior, and the learning
material. The purpose of this technique was to get the information about the
teaching and learning activity. The results were used to identify the problems
in the reconnaissance stage which determined the planning stage. While in the
acting and observing stage (during the action), the results were used to assist
the research members in describing the students’ and the teacher’s behavior and
the problems that occurred in the classroom during the implementation of the
action. The results of observation were described in the form of field notes.
b. Interview
The type of interview that was used in
this research is the semi-structured interview. The researcher developed some
specific questions, but the researcher allowed for some flexibility according
to how the interviewee responded. Teacher and students were individually
interviewed before and after the teaching and learning process. This technique
was used to discover the response of teacher and students about the teaching
and learning process. The researcher asked the students’ and teachers’
perceptions, thoughts and opinions about the teaching and learning process. The
responses were transcribed from audiotape.
c. Reading
Comprehension Test.
There were two kinds of test that were
used in this research. Those were pre-test and post-test. A pre-test was
administrated in the reconnaissance stage. After completion of the sections, a
post-test was administrated. These tests helped the researcher find out the
students’ reading comprehension ability before and after the researcher
implemented the activities that were based on the theory of the RAP strategy.
The researcher compared the results of the two tests. The results of these
tests could show the result of this action whether there was improvement or not
of the students’ reading comprehension ability.
3.5 Research
Instruments
a.
Observation
Sheet The observation sheet was used as guide information in the teaching and
learning process when the action was conducted. It contained some aspects with
several indicators of each aspect. Those aspects were related to how the
teacher taught reading, students’ behavior and the learning materials. The data
were recorded every time through some descriptions in the form of field notes.
b. Interview
Guideline
This
semi structured interview provided much greater flexibility for the researcher
and the interviewee. Because the researcher had more flexibility in asking
question, interview guide was used as a guide to provide the underlying focus
for the interview. The questions were designed to find out the students’ and
teacher’s perceptions toward the teaching and learning process. There were
several aspects were asked to the students and the teacher. Those related to
the 40 implementation of the strategy, the situation during the teaching and
learning process and the students’ behavior towards the teaching of reading.
The interview process was recorded. The results of the interview were interview
transcripts.
c. Reading
Comprehension Tests
The reading comprehension tests were in
the form of multiple-choice questions. The tests contained 4 options in 40
multiple-choice questions. In creating the questions, the researcher referred
to the curriculum used in the school, which the 2013 curriculum. Before the
pre-test and the post-test were held, there was a test of the item validity.
The test were tried out to check the validity of the test items. Based on the
analysis of the result of the try-out, there were 18 invalid items on the
prototype of the test. Number 1,3,5,6,8,10,11,20,28,30,34,41 were unacceptable
because the item discrimination were below 0,3. The researcher removed 10
invalid items and also substituted some items with a new one so that there were
40 items for each test. D
d. Audio recorder
Audio recorder was used to record the
interview. The recorded interview was transcribed into written form and was
attached to be reported in the thesis as the proof that the interview was done.
The interview transcription made the data collection easier.
e. Camera
Camera is one of the important instruments used in this research. It was used
to capture and document the teaching and learning process.
3.6 Validity and
Reability
The researcher used
validity and reliability to ensure the quality of the research. Creswell
(2008:169) proposes that validity refers to the meaningfulness, appropriateness
of an instrument that enables a researcher draw a correct conclusion from the
sample she is studying. Creswell (2008:169) also adds that reliability refers
to the consistency of scores from an instrument even when the researcher
administers the instrument multiple times at different time.
To ensure the
trustworthiness of this research, the researcher used Anderson’s criterion
suggestion. Burns (1999: 160) says that in quantitative educational research,
validity is an essential criterion for evaluating the quality and acceptability
of research. Further, he also says that although action research involves a
different set of assumptions and research activities from quantitative
research, action researchers are still faced with the challenge of responding
to questions about the rigor and credibility of their investigations.
Anderson et al. in
Burns (1999: 161-162), suggest five criterion of validity of the data. There
are democratic validity, outcome validity, process validity, catalytic validity
and dialogic validity.
1. Democratic validity
To fulfill the democratic validity in this research, the researcher discussed
together with the English teacher and students in the VIII E class of SMPN 15
Yogyakarta. The discussion was held in order to find what had been done and
what had not been done by the researcher. This was aimed to 42 gain better
implementation of planned teaching materials and improvement of students’
speaking skills.
2. Outcome Validity
This criterion relates to the notion of actions leading to outcomes that are
‘successful’ within the research context. In this research, the outcome
validity was fulfilled by showing the students’ improvements on their reading
skill.
3. Process Validity The
researcher collected the data by doing observation and taking notes to obtain
the process validity. The researcher noted all the activities in the teaching
and learning process.
4. Catalytic Validity
This validity was related to the extent to which the researcher allowed
participants to deepen their understanding of the social realities of the
context and how they could make change within it. The English teacher got new
strategy on how to teach reading comprehension in a systematic way.
5. Dialogic Validity
Dialogic Validity was a process of peer review that was commonly used in
academic research such as interview the English teacher.
3.7
Data Analysis Techniques
The
data in this research were analyzed through five steps data analysis which
suggested by Burns (2010: 113). Those were assembling data, coding data,
comparing the data, building interpretation, and reporting the outcomes.
First,
the data of the research were assembled for rereading the data to get important
points. Second, the data were coded into more specific categories based on the
broad patterns which had developed before. Third, the categories of data from
different sets of data were compared to see the similarities or differences
between the data. Then, the data interpretations were built in some tables. The
final step was reporting or presenting the outcomes of the research.
The
researcher collected the data of observation and reread it. After that, the
board patterns were built and compared with the other data, such as students’
mean scores from pre-test and post-test. Students’ mean score of pre-test and
posttest were also compared to see the improvements. Then, it was also compared
to the observation data. Next, the researcher created the tables to show and
interpreted the data. The last stage was reporting the results.
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