Reading is one of the language skills which must be taught in English classes of senior high school students. Through the teaching and learning of reading, the students are expected to be able to comprehend the reading passages they read. However, for many students, reading a foreign language is not an easy activity. Students not only have to read but also have to understand the text. Based on the previous study, it was found that high school students still got some difficulties in finding general information in the passage, finding specific information, identifying main ideas, identifying explicit and implicit information. This condition was caused by several factors such as; students' low motivation in learning English, students' lack of vocabulary, students' low ability in mastering the reading skills, the materials of the reading text, and the monotonous teaching technique. Accordingly, for the improvement of the students' reading comprehension ability, the implementation of an appropriate method or strategy in teaching reading is urgently needed. Therefore, Reciprocal Teaching (RT) has to be applied to cope with their problems in reading comprehension.
Reciprocal teaching is an effective method in improving reading comprehension which is developed in 1984 by Anne Marie Paliscar from Michigan State University and Anne Brown from the University of Illinois.It teaches students to be active readers that is built on four strategies that student use to comprehend text . First, predicting, the students make predictions about what the author might discuss in the text. Second, clarifying, It teaches students to identify when they do not understand and take necessary steps to restore meanings. Third, questioning, the students need to develop questions, from the text that they have read . Fourth, summarizing, the students have to recall and arrange the information and construct overall understanding of the text that they have read before.In brief, each strategies in reciprocal teaching is helpful in teaching reading more effective and at the same time it improves the students achievement in reading comprehension.
There were many findings of research in reading comprehension through Reciprocal teaching. The first studies, Paliscar and Brown (1986) have conducted a series of studies to determine the effectiveness of reciprocal teaching. They found that students who were taught these strategies and who were involved in the Reciprocal Teaching routine, made significant gains in comprehension in a relatively short time frame. Students who scored around 30 percent on a comprehension assessment scored 70 to 80 percent after just 15-20 days of instruction using reciprocal teaching. After one year, the students maintained the comprehension growth they had achieved. In her own research with reciprocal teaching, Oczkus (2003), found that student’s reading levels rose one half to one full grade level in just 18-20 reciprocal teaching lessons two or three times per week. In another study, Cooper et. all (2000) reported dramatic results in reading levels after 76 reciprocal teaching lessons.
Budi Suryanto (2009) also founded that the result of his research showed that the RT Method in the teaching-learning of reading comprehension was effective in improving the students' reading comprehension. The improvement was indicated by the increase of the students' average score throughout the cycles of action that was 53.56 in the preliminary study; 58.69 in the test of Cycle 1; and 72.00 in the test of Cycle 2. Besides, students were motivated and active in the class using the method in terms of learning to work together and to help each other in a group with different competence, which was showed by the result of their works.
It‘s also supported by the writer when she did research toward 25 junior high school SMPN 21 Tambang. She combined Reciprocal teaching with Cooperative learning or Students pairing. She found that Reciprocal teaching is a useful and efficient strategy for improving reading comprehension. Nopri Malia as a writer (2009:20) said that when reciprocal teaching is implemented and the learner makes substantial gains in their comprehension skills, the learner can then gain better understanding of complex text in the content.
Based on some studies that had been done by researcher above such as Paliscar and Brown, Oczkus, and Cooper at all, they agree that Reciprocal Teaching Method can increase students reading comprehension. Then Budi Suryanto has also use it and found that reciprocal teaching not only increase the students reading comprehension but also it can be effective to motivate and make students active in the class using the method in terms of learning to work together and to help each other in a group with different competence, which was showed by the result of their works. In addition, the writer also has combined this method with other approach such as cooperative learning. From studies above the writer can conclude that Reciprocal Teaching Method is effective method in improving students reading comprehension and at the same time students can be motivated and be active in the class using the method in terms of learning to work together and to help each other in a group with different competence to gain better understanding of complex text in the content.
REFERENCES
Budiman, Suryanto. 2009.Implementing Reciprocal Teaching Method to Improve Reading Comprehension Ability of the Eleventh Graders of MAN Muara-Teweh, Central Kalimantan. http://karya-ilmiah.um.ac.id/index.php/disertasi/index
Cooper, J.D., Boschken, L., McWilliams, J., & Pistochini, L. (2000). A study of the effectiReciveness of an intervention program designed to accelerate reading for struggling readers in the upper grades. In T. Shanahan & F.V. Rodriguez-Brown (Eds.), 49th yearbook of the National Reading Conference. Chicago, IL: National Reading Conference.
Malia, Nopri. 2009. Improving Reading Comprehension Trough Reciprocal Teaching(RT) of the Second Year Students at SMP 2 Tambang, Kampar.FKIP-UNRI.(Unpublished)
Oczkus, D Lori. 2003. Reciprocal Teaching at work: Strategies for improving reading comprehension. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Palincsar, A.S. (1986). Reciprocal teaching. In Teaching reading as thinking. Oak Brook, IL: North Central Regional Educational Laboratory.
Subject : My Final Academic Writing Assignment
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