THE IMPLEMENTATION OF MAPPING ACTIVITIES IN …/The...IMPROVING STUDENTS’ READING SKILL (A...

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THE IMPLEMENTATION OF MAPPING ACTIVITIES

IN IMPROVING READING SKILL

(A Classroom Action Research in the Eighth Grade Students of

SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta in 2011/2012 Academic Year)

Thesis

Yusi Rahmawati

X2210031

Submitted to Teacher Training and Education Faculty of Sebelas Maret University to fulfill one of the requirements for getting the Undergraduate Degree of Education in

English

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION FACULTY

SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY

SURAKARTA

2012


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ABSTRACT

Yusi Rahmawati. THE IMPLEMENTATION OF MAPPING ACTIVITIES IN IMPROVING STUDENTS’ READING SKILL (A Classroom Action Research in the Eighth Grade students of SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta in 2011/2012 Academic Year). First consultant: Dr. Ngadiso, M.Pd and second consultant: Teguh Sarosa, S.S., M.Hum. A thesis: English Education Department of Teacher Training and Education Faculty, Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta, 2012.

This action research aims at: (1) analyzing whether mapping can improve students’ reading skill, (2) analyzing the situation happens when mapping is used in teaching reading. The method of the research is action research. The subject of the research is the 36 eighth grade students of SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta. The research was conducted from October to December 2011 at SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta which was carried out in two cycles with total 10 meetings. There were steps in each cycle, namely planning, action, observation, and reflection. The techniques for collecting the data were interviews, questionnaire, observation, and test. The qualitative data were analyzed by using categorizing and analyzing talk. In addition, the quantitative data were analyzed by descriptive statistics to calculate the mean score of the pretest and posttest.

Mapping is able to improve the students in: (1) identifying main idea of the text; (2) identifying detail information of the text; (3) finding reference of pronouns; (4) explaining meaning of word based on context; and (5) describing implicit information (about conclusion and purpose of the text). Mapping is also able to improve class situation of the students in: (1) paying attention toward teacher’s explanation during teaching learning activity; (2) remembering what the teacher told in the past; (3) making good condition in teaching and learning English; and (4) having willingness to ask to the teacher when they have difficulty. The minimum score for each language skill should at least 7.0. The mean score of all the tests hold in this research: (1) 64.6 for pretest; (2) 69.2 for posttest 1; (3) 84.2 for posttest 2.

Therefore, it is suggested that teachers should be creative to use various techniques in teaching reading so the students are interested and actively involved in teaching and learning process.


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MOTTO

Life is struggle. Never give up till I can reach everything that I want.


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DEDICATION

This thesis is dedicated to my beloved parents.


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

All praise and honor is to ALLAH SWT who always gives the researcher His

blessings, mercy, and love to accomplish this thesis. This thesis is written as a partial

fulfillment of the requirement for getting an Undergraduate Degree of Education in

English.

The researcher would like to express her special gratitude to:

1. The Dean of Teacher Training and Education Faculty to give permission to conduct

this research.

2. Endang Setyaningsih S. Pd M. Hum., the Head of English Education Program of

Teacher Training and Education Faculty.

3. Dra. Dewi Rochsantiningsih, M.Ed., Ph.D., the academic advisor of the researcher.

Thanks a lot for her time and patient to the researcher. Thanks to her advices.

4. Dr. Ngadiso, M.Pd., the first consultant and the researcher’s best lecturer, for his best

advices, kindness, untranslatable patience, uncountable guidance, and correction in

accomplishing this thesis.

5. Teguh Sarosa, S.S., M.Hum., the second consultant, for his advice and guidance in

writing this thesis.

6. Drs. Djoko Triasmono, M.Pd., the Head of SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta, for giving the

researcher permission and support to conduct the research in his school.

7. Agustin, S. Pd, the English teacher, who always helps, supports, and gives advice to

the researcher in conducting this action research.

8. The eighth B students of SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta who have helped the researcher to

finish her research and give a chance to facilitate them to improve their reading

ability.

Needless to say, this thesis is still far from being perfect. The researcher will

accept gratefully every comment and suggestion. Hopefully, this thesis will give benefit

for everyone who concerns with action research.

Surakarta, June 2011

Y. R.


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TABLE OF CONTENT

Page

TITLE …………………………………………………………………………. i

APPROVAL OF CONSULTANTS …………………………………………... ii

APPROVAL OF THE EXAMINERS ………………………………………… iii

ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………………… iv

MOTTO ……………………………………………………………………….. v

DEDICATION ………………………………………………………………… vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT …………………………………………………….. vii

TABLE OF CONTENT ……………………………………………………….. ix

LIST OF TABLE ……………………………………………………………… xii

LIST OF THE APPENDICES ………………………………………………… xiii

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study ………………………………… 1

B. Problem Statement ………………………………………. 6

C. The Objectives of the Research ……………………….… 6

D. Benefits of the Study .……………………………………. 6

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW

A. Theoretical Background ..……………………………… … 8

1. The Review on Reading .……………………………. 8

a. The Definition of Reading ..…………………….. 8

b. The Elements of Reading .………………………. 10

c. The Purpose of Reading .………………………... 12

2. The Review on Recount Text .……….……………. … 14

a. The Definition of Recount Text ..……………….. 14

b. The Organization of a Recount Text ..………… … 15

3. The Review on Mapping ....…………………………. 18

a. The Definition of Mapping ... .…………………... 18

b. Teaching Steps ….......……………………………. 19

c. Mapping strategies ...…….……………………….. 21

d. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Mapping... 23


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B. Review of Related Research ……………………………. 24

C. Rationale …….….……………………………………… 26

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A. Research Setting ………………………………………… 28

B. Research Subject ……………………………………….. 29

C. Research Method ……………………………………….. 29

D. The Model of Classroom Action Research …………….. 30

E. The Procedure of the Classroom Action Research …….. 32

F. The Technique of Collecting the Data …………………. 34

G. The Technique of Analyzing the Data …………………. 35

CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FINDING AND DISCUSSION

A. Introduction ……………………………………………... 38

1. Students’ Reading Ability …………………………… 39

2. Class Situation ………………………………………. 40

3. Causes of the Problems ……………………………… 41

B. Research Implementation ………………………………. 41

I. Research Finding …………………………………….. 41

1. Pre Research ……………………………………... 42

2. Research …………………………………………. 43

1) Cycle 1 ……………………………………….. 43

a) Planning the action ………………………. 44

b) Implementing the action ………………… 44

(1) First Meeting …………………………. 45

(2) Second Meeting ……………………… 47

(3) Third Meeting ………………………... 49

(4) Fourth Meeting ………………………. 51

(5) Post Test 1 …………………………… 52

c) Observing the action ……………………... 53

a. First Meeting …………………………. 53

b. Second Meeting …………………….... 54

c. Third Meeting ………………………... 55


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d. Fourth Meeting ………………………. 55

d) Reflecting the result of the observation … 56

(1) The Strengths ………………………… 56

(2) The Weaknesses …………………….. 57

2) Cycle 2 ………………………………………. 58

a) Planning the Action ……………………... 58

b) Implementing the Action ……………….. 59

(1) First Meeting ………………………… 61

(2) Second Meeting ……………………... 62

(3) Third Meeting ………………………… 64

(4) Fourth Meeting ……………………….. 65

(5) Post Test 2 ……………………………. 66

c) Observing the Action ……………………... 67

(1) First Meeting ………………………….. 67

(2) Second Meeting ………………………. 67

(3) Third Meeting ………………………… 68

(4) Fourth Meeting ……………………….. 68

d) Reflecting the Result of the Observation … 69

(i) The Strengths in Cycle 2 …………….... 69

(ii) The Weaknesses in Cycle 2 …………... 72

II. Discussion …………………………………………….. 73

(1) Mapping activities can improve the students’

reading ability…………………………………...... 73

(2) Mapping activities can improve class situation … 75

CHAPTER V CONCLUSION, IMPLICATION, AND SUGGESTION

A. Conclusion ……………………………………………….. 78

B. Implication ………………………………………………. 78

C. Suggestion ………………………………………………... 79

BIBLIOGRAPHY …………………………………………………………….. 80

APPENDICES ………………………………………………………………… 83


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LIST OF TABLES

Page

1. Table 4.1. The Summary of Situation Prior to Action Research

Implementation 39

2. Table 4.2. The Mean Score of Reading Ability of Pre-test 40

3. Table 4.3. Planning of Students’ Activities in Cycle 1 45

4. Table 4.4. The Mean Score of Reading Ability of Post-test 1 56

5. Table 4.5. Problems Unsolved in Cycle 1 57

6. Table 4.6. Planning of Students’ Activities in Cycle 2 59

7. Table 4.7. The Mean Score of Reading Ability of Post-test 2 69

8. Table 4.8. The Mean Score of All the Test Hold in the Research 70

9. Table 4.9. The Findings 71

10. Table 4.10. The Improvement of the Students’ Score 72

11. Table 4.11. The Sample of the Students’ Comprehension Score 72


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LIST OF THE APPENDICES

Page

Appendix 1. Pedoman Wawancara dengan Guru …………………………. … 83

Appendix 2. Teacher’s Interview Transcript ……………………………… … 85

Appendix 3. Pedoman Wawancara dengan Siswa ………………………… … 89

Appendix 4. Students’ Interview Transcript ………………………………. … 90

Appendix 5. Pedoman Questionnaire …………………………………… … 95

Appendix 6. Hasil Questionnaire ………………………………………… … 97

Appendix 7. Research Schedule ………………………………………… … 104

Appendix 8. Rencana Pelaksanaan Pembelajaran ……………………… … 105

Appendix 9. Blue Print …………………………………………………… … 155

Appendix 10. Tests item ………………………………………………… … 169

Appendix 11. List of VIII B Students …………………………………… … 178

Appendix 12. Students’ Work Sheets …………………………………… … 179

Appendix 13. Catatan Lapangan Hasil Pengamatan ……………………… … 188

Appendix 14. Photographs of Research …………………………………… … 218

Appendix 15. List of Students’ Scores …………………………………… … 222

Appendix 16. Surat Ijin Penelitian ………………………………………… … 228

Appendix 17. Surat Ijin Penyusunan Skripsi ……………………………… … 229

Appendix 18. Surat Keterangan Telah Melaksanakan Penelitian ………… … 230


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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents the background of the study, problem statements, the

objectives of the research, and benefits of the study of the classroom action

research conducted in the eighth grade students of SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta in the

academic year of 2011/2012.

A. Background of the Study

Reading is one of English skills; reading is the receptive skill in the

written mode. It can develop independently from listening and speaking skills, but

often develop along with them, especially in societies with a highly-developed

literary tradition. Reading can help build vocabulary that helps listening

comprehension at the later stages, particularly. People read because they want to

get something from writing. We can call this the message: it might have been

facts, but could be just enjoyment, ideas, and feelings.

In this case, the problem is how far the students can answer the questions

and understand the text easily, whereas, as everybody knows, being able to read

and understand a textbook is one of the imperative things for them. It is not

enough for them just having good reading skill since their successfulness in

reading session is measured from how they can answer all of reading questions by

understanding the text. The reader and the text are two components necessary for

the reading process. The meaning the reader gets from the text may not be the

same as the one the author of the text wishes to convey. Likewise, the meaning

that one reader gets from the text may be different from what other readers get in

the same text. These may happen because some materials are simply unreadable.

For that reason, choosing suitable reading texts for students is an

important thing. Obviously, texts should be at the right level of difficulty for

students. Assessing the right level is not a simple work. A text which has high

readability makes a text easy to read. If the students are given a text and they can


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understand, they will enjoy it, and be motivated to read further; as a result, their

reading ability will improve. They will be easier to answer all reading questions.

Then, students will get good result.

In this research, the researcher takes the eighth grade of Junior High

School in first semester. According to the standard competency, there are two

kinds of texts in this level. They are descriptive and recount. The 2006 curriculum

states this standard competency for reading: Memahami makna teks tulis

fungsional dan esei pendek sederhana berbentuk descriptive dan recount yang

berkaitan dengan lingkungan sekitar. The basic competency for standard

competency above is Merespon makna dan langkah retorika dalam esei pendek

sederhana secara akurat, lancar dan berterima yang berkaitandengan lingkungan

sekitar dalam teks berbentuk descriptive dan recount.

Based on standard competency and basic competency above, the

researcher takes recount text as the material. Recount text is the right level text for

the eighth grade of junior high school. So, it is no need to measure the readability

of the text. It is because the government has decided and measured the readability

and understanding of the eighth grade students of junior high school.

Mun, et al. (2008: vi) state that a recount text is a piece of writing that tells

events in a chronological sequence. A recount text is like a narrative text in that

you have to write a story, but in a recount the story is real. The story may be an

event or a situation that took place on a particular day, and you are the narrator of

the whole event. The order of the events is very important. The communicative

purpose of recount text is to record or provide factual information or to give

someone an account of an event happening in the past. The examples of recount

texts are article, police report, newspaper reports, historical accounts, letters,

journals, incident report, and diary entries. A recount text consists of three main

parts: orientation, events, and re-orientation.

The ideal reading ability of the students is the students are able to find

main idea of the text, detail information of the text, the reference of the text, the

meaning of words, and the conclusion and purpose of the text. Based on the pre-


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research conducted in the eighth grade students of SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta, the

researcher finds that the students in learning English have low reading skill as

stated by the teacher, the eighth grade students of SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta have

mean score 6.4 for English in the first test, while the minimum score is 7.0. It

means that the mean score is less than the minimum score.

Basically, the minimum score for each language skill should take the same

portion. Therefore, the eighth grade students of SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta should

have at least 7.0 as their minimum score for listening, speaking, reading, and

writing skill. It is very different from fact taken from the result of pre-test

conducted by the researcher on November 2nd 2011. Based on the data, some

students of the eighth grade students get only 6.2 for the mean score for finding

main idea of the text, 6.6 for finding detail information of the text, 5.1 for

identifying meaning of words, and 6.1 for describing the conclusion and purpose

of the text. It can be stated that they face problems in reading. The problem

indicators are as follows:

1. The students have difficulty to identify main idea. They don’t understand the

way to find main idea;

2. The students meet difficulty to identify detail information. They didn’t

undertand about detail information before the researcher told about it;

3. The students have problem to explain the meaning of word based on context.

They have limited vocabularies and they are lazy to open the dictionary;

4. The students have difficulty to describe implicit information (about

conclusion and purpose of the text). They are confused to find conclusion of

the text especially recount text. They are also confused to identify purpose of

the text especially the recount text.

The causes of the problem for reading skill in SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta

come from the teacher, students, and class. The teaching reading technique is not

attracting the student.The teachers usually apply conventional technique in

classroom. They still use a teacher-centered approach when teaching their

students. The teacher only reads a text book and then the students are asked to


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repeat the teacher’s reading and answer question without telling how to answer it

easily. Besides, teaching material which is provided by the teacher is monotonous

that discourages students to learn. The source the teacher uses is from a textbook that

is a student worksheet (LKS). Here the students get difficulties in reaching good

result of reading skill. The students are bored with habitual and monotonous

teaching activities. The students were not enthusiastic and interested in this

activity.

Moreover, students need much time to find the main idea for each text or

paragraph. They also meet the difficulties in finding detail information; because

of their unwillingness to think about anything. They often say “mbok langsung

dikasih tau jawabannya aja biar cepet selesai.” It deals with indicator 2. They are

unwilling to open the dictionary. They prefer asking their teacher or friends in

finding the unfamiliar words in dictionary or guessing from context. The students

had difficulty to differentiate the purpose of the text which can be seen from their

lack to differentiate one genre to another. They are still confused to distinguish

between narrative and recount text.

There are many techniques and media for teaching reading skill. One of

interesting techniques that can be used by teacher to teach English reading text is

mapping technique. A mind mapping is a graphical way to represent ideas and

concepts. It is a visual thinking tool that helping the students in structuring

information, helping students to better analyze, comprehend, synthesize, recall

and generate new ideas. The advantages of using mapping are avoid dull, linear

thinking, jogging students creativity and making fun note taking. It can make

student easier and enjoy in answering reading text questions. This technique is a

way that can motivate the students in English learning. In the midst of using

mapping technique, students are expected to be able to answer reading text

questions favorably.

Teacher gives model of mapping to the students. First, teacher reads the

text. After reading the text, teacher tries to find main idea of the text then makes a

circle with colorful line. Second, teacher finds the detail information of the text


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then makes a colorful line. Third, teacher looks for the difficult words in the text

then make with a circle and finds the meaning in the dictionary. Fourth, teacher

tries to find the conclusion of the text and describes the purpose of the text.

Teacher reads the questions then looks for the answer in the text. After finding the

answer, teacher makes colorful line from each question to the answer in the text.

This step makes students understand the source of their answer and how to answer

the questions of the text.

Then, students practice the teacher’s model. Students make mapping in

their own worksheet. Students get main idea of the text in the first paragraph.

Students also easily get detail information by mapping the text. Students are able

to identify the meaning of word based on the question. The last indicator is

describing the implicit information or conclusion and purpose of the text. Students

get conclusion by mapping the question to the text in the last paragraph. Besides,

the purpose of the text is based on the genre theories. The theories show that the

purpose of the text is to retell past event, something happening in the past, or

someone’s experiences. The key word is the time which shows the event. So,

students get purpose by mapping the adverb of time in the text. After that,

students are asked to answer the questions of the text. Finally, teacher and

students discuss the students’ answers.

Brook states on the Webster that research indicates that children

understand informational text better if they use an overall structure to organize the

material (McNeil, 1992). Readers need to learn a process of how to find

information in a paragraph, chapter, or book, and how to go about finding that

information efficiently (Chall, 1996). As teachers, we need to familiarize

ourselves with strategies that will teach students how to accurately find and retain

information while reading.

One way of finding information efficiently is to incorporate the strategy of

concept mapping into the understanding of a text. Pictorial languages of thinking,

such as a concept map, are advantageous in that they enable students to simplify

complex patterns of ideas and they minimize the amount of information students


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must hold in their minds (Perkins, 1992). Concept mapping incorporates a multi-

sensory approach for a student to improve his recall and comprehension of a

reading text. Middle school learners, who are many times in the concrete

operational stage of development, can learn to implore more abstract thinking

with the use of a concept map. Concept mapping would only be appropriate to use

with middle school students if the students are provided a form of direct

instruction as to how to use the strategy.

Using strategic instruction can help students acquire, use, integrate, store,

and retrieve information across time, settings, and situation. That strategic

instruction could help students make the connection between what they need to

know and which skill will help them get that information. Students can be taught

to recognize the structural patterns of written text through the use of various

maps, and this can increase their comprehension

B. Problem Statement

The problems that will be analyzed in this research are:

1. Can mapping improve the students’ reading skill? If yes, to what extend is its

improvement?

2. What happens with the class situation when mapping is used in teaching

reading?

C. The Objective of the Research

Based on the problem statement, the objectives of the research are:

1. Identifying whether mapping can improve students’ reading skill.

2. Describing what happens when mapping is used in teaching reading.

D. Benefits of the Study

The result of the study is expected to be able to give some benefits for the

teacher, the students, the researcher, and the other researcher. For the teacher, this

study is expected to give consideration for the English teacher in understanding


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the concept and the technique of teaching English specifically reading skill

through theories stated in this study. The research result using action research can

help the teacher to choose the most effective technique of teaching reading. There

are many ways of teaching reading but not all of them are very helpful to the

students, mapping is one of the ways which can improve students’ reading skill.

For the students, this study is expected to be able to improve the students’

reading skill in enjoyable activities. In other words, this study is expected to show

that learning English can be an interesting activity. The next benefit is for the

researcher. The researcher can get a lot of experiences and new knowledge about

the real teaching learning process, how to handle students, how to teach English

with enjoyable technique, how to make the students interested in the material and

teacher, etc. The last benefit is for the other researcher. The researcher hopes this

study gives some information about teaching reading using one of interesting

techniques to the other researcher. The researcher inspires the other researcher to

make or use other interesting ways in teaching reading.


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CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

In this section of reviewing related literature, the researcher presents the

theories that underlie the research. The researcher wants to analyze specifically

the use of mapping to improve students’ reading skill. This part covers the

theoretical background (The review on reading, the review on mapping, and the

review on recount text), rationale, and hypothesis.

A. Theoretical Background

1. The Review on Reading

a. The Definition of Reading

Reading is included in receptive skills because reading is to do with

receiving and decoding information. Reading is the activity of perceiving a

written text in order to understand its meaning (message). According to Aebersold

(1997: 15), reading is what happens when people look at a text and assign

meaning to the written symbols in that text.

Wallace (1992: 4) states that reading is interpreting which means reacting

to a written text as a piece of communication; in other words, we assume some

communicative intent on the writer’s part which the reader has some purpose in

attempting to understand. Besides, Williams (1996: 2) states that reading is a

process whereby one looks at and understands what has been written. He says that

the key word is ‘understand’ – merely reading aloud without understanding does

not count as reading. William (1996: 11) concludes that reading is a process of

obtaining meaning from written text. The effective reader brings to the text: (1)

knowledge of the writing system; (2) knowledge of the language; (3) ability to

interpret; (4) appropriate knowledge of the world as assumed by the writer; and

(5) a reason for reading that determines his style.

According to the Webster (2010), reading is not an easy activity. Many

factors can affect students’ success in reading. In general, these factors can be


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identified, such as teachers, students, environmental conditions, subject matter,

and techniques to learn the lesson material. It can be assumed that the success of

reading is because of many important factors which are related to reading skill.

According to Rogers (2007: 2) the skills tested in Reading section include

the abilities to:

1. Scan for details

2. Use context clues to understand the meaning of vocabulary

3. Draw inferences

4. Recognize coherence

5. Understand how the author explains certain points

6. Understand why the author uses certain examples or mentions certain details

7. Recognize restatements (paraphrases) and sentence simplifications

8. Distinguish between important ideas and minor ones

9. Analyze and categorize information in order to complete summaries and

charts

These are some reading strategies to comprehend the text well according

to Anderson, et al. (1991); Barnett (1989); Clarke (1979) in Aebersold (1997: 16):

1) Recognize words quickly

2) Use text features (subheadings, transitions, etc)

3) Use title(s) to infer what information might follow

4) Use word knowledge

5) Analyze unfamiliar words

6) Identify the grammatical functions of words

7) Read for meaning, concentrate on constructing meaning

8) Guess about the meaning of the text

9) Evaluate guesses and try new guesses if necessary

10) Monitor comprehension

11) Keep the purpose for reading the text in mind

12) Adjust strategies to the purpose for reading

13) Identify or infer main ideas


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14) Understand the relationships between the parts of a text

15) Distinguish main ideas from minor ideas

16) Tolerate ambiguity in a text (at least temporarily)

17) Paraphrase

18) Use context to build meaning and aid comprehension

19) Continue reading even when unsuccessful, at least for a while

In order to reach the goals of reading, teachers need to be aware of the

objectives of post reading activities according to Aebersold (1997: 117):

1. Identify the topic of the reading

2. Have a general idea of what the text says about its topic

3. Understand the main ideas put forth in the text

4. Discern the relationships among the main ideas

5. Understand the details given in the text to support the main ideas

6. Recognize the information the text implies but does not state

7. Recognize the structure of the information in the text

8. Identify the language used to show the organization of ideas

9. Assess the value of the information presented in the text

10. Recognize language use, such as irony or satire

Reading is reacting to a written text as a piece of communication to

undertand what has been written includes main idea, detail information, reference

of pronouns, meaning of word based on context, and implicit information (about

conclusion and purpose of the text).

b. The Elements of Reading

The Webster states in 2000, the National Reading Panel (NRP) issued a

report that identified five areas that they found critical for effective reading

instruction:

1. Phonemic awareness

Phonemic awareness is the ability to notice, think about, and work with

the discrete sounds in spoken words. Reading research has consistently found that


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the ability to hear discrete sounds is important for reading. The ability to hear

sounds in language is referred to as phonological awareness. Reading aloud to

students and engaging students in word-play activities help to build phonemic

awareness.

2. Phonics

Phonics involves the relationships between letters and individual sounds,

(also called phonemes), and helping children to recognize that there are

systematic and predictable relationships between written letters and spoken

words. The alphabet is considered to be a basic tool of the reader and writer, and

many children have incomplete knowledge of letter sound relationships. Students

have the opportunity to strengthen their phonics knowledge when reading aloud,

writing words, and creating stories.

3. Fluency

Fluency is the ability to read a text quickly and accurately. Fluent readers

recognize words automatically and group words as they read, creating a flow of

words rather than pauses between words. Encourage students to read familiar

books. This helps them to develop fluency, phrasing, word recognition and most

importantly confidence in reading. Students that read daily become better and

faster at reading.

4. Vocabulary

Vocabulary refers to words and their meanings. Research has shown that

vocabulary knowledge is an important predictor of reading comprehension ability.

Students must have good vocabulary skills in order to communicate effectively;

these skills apply to speaking, listening, reading, and writing.

5. Comprehension

Comprehension refers to the ability to understand what one is reading.

Comprehension is more than just reading (or decoding) the words aloud. Two

important types of comprehension are:

1) Literal Comprehension


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Literal comprehension refers to understanding the factual information within

the text.

2) Inferential Comprehension

Inferential comprehension refers to the understanding one has of the

relationship between text and personal experiences

c. The Purpose of Reading

Each of language skills has its own purpose. The function of reading

according to Williams (1996: 13) is as follows:

1. Learners can have further practice of language that they have already met

through listening and speaking.

2. Learners can practice language in order to re-use it in writing.

3. Learners can learn how to make sense of texts, in order to extract the

information they need from them.

4. Learners can find enjoyment through reading.

5. Teachers can relax from time to time in the classroom.

William (1996: 19) also says that, the ultimate objectives in reading for

the learner are that he should be able:

1) To read texts of a general nature with comprehension;

2) To read flexibly according to purpose;

3) To learn language and content from reading (ie be able to continue learning);

4) To read with some degree of critical awareness.

These are some theories about reading questions according to Rogers

(2007: 27-115):

1. Factual questions ask about explicit facts and details given in the passage.

They often contain one of the wh- words or phrases: who, what, when, where,

why, and so on. To answer factual questions, students must scan the passage

or paragraph to locate and identify information that the question asks about.

Scan is read quickly to find certain information. Besides, according to


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Williams (1996: 100) scanning occurs when a reader goes through a text very

quickly in order to find a particular point of information.

2. Negative factual questions ask you to determine which of the four answer

choices is not given in the passage.

3. Purpose questions ask why the author of a passage (or someone that the author

quotes) uses a certain piece of information in the passage.

4. Method questions ask how the author of a passage (or someone that the author

quotes) explains something or accomplishes something in the passage. Again,

these questions are really about the development of the passage. How does the

author strengthen or clarify a point that he or she has made?

The question may ask how the author….

• Explain a concept

• Support an idea or a theme or an argument

• Clarifies an idea

• Introduces a topic

• Gives an example

• Shows the importance of a person, development, or idea

To answer questions, the students might use skimming. Williams (1996:

96) states that the purpose of skimming is to get a general idea of what the text is

about (eg whether it deals with the subject in the way that the reader requires or

how it is organized). The reader skims in order to satisfy a very general curiosity

about the text.

5. Reference questions ask you to look at a highlighted pronoun or other

reference word in the passage. You are then given four noun phrases, usually

taken from the paragraph in the passage where the highlighted word is found.

You must choose which of these words or phrases (called the referent) the

highlighted word refers to. Two things to remember: (1) the referent almost

always comes before the reference in the passage; and (2) the referent is not

always the noun that is closest to the reference word. Here are some of the

reference words that teacher might be asked about:


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Personal pronouns/adjectives

He, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its, they, them, their, theirs

Reflexive pronouns Himself, herself, itself, themselves Relative pronouns/adverbs

Who, whose, whom, which, that, where, when

Demonstrative pronouns/adjectives

This, that, these, those (may also be used before nouns or noun phrases: this one, that time, these new ideas, those problems)

Other reference words Some, few, any, none, several, both Here, there Most, many One, ones Another, other, others The former, the latter (some of these words may also be used in phrases: some of these, several examples, both places, most of which, one theory, another process)

6. Vocabulary questions ask about the meaning of words or phrases in the

passage. Most vocabulary questions ask about single words (usually nouns,

verbs, or adjectives). Some ask about phrases involving several words.

2. The Review on Recount text

a. The Definition of Recount text

Mun, et al. (2008: vi) state the definition of recount in term of English

language teaching. They state that a recount is a piece of writing that tells events

in a chronological sequence. A recount text is like a narrative text in that you have

to write a story, but in a recount the story is real. The story may be an event or a

situation that took place on a particular day, and you are the narrator of the whole

event. The order of the events is very important.

From the definition above, it can be concluded that recount is a piece of

writing which tells real thing in daily life with chronological sequence or step by

step from the beginning to the end of events.

Mun, et al. (2008: vi) state that the communicative purpose of recount text

is to record or provide factual information or to give someone an account of an

event happened in the past. Besides, Astuti (2010: 38) states that the purpose of a

recount is to retell past events or to sequence events in the order they happened.

Based on the two definitions before, it can be concluded that the communicative


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purpose of a recount text is to tell something happening in the past with

chronological steps from the beginning until the end of the real events.

Cicik and Marta (2012: 40) state that the characteristics of recount text are

as follows:

1. Using noun and pronoun: I, my sister, and my friends.

2. Using action verb: went, cut, and laughed.

3. Using past tense: last Friday, I went to school with a bald head.

4. Using conjunction to arrange the events, moments, or activities: when, at the

end of it, and then.

5. Using adverb and phrase to show place, time and manner: last Friday, and

with my hands full of bags.

6. Using adjective to explain noun: the smart remarks and a bald head.

Examples of a recount text according to Mun, et al. (2008: vi) are article,

police report, newspaper reports, historical accounts, letters, journals, incident

reports, and diary entries.

The Webster states that there are two kinds of recount texts, they are:

a) Personal recount: consisting of letter, diary or journal, and writing up of a trip

or activity.

b) Impersonal recount: consisting of newspaper report, magazine article, non-

fiction book, and biography

b. The Organization of a Recount Text

According to Mun, et al. (2008: vi), a recount text consists of 3 main parts,

they are:

1) Orientation: This part presents the background information on the who, when

and where of the event.

2) Events or sequence of events: The events are presented in chronological order.

3) Re-orientation or conclusion: The event starts to end, and the writer may

provide an opinion of what has happened.

According to Astuti (2010: 38), the structure of a recount is as follows:


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1. Orientation: It is an introduction that sets time, place, and participants. In

other words, it provides information about who, where, and when.

2. Events: It tells what happened, usually in temporal sequence or chronological

order.

3. Re-orientation: It is the conclusion or closure of the events and it’s optional.

An example of a recount text in diary entry, as follows:

It was my On

Friday, went shopping at the mall.

bought a nice shirt. Then, we wrapped it in a blue paper. Blue is my

grandpa’s favorite color.

On Saturday morning, my brother and I helped my sister

making a in the kitchen. was a big and

beautiful cake. I wrote ‘Happy Birthday’ on it. After that, my brother

put some chocolate and ornaments on the top of the cake.

On Sunday evening, came to

my house. brought several bottles of soft-drink and

for grandpa. Then, we sat together in the sitting room.

Finally, grandpa cut the cake while we were singing a

‘Happy Birthday’ song for him. After giving each of us a piece of

cake, he opened the presents. He told us that he liked the presents,

and

Orientation

Events

Events

Re-orientation

grandpa’s birthday

We my sister and I

It birthday cake

They

my uncle and my aunt

presents

he was very happy

last Sunday


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A recount text can also be a letter; the example of a recount letter is as

follows:

Medan, 4th May 2008

Dear Egar,

I am very sorry for this late reply. I have just

returned from my hometown. I was but I

did not really enjoy my stay there. Things were not the

same as they used to be.

When I was a child, I used to swim and go fishing

with my brother and my friends in the river near my house.

I liked the river because the water was clear and there were

a lot of fish in it.

Now, The

fish are gone and the area around the river is dirty. There

are no children swimming and fishing in the

because the water is ominous. The chemical waste from the

factories makes poisonous.

really makes me .

What about your hometown? Do you have the same

problem with polluted river? That’s all. I have to study for

the coming semester exam. Please write to me soon.

Yours,

Zaki

Reading is the activity of perceiving a written text in order to understand

its meaning (message), reacting to a written text as a piece of communication, and

there are many factors can affect students’ success in reading such as teacher,

students, environment conditions, subject matter, and techniques to learn the

lesson material.

Orientation

Events

Events

Re-orientation

it

river

the river is full of garbage and the water is turbid

The condition of the river sad

on a holiday


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It can be concluded that reading is an activity in identifying main idea,

identifying detail information, finding the references, explaining the meaning of

word based on context, and describing implicit information.

The researcher decided to use five of them:

1. Identifying main idea

2. Identifying detail information

3. Finding the reference of pronouns

4. Explaining the meaning of word based on context

5. Describing implicit information (about conclusion and purpose of the text)

3. The Review on Mapping

a. The Definition of Mapping

According to the Webster, a mind mapping is a graphical way to represent

ideas and concepts. It is a visual thinking tool that helping the students in

structuring information, helping students to better analyze, comprehend,

synthesize, recall and generate new ideas.

A Webster also states that mind mapping is an important technique that

enhances students creative problem solving. By using mind maps, students can

quickly identify and understand pieces of information. Mind maps provide a

structure which encourages creative problem solving and hold information in a

format that your mind finds easy to remember and quick to review.

Based on The Facilitators (1998), Mind mapping is a visual, nonlinear

way to organize information and stimulate the thinking power of your mind. It

allows your mind the freedom to explore new territory, to mix ideas up in new

ways, develop new patterns and channels of thought, and to go deeper into a

subject while maintaining a broad overview.

The most common use of mapping is construction of a “story map”, which

is used to elicit meaning from a text. Besides, map is a visual plan of a story’s

major events and ideas, placed in their logical order. The map begins with a hub,

which is the starting point of the story. The central events and ideas are then


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added, in summary form. These elements, consisting of students’ statements or

questions, are added on the hub. The listed ideas and events become the

foundation for further study as the map emerges. Additional questions or

statements can be used to develop interpretations, themes, use of literary

conventions, or relevancy to current issues.

Based on the definitions above, mapping can be defined as an interesting

technique and an easy way to learn reading that enhances students creative

problem solving. Students can hold information in a format that easily

remembers. Mapping is also the best way to make students easier in answering the

questions correctly according to the texts.

b. Teaching Steps

These are some teaching steps using mind maps according to Silberman

(2007: 188):

1. Choose the topic for mind maps activities.

2. Gives the students example how to make simple mind maps using color,

imagination, or symbol in order to understand the text.

3. Ask the students to make mind maps of the text.

4. Ask the students to answer the questions of the text.

5. Teacher and students discuss the students’ answers.

According to Mayne (2010) on the Webster, seven simple steps using

mapping to reach the goal as follows:

1. What do you want to achieve

Whatever you think about, forms a picture in your mind, even though many

people are not consciously aware of it. Your thought pictures become your

commands, to your subconscious, for your future. Now make a list of

questions what you want to achieve based on the five indicators.

2. Which goals take priority

Look again at your list and identify your ‘main goal’ the one that when

achieved would automatically assist in attainment of your other goals. For


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example, students should take finding main idea and detail information for the

priority.

3. Communicate your goals to your subconscious

This is absolutely vital in order to stimulate your right-brain and thereby

impress the goal on your subconscious.

4. Identify your emotional drivers

All thoughts are equal until emotion is added. Emotion gives a thought its

impact and acts as the fuel for motivation. Teacher should control the

students’ emotion.

5. Define your timeline

Goals without deadlines are just wishes – they lack the magic of commitment.

Teacher should give the duration for students to finish mapping activities.

6. What are the actions you will need to take

Now identify the actions that you will need to take such as studying, saving,

or learning new skills, in order to achieve your goal. In this step, students are

doing the mapping activities.

7. Support you

Any goal worth striving for will almost certainly require the assistance or

support of others.

From the definitions above, we can conclude that there are several

important steps for doing mapping:

1. Teacher gives worksheet contains text and questions. Students ask to read the

questions in order to understand the goal that they want to achieve especially

the five indicators. It is because each of questions is representative of each

indicator.

2. Teacher gives model of mapping to the students. Teacher reads the questions

then look for the answer in the text. After finding the answer, teacher makes

colorful line from the each question to the answer in the text. This step makes

students more understand the source of their answer and how to answer the

questions of the text.


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3. Students practice the teacher model. Students make mapping in their own

worksheet. Students get main idea of the text in the first paragraph. Students

also easily get detail information by mapping the question to the text. Students

are able to identify the meaning of word based on the question. The last

indicator is describing the implicit information or conclusion and purpose of

the text. Students get conclusion by mapping the question to the text in the last

paragraph. Besides, the purpose of the text is based on the genre theories. The

theories show that the purpose of the text is to retell past event, something

happening in the past, or someone’s experiences. The key word is the time

which shows the event. So, students get purpose by mapping the adverb of

time in the text.

c. Mapping Strategies

Ciborowski (1949: 51) states that reading maps can combine visual or

graphic symbols with words phrases; they tend to be a more appealing task than

traditional not taking or outlining. A concept map according to Ciborowski (1949:

41) is as follows:

can also be called a

is a

According to the Webster, mind maps are an example of radiant thinking.

A central idea branches off into many different directions. The branches

themselves branch off into finer details or associations, like a tree. Radiant

thinking is both creative and organized. A mind map is not just a systematic chart

of a subject. It is a fun and interesting expression of the way a subject is

experienced. It is more important that is workable and feels right than that it

corresponds to any objective standards. Mind maps provide a way of relating to

the world in more meaningful way. They are a tool for making sense out of

A Concept Map

Semantic map, graphic organizer, advanced organizer, web, network, visual display, study guide, frame.

Picture of a concept, way to show relationships among words and ideas, scaffolding of words.


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anything and for realizing one’s priorities. Anything can be mind mapped. A

birthday party, a book one is reading, one’s plans for the day, the economy, the

meaning of life, or one’s experience of a piece of music etc.

According to the Webster, these are some tips to make mind maps. The

tips are:

1) Incorporate quick sketches. They make the map vivid, memorable and unique

to the subject and you.

2) Use upper and lower case lettering, not normal handwriting.

3) Write keywords on the branches.

4) Horizontal (landscape) page format is usually best for mind maps. Use plain

A4 or feint squared paper.

5) Larger sheets hold more information. A3 is the largest size that can be easily

photocopied and filed in an A4 binder.

6) Use color (felt pens or multi-color biros) to make the map memorable. Group

ideas by circling them in color. Important points might always be marked red.

(These mind maps are in black and white due to printing restrictions.)

7) Don't be afraid to redraw the map to make it clearer or more memorable. This

will remind you of the subject so redrawing will help revision.

From the definitions before, the researcher decides to use these steps in

teaching reading using mapping:

1. Teacher gives model of mapping to the students. First, teacher reads the text.

After reading the text, teacher tries to find main idea of the text then makes a

circle with colorful line. Second, teacher finds the detail information of the

text then makes a colorful line. Third, teacher looks for the difficult words in

the text then signs with a circle and finds the meaning in the dictionary.

Fourth, teacher tries to find the conclusion of the text and describes the

purpose of the text. Teacher reads the questions then look for the answer in

the text. After finding the answer, teacher makes colorful line from each

question to the answer in the text. This step makes students understand the

source of their answer and how to answer the questions of the text.


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2. Students practice the teacher’s model. Students make mapping in their own

worksheet. Students get main idea of the text in the first paragraph. Students

also easily get detail information by mapping the text. Students are able to

identify the meaning of word based on the question. The last indicator is

describing the implicit information or conclusion and purpose of the text.

Students get conclusion by mapping the question to the text in the last

paragraph. Besides, the purpose of the text is based on the genre theories. The

theories show that the purpose of the text is to retell past event, something

happening in the past, or someone’s experiences. The key word is the time

which shows the event. So, students get purpose by mapping the adverb of

time in the text.

3. Students are asked to answer the questions of the text.

4. Teacher and students discuss the students’ answers.

d. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Mapping

There are advantages and disadvantages in teaching reading using

mapping or also called mind maps. The Webster states that there are seven

advantages of mind maps as follows:

1) It's quick: you can record more in the same amount of time.

2) You can easily add ideas or link later.

3) It helps you concentrate on information structure and relationships between

ideas rather than disconnected facts.

4) With your mind map you may see other connections and similarities in the

information you receive.

5) Add sketches to make your map more memorable than conventional notes.

6) Mind maps can incorporate a mass of material.

7) Mind mappings can help revision, even if your course notes are conventional.

They condense material into a concise, memorable format.


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On the other hand, there are some disadvantages according to the Webster

as follows:

1) You can't cut "chunks of notes" to paste into an essay, your mind map will

sound like your own work and ideas.

2) You may want to redraw the maps later - but that will not help you remember

the material.

3) Your map may be so personal; it could be difficult for others to understand.

The explanation above is about advantages and disadvantages of using

mind maps generally. Besides, there are some advantages of using mind mapping

in teaching learning activity especially in reading lesson. The advantages are:

mind mapping inspires the students (then making them more receptive in

learning); mind mapping technique makes reading lesson more creative and

enjoyable for the students and the teacher; students also have more freedom, are

flexible and adaptable; and mind mapping shows the relationship with the fact.

B. Review of Related Research

The researches on Mapping have been conducted by many experts. Their

observations are as follows:

The research study entitled The Effect of Explicit Teaching of Concept

Mapping in Expository Writing on EFL Students’ Self-Regulation conducted by

Talebinezhad (1994) investigated the effectiveness of concept mapping as a

learning strategy on students’ self regulation (metacognitive self regulation, time

and study environment, effort regulation, peer learning, and help seeking). Sixty

university students, who were randomly selected, participated in the study and

were randomly assigned to one control group and one experimental group, each

including thirty students. They were at the intermediate level of English

proficiency and studying English either as translation or literature. Their language

proficiency was determined by the Michigan Test of English Language

Proficiency. The instrument to collect data on students’ self regulation was

Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (Printrich et al., 1991), the


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findings revealing that students gained higher self regulation as the result of

concept mapping strategy teaching. These findings have implications for

pedagogy as well as for research.

Use of Text Maps to Improve the Reading Comprehension Skills Among

Students in High School with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (2008) written

by Rebbeca from University of Georgia.The purpose of this study was to examine

the efficacy of text mapping as a strategy for improving the reading

comprehension skills, of four high school students with emotional and behavioral

disorders (EBD) in a self-contained freshman technical language arts classroom.

Results indicated that both the teacher and student-generated text maps were

effective in improving comprehension scores for all four students with EBD.

Limitations of the study; implications for secondary classroom teachers, both

general and special education; and future research questions are discussed.

A Case Study of the Implementation of Semantic Mapping as a Pre-

teaching Vocabulary Activity to 2nd Year English Major Students at Lampang

Rajabhat University (2007) written by Tateum from Thammasat University,

Thailand. The research study is aimed to investigate the effectiveness of

implementing pre-reading activity, semantic mapping, as a facilitator of reading

comprehension of 2nd English majored students of Lampang Rajabhat University.

The research findings obtained from the study concluded that on average the

experimental group achieved higher scores on the test compared with that of the

control group as a result of implementing the pre-reading activities that

established background knowledge or schema in their reading comprehension.

Teaching Spelling Skills with a Mind Mapping Software (2011) written by

Al-Jarf from King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. The research shows how mind

mapping software can be integrated in EFL courses to help the students

discriminate different pronunciation of the vowel letter a, i, o, e, u; adding a final

silent e; pronunciation of vowel digraphs; consonant letter with more than one

sound; different pronunciations of consonant letter c, cc, g, ch, s; double


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consonants; homophones; homographs; hidden sounds; rules for adding affixes;

assimilation; elision; acronyms and abbreviations.

Ronald Craig Ed.D. (2010) from University of California conducted a

research entitled Implementing Mapping the Beat in the 8th Grade. The result

showed that quantitative analyses compared baseline and follow-up results on a

multiple-choice geography exam and an attitude survey. Four research questions

asked if the control or treatment workshops led to greater: (1) geographic

understanding, measured by the National Council for Geographic Education

(NCGE) Intermediate Standards-Based Geography Test; (2) improvement in

geography-related attitudes, measured by the Test of Geography-Related

Attitudes (ToGRA); (3) success on the NCGE or the ToGRA, when controlling

for sub-groups (English learners, gender, low-achieving, ethnicity); and (4)

understanding of connections between geography, history, and culture,

measured by qualitative observations, quick-writes, and focus group interviews.

An unanticipated outcome was greater writing fluency for treatment students.

This study also considered the possible impact of interest, motivation and affect

on student learning.

C. Rationale

The problem faced is the eighth grade of SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta has no

good reading skill result. The majority of students have difficulties in identifying

main idea of the text, identifying detail information of the text, utilizing the

reference to explain the text, describing implicit information, and explaining the

meaning of word based on context. It is because of many reasons such as the way

of his teaching is not interesting, teachers teach monotonously, students are not

concentrating with the material and teacher, students are talking with their desk

mate, and some students have low motivation in learning English. Therefore,

teacher should be careful in choosing the teaching technique in order to make

progress in students learning and to teach reading effectively. Teacher plays an

important role of maintaining students’ interest of the lesson. The teacher should


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be able to create a good atmosphere in enjoyable class. One of the enjoyable

techniques is mapping.

Teacher gives model of mapping to the students. First, teacher reads the

text. After reading the text, teacher tries to find main idea of the text then makes a

circle with colorful line. Second, teacher finds the detail information of the text

then makes a colorful line. Third, teacher looks for the difficult words in the text

then signs with a circle and finds the meaning in the dictionary. Fourth, teacher

tries to find the conclusion of the text and describes the purpose of the text.

Teacher reads the questions then look for the answer in the text. After finding the

answer, teacher makes colorful line from each question to the answer in the text.

This step makes students understand the source of their answer and how to answer

the questions of the text.

Then, students practice the teacher’s model. Students make mapping in

their own worksheet. Students get main idea of the text in the first paragraph.

Students also easily get detail information by mapping the text. Students are able

to identify the meaning of word based on the question. The last indicator is

describing the implicit information or conclusion and purpose of the text. Students

get conclusion by mapping the question to the text in the last paragraph. Besides,

the purpose of the text is based on the genre theories. The theories show that the

purpose of the text is to retell past event, something happening in the past, or

someone’s experiences. The key word is the time which shows the event. So,

students get purpose by mapping the adverb of time in the text. After that,

students are asked to answer the questions of the text. Finally, teacher and

students discuss the students’ answers.

The students are invited to learn and understand a reading text in relaxing

steps of mapping. Therefore, when they enter the class they will not feel any

pressure. In short the writer considers that mapping activities will improve the

students’ reading skill result of the eighth grade in SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta.


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CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A. Research Setting

1. The Place of the Research

The study is carried out in SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta. This Junior High

School is located in the middle of Solo city that is Jl. Diponegoro No.45

Surakarta. SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta is located in a famous area in Surakarta, it is

called Ngarsopuro. Ngarsopuro is a place which is familiar with antique goods

and beautiful footpath completed with big trees, wall arts, unique lamps, statues,

bamboo chairs, and beautiful plants. Ngarsopuro is also familiar with night

market in Saturday night. It is in front of Mangkunegaran palace, one of palaces

in Surakarta.

SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta is close to the main road of Solo that is Jl.

SlametRiyadi. It makes the students uncomplicated to arrive at the school. The

students are easy to get public transportation. SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta is behind

of SMP Negeri 3 Surakarta and SMP Negeri 10 Surakarta. SMP Negeri 5

Surakarta is in right side of MajelisTafsir Al-Qur’an.

If we enter SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta we will see two main offices, they are

principal office and administration office. On the right side of these offices is staff

parking area. On the left side of these two offices is a mosque. When we go inside

we will get many rooms, they are some classrooms, teachers’ office, public

telephone room for students and staff of SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta, computer room,

laboratory, library, canteens, and little yard. In the second floor, there are also

some classrooms.

In doing instructional process, SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta uses KTSP as the

curriculum. The instructional process is done from Monday to Saturday from

07.00 to 13.00, except on Friday from 07.00 to 11.00. Every day, the school has

extracurricular activities.


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2. The Time of the Research

This research is conducted from September to December 2011. It includes

pre - observation (pre – questionnaire, pre – interview, and pre – test), action, and

post test.

B. Research Subject

In SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta, there are three grades of classes; they are VII,

VIII, and IX. Each of them consists of seven classes from A up to G. This study is

just conducted the eighth grade students as the research subject. The researcher

chooses VIII B class that consists of 32 students.

The class VIII B is chosen by the researcher because the majority of

students have low achievement in reading skill. Students have difficulty to find

main idea of the text, detail information of the text, the meaning of words, and the

conclusion and purpose of the text. The research is conducted during teaching-

learning process and the researcher is as a teacher.

C. Research Method

In this study, the method of the research is classroom action research.

According to Mason et al. (1997: 42-43), research designed to uncover effective

ways of dealing with real world problems can be referred to as action research.

Action research is not confined to a particular methodology or paradigm. Action

research is more systematic and empirical than some other approaches to

innovation and change, but it does not lead to carefully controlled scientific

experiments that are generalize to a wide variety of situations and settings.

Besides, Subyantoro(2009) quoting from Suyanto’s opinion (2011:24) gives

definition of classroom research as follows:Classroom action research is a

research which has reflective characteristic by doing certain actions in order to it

can repair and or increase learning activities in class professionally.

Tim PelatihanProyek PGSM in 1999 (2011:24) also state that:

Penelitian tindakan kelas adalah suatu bentuk kajian yang bersifat reflektif oleh pelaku tindakan yang dilakukan untuk meningkatkan


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kemantapan rasional dari tindakan mereka dalam melaksanakan tugas, memperdalam pemahaman terhadap tindakan-tindakan yang dilakukan itu, serta memperbaiki kondisi dimana praktik pembelajaran tersebut dilakukan.

According to Watts (1985: 118) in Ferrance (2000: 1), action research is a

process in which participants examine their own educational practice

systematically and carefully, using the techniques of research. It is based on the

following assumptions:

1) Teachers and principals work best on problems they have identified for

themselves

2) Teachers and principals become more effective when encouraged to examine

and assess their own work and then consider ways of working differently

3) Teachers and principals help each other by working collaboratively

4) Working with colleagues helps teachers and principals in their professional

development

Based on the definition above, classroom action research in this study then

means an educational attempt, which is done by the researcher to improve the lack

of reading skill result in SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta by using mapping. The

researcher takes part both as researcher and teacher. In this research, both

qualitative and quantitative methodologies are applied. The qualitative

methodology is used to describe how the process of teaching and learning reading

runs and the quantitative methodology is used to identify whether or not the

students’ reading skill is better or higher than before implementing the mapping

technique. The quantitative calculation for identifying the improvement of the

students’ reading skill is based on the score of the reading tests given twice.

D. The Model of Classroom Action Research

There are many models of classroom action research which are used in

education world. It includes Lewin’s model, Kemmis’s model, and McTaggart,

Elliot’s model, and Ebbutt’s model. Lewin’s tells main concept of classroom

action research in 1990 that a cycle consists of four steps, they are planning,


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acting, observing, and reflecting (2011: 114). Then, Stringer in 1996 elaborates

Lewin’s words into planning, implementing, and evaluating.

According to Kemmis and McTaggart (1988) in Burns (2010: 7-8), action

research typically involves four broad phases in a cycle of research. The first

cycle may become a continuing, or iterative, spiral of cycles which recur until the

action researcher has achieved a satisfactory outcome and feels it is time to stop.

The phases are as follows:

1) Planning

In this phase the researcher identify a problem or issue and develop a plan

of action in order to bring about improvements in a specific area of the research

context. This is a forward-looking phase where the researcher considers: (1) what

kind of investigation is possible within the realities and constraints of teaching

situation; and (2) what potential improvements the researcher think are possible.

2) Action

The plan is a carefully considered one which involves some deliberate

interventions into teaching situation that the researcher put it into action over an

agreed period of time. The interventions are ‘critically informed’ as the researcher

question her assumptions about the current situation and plan new and alternative

ways of doing things.

3) Observation

This phase involves the researcher in observing systematically the effects

of the action and documenting the context, actions and opinions of those involved.

It is a data collection phase where the researcher use ‘open-eyed’ and ‘open-

minded’ tools to collect information about what is happening.

4) Reflection

At this point, the researcher reflects on, evaluate and describe the effects

of the action in order to make sense of what has happened and to understand the

issue the researcher have to explore more clearly. The researcher may decide to

do further cycles of action research to improve the situation even more, or to


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share the ‘story’ of her research with others as part of her ongoing professional

development (Adapted from Kemmis&McTaggart, 1988: 11–14).

E. The Procedure of the Classroom Action Research

According to Ferrance (2000: 15), in conducting action research, we

structure routines for continuous confrontation with data on the health of a school

community. These routines are loosely guided by movement through five phases

of inquiry:

1. Identification of problem area

2. Collection and organization of data

3. Interpretation of data

4. Action based on data

5. Reflection

Action Research Cycle

1. Identifying a problem area

Careful planning at this first stage will limit false starts and frustrations.

There are several criteria to consider before investing the time and effort in

“researching” a problem. The question should:

1) Be a higher-order question—not a yes/no

2) Be stated in common language, avoiding jargon

3) Be concise

4) Be meaningful

5) Not already have an answer

Identify the problem

Gather data

Interpret data

Act on evidence

Evaluate results

Next steps


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An important guideline in choosing a question is to ask if it is something

over which the teacher has influence. Is it something of interest and worth the

time and effort that will be spent? Sometimes there is a discrete problem that is

readily identifiable. Or, the problem to be studied may come from a feeling of

discomfort or tension in the classroom. For example, a teacher may be using the

latest fashionable teaching strategy, yet not really knowing or understanding what

or how kids are learning.

2. Gathering data

The collection of data is an important step in deciding what action needs

to be taken. Multiple sources of data are used to better understand the scope of

happenings in the classroom or school. There are many vehicles for collection of

data: interviews, portfolios, diaries, field notes, audio tapes, photos, memos,

questionnaires, focus groups, anecdotal, records, checklists, journals, individual

files, logs of meetings, videotapes, case studies, surveys, records – tests, report

cards, attendance, self-assessment, samples of student work, projects,

performances. Data can be arranged by gender, classroom, grade level, school,

etc.

3. Interpreting data

Analyze and identify major themes. Depending upon the question,

teachers may wish to use classroom data, individual data, or subgroup data. Some

of the data are quantifiable and can be analyzed without the use of statistics or

technical assistance. Other data, such as opinions, attitudes, or checklists, may be

summarized in table form. Data that are not quantifiable can be reviewed

holistically and important elements or themes can be noted.

4. Acting on evidence

Using the information from the data collection and review of current

literature, design a plan of action that will allow you to make a change and to

study that change. It is important that only one variable is altered. As with any

experiment, if several changes are made at once, it will be difficult to determine


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which action is responsible for the outcome. While the new technique is being

implemented, continue to document and collect data on performance.

5. Evaluating results

Assess the effects of the intervention to determine if improvement has

occurred. If there is improvement, do the data clearly provide the supporting

evidence? If no, what changes can be made to the actions to elicit better results?

6. Next steps

As a result of the action research project, identify additional questions

raised by the data and plan for additional improvements, revisions, and next steps.

F. The Technique of Collecting the Data

In this research, the researcher uses some techniques of collecting data:

1) Steele (1996) from University of Wisconsin-Extension states that observation

is an essensial element in good teaching and program development. In

evaluation, it can be used to secure benchmark and descriptive data during

program initiation and to document program activities, process, and outcomes.

In this research, observation is a media to discover complex interactions in

natural social setting.

2) Evaluation Research Team (2008) states that a questionnaire is a set of

questions for gathering information from individuals. You can administer

questionnaires by mail, telephone, using face-to-face interviews, as handouts,

or electronically (i.e., by e-mail or through web-based questionnaire). In this

research, questionnaire is a media to gain information through written and

simple questions. For example: the students’ opinion about English skills.

3) According to Kvale (1996), with qualitative research interviews researchers

try to understand something from the subject point of view and to uncover the

meaning of their experiences. Interviews allow people to convey to others a

situation from their own perspective and in their own words. Research

interviews are based on the conversations of everyday life. In this research,

interview is helpful for the process of data analysis. It translates research


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objectives to be questions. Interview keeps communicating with respondents

in a professional way (cooperation and motivation).

4) The research diary is the most important research method and is very

commonly used by the teachers doing research. Writing a diary builds on an

everyday skill of many teachers (Taylor & Francis, 2005). In this research,

research diary is used to gain information about the activities of the teacher.

5) Field note is very clear reference to the intention that this note can be used and

guided by reference to qualitative methodology (Donoff, 2009). In this

research, field notes are used to record of work done in the field. They consist

of lengths, angles, areas, sketches, descriptions, and other data.

6) According to Office of Institutional Effectiveness, assessment is a systematic

and ongoing effort to collect, analyze, interpret evidence that describes

institutional, departmental, divisional or program effectiveness ultimately to

improve students learning and development. In this research, assessement is

used to know the students ability.

G. The Technique of Analyzing the Data

In analyzing the data, students’ reading achievement is measured by

using quantitative analysis. The researcher analyzes the mean scores of the

students to find out whether or not there is an improvement of the students’

reading achievement after the mapping technique is applied.

The mean score of pre-test and post-test is calculated with the formula as

follows:

X̅

Y̅

Where: X̅ = means of pre-test scores

Y̅ = means of post-test scores


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n = the number of sample

Besides, Burns (2010: 106) states that qualitative data are those that are

analyzed without using numbers. The main tools for analyzing qualitative data

that we’re going to examine are: categorizing and analyzing talk.

1. Categorizing

Sorting objects and information into logical groupings is something that

human beings do constantly in daily life. Essentially, this is what categorizing

data is all about. Coding the data in this way basically means that you are looking

for the main themes or concepts that will help to throw light on your research

questions. Here are some possible steps for working out categories for coding

your data:

a. Gather together all the data you want to look at.

b. Read the data over several times to get a good feeling for what is there.

c. Now take a section of the data and give a label to the main idea or theme that

is being expressed (e.g. the role of the teacher, learning strategy, feelings and

emotions, and so on) this will provide you with an initial category.

d. Keep doing this until you have developed a number of deferent labels for the

ideas in the data that are grouped together.

e. Make a list of your deferent initial categories on a sheet of paper or on a

computer.

f. Now look back over your broad categories and see whether you can group

them more into sub-categories that all relate to the main category label.

g. Make a note on your category list (see point 5) of where the sub-categories fit

in.

h. Show your categories to colleagues and see whether they agree with the way

you have grouped them.

2. Analyzing Talk

Richards (2003: 185) suggests four steps in a basic analysis and in the

discussion as follows:

a. Providing a general characterization


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This step involves getting a general sense of the kind of interaction that

teacher is listening.

b. Identifying grossly apparent features

Here we look more closely at the obvious features. There is one main speaker

that is the teacher, who signals the opening of the lesson and begins to invite

students to speak on the topic.

c. Focusing in on structural elements

This step is where we begin to examine the finer details of how the

interactions are structured and describe the most noticeable features. At this

stage of the lesson the teacher controls all the interaction.

d. Developing a description

Richards note that once steps 1–3 are completed “we are well on the way to a

description” (2003: 187) which involves giving an objective picture of the

interaction related to what we have seen in the data.


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CHAPTER IV

RESEARCH FINDING AND DISCUSSION

In this chapter, the writer would like to present research findings as the

answer for the problems which have been stated in the first chapter. It is

undertaken to find the goal of the research namely implementing the improvement

of students’ reading ability by using mapping. This chapter has two sections.

Section A relates to the introduction in which it describes the condition before

research. Next, section B describes the results of research implementation which

are broken down into two sections: research finding and discussion.

A. Introduction

The researcher is a teacher who teaches the students that were observed.

This research is aimed at finding out whether the use of mapping improves the

student’s reading ability and to identify what happens to the class situation when

mapping is implemented in improving student’s reading ability. The researcher

was carried out at SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta, especially VIII B class.

The situation before the research was identified in pre-research stage. This

was aimed at finding out the problems during the teaching learning process in

reading and to find out the current students’ reading ability. The pre-research

activity was carried out to identify students’ problems in reading ability, problems

in the class situation, and the causes of those problems. As the problems were

identified, the researcher could decide what kind of solution would be used. To

reach this purpose, the researcher conducted interview to the students and the

English teacher, gave questionnaire, and pre-test.

The main problems that could be identified are: students’ problem in

reading ability and class situation. Then, the researcher found out the causes of

the problems. They are also written in the table below.


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Table 4.1. The Summary of Situation Prior to Action Research Implementation

Condition 1. Students’ reading ability

a. The students have difficulty to identify main idea; b. The students meet difficulty to identify detail

information; c. The students have problem to explain the meaning of

word based on context; d. The students have difficulty to describe implicit

information (about conclusion and purpose of the text). 2. Reading class situation

a. The students pay little attention toward their teacher’s

explanation during teaching and learning activity; b. The students have difficulty to remember what the

teacher told in the past; c. The students are noisy in teaching and learning English; d. The students do not want to ask to the teacher when they

have difficulty. 3. The causes of the problems

a. Students think that reading is one of the difficult skills in

English; b. Students have limited vocabularies; c. Students have little allotment of time to read English

text; d. Students like to read silently and they don’t like to read

aloud and share it to their friends; e. Students have low motivation to read English text; f. Students are lazy to think hard about something new or

detail information; g. Teacher speaks too fast and unclear; h. Teacher uses monotonous techniques that discourage

students to learn; i. The material is limited; j. The text contains unfamiliar words that make the

students feel burdened.

1. Students’ Reading Ability

The competence of students of VIII B of SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta in

reading ability was still poor. This condition was identified from their pre-test

scores which are mostly unsatisfying. The result of pre-test of reading ability is as

follows:


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Table 4.2. The Mean Score of Reading Ability of Pre Test

No. Indicators Pre test

1 Identifying main idea 62.1

2 Identifying detail information 66.1

3 Finding the reference of pronouns 79.0

4 Explaining the meaning of word based on context 51.8

5 Describing implicit information (about conclusion and purpose of the text) 61.1

∑ Mean score of pre test 64.6

Based on the table above, the highest score in the pre-test was 90.0. It was

achieved by the smartest student in English lesson of eighth B. Furthermore, the

lowest score in pre-test was 48.0. The last, the mean score in the pre-test was

64.6.

Another review of pre-test was about students’ scores in their reading

skills. The students’ mean score in identifying main idea was 62.1. The students’

mean score in identifying detail information was 66.1. The students’ mean score

in explaining the meaning of word based on context was 51.8. Finally, the

students’ mean score in describing implicit information was 61.1. Based on the

fact above, the researcher decided the four problems in eighth B.

2. Class Situation

Before doing the research, the researcher had observed teaching learning

process in eighth B of SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta. The result of the observation was

not interesting. Based on the researcher’s observation, she found the fact that can

be explained as follows:

1) Students have low attention to the teacher’s explanation. The students like to

chat with their friend than concentrate to the teacher’s explanation;

2) Students have difficulty to remember what the teacher told in the past. It is

related to the first problem above, students difficult to remember or loose their

memory about their teacher’s explanation because of the students’ low

attention it self;


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3) Students are crowded in teaching learning process. Students like to make

noisy in the class. They like to joke with their friends. So the class become

crowded ; and

4) Students do not want to ask to the teacher when they have difficulty. The

students lazy to ask to the teacher about their difficulty. They only keep silent

when the teacher asks them to ask question about their difficulty.

3. Causes of the Problems

The students’ difficulties of reading were based on two aspects. They were

from the teacher and the students. The causes from students are as follows: (1)

Students think that reading is one of the difficult skills in English; (2) Students

have limited vocabularies; (3) Students have little allotment of time to read

English text; (4) Students like to read silently and they don’t like to read aloud

and share it to their friends; (5) Students have low motivation to read English text;

(6) Students are lazy to think hard about something new or detail information; (7)

Teacher speaks too fast and unclear; (8) Teacher uses monotonous techniques that

discourage students to learn; (9) The material is limited; and (10) The text

contains unfamiliar words that makes the students feel burdened.

B. Research Implementation

I. Research Finding

In this classroom action research, the researcher was an active participant

teacher and observer. Before conducting the research, the researcher told the first

teacher as one of English teachers in eighth B of SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta that the

researcher would conduct an action research as her thesis. She permitted the

researcher to conduct classroom action research in her classroom and would help

the researcher happily. She also wanted to know her students’ improvement in

reading ability through the research.

The action research was implemented to improve students’ reading ability

by using mapping. The researcher conducted the action research in two steps.

First, she did the pre-research observation and the second was conducting the


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action research. In this research, the implementation was divided into two cycles.

Cycle one consisted of four meetings and cycle two included four meeting too.

Each meeting was conducted in 90 minutes. The researcher used “travelling” as

the topic. It was held in four meetings. It was conducted on 5 November 2011, 8

November 2011, 9 November 2011, and 12 November 2011. On the second cycle,

she used “experience” as the topic; it was same with the cycle one because it was

related to the curriculum. Cycle two was conducted on 23 November 2011, 26

November 2011, 29 November 2011, and 30 November 2011. Every cycle of this

research consisted of a series of steps, namely planning the action, implementing

the action, observing or monitoring the action, and reflecting the result of the

action.

1. Pre Research

The pre research was conducted before the implementation of the study.

The aim of the pre research is to identify the problems happening during the

teaching learning process. The problems were identified through observation in

the class, pre test, questionnaire, and interview. The researcher focused on the

identification of students’ ability before using mapping technique, the

identification of the students’ attitude during teaching learning process, and

teacher’s technique in teaching genre especially recount text.

The pre research covered four steps: (1) Observing the teaching learning

process; (2) Giving pre-test to the students; (3) Giving interview to the teacher

and students; and (4) giving questionnaire to the students.

Based on the observation, pre test, questionnaire, and interview, the

problems could be identified into two categories: First, the students’ ability in

reading text was still low. It could be seen from some indicators: (1) Students

have difficulty to identify main idea; (2) Students have difficulty to identify detail

information; (3) Students have problem to explain the meaning of word based on

context; and (4) Students have difficulty to describe implicit information (about

conclusion and purpose of the text). The students’ ability was evaluated by


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reading test. The test was conducted in eighth B class, which consisted of 36

students. From the test, it could be concluded that the students’ ability was still

low. It was shown from the mean score of pre-test of 64.6. It was still under the

standard minimum score of SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta.

The second category is about the class situation: (1) Students have low

attention to the teacher’s explanation; (2) Students have difficulty to remember

what the teacher told in the past; (3) Students are crowded in teaching learning

process; and (4) Students do not want to ask to the teacher when they have

difficulty.

The teacher’s way in teaching reading affected the students’ achievement

in students’ reading ability. Teacher speaks too fast and unclear, some students

said that the pronunciation of the teacher made them confused and more dislike

English lesson although English is one of important lessons in Indonesian

education. The monotonous technique made the students bored and sleepy. The

teacher just asked to the students based on certain texts from their exercise book,

without giving a lot of practices and different techniques.

2. Research

This research was implemented to improve students’ reading ability. The

reading technique used was mapping. The research was done in two cycles. Every

cycle consisted of a series of steps consisting of planning the action,

implementing the action, observing the action, and reflection the result of the

observation. The description of each cycle is presented in the following parts:

1) Cycle 1

In each cycle, the researcher applied mapping activities to teach the

English reading. In this part, the researcher did a set of activities which consisted

of planning the action, implementing the action, observing the action, and

reflecting the result of the observation which consisted of four meetings.


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a) Planning the action

In this step, the researcher identified problems or issues and developed a

plan of action in order to bring about improvements in a specific area of the

research context. The researcher did observations to know the precondition before

the implementation of the research. In the beginning of the research, the

researcher conducted pre-observation toward the teaching-learning process and

interviewed the English teacher and students. The researcher also gave the reading

test to know the students’ reading ability. The pre-test was held on 2 November

2011. The mean score was still under the minimum score, it was 64.6.

The researcher found some problems in that class. The problems were

about the students’ difficulties in learning reading. Based on the pre-observation,

questionnaire, interviewed, and reading test, the researcher identified that the

students’ reading ability should be improved by implementing interesting way in

learning reading and the texts which are related to their experiences and easy to

understand by the students.

After finding the facts that the students’ achievement was still low because

of some problems, the researcher planned to improve students’ reading ability by

using mapping as the technique to solve the problems. She believed that teaching

reading using mapping activities could improve students’ reading ability. And in

the end it affected the students’ achievement. Then, the researcher designed the

lesson plan and students’ worksheets which were suitable with the syllabus. So

she prepared the supporting material like recount texts. And for the classroom

observations, she prepared sheets of field notes and a digital camera.

b) Implementing the action

The researcher used her lesson plan in implementing the action. In this

cycle, she utilized recount text as the genre that fit to the eighth grade of junior

high school. In cycle one there were four meetings. The activities are as follows:


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Table 4.3. Planning of Students’ Activities in Cycle I

(1) First meeting i. The researcher explained about recount text; ii. The researcher gave an example about recount text that was a text in the

form of letter about “My Hometown”; iii. The researcher gave students example of how to make mapping to

understand the text; iv. The researcher asked the students to answer the text’s questions; v. Discussing the students’ answers.

(2) Second meeting i. The researcher read the text. ii. The researcher guided the students to understand the text;

iii. The researcher explained about the questions that are often tested and how to answer them easily;

iv. The researcher explained about main idea and detail information then tried to find main idea of the text then made a circle with colorful line. After that, the researcher found the detail information of the text then makes a colorful line.

v. The researcher gave a review about how to make mapping; vi. The researcher asked the students to make mapping to understand the

text; vi. The researcher asked the students to answer the text’s questions;

vii. Discussing the students’ answers. (3) Third meeting i. The researcher guided the students to understand the text;

ii. The researcher explained about reference, meaning of word, and implicit (conclusion and purpose) then the researcher found the references of pronouns in the text then connected it to each reference by taking colorful line. The researcher looked for the difficult words in the text then signed with a circle and found the meaning in the dictionary. The researcher got conclusion by mapping the question to the text in the last paragraph. The researcher got purpose by mapping the adverb of time in the text.

iii. The researcher asked the students to make mapping to understand the text;

iv. The researcher asked the students to answer the text’s questions; v. Discussing the students’ answers.

(4) Fourth meeting i. The researcher guided the students to understand the text by using mapping;

ii. The researcher reviewed the five indicators; iii. The researcher asked the students to make mapping to understand the

text; iv. The researcher asked the students to answer the text’s questions; v. Discussing the students’ answers.

Based on the table above, the researcher did four meetings in the cycle

one. The descriptions are as follows:

(1) First Meeting

On Saturday 5th November 2011, the researcher began her first meeting in

the cycle one. Most of the students were still in outside the class when the bell

rang. Seeing the students were not ready yet to join the class, the researcher asked

them and waited them till all of the students came into the class. Then the


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researcher entered the class and greeted her students. The researcher opened the

meeting by praying together. After that, she checked the students’ attendance. It

was the first lesson on that day, so the students looked very fresh and they were in

a good mood because of weekend. The researcher told that the activities during

four weeks would be reading lesson.

The researcher asked the students, “Do you still remember what recount

text is?”. Some students said that, “Sedikit - sedikit, Miss”. And the others said

that, “Forget, Miss…”. The researcher asked again, “Ok… now, what do you

know about recount text?”. Some students answered, “Telling past event,

Miss…”. Then, the researcher gave a compliment to them, “Excellent! Is recount

text different from narrative?”. “No…” answered by the students loudly. After

giving the warm up, firstly, the researcher explained about recount text. It was

about the definition of the recount text, the purpose of recount text, the generic

structure of recount text, the language features of recount text, and the examples

of recount text.

Secondly, the researcher told the students that they would use mapping as

their technique to make them easier in understanding recount text. Then, the

researcher gave them example how to make mapping. They paid attention to the

researcher and practice the researcher’s example in making mapping. The

researcher made a circle in main idea of the text in “The condition of the river”

then the students also made a circle in their text. There were some students who

were confused to identify the main idea and asked to the researcher “Yang mana

sih Miss main idea-nya?”. Then, the researcher guided them to find it. Next, the

researcher made a circle about detail information; it was about when the writer

wrote the letter. So the researcher made a circle in a sentence “I have just returned

from my hometown”. Students made a circle too with their colorful pen. Then, the

researcher also made a circle in reference of pronoun “it”. It refers to “river”. The

students were confused because there were two “it” in the text, they were in the

second paragraph and the third paragraph. The researcher made a circle about

meaning of word based on the context in the word “clean” and found the


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antonym. Some students asked about the antonym to the researcher, but the

researcher did not answer at that time. The researcher asked to other students till

found the best answer. After that, the researcher asked the students to identify the

conclusion of the text. They looked confused and needed much time to think.

Then, they asked to the researcher. After that, the researcher told them by making

a circle about conclusion of the text in the first sentence of the last paragraph,

“The condition of the river makes me sad”. The word “sad” made a conclusion

that the writer felt sad.

Thirdly, the researcher asked the students to answer the text’s questions

then discussed them together. The researcher checked their answers by asking

some of them one by one. Some of students could answer the researcher questions

but some others could not.

Finally, the researcher made a conclusion about the lesson by giving the

students short review about the description of recount text, generic structure of

recount text, and the purpose of recount text. There was a student who asked a

question about how to find the conclusion. “Miss, kalau mencari kesimpulan itu di

paragraph terakir ya? Atau dari keseluruhan teks?” asked a girl student. Then, the

researcher gave her explanation. Then, the researcher closed the meeting by

giving them homework and saying good bye to the students.

(2) Second Meeting

Tuesday 8th November 2011 was the second meeting in cycle one. It was

same with the first meeting, the students still not ready yet when the researcher

came. The researcher tried to patient with this condition. Then, the researcher

gave them advice about it. The researcher opened the second meeting by praying

together with the students. After that the researcher greeted them and asked their

condition at that day. All of them answered that they were fine. Then, she checked

the students’ attendance one by one. When the researcher called their names, they

just raised their hand. Then, the researcher told them that they should say

“present” if they come. But if there was friend who was absent, they should say

“absent”. Then, they practiced it.


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Firstly, the researcher gave them warming up questions to explore their

knowledge about the topic that would be discussed. The topic that would be

discussed is about travelling. “Do you like travelling?” said the researcher. All of

the students answered happily, “Yes, I like travelling”. “When do you usually go

travelling?” she said. “Waktu liburan” some students answered the researcher’s

question. Others answered, “Hari minggu, Miss…”. “Who are usually

accompanying you to go travelling?” asked by the researcher to one of the

students of eighth B class of SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta. He answered, “Maksutnya

apa, Miss?”. She explained in Indonesian in order to make him understand, “Siapa

yang biasanya menemanimu bepergian?”. Then, he answered, “Oooo… My

friend, Miss…”. She asked again to another student, “Where do you usually go

travelling? How do you travel?”. “Ke rumah nenek, terus yang satunya itu artinya

apa, Miss?” answered a girl student. “Bagaimana kamu bepergian? Atau kamu

bepergian naik apa?” the researcher said. “Naik motor, Miss” she answered

quickly. They asked one to another about it. The class became so noisy. The

researcher needed to calm them down.

Secondly, the researcher explained about the questions that are often

tested. The researcher explained them completely and gave them the examples of

main idea questions, detail information questions, reference questions, meaning of

word questions, and implicit questions. The researcher told the students about the

way to answer them easily using mapping.

Thirdly, the researcher guided the students to understand the text. There

was a student asking, “Miss, bahasa Inggrisnya jadah itu ada gak ya?”. The

researcher explained about main idea and detail information then tried to find

main idea of the text then made a circle with colorful line. After that, the

researcher found the detail information of the text then made a colorful line.

Fourthly, the researcher gave a review about how to make mapping. The

researcher asked the students to prepare their color pens. The researcher asked the

students to make mapping to understand the texts. There were some texts in the

second meeting. The students were busy with their own works. The researcher


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still guided them. They started from the first text. It was about holiday in

Yogyakarta. Then they looked for the detail information of the text. They made

circles about what the writer can buy in Kaliurang, Kota Gede, and Malioboro;

the writer’s activities in Parangtritis beach; and traditional food from Yogyakarta.

Then, the students made circles about the reference of pronouns, they were “we”,

“it”, “they”. After that the students found the difficult word then made a circle and

found the meaning in their dictionaries. Then, they made a circle about conclusion

of the text in the words “We went back to Jakarta happily”.

The second text was about visiting Indonesia. The students made circles

about detail information of the text: the writer’s and stewardess’s activities in the

plane and how long the writer stayed in some cities in Indonesia. Then, the

students made a circle about reference of pronoun of the word “they” and found

the reference. After that the students made a colorful circle in the difficult word

and found the meaning in their own dictionaries. The third text was about Visiting

Grand Canyon. The students made circles about the detail information of the text:

what Tina rode to the top of the Canyon, how long Tina and Tom stayed at

Phantom Ranch, and what Tina saw in the evening. Then, the students made a

circle in the word “it” then connected to the reference in the second paragraph.

Finally, the researcher and the students were discussing the students’

answers together and made a conclusion about main idea and detail information

by giving the students short review about them. After that the researcher said

good bye to the students and left the eighth B class of SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta.

(3) Third Meeting

The next afternoon was Wednesday 9th November 2011. It was the third

meeting of this cycle. The researcher entered the class, but some of the students

still in the toilet and in the school’s canteen. So the researcher should wait them.

The researcher greeted the students, the students looked tired and sleepy, but they

still answered it. It was not easy to change their mood quickly. Then the

researcher invited them to enter to the lesson slowly and kept smile.


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After their mood was normal, as usual, firstly, the researcher gave them

warming up questions. The questions was related to the topic would be discussed.

It was about public transportation. The researcher began to give the students’

questions, “What do you know about public transportation?”. Then some students

answered quickly, “Alat transportasi umum…”. “Great!” answered by the

researcher happily. After that she asked, “Ok… Now, can you mention the public

transportation in Solo?”. Students answered loudly, “Bus, taxi, becak, andong...”.

Secondly, the researcher guided the students to understand the text entitled

“Commuters in London”. The researcher explained to the students about meaning

of word and implicit information (about conclusion and purpose of the text). The

researcher looked for the difficult words in the text then signs with a circle and

finds the meaning in the dictionary. The researcher got conclusion by mapping the

question to the text in the last paragraph. The researcher got purpose by mapping

the adverb of time in the text. Then the researcher gave them examples of types of

questions of it. Such as: What is the antonym of the underlined word, what is the

purpose of the text; and from the text, we can conclude that…. Besides, the

researcher also gave the students tasks to find the meaning of some words based

on the text. Then they made a circle and found the meaning used their

dictionaries. After giving them explanation, the researcher told them the easier

way to answer the questions by using mapping.

Thirdly, the researcher asked the students to make mapping to understand

the text and answer the text’s questions. The students found the main idea of the

text by making a colorful circle in the sentence “Commuters in London usually

used the tube”. Then they made a circle about detail information of the text. It was

about how long the researcher stayed in London. After that, the students made

colorful circles in some reference of pronouns: “I” (paragraph 1, 1st line); “it”

(paragraph 3, line 7); “he” (4th paragraph, line 11); and “they” (3rd paragraph, 8th

line). Then the students connected them with the reference. Next, the students

made circles in some difficult words then found the meaning in Indonesian:

commuters, queue, burrier, crowded, and destination. Then the students found the


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purpose of the text by making a circle in adverb of time which the time of the

visiting to London. There were some boy students who did not bring the color

pen. They caused noisy and bother their girl friends. After they finished their

works, the researcher and the students discussed the students’ answers together.

Finally, the researcher made a conclusion and reviewed the two indicators

(meaning of word, and implicit information), then closed the meeting by prayed

together and went home.

(4) Fourth Meeting

Last meeting in the cycle one was on Saturday 12th November 2011.

Firstly, the researcher entered the class and greeted the students cheerfully. Then

they were praying together. There was a boy student who came late, the

researcher asked him to join the class. There were some students who still chatted

with their friends. The researcher gave them a question to the students, “Have you

ever go abroad by plane?”. Then students answered, “Not yet, Miss…”. After that

the researcher shared them some reading texts to discuss together and helped by a

boy student. Then the students busy to prepare their equipments especially

colorful pens to make mapping.

Secondly, the researcher guided the students to understand the texts by

using mapping. In this meeting, there were two texts. In the first text, the students

should found the main idea of the second paragraph. But some of the students

asked to the researcher which one is the main idea of the second paragraph. Then

the researcher told them about the answer, and then the students made a colorful

circle in the correct main idea of the second paragraph in the words “Arriving at

the airport”. Next, the students made a circle about detail information of the text

about who checked his hand luggage.

After that, the students found the reference and connected the word “it” in

the sentence “It was ready to take off” (3rd paragraph, 3rd line) with the word

“plane”. The students made circles in difficult words and found the meanings.

Then, the students made a circle about how did the writer feel about his first flight

as the conclusion of the text. The second text was about vacation in London. The


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students made a colorful circle about detail information of the text. It was about

what was happened with the plane, so they circled the words “it had a slight

accident”. After finding the detail information, the students made circles about

reference of pronoun “it” and made a line to the word “plane” as the reference.

Then, the students made colorful circles of the difficult words: fortunately,

abroad, departure, arriving, security, luggage, lounge, slight, hurt, exciting, and

adventurous. After made circles, the students found the meanings in their

dictionaries. At last, the students found the conclusion of the text by making a

circle in the words “very exciting and adventurous”. It shows that from the text

the reader knows that the writer felt very exciting and adventurous.

The researcher gave them review about all indicators. It was about main

idea of the text, detail information of the text, reference of pronouns, meaning of

word based on context, and implicit information (conclusion and purpose of the

text). Some students asked to their friends about their problems. Then the

researcher stopped it and asked them to ask to the researcher about their

difficulties in the five indicators. Some students asked about detail information.

“Miss, aku masih bingung nyari detail information”, “Apa sih ciri-ciri detail

information itu Miss?”. The researchers thanked them and gave them more

explanation.

Finally, the researcher made a conclusion of the lesson in that day and told

the students that the next meeting would be post test one. The students asked to

the researcher in order to make easy questions for the post test one. The

researcher only gave them smile. The researcher asked the students to study at

home. The researcher hoped the best for their first post test.

(5) Post Test 1

It was Tuesday, 12th November 2011. In the fifth meeting, the writer as the

researcher conducted a post- test for the students. It was the last activity

conducted in the first cycle. It seemed that the students had enough confidence to

face post test since they had enough exercises and experience from the previous

activities. They were on job to read the recount texts then answer the reading


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questions by using mapping. The researcher also asked the students to pay

attention to main idea, detail information, meaning of word, and implicit

information. The students did their task seriously. The activity ran smoothly under

the researcher’s guidance.

c) Observing the action

Observing the action is really important to do because it can be used as

one of the indicators to know the students’ progress. In this case the writer as a

researcher implemented the action while the students were doing their activities.

To observe the result of the action in cycle one, the researcher used test and

observation. The researcher conducted the post test on 12th November 2011 at the

end of cycle one in order to measure the improvement the students made. The

next was observation; it was done during the teaching learning process.

By observing the teaching and learning process in the first cycle, the

researcher knew the effectiveness of mapping in teaching English reading. In this

part, the researcher would like to describe about what she observed and noticed in

the teaching and learning process at every meeting.

a. First Meeting

In this first meeting, the students looked unmotivated. They had low

motivation to join the class. It could be seen from their coming to the class room.

Most of the male students were still outside the classroom when the researcher

came into the class. They came to the class after the chairman called them. The

students’ motivation was still low although they had sat in the classroom. It could

be seen from the students’ response to the researcher’s greeting. She needed to

greet them twice. The students’ motivation needed to be enhanced.

This situation changed when the writer told them that they would learn

together in some weeks later. The students looked excited because they would

learn with their new teacher. Some students said that they hoped to have an

enjoyable situation in their classroom they never had, it was because they felt

bored with their teacher’s way in teaching reading. Their response to the writer’s


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announcement showed that their motivation increased although this fact still

needed to be proven during the implementation of the plan.

The students were confused to identify the main idea. They asked the

researcher which one showed the main idea of the text. The students were little

confused because there were two “it” in the text and both of them have same

reference. There was also a girl student who asked a question about how to find

the conclusion.

b. Second Meeting

In the second meeting, the students still showed that they were not ready

yet to join the English class. When the bell rang, the students were still busy with

their activities outside the class. Some of them were in the canteen, in other class,

and there were some students who came late. The researcher asked them to enter

the class quickly. The researcher helped by a boy student asked his friends to

enter the class.

After all of the students were in the class, they still joked and chatted with

their friends. The researcher stopped their activities and asked the students to pray

together. After that the researcher checked the students’ attendance. Then, the

researcher gave the students advice in order to in the next time they would be

ready when the time showed that they should enter the class. The students said

“yes”.

The students did not really pay attention to the researcher and the lesson.

They were busy joking with their friends. The researcher looked at the students

who joked with their friends one by one. Then, they felt embarrassed, stopped

their joke and paid attention to the lesson. The researcher continued her duty. But

sometimes they repeated another activity. When the leader helped the researcher

to share the texts, the class was crowded again. They were really like to chat and

joke, but the researcher tried to be patient.

There were some students who asked some questions about the meaning

of the researcher’s questions. They also asked about the English name of

traditional food from Yogyakarta.


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c. Third Meeting

The researcher entered the class, but some of the students were in the toilet

and in the school’s canteen. Actually some of the students were still outside when

the bell rang. The researcher tried to know this situation because before English

they have mathematic. The students looked tired and bad mood. The researcher

tried to change their mood. The researcher also asked them what did happen

before the lesson. Then, the students told that they have mathematic before the

English lesson. The material was difficult for them so they felt bored and tired.

The researcher asked the students to prepare their stationeries. There were

some boy students who did not bring the color pen. They caused noisy and bother

their girl friends. The class became crowded because the students joked with their

friends. The researcher asked some other students who brought more pens in

order to give their pen to their friend.

The students showed their enthusiasm in answering the researcher

questions. They were also could answer the researcher’s questions quickly. They

were looked busy and concentration with their work in making mapping. In

finding the meanings, sometimes some of the students asked the researcher, but

the researcher did not answer it at that time. The researcher asked the students to

open the dictionary and sometimes asked other students till get the correct

answers.

d. Fourth Meeting

It was the last meeting of the first cycle. There was a boy student who

came late, the researcher asked him to join the class. There were some students

still chatted with their friends. The researcher gave them a question in order to

stop their activity and paid attention to the researcher.

In the fourth meeting, the students were looked more serious in working

their task. They looked understand in making mapping. In this last meeting of

cycle one, the researcher gave the students a review about the five indicators.

Then, she asked to the students about their problem. Some students asked to the

researcher about detail information. They were still confused to find it.


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Table 4.4. The Mean Score of Reading Ability of Post Test 1

No. Indicators Post test 1





4 Describing implicit information (about conclusion and purpose of the text) 58.6

∑ Mean Score of Post Test 1 69.2

d) Reflecting the result of the observation

From the observation, the researcher got the result as follows: the

activities of teaching learning process by using mapping technique ran well and

the students enjoyed doing the activities. They learned something new that was

how to understand a text easily by using mapping activities. They did not feel

bored in teaching and learning English especially in reading lesson. The students

showed their enthusiasm when the researcher explained them about the lesson by

using her technique. The students welcomed to the researcher and respected her as

their English teacher. It was the precious feeling of the researcher. Moreover,

when the meeting had finished, the students always showed their expectation to

learn together and to be taught by the researcher in the next meeting.

Moreover, the researcher concluded that the technique was good and

suitable to understand reading text especially recount text. The text was also good

enough for the students of eighth grade. The researcher divided this reflecting into

two parts: (1) the strengths and (2) the weaknesses.

(1) The strengths

They could understand how to find the reference of pronouns and explain

the meaning of word based on context. They have willingness to open their

dictionaries to find the meaning of the difficult words including synonym and

antonym. They took attention to the researcher’s explanation about reference of

pronouns, because it was enjoyable for them making colorful line and connecting

the pronouns with the references.


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In the cycle one, the students showed their enthusiasm in mapping

activities, it was because the technique was different from the monotonous

technique from their English teachers. The students did not feel bored when

mapping was implemented. The students also had willingness to ask questions

about something they did not know.

(2) The weaknesses

Some students still got difficulties in the three indicators: they were

identifying main idea, identifying detail information, and describing implicit

information (about conclusion of the text and purpose of the text). There were

some students who still did not understand about it, some students still got

difficulty to get it, they needed more exercises and more explanations.

The students had low motivation to come to the class when the class

began. There were some students who were still in outside the class when the bell

rang. The students liked to joke with their friends in the class. The students liked

to chat with their friends, but the researcher always gave them some question

related to the material in order to stop their activities. The boy students also liked

to bother their girl friends, so the class became crowded.

From the reflections of the observation above, it can be concluded that

cycle one is not successful yet, based on the result in the learning reading and

class situation.

Table 4.5. Problems Unsolved in Cycle 1

Problems Planned Solution Problem in reading 1. The students got difficulty in

identifying main idea; 1) The researcher reviewed again about main idea

then tried to find main idea of the text then made a circle with colorful line;

2. The students were still hard in identifying detail information;

2) The researcher reviewed again about detail information. After that, the researcher found the detail information of the text then made a colorful circle;

3. The students were still unable in describing implicit information (about conclusion and purpose of the text).

3) The researcher reviewed again about implicit information (about conclusion and purpose of the text) then the researcher and the students got conclusion by mapping the question to the text in the last paragraph. The researcher got purpose by mapping the adverb of time in the text;


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Class situation 1. The students had low motivation to

come to the class when the class began;

1) Teacher gave the students advices in order that they won’t come late again;

2. The students liked to joke with their friends in the class;

2) Teacher asked the students to pay attention to the teacher and gave them some questions related to the material;

3. The students liked to chat with their friends;

3) Teacher asked the students to be silent and gave them a question related to the material in order that the students pay attention to the teacher than to their friends;

4. The boy students also liked to bother their girl friends.

4) Teacher gave them solution in order that they don’t bother their girl friend, for example: the teacher asked the students to borrow the color pen to their friend who bring more than one color pens.

2) Cycle 2

a) Planning the action

Based on the result of cycle one, it is important for the researcher to think

of better way to solve the problems that were faced in cycle one. The problems

were students got difficulty in identifying main idea, students got difficulty in

identifying detail information, students got difficulty in finding implicit meaning

(about conclusion and purpose of the text), the students had low motivation to

come to the class when the class began, the students liked to joke with their

friends in the class, the students liked to chat with their friends, and the boy

students also liked to bother their girl friends.

Before doing the second cycle, the researcher had prepared lesson plan

and many recount texts related to the topic of the junior high school curriculum so

that the action could run well and all of the researcher’s objectives could achieved

perfectly.

According to the facts explained above, the researcher decided to make

some plans to solve the problems. They were as follows: the researcher would

explain about mapping activities deeply; the researcher would give the students

review about recount text; the researcher would give more explanation about main

idea, detail information, and implicit information (about conclusion and purpose

of the text); the researcher would give more exercises by giving them many


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reading texts to practice more; the researcher would give extra guidance to the

students who still had difficulties; teacher would give the students advices in

order that they would not come late again; teacher would ask the students to pay

attention to the teacher and would give them some questions related to the

material; teacher would ask the students to be silent and would give them a

question related to the material in order that the students pay attention to the

teacher than to their friends; and teacher would ask the students to borrow the

color pen to their friend who brought more than one color pens in order that they

would not bother their girl friend.

b) Implementing the action

The researcher used her lesson plan of cycle two. In this cycle the

researcher still used recount text as the genre, because it was related to the

curriculum of eighth grade of junior high school. The researcher also still used

mapping as her technique of her research. In this cycle there were also four

meetings. The activities in the cycle two are as follows:

Table 4.6. Planning of Students’ Activities in Cycle 2

1. First meeting Class situation Reading


2) Teacher asked the students to pay attention to the teacher and gives them some questions related to the material;

3) Teacher asked the students to be silent and gives them a question related to the material in order that the students paid attention to the teacher than to their friends;

4) Teacher gave them solution in order that they would not bother their girl friend, for example: the teacher asked the students to borrow the color pen to their friend who bring more than one color pens.

1) The researcher reviewed recount text completely and clearly;

2) The researcher reviewed about main idea, detail information, and implicit information in the recount text;

3) The researcher reviewed about how to make mapping to understand the text deeply;

4) The researcher asked the students to make

mapping to understand the text then answer the reading texts’ questions;

5) The researcher discussed the students’ answers

together with the students. 2. Second meeting

Class situation Reading 1) Teacher gave the students advices in order that they

won’t come late again;

1) The researcher reviewed again about main idea and detail information then tried to find main idea of the text then made a circle with colorful line. After that, the researcher found the detail


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2) Teacher asked the students to pay attention to the

teacher and gave them some questions related to the material;

3) Teacher asked the students to be silent and gave them a question related to the material in order that the students paid attention to the teacher than to their friends;


information of the text then makes a colorful circle;

2) The researcher reviewed again about mapping; 3) The researcher gave them opportunity to practice

mapping activities to understand the text;

4) The researcher asked the students to answer the reading questions and discussed it together.

3. Third meeting Class situation Reading


2) Teacher asked the students to pay attention to the

teacher and gave them some questions related to the material;



1) The researcher reviewed again about implicit information (about conclusion and purpose of the text) then the researcher and the students got conclusion by mapping the question to the text in the last paragraph. The researcher got purpose by mapping the adverb of time in the text;

2) The researcher gave the students more opportunity to practice in making mapping to understand the text;

3) The researcher asked them to answer the texts’ questions and discussed it.

4. Fourth meeting Class situation Reading


2) Teacher asked the students to pay attention to the teacher and gave them some questions related to the material;



1) The researcher gave the last review about recount;

2) The researcher gave last review about man idea, detail information and implicit information (about conclusion and purpose of the text);

3) The researcher gave the students last opportunity to make mapping to understand the text before post test 2;

4) The researcher asked the students to answer the

texts’ questions and discussed it together.


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Based on the table above, the researcher did four meetings in the cycle

two. The descriptions are as follows:

(1) First Meeting

Wednesday 23rd November 2011 was the first meeting in cycle two. It was

a hot afternoon. When the researcher came into the classroom, most of the

students had come, although there were still some students who did not come yet

when the researcher entered the class. Then, the researcher asked them to enter

the class quickly and gave them advices. They sat on their seat and talked to their

friends next to them then teacher asked the students to be silent. It was different

from what happened in the first cycle that the students were not ready to study

when the teacher arrived. The conversation stopped when the writer stood in front

of the classroom and greeted them. They answered the greeting loudly. The

researcher checked the students’ attendance.

Firstly, the researcher reviewed recount text completely and clearly to

expand the students’ understanding about it. Some of the students still asked

about their understanding of recount text. The researcher answered and explained

them happily. After all of the students really understood about recount text, the

researcher explained about main idea, detail information, and implicit information

in the recount text.

Secondly, the researcher gave explanation about how to make mapping to

understand the text deeply. The researcher gave the students opportunity to make

mapping to understand the text then answered the reading texts’ questions in order

to improve the students’ ability in understanding the text. In the first meeting of

the second cycle, the text was about Visiting to the Moon. The students made

mapping in the main idea of the text. They looked little confused but they could.

Then, they identified detail information of the text. They found the reason why

Neil Armstrong’s footprints could stay forever on the moon. After that they made

colorful circles about some pronouns then connected them with their references

with colorful line. The students also made colorful circles in some difficult words

then found the meanings in their own dictionaries. They still needed some


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minutes to find the meanings. The researcher gave them spirit. Then, they looked

for the adverb of time that shows the experience happened. After that the

researcher discussed the students’ answers together with the students.

Finally, the researcher made a conclusion about the meeting at that day

(main idea of the text, detail information, and implicit information in the recount

text). The researcher asked the students ask her question related to the material at

that day. A student asked about how to identify main idea. Next, the researcher

asked them about their feeling after learning process and they told that they felt

happy with the activities and the explanations. After that the researcher gave them

some questions for homework. The researcher closed the meeting by praying

together with the students. Then, they went home.

(2) Second Meeting

The next meeting was the second meeting. It was Saturday 26th November

2011. It was a beautiful Saturday, the favorite day of the students. The students

had big spirit at that day. Firstly, the researcher greeted the students and they

answered loudly. Then, they were praying together. After praying, the researcher

checked the students’ attendance. Actually the smartest student of the eighth B

was sick. After checking the students’ attendance, the researcher reviewed again

about main idea, detail information and mapping. The researcher asked the

students whether they understood the explanation or not. They told the teacher

that they had understood it.

Secondly, the researcher gave them opportunity to practice mapping

activities to understand the text and answer the reading questions. There were two

texts in this meeting. The first text entitled Visiting to Cileunca. The students

found the main idea by mapping in the text. Then, the students tried to identify

detail information by making colorful circles. They found some detail information

about: where did the writer go last year; where was Situ Cileunca; how was Situ

Cileunca; why were animals fat and healthy there; where was the lake; and how

was the lake. After that, they connected some colorful circles of pronouns and

their references with colorful lines. The students also made circles in some


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difficult words and found the meanings in the dictionary, but some of the students

did not bring dictionary. The researcher asked them to borrow the dictionary

quickly and politely without bothering their friends. Then, they made a circle in

the adverb of time that showed when the experience happened as the

communicative purpose of the text.

The second text was about My Holiday was Fantastic. The students tried

to identify the main idea of the third paragraph and made a colorful circle on it.

After that the students tried to identify detail information of the text and made

some circles about: where did the writer go last summer; what did the writer do in

New York; and how was Hollywood. The students also made a circle in the

adverb of time that showed when the experience happened as the communicative

purpose of the text in the words “last summer”.

They worked together with their friends to find the answers. They really

enjoyed the class. They consulted their dictionary if they met some words that

they did not know the meaning. Unfortunately, not all students brought it. Some

of boy students did not bring dictionary. Those students said that they forget to

bring it. For those students, they may borrow their friends’ dictionary under the

condition that their friends allowed them to lend it. This fact was really different

from their habit in the class. They usually preferred chatting with their friends to

doing the task. After finishing their task, the researcher and the students discussed

the students’ answers together. Some students had false answer and the researcher

told the correct answer by guiding them with mapping and giving them spirit in

order to improve their achievement.

Finally, the researcher made a conclusion and made sure about the

students’ understanding about how to make mapping in recount text. Some of

students asked the researcher to make them sure about how to make mapping in

recount text correctly. After that, the students said thanks to the researcher about

her explanation. The researcher also asked the students to learn at home by

themselves and gave them homework to submit in the next meeting. Then the

researcher closed the meeting at that day.


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(3) Third Meeting

The third meeting was on Tuesday 29th November 2011. The researcher

entered to the class and greeted them. It was a fresh morning. The researcher

asked the leader to ask his friends to pray together. Then, the researcher and the

students prayed together. After that the researcher checked the students’

attendance. Some of the students made joke with their friends when the researcher

checked the students’ attendance, so the researcher asked them to pay attention to

the researcher. Then, the researcher began the meeting.

Firstly, the researcher reviewed again about implicit information (about

conclusion and purpose of the text) and mapping. In this third meeting, the quality

of the teaching and learning process in this cycle was significantly increased. The

students who usually found difficulty to describe implicit information began to be

able to do that. They became more enthusiastic and serious in following the

lesson.

Secondly, the researcher gave the students more opportunity to practice in

making mapping to understand the text especially mapping about implicit

information (about conclusion and purpose of the text). Then, the researcher

asked the students to answer the texts’ questions and discussed it together with the

researcher. In this third meeting, there were three texts. The first text was about

camping. The students tried to identify the main idea of the text and main idea of

the last paragraph then made colorful circles of it. The students looked easier in

finding them. Next, the students found the reference of pronoun “we” in the first

line of the first paragraph by making circles of them then connected these two

circles with colorful line. After that, the students were found the difficult words

by making colorful circle then found the meaning in the dictionary. The students

found the conclusion of the text in the last paragraph and made a colorful circle.

Then, found the purpose of the text in the first paragraph in adverb of time in the

words “last month”. It showed that the writer told his experience happened in the

past.


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The second text was about Visiting Yogyakarta Palace. The students

found the main idea of the text in the first paragraph and made a circle on it. The

students also made some circles in the detail information of the text. After that,

the students found the reference of pronoun “they” in the first line of the second

paragraph and make colorful line and circles on them. Next, the students made

some circles in difficult words and found the meanings in their dictionary. The

students found the conclusion in the last paragraph and made a circle on it.

The third text entitled A Class Picnic. The students found the detail

information about: who went for a picnic; how did they go for a picnic; do they

use one bus or more than one bus; and what time did they leave the park. Then,

the students made circles on them. They also made a circle in the conclusion of

the text in the last paragraph. The students did their mapping activity easier than

in the first cycle. The researcher was satisfied.

Finally, as usual, the researcher made a conclusion and made the students

sure about their understanding in mapping implicit information of the text. The

researcher asked the students to ask question related to the topic. Some students

gave her questions about how to find purpose of the text and conclusion of the

text then the researcher explained it. The researcher also asked the students to

study at home and said thanks to them. Next, the researcher gave them homework

to submit in the next day. After that, the researcher closed the meeting at that day.

(4) Fourth Meeting

The last meeting in the cycle two was on Wednesday 30th November 2011.

The researcher entered to the class and greeted the students. First, the researcher

reviewed their previous meeting material. She held a question and answer activity

dealing with recount text in order to make sure that the students really understood

about it. The researcher also gave last review about detail information and

implicit information (about conclusion and purpose of the text). After that, the

researcher gave more examples in making mapping to give more understanding to

the students.


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Next, the researcher gave the students last opportunity to make mapping to

understand the text before post test 2 and asked the students to answer the texts’

questions. The text was about Visiting Cetho Temple. The students found the

detail information about: where did the writer go last month; why is it not easy to

get this place; etc. Then, the students made colorful circles on them. There were

some boy students who did not bring colorful pen and they bothered their friends.

Then, the researcher asked them to borrow it politely and asked them to bring

colorful pen in the next day by themselves. After that, the students made a

colorful circle of the conclusion of the text about the feeling of the writer in the

last paragraph.

When they discussed the students’ answers, one of the students made a

mistake on his answer but the researcher kept motivating him. She said to the

students that it was okay for them to make mistakes. People improved their

knowledge from making mistakes. She also said that the students banned to laugh

at other students’ mistakes.

After discussed it, the researcher told to the students that tomorrow would

be the post test two or the last reading test and the researcher asked them to learn

more in home before the test. The bell rang. It was time for the writer to close the

class that day.

(5) Post Test 2

It was Saturday, 3rd December 2012. In this stage, the researcher

conducted a second post-test for the students as the last activity done in the

second cycle. The researcher gave the students a post-test in order to know the

students’ achievement and progress in understanding recount text. There were 36

students who took the post-test. The post- test was aimed at knowing the students’

achievement and progress in reading ability. She told them to do the test based on

the instruction given and do it individually. They were given eighty minutes to

accomplish their task. The class situation was also different from the previous

days. The students who usually made some noises were now busy with the task.

The researcher hoped that the students could show their best in this last test.


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c) Observing the action

Observing the action is really important to do because it can be used as

one of the indicators to know the students’ progress. By observing the teaching

and learning process in the second cycle, the researcher knew how far the

effectiveness of mapping activities in teaching English reading. The researcher

found that the implementation of mapping activities motivated the students in

learning English, especially in learning reading to understand the text. It could be

seen from the students’ activeness during the lesson. Generally, the improvement

could be seen from the result of the post test 2 increased from the mean score of

the post test 1.

Besides, the improvements were in the ability of identifying main idea of

the text, identifying detail information, finding the reference of pronouns,

explaining the meaning of word based on context, and describing implicit

information (about conclusion and purpose of the text).

(1) First meeting

In the first meeting of the second cycle, the students showed their

improvement in their coming, although there were still some students who came

late, so the researcher gave them advices. They showed their readiness to join the

class. Most of the students came into the class when the bell rang. They sat on

their own chair and chatted with their tablemate. Their activities stopped when the

researcher entered to the class. This condition made the researcher very happy and

made a big hope about the improvement made by the students.

The students also showed their little improvement of their achievement in

some problems they have faced in the first cycle. They showed their attention

when the researcher reviewed about main idea, detail information, and implicit

information. The researcher also gave them motivation when the students practice

mapping activities to understanding the text.

(2) Second meeting

The second meeting of the second cycle was on Saturday, the favorite day

of the students. The students had big spirit at that day. They looked fresh and


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happy. They sang songs when the researcher came into the class. Then, the

researcher greeted the students and they answered loudly. The researcher was

very happy. In the teaching learning process the class situation was in a good

condition. The students who usually made noise paid attention to the researcher’s

explanation and the material.

The students looked busy with their task in identifying main idea and

detail information of the text. They were quicker in finding the answers of the text

questions than in the first cycle. They also showed their willingness to ask

question about how to make mapping in recount text.

(3) Third meeting

It was a fresh morning. When the bell rang the students were in the class.

The researcher entered the class and greeted them. They answered it loudly. The

researcher asked the leader to ask his friends to pray together. After that, the

researcher and the students prayed together. The opening ran smoothly, but some

of the students joke with their friends when the researcher checked the students’

attendance. Then, the researcher asked them to pay attention to the researcher.

When the researcher reviewed again about implicit information (about

conclusion and purpose of the text) and mapping, the students were paid attention.

The quality of the teaching and learning process in this cycle was increased. The

students who usually found difficulty to describe implicit information began to be

able to do that. They became more enthusiastic and more serious in the teaching

learning process.

(4) Fourth meeting

In the last meeting of the second cycle, the researcher began the meeting

by reviewing their previous meeting material. She held a question and answer

activity dealing with recount text in order to make sure that the students really

understood about it. The students showed their readiness to face the last test. They

answered the researcher’s questions correctly. They still remembered about their

last material. The researcher also gave last review about detail information and

implicit information (about conclusion and purpose of the text). There were some


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girl students who made themselves sure about their understanding by asking the

researcher some questions. The class condition was good although there were

some boy students who did not bring colorful pen and they bothered their friends.

Then, the researcher asked them to borrow it politely and asked them to bring

colorful pen in the next day by themselves.

Table 4.7. The Mean Score of Reading Ability of Post Test 2

No. Indicators Post test 2





5 Describing implicit information (about conclusion and purpose of the

text)

72.8

∑ Mean score 84.2

d) Reflecting the result of the observation

This was the final stage of the second cycle which was also the final cycle

in this study. Based on the observation, the result of the interview, questionnaire,

test, and the researcher’s diary, the researcher could give reflection to what had

been implemented in cycle 2.

(i) The Strengths in Cycle 2

There were some positive results from the implementation of mapping

activities to the students’ reading in cycle 2.

1. The result dealing with reading skill

a) The students could identify main idea of the text and main idea of each

paragraph;

b) The students could identify detail information of the text;

c) The students could find reference of pronouns based on the text;

d) The students could find the meaning of words based on context because

they did more practices;

e) The students are able to describe implicit information (about conclusion

and purpose of the text).


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2. The result dealing with class situation

a) The students paid attention to the researcher’s explanation;

b) The students were motivated to learn English especially reading skill;

c) The student actively involved in all activities;

d) They were no longer shy or afraid to ask or answer questions;

e) The students more actively involved in teaching- learning process. They

were happy and not lazy doing the writer’s instruction. Most of the

students were not shy to answer questions and express their ideas.

From the observation result of cycle one and cycle two, it could be

concluded that the students’ reading skill can be improved by using mapping. It

could be seen from the result of the tests (pre test, post test 1 and post test 2).

They also showed their enthusiasm, participation, and attentions to the teaching

learning process.

There are some improvements based on the result of the implementation

of the action. They are as follows:

Table 4.8. The Mean Score of All the Tests Hold in the Research

Indicators Pre test Post test 1 Post test 2

Identifying main idea 62.1 69.2 85.6

Identifying detail information 66.1 64.7 91.4

Finding the reference of pronouns 79.0 83.1 92.4

Explaining the meaning of word based on context 51.8 70.1 75.1

Describing implicit information (about conclusion and purpose of the text) 61.1 58.6 72.8

Mean score 64.6 69.2 84.2

After analyzing and reflecting the result, the researcher made a summary

of all research finding. Having analyzed the data before and after the research, the

researcher found several findings to answer the problems of the research. The

findings are presented in the following tables:


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Table 4.9. The Findings

Students’ Ability Class Situation

Before Action Research

a. The students comprehension was low;

b. The mean score of pre test was 64.6;

c. The students have difficulty to identify

main idea;

d. The students meet difficulty to identify

detail information;

e. The students have problem to explain the

meaning of word based on context; and

f. The students have difficulty to describe

implicit information (about conclusion and

purpose of the text).

a. The students pay little attention toward their

teacher’s explanation during teaching and

learning activity;

b. The students difficult to remember what the

teacher told in the past;

c. The students are noisy in teaching and learning

English;

d. The students do not want to ask to the teacher

when they have difficulty;

e. The students have low motivation to come to

the class when the class began;

f. The students like to joke with their friends in

the class;

g. The students like to chat with their friends;

h. The boy students also like to bother their girl

friends.

Cycle 1

a. The students comprehension was little

improved;

b. The mean score of the post test 1 was 69.2;

c. The students are able to find the reference

of pronouns; and

d. The students are able to explain meaning of

word based on context;

a. The students had low motivation to come to


b. The students liked to joke with their friends in

the class;

c. The students liked to chat with their friends;

and

d. The boy students also liked to bother their girl

friends.

Cycle 2

a. The students comprehension was

improved;

b. The mean score of the post test 2 was 84.2;

c. The students could identify main idea;

d. The students are able to identify detail

information;

e. The students are able to explain the

meaning of word based on context; and

f. The students do not find difficulty to

describe implicit information (about


a. The students pay attention toward their

teacher’s explanation during teaching learning

activity;

b. The students remember what the teacher told in

the past;

c. The students are silent in teaching and learning

English;

d. The students have willingness to ask to the

teacher when they have difficulty;

e. The students have high motivation to come to



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f. The students more pay attention to the

researcher than joked with their friends;

g. The students decrease their activity in chatting

with their friends and they pay attention to the

researcher’s explanation; and

h. The boy students more calm and pay attention

to the researcher than bother their friends.

Table 4.10. The Improvement of the Students’ Score

Observation Cycle 1 Cycle 2

Kind of test Pre Test Post Test 1 Post Test 2

Mean score of the students 6.46 6.92 8.42

The increasing of the students’

mean score

0.46 1.5

Table 4.11. The Sample of the Students’ Comprehension Score

The students’ initial S H S M S L

Pre Test 9.0 7.2 5.0

Post Test 1 9.4 7.8 3.4

Post Test 2 10.0 8.6 7.6

(ii) The Weaknesses in Cycle 2

Generally, it was not easy to organize a big class especially when the

students had heterogeneous achievements and different characteristics. The

researcher should be very patient with the students’ habit and behavior. The

research should give the students advices everyday although they still did it and

guide the students in doing mapping. But, the implementation of mapping

activities could solve the students’ problems in reading. By doing the stages in

reading process and practicing in reading, the students could improve their

reading ability.


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II. Discussion

The research to improve students’ reading ability through mapping

activities gave satisfying result both in improving students’ English reading

ability and class situation. Then, the findings can be categorized into two points as

follows: (1) mapping activities can improve the students’ reading ability; and (2)

mapping activities can improve class situation. The descriptions are as follows:

(1) Mapping activities can improve the students’ reading ability

The finding of the study showed that the use of mapping activities

improves students’ reading ability. Their reading ability was improved from cycle

to cycle. The students made many mistakes in pre-test then they made fewer

mistakes in cycle 1 and cycle 2. The students had difficulty to identify main idea,

detail information, reference of pronouns, meaning of word and implicit

information in pre-test. On the other hand, in post test, the students did not make

mistake in identifying main idea, they did not find difficulty in identifying detail

information, they also could find the reference of pronouns quickly, they need

little time to find the meaning of word based on context, and they also could

describe implicit information of the recount text easily.

The enhancements of reading ability improvement caused by mapping

activities are as follows:

a. Mapping can improve the students in identifying main idea and detail

information of the text

Researcher gives more opportunity for the students to practice mapping

because mapping helps the students to identify main idea by trying to find main

idea of the text then making a circle with colorful line. Mapping helps the

students in identifying detail information of the text by making a colorful line.

Vakilifard, et al. (2006: 1) state that map makes students possible to memorize,

re-use, and retrieve information more easily in the long run, allowing the

representation of ideas, of the relationships between these ideas, and of the way in

which the reader perceives these interrelationships.


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b. Mapping can improve the students in finding the reference of pronouns

The Webster states that a reference mind map is a map that contains

information organized so that the student can find the reference easily. Besides,

the Webster states that mind maps to map vocabulary into frames of reference that

can help the students memorize new items of vocabulary. Mapping helps the

students to find the reference of pronouns by making colorful line and connecting

between pronouns and the references.

c. Mapping can improve the students in explaining the meaning of words

based on context

Mapping helps the students to look for the difficult words in the text by

signing with a circle and finding the meaning in the dictionary and predicting

based on the context. Zhang (2009: 4) states that word mapping is an effective

method, by which students enhance their understanding of key words by

graphically mapping them to find meaning of words. The Webster states that a

word map is a visual organizer that promotes vocabulary development. Most word

map organizers engage students in developing a definition, synonyms, antonyms,

etc

d. Mapping can improve the students in describing implicit information

Mapping helps the students to describe the purpose of the text. The

Webster states that past tense mind map will help the students to structure the

students’ knowledge of the past. Furthermore, the Webster states that a colorful

mind map can show how to form and when to use past tense. Past simple is used

for describing finished past actions. By using colorful line, the students can show

the adverb of time that show past tense of the action in a recount text.

Mapping helps the students find the conclusion of the text. The Webster

states that mind maps are better than planning in a linear way. A linear way means

that linear way to show the conclusion. By using mapping, the students can show

the conclusion of recount text.


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It can be concluded that mapping is an effective solution to enhance

students’ reading ability by using some steps to make the students possible to

memorize important things from the text by making circle or symbol in order to

understand the text. By doing mapping activities, the students get better correction

for their mistakes and better solution for their reading difficulties.

(2) Mapping activities can improve class situation

The students’ behavior changes after the research. It is stated before that

most students have low motivation to study English and no interest on English

lesson. The changing of students’ behavior can be seen from their activity during

the lesson. They become active. They always tried to answer some questions from

the text and the researcher. The improvements of class situation are as follows:

a. Mapping can improve the students’ motivation

The Webster states that mind mapping avoid dull, linear thinking, jogging

students’ creativity, and making note taking fun again. Through mapping

activities, the students are more interested in every activity. The students become

more creative in identifying main idea and detail information. It also makes the

students have high motivation to come to the class when the class began.

The students become active. The Webster states that the process of

creating a mind map promotes active reading and encourages the students to think

about the structure of the information being read

b. Mapping can improve the students’ memorization

The students remembered what the teacher told in the past. The Webster

states that the use of mind maps such as connecting topics, colors, graphics and

keywords really helps the students’ memory. A single picture or word can make a

big difference when doing an exam. The students only having that icon in the

students’ mind maps can help the students remember 5 or 6 important points that

give the students extra marks. Mind mapping makes memorization and passing

exams easier. Moreover, the Webster states that the most valuable aspect of


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drawing a mind maps is the impact the process has on the students understanding

and memory of the material.

c. Mapping can improve the students’ willingness to ask to the teacher when

they have difficulty

The students have willingness to ask to the teacher when they have

difficulty. Cain (2010) states that mind maps can be used to raise standards in

literacy, improve confidence and encourage positive attitudes towards learning. It

improves questioning and answering during class discussions. The students ask

questions about their views of themselves as learners and their confidence and

sense of self-esteem in the classroom.

d. Mapping can improve the students’ attention

The students paid attention toward their teacher’s explanation during

teaching learning activity. The Webster states that practicing mind maps

(highlighting and underlining key information) helps the students review

important points later. It helps the students keep their mind focused on the

material and stops the students thinking about other things.

The facts above happen because the students are interested in mapping

activities, so their behavior changes. Dias (2010: 2) states that students can get

interested in mapping the texts once they become aware of its usefulness for the

enhancement of text comprehension in English. Through mapping activities,

students are more interested in reading activities. So, their behavior improves.

The finding shows that the students and the researcher made reading class

more active. Students take part in all activities and keep focus on the lesson. They

try to answer all questions given by the researcher. They also express their idea

during the process. The researcher always monitors the students’ activities. She is

ready to help them whenever they need it. They ask questions if they do not

understand the material given.


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The other finding shows that through mapping activities, the students can

improve their reading ability and would be better understanding the text. Because

of their reading improvement, they were motivated in reading.

The teaching learning process had enhanced better than before the action

research. It could be seen from the teaching learning activity which changed more

conducive. The students become more enthusiastic and serious than before. They

pay attention to the researcher’s explanation. It seems that they try to understand

the lesson.

Mapping activities improve the students’ motivation in reading. They want

the mapping implementation be continued in the next teaching learning activities,

especially in reading class. They want to improve their English reading

continually.


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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION, IMPLICATION, AND SUGGESTION

A. Conclusion

The action research carried out in SMP Negeri 5 Surakarta showed that

teaching reading by using mapping could improve students’ reading ability. The

result of the research showed that the use of mapping in teaching learning process

is able to enhance the students’ reading ability that covers reading to identify

main idea, identify detail information, find reference of pronouns, explain the

meaning of word based on context, and describe implicit information (about


The second is about the answer of the second research problem: what

happens when mapping is used in teaching reading. From the observation, the

researcher found that during the action, the situation of the teaching learning

process improved, the students had high motivation to come to the class when the

class began, the students did not feel bored in teaching learning process, the

students paid attention to the researcher, and the students had willingness to ask to

the researcher when they found difficulties.

B. Implication

Reading is one of the important skills in teaching language skill. In

teaching reading, it is important to implement appropriate technique and teaching

aids which correspond to students’ characteristic and promote learning. The use of

mapping in teaching reading is proven to be an effective way to improve students’

reading ability. Mapping is a useful technique that helps students learn more

effectively, improves the way to record information, and supports and enhances

creative problem solving.

There are many benefits when mapping activities are implemented in the

teaching and learning process to understand the text. It implies that mapping

activities are helpful for the students to understand a recount text. Mapping could


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create a motivation so that the students did not feel bored in the learning reading

activity. They had responsibility to do their task. Those improvements of the

students’ attitude could imply that the use of mapping in teaching reading is an

effective technique to improve the students’ ability in reading.

C. Suggestion

After carrying out the study and obtaining the conclusion of the study,

some suggestions can be put forward as follows:

1) To the Teachers

The teachers should learn how to enhance their ability in teaching reading

and to establish a good atmosphere in the class, so that the students feel at ease

and comfortable in their class. The teacher should be more attentive and care to

the students’ behavior. The teacher must also be creative to use various

techniques in teaching reading so the students are interested and actively involved

in teaching and learning process, for example mapping activities. Moreover,

teacher should give more exercises and practices to give the best result in the

students’ reading test.

2) To the Students

The students should be more creative to find the easier way in learning

reading based on their ability, for example learning reading by using mapping

activities. The students should be more attentive to every lesson, especially

English lesson because English is one of important lessons. They should be more

attentive to the teacher’s explanation than unimportant activities. The students

should encourage themselves to study more, to ask what they do not know, and to

learn as many as possible.

3) To other researchers

This research studies the use of mapping in teaching reading ability. It is

hoped that the result of the study can be used as additional reference for further

research in different context that will give contribution in teaching reading.

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