THE EFFECT OF THINK ALOUD STRATEGY

THE EFFECT OF THINK ALOUD STRATEGY TOWARD STUDENTS READING SKILL: STUDY AT 9TH GRADE SMP NEGERI 1 KEREK IN ACADEMIC YEAR 2015/2016



CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the discussion on the background of the study, statement of the problems, objective of the study, scope and limitation of the study, significance of the study, assumption of the study, and definition of key terms.
1.1. Background of the Problem
Language is one of the most important things in communication and it is used as a toll of communication among the nations in all over the world. As an international language, English is very important and has many interrelationships with various aspects of life owned by human being. In Indonesia, English considered as the first foreign language and taught formally from elementary school up to the university level.
The most often become to complain is the teachers ability in applying appropriate approaches, methods, strategies or techniques in teaching or learning. So, many students are not interest in learning English. Therefore, the English teach suggested in order to be able mastering of method, such as, Nababan (1991: 4) notices that a qualified teacher is the teacher who is able to suit best method or technique to the material that is being taught.
In English, there are four skills that should be mastered, they are: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The reading skill becomes very important in the education field, students need to be exercised and trained in order to have a good reading skill.
Reading is also something crucial and indispensable for the students because the success of their study depends on the greater part of their ability to read. If their reading skill is poor they are very likely to fail in their study or at least they will have difficulty in making progress. On the other hand, if they have a good ability in reading, they will have a better chance to succeed in their study.
One of the methods researchers uses to get a clearer picture of what learners generally do while reading in a foreign language is think aloud. This is one type of verbal reports, obtained from the readers during reading (Cavalcanti, 1987).
Think-aloud means that readers report their thoughts while reading, but they are not expected to analyze their behavior as in introspection (Cohen, 1987). By means of asking their subjects to say out loud whatever goes through their minds, researchers hope to get a more direct view of the mental processes readers are engaged in while reading (Rankin, 1988).
In order to master reading skill, a teacher as an educator have to use good method in teaching learning process. In this case, the researcher concerns with the effect of think aloud strategy toward students reading skill study at 9th grade SMP Negeri 1 Kerek in academic year 2015/2016.
1.2. Statement of Problem
Based on the background of study above, the problem of the study is as follows:
1. To what extent is the achievement of students’ Reading skill in study at 9th grade SMP Negeri 1 Kerek in academic year 2015/2016?
2. To what extent is the effect of think aloud strategy toward students reading skill study at 9th grade SMP Negeri 1Kerek in academic year 2015/2016?
1.3. Objective of the Study
Based on the research statement, this particular study aimed at finding out:
1. The achievement of students’ Reading skill in study at 9th grade SMP Negeri 1 Kerek in academic year 2015/2016.
2. The effect of think aloud strategy toward students reading skill study at 9th grade SMP Negeri 1 Kerek in academic year 2015/2016
1.4. Significance of the Study
The result of the study is expected to be used theoretically and practically:
1. Theoretically
a. The result of this study is expected to be able to widen the skill of teachers in using think aloud strategy in order to improve student’s reading skill.
b. As a reference to other researchers who want to study think aloud strategy more intensively in teaching reading.
2. Practically
a. The result of this study is suggested to apply the think aloud strategy to increase the students’ competence in English reading skill.
b. The use of think aloud strategy in reading can make the students are more enjoyable in doing their tasks associated with the reading materials.
1.5. Hypothesis of the Study
A hypothesis is a statement of the research assumption about the relationship between two variables that the researcher plans to test within the framework of the researcher study (Kumar, 1993: 9).
The hypothesis of this study was prepared as a tentative answer for the research problem stated previously. In this case the alternative hypothesis as read follow:
“Think Aloud Strategy has effect toward Students Reading Skill ”
Because of statistical computation the alternative hypothesis need to be change into null hypothesis (Ho)as follow:
“Think Aloud Strategy has not effect toward Students Reading Skill ”
1.6. Scope and Limitation of the Study
The scopes of the study are limited to the subject and object investigated.
1. Subject
The subject of this study at 9th grade SMP Negeri 1 Kerek in academic year 2015/2016
2. Object
The object of this study is the effect of Think aloud strategy towards students reading skill.

1.7. Definition of Key Terms
In order to clarify the key terms used in this study, some definitions are put forward.
1. Think-aloud have been described as "eavesdropping on someone's thinking." With this strategy, teachers verbalize aloud while reading a selection orally. Their verbalizations include describing things they're doing as they read to monitor their comprehension. The purpose of the think-aloud strategy is to model for students how skilled readers construct meaning from a text. The think-aloud strategy asks students to say out loud what they are thinking about when reading, solving math problems, or simply responding to questions posed by teachers or other students
2. Reading is a kind of activity in translating written symbols into corresponding sound. Reading skills enable readers to turn writing into meaning and achieve the goals of independence, comprehension, and fluency.
3. Reading skill is the capability of understanding or getting information from reading material.
4. Strategies
According to Gony and Kingsmey (1974:12) the strategy is a process of individual behavior which modified or changed through practice or learning on the other hand.
5. Effect is words indicate things, which arise out of some antecedent, or follow as a consequence.














CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter presents about some related information topic of the recent study. It is intended to provide some theoretical concepts which could support this investigation. The discussion is presented under the following sub headings:
1) Theory of think aloud, 2) Using of think aloud, 3) The nature of reading, 3)Concept of reading, 4) Aspect of Reading Comprehension, 5) Comprehension Skill, 6) The related Study and 7) The Role of Background Knowledge in Comprehension, and 8) Theoretical frame work.

2.1. Theory of Think aloud
In this research, it was decided to implement the think-aloud strategy because it was used as an instructional approach, and also because this strategy helped readers to comprehend more easily what was being read by them. Afflerbach and Johnston cited by McKeown and Gentilucci (2007), claim that think-aloud serves firstly as a method of measuring the cognitive reading process, then as metacognitive tool to monitor comprehension. In that sense, the think aloud is appropriate for this study because through this strategy the students can monitor their comprehension process.
Another definition of this strategy is provided by Pressley et al. in McKeown and Gentilucci’s (2007) work: “think-aloud is one of the "transactional strategies" because it is a joint process of teachers and students working together to construct understandings of text as they interact with it” (p. 1). Through the interactions that think aloud promotes, a better understanding of the texts may emerge in the classroom. Think aloud is also a process in which readers report their thoughts while reading (Wade 1990). It helps students to reflect upon their own reading process.
In a similar way, Keene & Zimmerman, (1997) declare that “think aloud is a technique in which students verbalize their thoughts as they read” (p. 1). Thus, this strategy is useful because students are verbalizing all their thought in order to create understanding of the reading texts. Another illustration about think aloud is provided by Tinzmann in Teacher Vision website (2009), he says that:
When students use think out loud with teachers and with one another, they gradually internalize this dialogue [...] it becomes their inner speech, the means by which they direct their own behaviours and problem-solving processes. Therefore, as students think aloud, they learn how to learn, and they develop into reflective, metacognitive, independent learners, an invaluable step in helping students understand that learning requires effort and often is difficult.
This argument encloses all the issues that imply think-aloud in a reading process. Think aloud are also used to model comprehension processes such as making predictions, creating images, linking information in text with prior knowledge, monitoring comprehension, and overcoming problems with word recognition or comprehension (Gunning, 1996 in teacher vision). These sub-strategies will be defined in the ensuing sections.
The think-aloud is a technique in which students verbalize their thoughts as they read and thus bring into the open the strategies they are using to understand a text (Baumann, Jones, & Seifert-Kessell, 1993; Davey, 1983; Wade, 1990). Readers' thoughts might include commenting on or questioning the text, b

Results (Indonesian) 1:

EFEK BERPIKIR KERAS TERHADAP SISWA MEMBACA KETERAMPILAN: BELAJAR DI KELAS 9 SMP NEGERI 1 KEREK PADA TAHUN AKADEMIK 2015 2016BAB SAYAPENGENALANBab ini menyajikan diskusi tentang latar belakang studi, pernyataan masalah, tujuan studi, Ruang lingkup dan keterbatasan penelitian, pentingnya studi, asumsi studi, dan definisi dari istilah kunci.1.1. latar belakang masalah Bahasa adalah salah satu hal yang paling penting dalam komunikasi dan digunakan sebagai korban yang komunikasi di antara bangsa-bangsa di seluruh dunia. Sebagai bahasa internasional, bahasa Inggris sangat penting dan memiliki banyak antar-hubungan dengan berbagai aspek kehidupan yang dimiliki oleh manusia. Di Indonesia, bahasa Inggris dianggap sebagai bahasa asing pertama dan diajarkan secara resmi dari SD hingga tingkat Universitas.Yang paling sering menjadi mengeluh adalah guru kemampuan dalam menerapkan pendekatan yang tepat, metode, strategi, atau teknik mengajar atau belajar. Jadi, banyak siswa yang tidak menarik dalam mempelajari bahasa Inggris. Oleh karena itu, mengajar bahasa Inggris menyarankan agar dapat menguasai metode, seperti, Nababan (1991:4) pemberitahuan bahwa guru yang cakap adalah guru yang mampu sesuai dengan metode terbaik atau teknik untuk materi yang sedang diajarkan.Dalam bahasa Inggris, ada empat keterampilan yang harus dikuasai, mereka adalah: mendengarkan, berbicara, membaca, dan menulis. Keterampilan membaca menjadi sangat penting dalam bidang pendidikan, siswa perlu akan dilakukan dan dilatih untuk memiliki keterampilan baik membaca.Reading is also something crucial and indispensable for the students because the success of their study depends on the greater part of their ability to read. If their reading skill is poor they are very likely to fail in their study or at least they will have difficulty in making progress. On the other hand, if they have a good ability in reading, they will have a better chance to succeed in their study.One of the methods researchers uses to get a clearer picture of what learners generally do while reading in a foreign language is think aloud. This is one type of verbal reports, obtained from the readers during reading (Cavalcanti, 1987). Think-aloud means that readers report their thoughts while reading, but they are not expected to analyze their behavior as in introspection (Cohen, 1987). By means of asking their subjects to say out loud whatever goes through their minds, researchers hope to get a more direct view of the mental processes readers are engaged in while reading (Rankin, 1988). In order to master reading skill, a teacher as an educator have to use good method in teaching learning process. In this case, the researcher concerns with the effect of think aloud strategy toward students reading skill study at 9th grade SMP Negeri 1 Kerek in academic year 2015/2016.1.2. Statement of ProblemBased on the background of study above, the problem of the study is as follows:1. To what extent is the achievement of students’ Reading skill in study at 9th grade SMP Negeri 1 Kerek in academic year 2015/2016?2. To what extent is the effect of think aloud strategy toward students reading skill study at 9th grade SMP Negeri 1Kerek in academic year 2015/2016?1.3. Objective of the StudyBased on the research statement, this particular study aimed at finding out:1. The achievement of students’ Reading skill in study at 9th grade SMP Negeri 1 Kerek in academic year 2015/2016.2. The effect of think aloud strategy toward students reading skill study at 9th grade SMP Negeri 1 Kerek in academic year 2015/20161.4. Significance of the StudyThe result of the study is expected to be used theoretically and practically:1. Theoreticallya. The result of this study is expected to be able to widen the skill of teachers in using think aloud strategy in order to improve student’s reading skill.b. As a reference to other researchers who want to study think aloud strategy more intensively in teaching reading.2. Practicallya. The result of this study is suggested to apply the think aloud strategy to increase the students’ competence in English reading skill.b. The use of think aloud strategy in reading can make the students are more enjoyable in doing their tasks associated with the reading materials.1.5. Hypothesis of the Study A hypothesis is a statement of the research assumption about the relationship between two variables that the researcher plans to test within the framework of the researcher study (Kumar, 1993: 9).The hypothesis of this study was prepared as a tentative answer for the research problem stated previously. In this case the alternative hypothesis as read follow: “Think Aloud Strategy has effect toward Students Reading Skill ”Because of statistical computation the alternative hypothesis need to be change into null hypothesis (Ho)as follow: “Think Aloud Strategy has not effect toward Students Reading Skill ”1.6. Scope and Limitation of the StudyThe scopes of the study are limited to the subject and object investigated.1. SubjectThe subject of this study at 9th grade SMP Negeri 1 Kerek in academic year 2015/20162. ObjectThe object of this study is the effect of Think aloud strategy towards students reading skill. 1.7. Definition of Key TermsIn order to clarify the key terms used in this study, some definitions are put forward.1. Think-aloud have been described as "eavesdropping on someone's thinking." With this strategy, teachers verbalize aloud while reading a selection orally. Their verbalizations include describing things they're doing as they read to monitor their comprehension. The purpose of the think-aloud strategy is to model for students how skilled readers construct meaning from a text. The think-aloud strategy asks students to say out loud what they are thinking about when reading, solving math problems, or simply responding to questions posed by teachers or other students2. Reading is a kind of activity in translating written symbols into corresponding sound. Reading skills enable readers to turn writing into meaning and achieve the goals of independence, comprehension, and fluency.3. Reading skill is the capability of understanding or getting information from reading material.4. StrategiesAccording to Gony and Kingsmey (1974:12) the strategy is a process of individual behavior which modified or changed through practice or learning on the other hand.5. Effect is words indicate things, which arise out of some antecedent, or follow as a consequence.CHAPTER IIREVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE This chapter presents about some related information topic of the recent study. It is intended to provide some theoretical concepts which could support this investigation. The discussion is presented under the following sub headings:1) Theory of think aloud, 2) Using of think aloud, 3) The nature of reading, 3)Concept of reading, 4) Aspect of Reading Comprehension, 5) Comprehension Skill, 6) The related Study and 7) The Role of Background Knowledge in Comprehension, and 8) Theoretical frame work.2.1. Theory of Think aloudIn this research, it was decided to implement the think-aloud strategy because it was used as an instructional approach, and also because this strategy helped readers to comprehend more easily what was being read by them. Afflerbach and Johnston cited by McKeown and Gentilucci (2007), claim that think-aloud serves firstly as a method of measuring the cognitive reading process, then as metacognitive tool to monitor comprehension. In that sense, the think aloud is appropriate for this study because through this strategy the students can monitor their comprehension process. Another definition of this strategy is provided by Pressley et al. in McKeown and Gentilucci’s (2007) work: “think-aloud is one of the "transactional strategies" because it is a joint process of teachers and students working together to construct understandings of text as they interact with it” (p. 1). Through the interactions that think aloud promotes, a better understanding of the texts may emerge in the classroom. Think aloud is also a process in which readers report their thoughts while reading (Wade 1990). It helps students to reflect upon their own reading process.
In a similar way, Keene & Zimmerman, (1997) declare that “think aloud is a technique in which students verbalize their thoughts as they read” (p. 1). Thus, this strategy is useful because students are verbalizing all their thought in order to create understanding of the reading texts. Another illustration about think aloud is provided by Tinzmann in Teacher Vision website (2009), he says that:
When students use think out loud with teachers and with one another, they gradually internalize this dialogue [...] it becomes their inner speech, the means by which they direct their own behaviours and problem-solving processes. Therefore, as students think aloud, they learn how to learn, and they develop into reflective, metacognitive, independent learners, an invaluable step in helping students understand that learning requires effort and often is difficult.
This argument encloses all the issues that imply think-aloud in a reading process. Think aloud are also used to model comprehension processes such as making predictions, creating images, linking information in text with prior knowledge, monitoring comprehension, and overcoming problems with word recognition or comprehension (Gunning, 1996 in teacher vision). These sub-strategies will be defined in the ensuing sections.
The think-aloud is a technique in which students verbalize their thoughts as they read and thus bring into the open the strategies they are using to understand a text (Baumann, Jones, & Seifert-Kessell, 1993; Davey, 1983; Wade, 1990). Readers' thoughts might include commenting on or questioning the text, b