MIME STORY, A TECHNIQUE OF TEACHING READING

Mime Story
Mime story is one of drama activities, Wessels (1987: 9) says, “There is a scope within application of drama techniques such as improvisation, mime, character analysis, obsevatin, interpretation and invention to help the learners in their acquisition of the language.”
Mime is defined as a facial expression. According to Dougill (1987: 13), “Mime is a non verbal representation of an idea or a story through gesture, bodily movement and expression.”
Mime story in in learning language is imitating or pretending story to guess the meaning of words (Revell, 1979: 20). He gives an example about th story as follows: “He is woken up in the middle of night by a noise down stairs. He is terrified – thinks it must be a burglar. Finally he plucks up courage – gets out bed – puts on his dressing – gown and slippers – takes a torch – creeps down stairs. He flings open the door, and discover a …..cat!”
According to Scotts and Ytreberg (1990: 23), “Mime story technique is a technique applied by the teacher in which the teacher tells the story to the pupils and pupils do the action.”
Mime story is used in teaching vocabulary, speaking, listening, writing, and also reading. Teaching reading using mime story can help the students comprehend the meaning of the text. Through mime story, the students can guess the meaning of words after they mime the words.
Pitman (1973), there are some activities in teaching using mime story technique, as follows:
• Preparation
1. Choose a simple story that some pupils may already know the gist of, such as a well – known fairy tale.
2. Practise telling it, to a colleague if possible
3. Sellect key words from the story and think of gestures to illustrate them
4. Practise to telling the story, making the gestures at the same time
• In the class
1. Explain what they are going to do
2. Get the pupils sitting comfortably: they should be relaxed, free of bags and writing materials
3. Teachers reads the story through twice at slow story telling pace. Offer no explanation
4. Teacher mime the story slowly and clearly
5. Ask the pupils what they think the story was. Teacher can help them by miming each part again
6. Get the pupils to stand up, if possible clear away the furniture. Then ask the pupils to form up one behind the other in a large circle round the room. Tell them you are going to read the story again, this time sentence by sentence, and ask them to mime what they understand has happened
7. Read the first sentence of the story, one or two pupils are likely to start miming it.
8. Read the same sentence again, so the other pupils imitte the mime
9. Go through the whole story like this, sentence by sentence without hurrying
10. Repeat the process, the pupils miming on each occasion
11. Ask the pupils to sit down, and divide class into groups
12. ask one pupil in each group to mime the story, and the other try to guess the mening of what they see.

2.3 Teaching Reading and Mime Story
Mime story as a medium that involves performing arts is used in teaching vocabulary, speking, listening, writing and also reading.According to Webster, The performing arts emphasis helps students develop wrting and reading skill through the performing arts: story telling, oral interpretation, readre’s theatre, story theatre, creative drama, puppetry, mime or movement, and music. Courses in these subjects are offered in rotation and taught in avariety formats. Students in the emphasis become active participants in writing-reading processes that lead to original works incorporating the performing arts.”
Based on the above explanation, the writer assumes that mime story technique is a suitable technique in teaching reading. This will make reading comprehension easier to be comprehended by students, and they will become active participants in learning process.