Significance of the study

simultaneously.” 3 The reader should decode and interpret the meaning of the information they have read at the same time. 4 Therefore, reading determined to be a complex activity because readers should be able to transfer the message in the text and interpret it through their own interpretation spontaneously. In summary, reading is an activity that involves the reader and the text. However, reading is not only the activity how to pronounce the written symbol in the text but how we can comprehend the message well in the text. Therefore the relationship between the reader and text should be built in order to obtain a comprehension. In order to get the essential of reading activity, the readers have to construct meaning from text and interpret it through the idea. 2. The Purpose of Reading Each reader has different purposes for reading. They are depending on the engagement of readers.As stated by the National Council of Teachers of English NCTE Commission on Reading, “A reader‟s competence continues to grow through engagement with various types of texts and wide reading for various purposes over a life time.” 5 Therefore, the need of reading for one reader and others is different according to their purpose of reading. Rivers and Temperley show several points of common purpose of readingas follows: - To obtain information for some purpose or because we are curious about some topic; - To obtain instructions on how to perform some task for our work or daily life; - To keep in touch with friends by correspondence or to understand business letters; - To know when or where something will take place or what is available; - To know what is happening or has happened as reported in newspaper, magazine , reports; 3 Colin Harrison and Terry Salinger, Assessing Reading 1: Theory and Practice, Routledge, 1998, p. 89. 4 Ibid. 5 National Council of Teachers of English Commission on Reading. “On Reading, Learning to read, and effective reading instruction: An Overview of What We Know and How We K now It”. 2004, April.p. 1. - For enjoyment or excitement. 6 As the discussion above, we can say that the purposes of reading are various; they are depending on the aim of reading which the readers want to achieve. It could beconcluded that people read many texts in order to get the actual information which can support them to be advanced and informed people. B. Reading Comprehension Strategies

1. Definition of strategies

According to Winograd and Hare, a strategy is a conscious action that students have to reach their goals or objectives. 7 It could be said that, a strategy can be useful to control students‟ goals of reading. By controlling the objective of reading, it can maintain students reading activity. In addition, David Pearson states a strategy is a plan developed by a reader to assist in comprehending and thinking about texts, when reading the words alone does not give the reader a sense of the meaning of a text. 8 It is clear that a strategy defined as an alternative when reader cannot catch the idea of the text. It is an ultimate action to help students become good readers. Furthermore, “A reading strategy can be described as any interactive process that has the goal of obtaining meaning from connected text, and reading skills operate within the context of such reading strategies”. 9 In short, strategy is a process of obtaining the importance of the goal message in a text. In most general terms , strategy is a plan and an action that readers have in order to help them obtaining their objective in reading. In addition, the strategy itself is very helpful for students to face their problems in reading. 6 Ibid., p. 90. 7 Neil J Anderson, Exploring second language reading: Issues and Strategy. HeinleHeinle Publishers, 1999, p. 70 8 David. P, Pearson, L.R. Roehler, J.A. Dole, and G.G. Duffy. 1992. Developing Expertise in Reading Comprehension. In S. Jay Samuels and Alan Farstrup, eds. What Research Has to Say About Reading Instruction, 2nd Edition. Newark, DE: International Reading Association. 9 Thom Hudson, Teaching Second Language Reading, Oxford University Press, 2007, p.107