Purpose of the Study
Furthermore, Farris, Fuhler and Walther explained that: Reading means getting meaning from print. Reading is not phonics,
vocabulary, syllabication, or other ‘skills’, as useful as these activities may be. The essence of reading is a transaction between the words of
an author and the mind of a reader, during which meaning is constructed. This means that the main goal of reading instruction must
be comprehension: above all, we want students to understand what is on a page.
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It means through reading, there is a transaction between the author or writer and the reader in getting and constructing meaning form the printed word.
Moreover, the readers or the students should understand and comprehend what is written on a text. Savage and Mooney said that:
Reading involves an interaction between a reader and a piece of written material. At the very basic level, the interaction starts with the
reader seeing black lines surrounded by white space. These lines register on the retina of the eye and are transmitted to the brain. The
reader recognizes these symbols – individually and in combination – and attaches significances to them. The words create an image or an
idea in the reader’s mind.
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From the explanation above, it can be concluded that reading is not only an activity to see the words printed in a text, but it also requires a process for
obtaining the writer’s intention, getting information and ideas from the writer’s writing properly. Reading is also as a form of communication between the writer
and the reader through a text.