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10 Sandra 1994: 6, reading is an active process. The students worked intensively,
interacting with the text in order to create meaningful discourse. Based on the theories above, it can be concluded that reading is a
complexed process to obtain symbolized in written or printed language. Reading involves some processes that are used to get meaning from written text. It is not
only an activity involving printed material as the media in order to process and gain information but also the comprehending process.
2. Purposes of Reading
Reading as interpreting 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 purposes in attempting to understand. Wallace 1992: 4. Purpose determines how people read a text.
Wallace 1992: 6-7 classifies the reading purpose into three categories: a. Reading for survival
Reading for survival refers to some kinds of reading in response to our environment. It serves immediate deeds or wishes, for example a “STOP”
signs for motor rider. b. Reading for learning
Reading for learning serves the wider role of extending our general knowledge of the world. A good deal of reading to support learning takes
place in academic context. For example, the situation when the readers read
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11 aloud a text either individually to the teacher or to the whole class with, as
may become evident on questioning, little understanding of its context. c. Reading for pleasure
While reading for survival involves an immediate response to a situation and reading for learning is also goal oriented, reading for pleasure is done for its
own sake. Based on the purpose of reading above, teaching reading in Senior High
School is focused on reading for learning. The students are trying to comprehend or understand the message in the selection of essential facts. One indication that a
student already comprehends the selection is when he or she can answer the questions based on the selection.
3. Teaching Reading
Nunan 2003: 74 explains that there are eight principles in order that reading class can run well. Those principles are:
a. Exploit the reader’s background knowledge Background knowledge includes all of the experiences that a reader brings to
a text that can influence reading comprehension. Reading comprehension can be significantly enhanced if background knowledge can be activated by
setting goals, asking questions, making predictions, teaching structure, and so on. If students are reading on an unfamiliar topic, you may need to begin the
reading process by building background knowledge up.
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12 b. Build a strong vocabulary base
The basic vocabulary should be explicitly taught and L2 readers should be taught to use context to effectively guess the meanings of less frequent
vocabulary. c. Work on increasing reading rate
The teacher must work toward finding a balance between assisting students to improve their reading rate and developing reading comprehension skills.
d. Teach reading strategies Strategy of reading means not only knowing what strategy to use, but
knowing how to use and integrate a range of strategies. Achieving the desired result, students need to learn how to use a range of reading strategies that
appropriate to their purposes for reading. Teaching them how to do this should be a prime consideration in the reading classroom.
e. Encourage readers to transform strategies into skills Learners learn and practice specific reading strategies consciously to achieve
desired goals or objectives. The strategies move from conscious to unconscious; from strategy to skill. So, skill is a strategy that has become
automatic. f.
Build assessment and evaluation into your teaching There are two assessments that should be included in the reading classroom;
quantitative and qualitative assessments. Quantitative assessment will include information from reading comprehension test as well as reading rate data.
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13 Qualitative information can include reading journal responses, reading
interest surveys, and responses to reading strategy checklists. g. Strive for continuous improvement as a reading teacher
The quality of the individual teacher is integral to success of foreign language readers. Reading teacher need to be passionate about their work. They should
view themselves as facilitators, helping each reader discover what works best. The good reading teacher actively teaches students what to do. Teachers need
more than classroom and techniques to be success in reading class. Furthermore, Klingner, et al., 2007: 5 state that the instructional
components that contribute to improve effect sizes in reading comprehension include:
a. Teacher and students questioning b. Interactive dialogue between teachers and students
c. Controlling task difficulty and scaffolding instruction d. Elaboration of steps or strategies and modeling by the teacher
e. Small group instruction According to Eddie William 1999: 51, there are three main phases need
to be followed in teaching reading activity: a. Pre-reading activities
Pre-reading activities are aimed to introduce and arouse interest in the topic. Giving reason to read and some questions related to learners’ background
knowledge, ideas, and opinion would motivate learner’s eagerness to read the whole text.
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14 b. While-reading activities
While reading activities begin with a general or global understanding of the text, and then move to the smaller units such as paragraphs, sentences, and
words. The aims of these activities are 1 to help understand of the writer’s purpose; 2 to help understand of the text structure; and 3 to clarify text
content. There are some while-reading activities. Comprehension question, making lists, and taking notes are while reading type work.
c. Post-reading activities Traditionally the major, often only, kind of post reading activity consists of
questions which follow a text. The aims of post-reading activities are 1 to consolidate or reflect upon what has been read; and 2 to relate the text to the
learners’ own knowledge, interests, or views. From the explanation above, it can be concluded that teacher help
students remember to use and apply what they learn. The aim of teaching reading is developing the students’ reading skill to search for meaning in the text, actively
using students’ knowledge. A teacher teaches students with some steps in teaching reading. First, the use of a discussion or questioning that brings out just what the
author said or in other words, in pre-reading; a teacher ask questions related to the topic before he starts his reading. It is probably more effective to develop desire to
read the article and help them arrive at a literal understanding of the piece to be read. Then, after the students have completed reading the assigned section, teacher
and students should discuss it.
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15
4. Strategies of Reading
