The Definition of Reading Comprehension

needs a set of skills that let him find information and understand it in terms of what is already known. This idea is supported by Yoakam cited in Smith 1961: 213 who state that: “Comprehending reading matters involves the correct association of meaning with word, symbols, the evaluating of meanings which are suggested in contect, the selection of the coorrect meaning, the organization of ideas as they are read, the retention of these ideas and their use in some present or future activity”. Comprehension is the mind act or power of understanding Hornby, 1987: 174. Therefore reading comprehension means understanding what has been read. It is an active process that depends not only on comprehension skill, but also on the reader’s experiences and prior knowledge. In line with Hornby, Grellet 1998: 182 states that reading comprehension means understanding a written text to extract the required information from it as efficiently as possible. Grellet emphasizes the importance of obtaining the required information in reading Comprehension refers to an active mental process. When one reads something he actively goes along to comprehend what the writer’s intended message by predicting, evaluating, selecting significant details, organizing, etc. In this case, a crucial factor that influences comprehension is the importance of the reader’s background knowledge Heilman as quoted by Widdowson, 1978 According to Howell, et al. 1993:182, reading comprehension is the act of combining information in a passage with prior knowledge in order to construct meaning. While Adam in Howel, Fox, Morehead, 1993:182 states that reading comprehension is an active process through which the reader uses code, context analysis, prior knowledge, vocabulary, and language along with executive - control strategies, to understand the text. From the ideas above, it can be concluded that reading comprehension is the power to get an idea or meaning from a written text, understand it according to experiential background or prior knowledge, and interpret it with the reader’s needs and purpose.

5. Factors Affecting Comprehension Skills

In the efforts to help the students achieve comprehension in reading activity, teachers must understand the factors that influence their students’ reading process. Aebersold and Field 1997: 23 have complied a list of factors that influence reading in second language learning. They are: a. Cognitive development and cognitive style orientation at the time of beginning L2FL study b. Language proficiency in the L1 c. Metacognitive knowledge of L1 structure, grammar, and syntax d. Language proficiency in an L1FL e. Degree of difference between the L1 and an L2FL writing systems, rhetorical structures, appropriate strategies. f. Cultural orientation As the result of reading process, there are also some factors that influence the students in their reading. Some experts have identified a number of factors affecting comprehension skill. One of them are Dawson and Bamman 1967: 220- 223. According to them, there are five factors which affect the comprehension skill. They are: a. Intelligence Students have different intelligence, so it will be possible for them to produce different comprehension. The number of ideas that they understand and depth of their understanding will be largely dependent upon his general capacity to learn. b. Experience Students with limited experience may have difficulty in comprehending many of the ideas and activities with which other students are familiar before they come to school. c. Mechanics of reading Comprehension will be easier for the students if they have all mastered the skills of word attack and word meaning, and if they have learned to handle material books properly. Obviously, there must be a fine balance somewhat in each student between careful attention to word attack skills and to comprehension skills d. Interest and interest span It is truism that we all respond quickly to what we read if we are interested in the topic or at least familiar with it. The interest span is related to personality