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CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A. Reading
1. Definition of Reading
Based on the research by National Reading Panel, reading is a complex process that needs systematic instructional approach,
1
while in Tiedeman, Vygotsky and Wartofsky stated that there are two types of tools that can be used
in reading.
2
It is the actual objects or instruments used to read, and the visualization or symbols in picture and alphabetic.
From those statements it can be concluded that reading is a complex process that will be systematically perceptible using a printed pages or multimedia
consisting of pictures and alphabets. This means reading is a process where the brains systematically receive the information from the object used and based on
the prior knowledge of readers on the symbols and alphabet to understand what the text is about.
Furthermore, reading also a process where symbols and alphabets combined to send the authors’ message to the reader, in this process the reader need to have
a syntactic, se mantic and pragmatic information to understand the authors’
message.
3
Reading involves interaction between t he readers’ thoughts, knowledge
and the texts being read. Thus, the results of one comprehension may differ from each other because they may have different background knowledge and thoughts
in the text they read.
1
Cathy Healy, Reading: What the Experts Say: The Lowdown on the National Reading Panel, PEATC, p. 1.
2
John Patrick Tiedemann, New Literacies, New Contexts? a Theoretical Definitions of Reading Context, Vanderbilt University, 2011, p. 4.
3
Donald Jr. J. Leu, Charles K. Kinzer, Effective Reading Instruction in the Elementary Grades, Columbus, Ohio: Merrill Publishing, 1987, p. 9.
2. Reading Comprehension
Wooley stating on his journal that reading comprehension is a process to make a meaning of a text but its goal is to understand the meaning of a whole text
not for each word or sentence.
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While Dutcher in Ulmer et al stating that reading comprehension is a process which the reader background knowledge, the
information on the text and the situation when reading are interacted with each other.
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From those points of view, the researcher concludes that a reading comprehension is the complex process to understand what it is about by using our
prior knowledge and connecting with the information on the text. Reading comprehension skill for EFLESL students is a little bit hard to
obtain. It could be because of the lack of memorizing the vocabulary, their method of learning, their motivations or even the interventions from another subject that
can be considered more important than English.
a. Major Components of Reading Comprehension Process
1 Decoding Knowledge Decoding knowledge is the knowledge used to determine a word with the
same meaning in the text. Decoding knowledge may be useful for reading comprehension but it may not necessary too. It is useful when the reader identify
the meaning of word. Many readers know the spoken language form of words but they do not know the written form. By using decoding knowledge, reader could
understand most of oral language in their written form. Decoding knowledge may not be necessary if the words were scientific but, we could use the context clues in
order to understand the sentence.
4
Gary Woolley, Reading Comprehension: Assisting Children with Learning Difficulties, Retrieved from
http:www.springer.comusbook9789400711730 , p. 15.
5
Constance Ulmer et al, Creating Games as Reader Response and Comprehension Assessment,
http:www.americanreadingforum.orgYearbooks02_yearbookhtml16_Ulmer etal revised.htm
, 2002.
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