Identification of the Problem

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CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter provides discussions on three aspects. Those are review of related theories, review of related studies, and conceptual framework.

A. Review of Related Theories

As mentioned in the previous chapter, the objective of the study is to improve the reading comprehension of the seventh grade students of junior high school. Hence, the theoretical descriptions related to the study are described in this chapter.

1. Nature of Reading a. The Definition of Reading

Reading can be defined in a very broad definition. Reading can also be divided into some kinds of division based on the purposes of reading itself. In daily life, reading for pleasure can be involved as one kind of the reading activity that has purpose to get enjoyment from reading. The activity can be in the form of reading novel, comic, story book, and so on. Besides, Cambridge Advance Learner’s Dictionary defines reading as the skill or activity of getting information from books. Spratt, Purverness, William 2005: 21 define reading as one of the language skills categorized as the receptive skill by which the activity is to respond rather than to produce the text. Reading does not just involve the ability to define the word, but also it lets the readers to make a sense of the text. The knowledge of the world is needed to connect the idea of the text with our background knowledge so that we can understand the writer’s purpose of writing the text. We, as a reader, are supposed to understand the language used begun from the words, phrases, sentences, to the whole text. Moreover, Healy 2002:3 states that “Reading is a purposeful and active process.” In this context, reading is defined as the activity which is done to obtain some particular purposes such as reading for understanding, reading for getting information, reading for enjoyment, and reading for learning. The purpose of reading itself can be achieved if the readers can comprehend the materials they read. Thus, the ability to read comprehensively is the crucial one to achieve the reader’s purpose in reading something. Therefore, Healy 2002:3 also states that “Reading comprehension is the understanding of the written word, the understanding of the content that is being read, and the construction of the meanings of the text.” In line with Spratt and Healy, Mikulecky Jeffries 2007: 74 assert that reading comprehension involves three things: the ability to make sense of the text, connect the idea with the knowledge, and remember the text. It lets the reader to think while reading so that the comprehension more than just recognizing and understanding the words. In addition, Vacca Vacca 1989:20 state that reading comprehension