The Significance of the Research
In addition, Andersen stated that constructivism is the students build the knowledge with connecting the knowledge to their background knowledge. In
reading, this concept is reflected to the development of learning based on schema which believe that learning will happen if the new information are integrated to
what the students already know.
7
Thus, comprehension means the students’ action to build the new meaning with connecting what they already know to their
background knowledge. It is in line with Caldwell who stated that comprehension is reading,
without comprehension there would be no the purpose to reading words. Comprehension is what makes the reader interest to continue reading.
8
Here, the comprehension can be assumed as reading because without the comprehension the
reader will not continue their reading. Meanwhile, Sousa stated that comprehension of reading material occurs
when the readers able to place the meaning of individual words into the structure and context of entire sentence.
9
In addition, Lewin stated that reading comprehension is a very complex activity. So much occurs inside the mind of the
reader when they read. Reading is difficult because one must work and one must accomplish multiple things simultaneously. In reading the reader must has
decoding skill, usually many readers unable to take the first step toward reading comprehension because they lack phonetic awareness of language, the ability to
translate the letter of a word into sounds to pr oduce the word in one’s mouth or
mind.
10
It means that in reading the reader must has the ability to place the meaning of every single word into the structure. And also, the reader must have
decoding ability. Based on the explanation about reading comprehension above, thus, the
writer can conclude that reading comprehension is the process of the reader in
7
Farida Rahim, PengajaranMembaca di SekolahDasar, Jakarta: BumiAksara, 2008, p. 4.
8
JoAnn Schudt Caldwell, Reading Assessment A Primer For Teacher And Coaches: Second Edition, New York: The Guilford Press, 2008, p. 175.
9
David A. Sousa,How the Brain Learns to Read, California: Corwin, 2005, p. 42.
10
Larry Lewin, Paving the Way in Reading and Writing, San Francisco: Jossy-Bass, 2003,pp. 2
—3.
understanding the text and it also involves the reader experiences or reader background knowledge and in reading the reader must be able to decode the word
into the structure in order comprehend what the reader read.