identification, prior knowledge and the effective use of cognitive strategies. In addition, they not only read the text but also comprehend the meaning of written
text being read. It thus concludes that, reading comprehension is understand the meaning from a text, interpret what should be understood about the context, and
express the idea what we knew in order to get the author purposes.
2. Variables that Affect the Nature of Reading
There are some variables that affect the nature of reading based on Alderson. Here the more explanation about those variables.
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a. SchemataBackground Knowledge
The nature of knowledge that readers have will influence not only what they remember of text but their comprehension of the text also. The development
of schema theory has attended to account for consistent finding that what readers know affects what they understand. Schemata are seen as interlocking mental
structures representing readers‘ knowledge. When readers process text, they integrate the new information from the rest into their existing schemata. More
than that, their schemata influence how they recognize information as well as how they store it.
In short, the readers‘ schemata or background knowledge influence process by recalling the information that readers have before.
In addition, Schematabackground knowledge usually consists of five parts below:
1 Knowledge of Language There is an Indonesian reader who want to read Korean newspaper. Of
course, the reader will have great difficulty in processing the text. It because the readers have not study about Korean language. But, if the
newspaper is changed to English, the reader will have enough understanding. It because heshe have got English lesson when heshe was
in formal school. It means that vocabulary, structural of the sentences, or
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J. Charles Alderson, Assessing Reading, Cambridge: Cambridge university Press: 2000, p. 50-55
