for reading. Second, general reading comprehension is actually more complex than commonly assumed.
note that the term „general‟ does not mean „simple‟ or „easy‟. These assertions are treated in detail in the next two sections of this
chapter. Reading for general comprehension, when accomplished by a skilled fluent reader, requires very rapid and automatic processing of words, strong skills
in forming a general meaning representation of main ideas, and efficient coordination of many processes under very limited time constraints.
7
3. Kind of Reading
As students gain in their processing abilities, teachers can have them do activities to develop their skills to skim, scan, read for through comprehension,
read critically, read extensively, and read dramatically. As Gebhard said that there are some kinds of reading, as follows:
a. Critical Reading
“There are at least three things to remember when asking students to do critical reading. First, when students are asked to read critically, they still
need to do the kinds of activities that lead the full comprehension, as discussed earlier in this chapter. Second, students are asked to make
judgments about what they read: Do I agree with the author‟s point of view? How is my view different? Does the author persuade me to change
my view? Is the author‟s evidence strong? Third, we need to be careful about what we asked students to make judgments on. In other words, we
need to select content that is not only interesting to the students as readers but also something they
can relate to.”
8
b. Extensive Reading
The goal of extensive reading is to improve reading skills by processing a quantity of materials that can be comprehend and pleasurable. Teachers who
implement extensive reading set up an open library in the classroom or school library where students can select from an assortment of reading materials. The
7
Grabe and Stoller, op. cit., pp. 11 —15.
8
Jerry G. Gebhard, Teaching English as A Foreign or Second Language, Michigan: The University of Michigan Press, 1996, p. 208.
teachers‟ job is to guide the reader to materials that are comprehensible, letting the students make their own choices.
9
As a part of the extensive reading experience, teachers often ask students to report on what they have read. One way to do this is to have students interview
each other through the use of question prompts.
10
“As Broughton said, there are some kinds of reading. First, reading aloud is primarly an oral matter. For those who teach foreign languages it
is closer to „pronunciation‟ than it is to „comprehension‟. While it is perfectly proper to try to develop the skill of reading aloud it clearly
cannot be done using an unfamiliar text the content and language of which stretches the linguistic capabilities of the learners to the utmost. It
requires a familiar text whose content and language are clearly understood, detailed explication and practice of the special pronunciation
problems in it, and small group techniques. It must also be admitted that the usefulness of the skill of reading aloud is limited. Few people are
required to read aloud as a mater of daily routine, radio newscasters, clergymen, perhaps actors and that is all. To the huge majority its
importance is minimal. Second, silent reading is interpretation is most likely for the term. This is perhaps the nearest approach to the essence of
reading, the A
– C of it. It is obvious that by far the greatest amount of reading that is done in the world is silent. A reading room is a silent
room. ”
11
4. Models of Reading
As Goodman said that predicting, confirming, integrating – these we
have identified of the key operation within the reading process. There will always be some minor variations in meaning is the basic function of reading, and it is
achieved through the use of predicting and confirming strategies.
12
5. Reading Principles
a. Exploit the R
eader’s Background Knowledge
Carrell, Carrell and Connor said that a reader‟s background knowledge can
influence reading comprehension. Background knowledge include all of the
9
Jerry G. Gebhard, Ibid., p. 208
10
Jerry G. Gebhard, Ibid., p. 208
11
Gefrey Broughton, et al., Teaching English as A Foreign Language, New York: Taylor and Francais e
– Library, 2003, pp. 91—92.
12
Yetta M. Goodman and Carolyn Burke, op. cit., pp. 9 —10.
experiences that a reader brings to a text: life experiences, educational experiences, knowledge of how texts can be organized rhetorically, knowledge of
how one‟s first language works, knowledge of how the second language works, and cultural background and knowledge. Reading comprehension can be
significantly enhanced if background knowledge can be activated by setting goals, asking questions, making predictions,teaching text structure, and so on. If students
are reading on an unfamiliar topic, you may need to begin the reading process by building up background knowledge.
b. Build a Strong Vocabulary Base
Recent research emphasized the importance of vocabulary to successful reading. As the writer of this book have developed my own philosophy of the role
of vocabulary in reading instruction, he have decided that basic vocabulary should be explicitly taught and L2 readers should be taught to use context to effectively
guess the meanings of less frequent vocabulary.
c. Teach for Comprehension
In many reading instruction programs, more emphasis and time may be placed on testing reading comprehension than on teaching readers how to
comprehend. Monitoring comprehension is essential to successful reading. Part of that monitoring process includes verifying that the predictions being made are
correct and checking that the reader is making the necessary adjustments when meaning is not obtained.
Cognition can be defined as thinking. Metacognition can be defined as thinking about our thinking. In order to teach for comprehension, it is my belief
that readers must monitor their comprehension processes and be able to discuss with the teacher andor fellow readers what strategies they use to comprehend. By
doing this, the readers use both their cognitive and metacognitive skills.
d. Work on Increasing Reading Rate
One great difficulty in the second language reading classroom is that even when language learners can read, much of their reading is not fluent. Often,
in their efforts to assist students in increasing their reading rate, teachers over emphasize accuracy which impedes fluency. The teacher must work towards
finding a balance between assisting students to improve their reading rate and developing reading comprehension skills. It is very important to understand that
the focus is not to develop speed readers, but fluent readers. I define a fluent reader as one who reads at a rate of 200 words-per-minute with at least 70 percent
comprehension. One focus here is to teach readers to reduce their dependence on a
dictionary. Skills such as scanning, skimming, predicting, and identifying main ideas get students to approach reading in different ways. Readers should spend
more time analyzing and synthesizing the content of the reading, and not focusing on moving through the passage one word at a time. Part of the joy of reading is
being able to pick up a book and comprehend it, without having to struggle through the task of reading.
e. Teach Reading Strategies
Strategies are the tools for active, self-directed involvement that is necessary for developing communicative ability. Strategies are not a single event,
but rather a creative sequence of events that learners actively use. This definition underscores the active role that readers take in strategic reading. As Anderson,
Chamot and O‟Malley said that to achieve the desired results, students need to learn how to use a range of reading strategies that match their purposes for
reading. Teaching them how to do this should be a prime consideration in the reading classroom.
A good technique to sensitize students to the strategies they use is to get them to verbalize or talk about their thought processes as they read. Readers can
listen to the verbal report of another reader who has just read the same material, and it is often revealing to hear what other readers have done to get meaning from
a passage. I use this technique in my reading classes to get students to become more aware of their reading strategies and to be able to describe what those
strategies are.
f. Encourage Readers to Transform Strategies into Skills
An important distinction can be made between strategies and skills. Strategies can be defined as conscious actions that learners take to achieve desired
goals or objectives, while a skill is a strategy that has become automatic. This characterization underscores the active role that readers play in strategic reading.
As learners consciously learn and practice specific reading strategies, the strategies move from conscious to unconscious; from strategy to skill.
For example, guessing the meaning of unknown vocabulary from context can be listed as both a strategy and a skill in reading texts. When a reader is first
introduced to this concept and is practicing how to use context to guess the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary he or she is using a strategy. The use of the
strategy is conscious during the learning and practice stages. As the ability to guess unfamiliar vocabulary from context becomes automatic, the reader moves
from using a conscious strategy to using an unconscious skill. The use of the skill takes place outside the direct consciousness of the reader.
The goal for explicit strategy instruction is to move readers from conscious control of reading strategies to unconscious use of reading skills.
g. Build Assessment and Evaluation into Your Teaching
According Brindley, assessing growth and development in reading skills from both a formal and an informal perspective requires time and training. Both
quantitative and qualitative assessment activities should be included in the reading classroom. Quantitative assessment will include information from reading
comprehension tests as well as reading rate data.Qualitative information can
include reading journal responses, reading interest surveys, and responses to reading strategy checklists.
13
B. Descriptive Text
1. Definition of Descriptive Text
Sanggap Siahaan and Kisno Shinoda defined that descriptive text is a written English text in which the writer describe an object. In this text, the object
can be concrete or abstract object. It can be a person, or an animal, or a tree, or a house, or camping. It can be about any topic.
14
Meanwhile according to Alice Oshima and Ann Hogue said that descriptive writing appeals to the senses, so it tells how something looks, feels, smells, tastes,
andor sounds. A good description is a word picture; the reader can imagine the object, place, or person in his or her mind.
15
Based on Anderson and Anderson said that descriptive text describes a particular person, place or thing. Its purpose is to tell about the subject by
describing its features without including personal opinions.
16
From those explanations about the definition of descriptive text, it can be conclude that descriptive text is a text for describing the object to another. It can
be everything like a person, an animal, a place, etc. that describe the feature of subject itself.
2. The Purpose of Descriptive Text
When we make a descriptive text, we absolutely have a purpose. According Barbara Pine Clouse, there are some purposes on using descriptive
text.
13
Carell and
Conor, Principles
for Teaching
Reading, 1991,
http:www.mhhe.comsocsciencesupergoalChapter420Section3.pdf
14
Sanggap Siahaan and Kisno Shinoda, Generic Text Structure, Yogyakarta: Graha Ilmu, 2008, p. 89.
15
Alice Oshima and Ann Hogue, Introduction to Academic Writing, New York: Longman, 2007, p. 61.
16
Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson, Text Type in English 1, South Yara; Macmilan, 1997, p. 2.
“First is descriptive text can entertain, convey feelings, relate experience, inform, and persuade. Second, descriptive text is most often
expressive, so it most helps writers share their perceptions. As human beings, we have compelling desire to connect with other people by
sharing our experiences with them. Descriptive text helps us to do that. The last is descriptive text helps writers do more then just tell that
something is true; it allows them to show that something is true. For this reason, writers often combine description with other patterns of
development.
”
17
3. Generic Structure of Descriptive Text
The generic structure of descriptive text as follow: a. Identification: Identifies phenomenon to be describe
b. Description: Describes parts, qualities, characteristics.
18
In addition, Anderson and Anderson divided the generic structure of descriptive text into:
a. A general opening statement in the first paragraph 1. This statement introduce the subject of the description to the audience
2. It can give the audience brief details about the when, where, who, or what of the subject.
b. A series of paragraphs about the subject 1. Each paragraph usually begins with a topic sentence
2. The topic sentence reviews the details that will be contained in the remainder of paragraph
3. Each paragraph should describe one feature of the subject 4. These paragraphs build the description of the subject
c. A concluding paragraph optional Concluding paragraph signals the end of the text.
19
17
Barbara Pine Clouse, Patterns for a Purpose, New York: Mc Graw Hill, 2006, pp. 102
—103.
18
Sanggap Siahaan and Kisno Shinoda, op. cit., p. 89.
19
Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson, op. cit., pp. 26 —27.
4. Example of Descriptive Text
Deidonychus
The model of Deidonychus, a dinosaur from the Cretaceous period, can be found in the museum of Natural
Science. Deidonychus is small by dinosaur standards. It is about
2.5 meters in length and stands about one metre high at the shoulder.
This reptile has a long tail, spindly legs and slender neck. The head is large and the jaws are lined with sharp teeth.
The tail, approximately 3 metres in length, has vertebrae surrounded by bundles of bony rods so the whole tail can be
held stiff. The toes of Deidonychus are unusual. The first toe is
small and points backwards. The second toe has a huge sickle - shaped claw and is raised. The third and fourth toes are in the
normal position. Deidonychus is an interesting example of a fast running
dinosaur.
20
C. Reading, Encoding, Annotating and Pondering REAP
1. Definition of REAP
According Manzo said that REAP is designed to improve thinking, a strategy for helping readers read and understand the text. This strategy, with
modeling and guided practice will help students in increasing reading comprehension. According to Allen there are four stages of reading in REAP.
a. R : Read on your own b. E : Encode the text by putting the gist of what you read in your own words.
c. A : Annotate the text by writing down the main ideas and the author‟s
message.
20
Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson, op. cit., p. 27.
Opening statement
introducing the subject
Series of paragraphs
describing the subjects
A conclusion
d. P : Ponder what you read by thinking and talking with others in order to make personal connections, develop questions about the topic, andor connect
this reading to other reading you have done.
21
The others said REAP is designed to improve thinking, the underlying musculature for active reading and meaningful writing. The idea for this reader-
writer exchange system was proposed some time ago as a means ofimproving and supporting a national content area reading and writing project essentially for
urban schools. Shortly afterwards it was collectedinto a teaching learning approach called REAP
—Read-Encode-Annotate-Ponder . The REAP system for responding to text has been in use in elementary through college classrooms for
two decades. It is based on a scaffold form of writing that invites creativity, much as does haiku, or any other disciplined form of art.
22
2. Procedure of REAP
“The procedure of REAP is divide in some ways. The teacher should begin with easy reading materials. Students will require practice in determining
the message or main idea. Several examples should be examined and critiqued. The teacher could model the process by thinking out loud.
Students will find it useful to share annotations in pairs or small groups for evaluation, clarification and further development.
”
23
The use of this strategy will cause the students to revisit the text during each stage of the REAP process. In the Reading stage, the students read to figure
out the writer‟s message while taking note of the title and author. As students move into Encoding, the students must take what they have read and place it into
their own words. This allows the students to internalize the content of the reading while thinking about representing the main ideas, message in the author‟s and
their own words. Once in the Annotate stage, students look at the main ideas and the author‟s message by writing a statement that summarizes the important points.
21
Allen, J,
Tools for
Teaching Content
Literacy. Stenhouse,
2012 http:www.west.net~gerindex.html
.
22
Eanet, op. cit., p. 2.
23
Eanet. op. cit., p. 2.
