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CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
A. Reading
1. The Definition of Reading
Wixson, Peters, Weber, and Roeber 1987 state that reading is the process of constructing meaning from the written texts. It is a complex
skill requiring the coordination of a number of interrelated sources of information Anderson et al.,1985. Reading is the process of constructing
meaning through the dynamic interaction among: 1 the reader’s existing knowledge; 2 the information suggested by the text being read; and 3
the context of the reading situation. Aebersold and Field 1997: 15 give their opinion in defining
reading as follows: In a general sense, reading is what happens when people look at a
text and assign meaning to the written symbols in that text. The text and the reader are the two physical entities necessary for the
reading process to begin. It is , however, the interaction between the text and the reader that constitutes actual reading. Granted, the
meaning the reader gets the text may not be exactly the same as the meaning the writer of the text wished to convey.
Aebersold and Field believe that reading is involving and
interacting between the text and the reader. The interaction between the text and the reader happens when he tries to look for meaning of the text.
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Based on the theories above, it can be concluded that reading is a process to obtain ideas or meaning from a text, which is more complex
symbolized in written or printed language. Reading involves two main physical entities in the process; those are the text and the reader. In the
reading process, there is an interaction between the reader and the text when reader tries to convey the meaning of the text. In this interaction,
there is a mental process that will show that reading is a personal activity. Reading is not only extracting meaning from text but also a process of
connecting information in the text with the knowledge prior knowledge of the reader.
2. Types Genres of Written Language
Kategori