main things that a teacher should always remember in helping the students. The first is to provide the students with suitable reading materials, and the second is to
provide them with suitable teaching activities. However, the students can also improve their reading skills through
independent activities. For example, silent reading, listen to music when reading, reading aloud, etc. They should find their own they are reading. By finding an
appropriate way to read, they will enjoy their reading. The students should not only improve their reading skills through formal
education and assignment in various school textbooks, but they should also read many kinds of reading materials such as magazines, newspapers and fiction.
Besides, they should be clever to use their spare time for reading after school. They should realize that the allocation of English at school is very limited. It
means that the students should be active in and outside the classroom such as at home, in the library, etc.
2.5 Purposes of Reading
Before reading, we should decide the objectives that we want to gain from the reading activity. It will help us to find the appropriate way we are reading. For
example, when we look for a certain advertisement in magazines, we do not need to read every word and line of the magazines. We just need to scan the text for a
particular bit of information we are searching for.
According to Grabe and Stoller 2002:11-15, the reading purposes can be classified under main headings:
1 Reading to search for simple information
A purpose for reading in which readers combine scanning for a word or phrase with minimal sampling of sentence meaning to determine if they are in
the right areas of the text for targeted information. 2
Reading to skim quickly Specialized type of reading in which the reader reads quickly for a general
understanding of the text, for the gist of a passage. The process typically involves the strategic skipping of segments of the text and the reading of key
parts. 3
Reading to learn from texts Typically occurs in academic and professional settings in which readers need
to learn a considerable amount of information i.e. main ideas as well as details that elaborate the main ideas from the text and link the text to their
own knowledge bases. 4
Reading to integrate information A purpose for reading that requires the same detailed level of comprehension
as reading to learn; it also requires decisions about the relative importance of select information and the reorganization of information from multiple
resources.
5 Reading to write or search for information needed for writing
Classroom activity in which students read to gather information that they can use in a subsequent writing tasks.
6 Reading to critique texts
This reading activity has a purpose to integrate information. It is slightly same with reading to write which requires abilities to compose, select, and critique
information from the text. 7
Reading for general comprehension It is almost basic purpose for reading, underlying and supporting most other
purposes for reading.
2.6 Problem Faced by Students in Reading
