The Definitions of Reading

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CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEWS

A. Review of Related Theories 1. Reading

a. The Definitions of Reading

In a simple definition, reading is known as a process of getting meaning from a printed text Nuttall, 1996; Urquhart Weir in Grabe, 2007; Coltheart, 2005; Moreillon, 2007. Similar to this definition, other researchers argue that reading refers to “making sense” of a text Spratt et al., 2005; Smith, 2004. The phrase “making sense” is explained further by Smith 2004 as a matter of interpreting. Therefore, when a person is reading, he interprets the text by relating what he gets from the text with what he has known already in order to get the meaning. In a more complete definition, Johnston 1983: 17 defines reading as “a complex behavior which involves conscious and unconscious use of various strategies, including problem-solving strategies, to build a model of the meaning which the writer is assumed to have intended”. Based on this definition, reading deals not only with getting meaning of a text but also getting the message which the writer intends to convey. Both terms are different because when a person gets the meaning of a text, it does not guarantee that he can understand the text in terms of the writer‟s intention Nuttall, 1996. It happens because each person has different prior knowledge and experience so they may have different interpretations about the text. 9 Although reading belongs to receptive skills which deal with responding rather than producing a text Spratt et al., 2005; Harmer, 2007, reading is seen as a complex process. Spratt et al. 2005 explain further that reading is complex because it involves a great deal of precise knowledge and reading strategies to be equipped. In his previous definition, Johnston 1983 also states that reading is a complex behavior which involves the use of various strategies both consciously and unconsciously used. Plaut 2005 adds about the complexity of reading that “reading is a complex task involving the rapid coordination of visual, ph onological, semantic, and linguistic processes”. From these arguments, reading is not seen as a passive process. On the other hand, it is an active process which needs a lot of practices Moreillon, 2007. Some researchers found difficulties in defining reading based on the processes involved in it. Bernhardt in Hedgcock Ferris 2009 argue that many researchers tried to look for what are involved in the process of reading to define it, but they still lacked a “clearly stated, empirically supported, and theoretically unassailabl e definition”. This argument is strengthened by Smith 2004 who states that there is no description that can explain the process involved in reading. He says that the meaning of reading does not depend on what the reader is reading but his purpose of reading. Grabe 2009 states that reading is “a combination of processes” which includes a rapid process, an efficient process, a comprehending process, an interactive process, a strategic process, a flexible process, a purposeful process, an evaluative process, a learning process and a linguistic process. He says that those processes provide a good definition of reading. 10

b. Reading Comprehension