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CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A. Reading
1. Concept of Reading
Reading is an activity done by one to draw meaning from the printed materials. This activity requires the process of getting and interpreting the
message sent by the authors appropriately through the printed materials, such as books, magazines, newspaper, and so on. Andrew P. Johnson points out that
“reading is the practice of using text to create meaning”.
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In “The Practice of English Language Teaching”, Harmer states that “reading is an exercise dominated by the eyes and the brain”.
2
It means that reading is an activity requires the role of two parts of body, eyes and brain. In this
activity, eyes are used to physical form of the text while brain is used to absorb the messages contained in the text. Seravallo states that “reading is thinking and
understanding and getting at the meaning behind a text”.
3
It is in line with Harmer’s statement, “the eyes receive messages and the brain then has to work
out the significance of these messages”.
4
It can be seen that reading process engages two important parts of body, which are eyes and brain where they should
work together to run the reading process well. Reading is more than a simple process that someone does. In this sense,
Judi Moreillon mentions that “reading is an active process that requires a great deal of practice and skill”.
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This great deal of practice and skill is a necessity for readers to get the meaning of the text that they read. Zimmerman and Hutchins
identify seven keys to get meaning in reading:
1
Andrew P. Johnson, Teaching Reading and Writing, Maryland: Rowman Littlefield Education, 2008, p. 3.
2
Jeremy Harmer, The Practice of English Language Teaching: New Edition, New York: Longman, 1991, p. 190.
3
Jennifer Seravallo, Teaching Reading in Small Groups, Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2010, p. 43.
4
Harmer, loc.cit.
5
Judi Moreillon, Collaborative Strategies for Teaching Reading Comprehension: Maximizing Your Impact, Chicago: American Library Association, 2007, p.10.
1. Activating or building background knowledge 2. Using sensory images
3. Questioning 4. Making prediction and inferences
5. Determining main idea 6. Using fix-up options
7. Synthesizing information
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In reading, it is important to relate the text that we read with our background knowledge to acquire the meaning of the text. In “Teaching Reading
and Writing” Johnson explains that “during the act of reading, the visual information found on the page combines with the non-visual information
contained in your head to create meaning”.
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In conclusion, reading is a process of identifying printed symbols in getting meaning or in understanding message. The essence of reading is a
transaction between the words of the author and the mind of a reader. When readers read a text, readers’ automatically relate their background knowledge to
get the actual meaning of certain text.
2. Purpose of Reading
Every person has their own purpose in reading a text. People read novels, comics, or magazines probably because they think that they can get pleasure from
reading these kinds of reading text. Then, other people may read textbook, newspaper, journals, or scientific articles because they want to get factual
information about things that they want to know. Good readers are different with usual readers because good readers have a
purpose for reading and use their experiences and background knowledge to make sense of the text. We don’t comprehend a text unless we make connections and
are able to process the words that we read at the thinking level.
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Susan Zimmermann and Chryse Hutchins, 7 Keys to Comprehension, New York: Three Rivers Press, 2003, p. 4.
7
Johnson, op.cit. p. 4.
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