CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW
B. Definition of Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension can be defined in a variety of ways. Nuttal (1996) defines comprehension and reading separately. According to Nuttal (1996:40) quoted in Rizal (2017, p. 493) understanding is understanding what has been read rather than spelling words. Reading is defined as the interpretation of verbal symbols both orally and in writing. From Nuttal's statement, it can be concluded that there are two things, first, reading activity is understanding the reading text
that is read by the reader, in this case reading is not just spelling or saying the words contained in the reading text. Second, reading activities are important to know the meaning and interpret the language symbols that are printed in written form. In this case, the reader's cognitive ability is very helpful to accelerate the understanding of the text they read (Rizal, 2017).
Reading comprehension is a multifaceted process with numerous components. Readers must be able to recall or interpret information after reading. In this case, comprehension is dependent not only on the reader's characteristics, such as understanding and ability to remember, but also on language comprehension, including basic reading, elaboration, vocabulary, responsivity to text structure, deviation, and ambition. It also necessitates the effective application of strategic processes such as metacognition and comprehension monitoring. Readers with strong comprehension skills
can move quickly from the learning-to-read stage to the ultimate reading goal (Rombot et al., 2020). Reading comprehension is the ability to comprehend what the reader read. It means that the reader must ensure that they understand the author’s point. Reading without comprehension appears to be a waste of time. Without understanding, reading for pleasure or knowledge is impossible because the purpose of reading is to capture the meaning of the text. Someone who considered comprehension while reading could mostly tell the content of the text, answer questions related to the text, and draw conclusions. Some reading skills should be mastered by the reader. They are learning to recognise definitions or vocabulary, as well as signal words, main ideas in paragraphs, and how to summarise. Students gradually progress from a general understanding of what something means to a deeper level of understanding (Febriani & Jono, 2021).
Klinger, 2018 qouted in Nasution, et al (2018, p.
266) explains that reading comprehension is an interrelated process that involves a lot of interactions between readers and what they read, as well as variables related to the text itself. Snow (2002, p. 11) qouted in Komariah, et al (2015, p. 89) suggests that reading comprehension is the process of seeking and forming meaning through interaction and participation with written language. In addition, the Ontario Ministry of Education stated that reading comprehension is a process of understanding complex and diverse texts that demands thinking and problem solving skills of readers (Fadilah Nasution et al., 2018). So reading comprehension is the relationship between the reader and the reading text in an interrelated process to interpret the meaning of the reading text.
Reading comprehension, as described above, is an interrelated process in which the reader attempts to
translate meaning by reading the words, the information, evaluating the information, and then comparing the information in the text with the background knowledge.
By studying reading comprehension, one can find meaning, information, main idea, and understand the content of the text.
Comprehension skills are cumulative, they are built on other understandings that are seen as mastery of skills such as identifying words, finding main ideas, or identifying causal relationships. The reading comprehension questions used in this study refer to the formulation developed by Sharpe. Sharpe (2004:316) in Rizal (2017, p. 494) identifies five types of questions commonly used in reading tests, namely (1) questions that aim to find out the main idea, (2) vocabulary questions in context, (3) scanning for details, (4) making inferences, and (5) finding references.
1. Main Idea
The main idea is the big idea developed from the paragraph, sometimes contained in explicit keywords in an implicit message. The Main Idea usually appears at the beginning of the paragraph. The first sentence often describes the topic discussed in the reading text.
Finding the main idea is very important when the reader reads the text, because it tells about what is in the story. The reader will not understand the purpose of the text unless they understand the main idea.
2. Vocabulary
The success or failure of a person's communication with others depends on the understanding of the vocabulary they have. This shows that understanding the meaning of words in the vocabulary is very important. This is critical because learning vocabulary is the foundation for learning sentence structure and other language skills. Learning
a large vocabulary will make it easier to read, write, listen to, and speak English. Vocabulary means understanding the meaning of words and their use, which facilitates reading comprehension and knowledge accumulation.
3. Scanning for details
Scanning for details is a supporting idea that explains the main idea related to the reading topic.
Supporting ideas help readers to find out more detailed information about the main idea in a text. Scanning for details provides readers with answers to questions they may have before they ask them.
4. Inferences
Inferences are drawing conclusions from reading texts based on the reader's logic to help them understand what they read. Readers will make conclusions from the reading text to answer questions
based on the understanding they gain during reading the reading text.
5. References
References refer to something that has a different meaning. References are used to avoid redundant use of words or phrases. This means that the words are used as signals for the reader to find their meaning elsewhere in the text or in things called pronouns.