CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Review of the Related Theories 1. Reading
a. The Nature of Reading
Reading is one of the biggest creations of the world society. People wrote when they need to communicate their ideas in permanent form rather than spoken or oral form. The other thought that they also need to interpret the written symbols through a process called reading (Ahuja, 2004:2). So, reading is a means of language acquisition, communication and of sharing information and ideas. This definition is viewed from the historical of reading process.
While, from the linguistics view reading is defined as a complex receptive language process. According to Carrell. et.al (1988:12) reading is “a psycholinguistic process in that it starts with a linguistic surface representation encoded by a researcher and ends with meaning which reader construct”. Reading is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols in order to derive meaning from the written form of text which is lead to comprehension. In sort, reading is a process that starts with decoding the printed and ends with constructing meaning through an active interaction between the writer and the reader.
Furthermore Ur (1996:138) states that “reading is the process of getting and understanding the meaning of some words from the text”. As the objective of reading is comprehension of the text, the reader should be able to understand the
words and context of the text to achieve their goal. So, it means that the readers need to understand all the words from the text; they gather meaning from what they read and their understanding of the text comes from understanding the words which it is composed.
Another view comes from Nunan (1998:70) who states that reading is a dynamic process in which the text elements interact with other factors outside the text; in this case most particularly with the reader’s knowledge of the experiential content of the text. This suggests that there is a need to relate the language being taught to the context which carries it. So, actually reading is a complex interaction between the text and the reader which is created by the reader’s background knowledge, experiences, attitude, and language skill which is culturally and socially situated.
Reading is a process of interaction between the reader and the reading text.
Reader aims to get information from the text. The reader tries to understand the reading text or topic with his/her background knowledge and experiences. It is supported by Wier in Hutri (2010) who states that “reading is seen as a selective process taking place between reader and the text”. In which background knowledge and various types of language knowledge interact with information in the text to contribute the text comprehension. So, reading is an interactive process between a reader and a text in which reader should actively engaged in the process of reading to make sense of the reading.
Another view states that reading is a complex cognitive and linguistic process. Nuttal (1982:2) states that there are three levels of reading. First, the
process of decoding, deciphering, and identifying the printed words. It means that the students are able to identify and classify the words in the text. Second, the process of articulating, speaking, and pronouncing the words in print. It means that the students are able to pronounce or read the text with a good articulation.
Third, the process of understanding and interpreting the meaning of text. It means that the students are able to comprehend, understand, and interpret the content of the text after they read it. Thus, reading process is not as easy as what it seen.
Reading process requires continuous practice, development, and refinement.
In addition, Grabe and Stoller (2002:9) explain reading as the ability to draw meaning from the printed page and interpret the information appropriately.
Alyousef (2005:143) states that reading can be see as “an interactive process between a reader and a text which leads to automaticity or reading fluency“. It involves decoding alphabetic symbols, drawing upon experiences and language, and using strategies effectively to make meaning. However, reading is an active process in which readers relate information in the text to what they already know.
Through knowledge of the language allows readers to identify the printed words and sentences. While, knowledge of the world allows them to comprehend the words and sentences.
Those means that reading as the process that is used to understand information presented in written form and people are able to read if the words printed can be identified by the reader. Reading skill involves two main component, eyes ability and logical thinking ability. Reading is an all-important language skill that is now in more demand than in any time in our history. With
the exposure of the Internet in a global area, students need to master reading in order to understand the vast knowledge the world embraces them with.
b. Reading Speed
A good reader is an active reader who adopts a purposeful approach to his/
her reading and this is reflected in his/ her pattern of eye-movements (Nuttall, 1996:55). Good readers have a longer span of recognition and a shorter duration of fixation than do less effective readers. In addition, good readers read for meaning and understanding. They do not decode each letter or each word. Instead, they take in chunks of the text and relate it to what they know. So, improving reading speed is one of crucial factor in improving reading skills.
Reading speed is reading efficiently. This is supported by Nuttall (1996:44) who states that “efficiency means using the least effort to obtain satisfactory result; when the students to use their time and energy to best effect”.
Understanding is not the only criterion for efficient reading, another is time taken to read. But, to decide the speed on reading a written text the reader should know first the purpose of reading material.
In reading process, reading speed is one of the main components in improving the mechanical skills of reading. Brumfit (1980:4) classifies reading process into this chart: