CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background
In the global era English is very important, English as an international language is used to communicate by all people in the world. English has important role to develop many aspect especially in our country, whether in aspect of economics, education, military and politics. Those aspects use English to communicate by the purpose to improve good relationship between our country and other countries to share the education system, share the technology military, etc. So that, the English language has been learned all of people through course training or in the school and it makes the subject education try to improve the teaching and learning English language to be better through developing on the curriculum, the school facilities, teacher’s quality, textbook material, etc.
Reading is a necessary skill that any learner needs. Unfortunately, how to teach reading has not been given due care in some schools. In the past, according to the traditional view, reading begins with the child's mastering the names of the letters, mastering the letter-sound relationships, then, learning some easy words in isolation, and, finally, reading simple stories with highly controlled vocabularies (Harp and Brewer, 1996: 17).
According to writer observation during doing Praktek Pengalaman Lapangan (PPL) in SMA Kristen Kondosapata Makassar, most of students are not able and not understood what they have read. They only read the material without know what they have read. So reading activities in the classroom not useful for them if they did’nt know and understand what information they have read.
In the interview with some students, they said that they got difficulties in identifying the implicit and explicit information of the text. Besides, many students have low motivation in reading class. The students’ lack of understanding on reading lesson is mainly caused by an inappropriate teaching technique used when the teachers attempted to explain reading materials. The teacher only uses one technique namely, conventional technique. In the reading class, the teacher presents a subject in the text book and asks students to read whether silently or loudly, and then students have to answer the questions that follow. Consequently, the reading lesson becomes monotonous and boring, students lack motivation to read, even if they read, they show negative attitudes. As a result, the students are not able to get good scores in their reading achievement.
Reading cannot be separated from comprehension. That is why there appear a lot of problems dealing with reading comprehension. Many English learners find it difficult to understand the English text. Very often, they get stuck because of some problems, such as unfamiliar words, their inability in understanding the context, being reluctant, and so forth. Reading is not an easy skill to master. It is a complex process that requires specialized skill of the reader (Dechant, 1977: 21). Besides, it is also comprehension process as well as writing.
The technique of finding the meaning of an unknown word through its use in a sentence and then guessing how it is pronounced is known as contextual guessing or context identification, or the use of context clues. Contextual guessing is the most important skill used by most readers in attacking new words. It is closely related to comprehension and this is one of the most practical skills student learn.
Based on the case above, the writer is inspired to conduct a research under the title “Using Contextual Guessing Technique to Increase the Students of SMK Negeri Mehalaan Reading Comprehension”.
B. Problem Statement
Relating to the issue and the assumption that the teaching reading by the contextual guessing technique can be used to stimulate the students to comprehen any English text, so the writer formulates research questions as follow:
1. To what extent the contextual guessing can improve the students’ reading comprehension?
2. What are the students’ attitudes toward the use contextual guessing in reading comprehension?
C. Objective of the Research
The purpose of research is to find out (1) whether or not contextual guessing can improve the student reading comprehension. (2) The students’ attitudes toward the use of contextual guessing technique in reading comprehension.
D. Significance of the Research
The result of the research is expected to be useful information and a reference for the English teacher of SMK Negeri Mehalaan. They are also expected to give a new insight in improving English reading comprehension by using contextual guessing technique.
E. Scope of the Research
The research will limited to improve reading comprehension through contextual guessing technique during reading process. The given materials are aimed to know the different of the result by using contextual guessing technique.
CHAPTER II
REVIEW
OF RELATED LITERATURE
A. Related Research Findings
Reading is an interactive and
constructive process involving the reader, the text, and the context of the
reading experience. Some previous research found that the
use of contextual guessing technique
provided students to improve
reading comprehension.
Dubin and Olshtain (1993), Schatz and Baldwin (1986) “Context clues” are also called “contextual
clues”, “contextual cues” or “context cues”. Whatever name they have, they are generally
defined as the clearly stated or implied words or phrases which help to comprehend unfamiliar words in context
because they can activate the corresponding context to clarify the contextual meanings of the words concerned. In
this sense, context clues serve as hints
to the words in question. Context clues vary a great deal, and thus can be
classified into different types according to different criteria.
B. Some Pertinent Ideas
1. Reading
Harison and
Smith (1980: 23) define reading as the act of responding with appropriate meaning to print or written verbal
symbols. It means that reading is the result of interaction between the graphic symbols that
represent language and the
reader’s language skill, and cognitive skills and knowledge of the words. According to Wallace (1992: 4),
reading as interpreting means reacting to a written text as a piece of communication. In other
words, we assume some communicative
intent on the writer’s part which the reader has some purposes in attempting to understand.
According
to Aebersold and Field (1997: 15) reading is what happens when people look at a text and assign
meaning to the written symbols in that text. The
similar definition stated by Nunan (1998: 33) that reading is a process of decoding
written symbols, working from a smaller unit (individual letters) to larger ones
(words, clauses, and sentences). Based on the theories above, it can be concluded that reading is a
more much
complex process to obtain ideas or meaning from a text, which is symbolized
in written or printed language.
2. Concept of
Reading
Reading is an interactive and constructive process involving
the reader, the
text, and the context of the reading experience. Reading involve the development of an understanding of text, thinking about text in different ways, and using variety of text types for different purpose (from the framework for the NAEP reading assessment, Grigg, Daane, Jin, and Campbell,2003, P.3). Other definition that reading is a complex developmental challenge that we know to be intertwined with many others developmental accomplishments: attention, memory, language, and motivation. For example, reading is not only a cognitive Psycholinguistic activity but also a social activity. (Snow, Burns and Griffin, 1998, P. 15).
text, and the context of the reading experience. Reading involve the development of an understanding of text, thinking about text in different ways, and using variety of text types for different purpose (from the framework for the NAEP reading assessment, Grigg, Daane, Jin, and Campbell,2003, P.3). Other definition that reading is a complex developmental challenge that we know to be intertwined with many others developmental accomplishments: attention, memory, language, and motivation. For example, reading is not only a cognitive Psycholinguistic activity but also a social activity. (Snow, Burns and Griffin, 1998, P. 15).
One of another skills
should be achieved by students is reading, and it can’t be denied that reading is one of the important thing in the student
skill. According to Grigg, Daane,
Jin, and Campbell (2003) that reading is an interactive and constructive
process involving the reader, the text,
and the context of the reading experience. Reading involves the development of
an understanding of text, thinking about text in different ways, and using
variety of text types for different purpose.
In other hand, Snow,
Burns and Griffin,(1998) defining that reading is a complex developmental
challenge that we know to be correlate with many others developmental
accomplishments: attention, memory, language, and motivation. There are so many definitions about
reading. But the important thing in teaching
learning process is the way how to know the students mastering in comprehend
the text. The teacher has to observe their students related with
the student’s difficulties, student’s language and students weaknesses. That information
is very important. It can help the teacher as references in the teaching-learning
process. After we have known the information about that, the teachers can give
the reading material according to the student’s level.
3. Level of Reading
Some people say that the act of reading
only consists of pronouncing words. They consider that comprehension is not important.
Concentrating on pronouncing words rather than comprehending the essence of the
passage is a waste of precious time. Based on the idea above, the teacher needs
to emphasize the basic comprehension skills. According to Burns ET. Al (1984:
177) there are four level of comprehension:
a. Literal
Reading
Literal reading or reading for
literal comprehension which involves acquiring
information that directly stated in a section, is important and
also prerequisite for higher level understanding. At this level, the readers are
able to comprehend
what the author has said.
b. Interpretive Reading
Interpretive reading involving reading between
the lines or making inferences, it is the process of deriving ideas that are implied rather than
directly stated. At this level, the readers are able to understand what the author
means.
c. Critical Reading
Critical reading is evaluating written
material comparing the ideas discovered in the material, which is known standards and drawing conclusion
about their accuracy, appropriateness. Critical reading depends upon literal comprehension
and grasping implied ideas is especially important.
d. Creative Reading
Creative reading involves going beyond
the material presented the author. It requires readers to think as they read, just as critical reading
does, and it also requires them to use their imagination. In teaching
reading, a teacher must teach the four levels of comprehension level.
First, use a discussion or questioning technique that brings out just what the author said
or in other words, in pre-reading; a teacher ask questions related to the topic
before he starts his reading. It is probably more effective to develop desire
to read the
article and help them arrive at a literal understanding of the piece to be read. Then,
after the students have completed reading the assigned section, teacher and
students should discuss it.
Based on the theories above, it can be
concluded that reading is a complex process to obtain ideas or meaning from a text which is symbolized
in written or printed language. Comprehension in reading means that when someone
reads he must
understand what he reads. It can be said that in reading comprehension, there should be
an interaction between the author and the reader. The author expresses his ideas
in the form of written language and the reader has to understand the meaning of
the text intended by the author. To be able to achieve the purposes of reading comprehension, one
should have some
basic reading skills as follows; (1) literal skills (getting the central thought and
main idea, recalling and recognizing of facts and information, finding answer to
specific questions); (2) interpretive skills (drawing conclusions, generalizing,
deriving meaning from context); (3) critical skill (determining the writer’s
purpose); and (4) creative skills (applying information into daily life). In relation
to the study, those skills can be implemented into two levels of understanding
as follows:
1. Reading the lines
Learners are able to understand the
literal meaning i.e., responding to the precise meaning of familiar words in their context and inferring
the meaning of unfamiliar words from contextual clues and also visualizing the
scenes and events the words conjure up.
2. Reading between the lines
Learners are able to get the writer’s
intent and purpose, to interpret clues to character and plot, and to distinguish between fact and fiction.
4. Strategies of
Reading
Language instructors are often frustrated by the fact that
students do not automatically transfer the strategies they use when reading in
their native language to reading in a language they are learning. Instead, they
seem to think reading means starting at the beginning and going word by word,
stopping to look up every unknown vocabulary item, until they reach the end.
When they do this, students are relying exclusively on their linguistic
knowledge, a bottom-up strategy. One of the most important functions of the
language instructor, then, is to help students move past this idea and use
top-down strategies as they do in their native language.
Effective language instructors show students how they can
adjust their reading behavior to deal with a variety of situations, types of
input, and reading purposes. They help students develop a set of reading
strategies and match appropriate strategies to each reading situation.
Strategies
that can help students read more quickly and effectively include
a. Previewing: reviewing titles, section headings, and photo captions
to get a sense of the structure and content of a reading selection
b. Predicting: using knowledge of the subject matter to make
predictions about content and vocabulary and check comprehension; using
knowledge of the text type and purpose to make predictions about discourse
structure; using knowledge about the author to make predictions about writing
style, vocabulary, and content
c. Skimming and scanning: using a quick survey of the text to get the main
idea, identify text structure, confirm or question predictions
d. Guessing from context: using prior knowledge of the subject and the
ideas in the text as clues to the meanings of unknown words, instead of
stopping to look them up
e. Paraphrasing: stopping at the end of a section to check
comprehension by restating the information and ideas in the text
Instructors
can help students learn when and how to use reading strategies in several ways.
a. By modeling the strategies aloud, talking through the processes of
previewing, predicting, skimming and scanning, and paraphrasing. This shows
students how the strategies work and how much they can know about a text before
they begin to read word by word.
b. By allowing time in class for group and individual previewing and
predicting activities as preparation for in-class or out-of-class reading.
Allocating class time to these activities indicates their importance and value.
c. By using cloze (fill in the
blank) exercises to review vocabulary items. This helps students learn to guess
meaning from context.
d. By encouraging students to talk
about what strategies they think will help them approach a reading assignment,
and then talking after reading about what strategies they actually used. This
helps students develop flexibility in their choice of strategies.
When language learners use reading strategies, they find
that they can control the reading experience, and they gain confidence in their
ability to read the language. Reading
is an essential part of language instruction at every level because it supports
learning in multiple ways.
a. Reading to learn the language: Reading material is language input.
By giving students a variety of materials to read, instructors provide multiple
opportunities for students to absorb vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure,
and discourse structure as they occur in authentic contexts. Students thus gain
a more complete picture of the ways in which the elements of the language work
together to convey meaning.
b. Reading for content information: Students' purpose for reading in
their native language is often to obtain information about a subject they are
studying, and this purpose can be useful in the language learning classroom as
well. Reading for content information in the language classroom gives students
both authentic reading material and an authentic purpose for reading.
c. Reading for cultural knowledge
and awareness: Reading everyday materials that are designed for native speakers
can give students insight into the lifestyles and worldviews of the people
whose language they are studying. When students have access to newspapers,
magazines, and Web sites, they are exposed to culture in all its variety, and
monolithic cultural stereotypes begin to break down.
When
reading to learn, students need to follow four basic steps:
a.
Figure
out the purpose for reading. Activate background knowledge of the topic in
order to predict or anticipate content and identify appropriate reading
strategies.
b.
Attend
to the parts of the text that are relevant to the identified purpose and ignore
the rest. This selectivity enables students to focus on specific items in the
input and reduces the amount of information they have to hold in short-term
memory.
c.
Select
strategies that are appropriate to the reading task and use them flexibly and
interactively. Students' comprehension improves and their confidence increases
when they use top-down and bottom-up skills simultaneously to construct
meaning.
d.
Check
comprehension while reading and when the reading task is completed. Monitoring
comprehension helps students detect inconsistencies and comprehension failures,
helping them learn to use alternate strategies.
Instruction in reading
strategies is not an add-on, but rather an integral part of the use of reading
activities in the language classroom. Instructors can help their students
become effective readers by teaching them how to use strategies before, during,
and after reading.
Before
reading: Plan for the reading task
a. Set a purpose or decide in
advance what to read for
b. Decide if more linguistic or
background knowledge is needed
c. Determine whether to enter
the text from the top down (attend to the overall meaning) or from the bottom
up (focus on the words and phrases)
During
and after reading: Monitor comprehension
a. Verify predictions and check for
inaccurate guesses
b. Decide what is and is not important
to understand
c. Reread to check comprehension
d. Ask for help
After
reading: Evaluate comprehension and strategy use
a. Evaluate comprehension in a
particular task or area
b. Evaluate overall progress in reading
and in particular types of reading tasks
c. Decide if the strategies used were
appropriate for the purpose and for the task
d. Modify strategies if necessary
Students do not learn to read by reading aloud. A person who
reads aloud and comprehends the meaning of the text is coordinating word
recognition with comprehension and speaking and pronunciation ability in highly
complex ways. Students whose language skills are limited are not able to
process at this level, and end up having to drop one or more of the elements.
Usually the dropped element is comprehension, and reading aloud becomes word
calling: simply pronouncing a series of words without regard for the meaning
they carry individually and together. Word calling is not productive for the
student who is doing it, and it is boring for other students to listen to.
a. There are two ways to use reading
aloud productively in the language classroom. Read aloud to your students as
they follow along silently. You have the ability to use inflection and tone to
help them hear what the text is saying. Following along as you read will help
students move from word-by-word reading to reading in phrases and thought
units, as they do in their first language.
b. Use the "read and look up"
technique. With this technique, a student reads a phrase or sentence silently
as many times as necessary, then looks up (away from the text) and tells you
what the phrase or sentence says. This encourages students to read for ideas,
rather than for word recognition.
5. The Purpose of Reading
There are six purpose in reading. They are:
a. To be able to
identify and remember specific facts as a main idea
b. To enjoy/relax
c. To be able to
follow instruction to reach a goal
d. To critical the
logic or data presented
e. To study
according to an assignment or test requirement
f. To solve
problems
In while-reading activities,
students check their comprehension as they read. The purpose for reading
determines the appropriate type and level of comprehension.
a. When reading for specific information, students need to ask
themselves, have I obtained the information I was looking for?
b. When reading for pleasure, students need to ask themselves, Do I
understand the story line/sequence of ideas well enough to enjoy reading this?
c.
When reading for thorough understanding (intensive reading), students need to
ask themselves, Do I understand each main idea and how the author supports it?
Does what I'm reading agree with my predictions, and, if not, how does it
differ? To check comprehension in this situation, students may:
Ø Stop at the end of each section to review
and check their predictions, restate the main idea and summarize the section.
Ø Use the comprehension questions as
guides to the text, stopping to answer them as they read.
6. Reason for
Reading
Although any reason a child reads is a good one, did
you know there are three main goals for reading? They are to be entertained, to
find information, and to perform a task. Consider these ideas to make the most
of your youngster’s reading and to boost learning.
a. For Entertainment
When your child reads poetry, fantasies, or
mysteries, she is reading for entertainment:
Ø Ask
why your youngster liked a particular book. Was it the way the author wrote? Was it funny, interesting, or scary?
Ø Find
out if the book is part of a series.
Ø Suggest
that she write a story or poem of her own.
b. For Information
When your youngster reads nonfiction books like
science or nature stories, biographies, and other “true” books, he is reading
for information:
Ø Discuss
unfamiliar terms as he comes across them.
Ø Have
him look at chapter titles, bold print, and pictures to support his reading.
Ø Ask
him to tell you what he learned. To perform a task when your child helps you
prepare a recipe or reads directions that come with a project, she’s reading to
perform a task:
ü Encourage
your youngster to read all the steps aloud.
ü Help
her gather the materials that are needed.
ü Suggest
she study any drawings or diagrams to clarify the instructions.
ü Have
her follow each step in order.
7. Reading Is Important
Everyone knows reading is important, but have you ever asked
yourself why is it so important? Here I list out 8 reasons why reading is
important. Hope you can really find out the reason why reading is so important
for you, so you got a brand new will to explore the world of reading. So why reading is important?
a.
Building Knowledge
Using varied learning
activities enhances knowledge of content. Instructors should search the
professional journals and conference presentations for these activities. For
example, a class can read The Diary of Anne
Frank, gather information about World War II, and search for materials
about the Jewish communities, economics, and culture in Europe. These students
may learn more than the simple ability to retell the story of Anne Frank.
Instructors can search
the Internet for web sites devoted to course units that provide new knowledge
related to the text. Two excellent sites are Web Quest and The Voice of the
Shuttle. They provide links to sample lessons and to sources of information
about authors and about topics.
Students can search the Internet for information related to
an assignment. One student reading an essay titled "The Exercise Fix"
searched Google.com and found a whole web site devoted to exercise addiction.
Another student reading an essay about government and health care written by
Malcolm Forbes, Jr., found web pages about Forbes that helped him understand
Forbes' point of view on health care.
b.
Building Vocabulary
Vocabulary, taught in
context, enhances knowledge. Concept mapping is an especially successful tool
for social construction of knowledge. Students focus on a word and brainstorm
definitions, descriptions, examples, features, and other aspects as they
contribute from their personal prior knowledge. Then some students search the
dictionary for definitions, roots, prefixes, and suffixes while others search
the Internet for applications and elaborations of the concept. Other students may simply keep their
personal vocabulary journals related to the essays. They identify unknown
words, seek a relevant definition and pronunciation, and incorporate the word
in a sentence applicable to the essay.
The narrative genre
suggests a slight variation of the same strategies. However, the instructor
still needs to build background of the era and of the author. For example,
students who read "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe should consult a
dictionary for unfamiliar words. The common pattern for a story is
somewhat similar to that of an essay with an introduction (of the main
character, the setting, and the problem), a body (the sequence of events), and
a conclusion (the resolution of the problem). Poe startles the reader by
telling the end of the story first, but then he goes back in time to tell how
the main character is in jail facing the death penalty.
Because skimming may
produce confusion in a story, students should read strategically. They should read a page, then stop and write a
brief notation at the bottom of the page. These marginalia later provide a
resource for designing a flow chart of the events in the correct order. Instructors definitely can prepare the
underprepared when they make the assumption that ability to succeed in college
is not innate; it is learned. As stated in the College Entrance Examination
Board's Academic Preparation for College (1983), instructors can guide
students in learning "what college entrants need to know and be able to
do” to succeed in college (p. 1). Also,
instructors can increase background knowledge with lessons similar to a
modified whole language approach in which students learn about the selection
instead of just enough to retell it. Finally, instructors can promote the
learning of new related vocabulary and increase use of generic strategies that
are learned with enough repetition and success that these strategies transfer
to other courses. Our college graduates are there to prove the case.
c. Preparation to Action
Reading is essential way which can help out. In today’s
world, getting reviews and feedback from other people is a big impact on what’s
your next decision, the pros and cons of one thing. Read about how to cook a
meal; how to play chess; which place is nice for holiday family trip; read the
menu before order food, read the manual before using a new gadget. These all
can help us become more
prepare before really get into it.
Read
- Learn - Do - Achieve
Reading is a starting step of many things, which build a more
solid stairs for the student to
climb up achieving something big out there.
d.
Gain Experience from Other People
When
the student is reading, they are actually gaining the
knowledge and experience of someone. It can faster up their success towards one thing, as they don’t need to repeat the same
mistake while focus on the right path in achieving one thing. It’s like a
mountain of gems for them to
discover in books, of people’s success, failures and advices.
e. Tools of Communicating
It is the most important tool of communicating, through
reading, students communicate,
through reading, student understand more, and thus they can communicate better with another. As if a person that know
nothing, he won’t has anything to share, and he probably don’t even understand
what people are sharing. Through reading, the student builds a more solid bridge of communication. It is one
of the most important tools we use every day to connect with each other.
Whereas if student don’t
read, they can’t even connect
with the world and what people are talking about out there, including to
understand what this article is all about. Because reading connects us with the world.
f.
Technique of Presenting Material
The way of presenting material in the classroom
is an aspect that should be paid attention by a teacher. A teacher who cannot
create a good presentation in the class will lead learners into boring
situation. However if the teacher can stimulate student by an attractive
presentation the student will come to their long to memory. Such situation is a
useful for teaching and learning process, especially in teaching and learning process.A good material will bring the student
concentration and attitude toward reading reason. If the material are not interesting,
the student will not pay much attention to the lesson. So the teacher will be
difficult to attain the objective of their teaching.
C. Reading Comprehension
1. Definition of Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension
is influenced significantly by a student’s level of word knowledge, which
includes vocabulary and spelling skills, as well as the ability to decode words
in print. “Knowing words” involves understanding both the structure and meaning
of words at various levels of complexity. Teachers can facilitate the growth of
word knowledge through the explicit teaching of word patterns and word-solving
strategies within the context of a word-rich classroom. The goal of instruction
in reading, spelling, and vocabulary is to help students develop “word
consciousness” and to become independent word-solvers in all subject areas.
Reading comprehension
is a complex undertaking that involves many levels of processing. One of the
most fundamental aspects of comprehension is the ability to deal with unfamiliar
words encountered in text. Readers who struggle with word-level tasks use up
valuable cognitive space that could be allotted to deeper levels of text
analysis. It is not enough to rely on context cues to predict the meaning of
new words, since this strategy often results in erroneous or superficial
understandings of key terms, especially in content-area reading (Paynter,
Bodrova, and Doty, 2005). Mature readers need to possess a basic knowledge of
“how words work” and a set of strategies for approaching new words encountered
throughout the day.
It is necessary for the students of Senior High School to
master reading comprehension. Cooper
(1986:11) stated that Comprehension is a process in which the reader
may construct meaning by interacting with the text. In reading comprehension, a
reader should have knowledge about understanding the reading passage. The
common questions on the passages are primarily about the main ideas, details,
and an inference that can be drawn from the passages.
According to Singer (1985) reading comprehension
has been defined as an interpretation of written symbols, the apprehending of
meaning, the assimilation of ideas presented by the written, and the process of
thinking while deciphering symbols. Further, reading comprehension is related
closely to the cognitive competence of the readers, because this will produce
comprehension. This idea also supported by Parera in Kahayanto (2005:9), he states as follows:
“Memahami
adalah memperhatikan naskah tertulis dengan maksud memahami isinya. Proses ini
dilakukan dengan mata diam atau membaca dalam hati. Hasil pemahaman disebut pemahaman
bacaan. Cara membaca yang demikian disebut cara membaca pemahaman”.
Comprehension is
invisible. Its definition, its process, and its product continue to be elusive.
Cognitive psychologists, English
literature professors, and reading methods professors debate these issues,
resulting in a confusion of materials and methods for college developmental reading instructors.
Cognitive
psychologists argue that comprehension is the result of innate intelligence; a
student is just born "smart." This view is related to Thorndike's
statement that com-prehension is the manipulation of memories (Thorndike,
1917). Professors in college English departments perceive comprehension
along the lines of literary analysis. Their major debate is the source of
interpretation. At one end of the continuum are those who feel the analysis
should focus on the writer (objective).
At the other extreme are the professors who believe the comprehension of
the piece of literaturlies in how the reader feels about the text
(subjective). Reading methods professors
have seen reading comprehension from other points of view that run along a
continuum from a synthetic skills approach
(built on the theory of phonics) to a holistic approach.
Louise Rosenblatt
(1938), an English literature professor, became frustrated with this polarity
of theories and contended that comprehension of literature is constructed from a
dialogue between writer and reader (constructive). Vygotsky (1978), a linguistics professor, expanded this
idea of construction of meaning to include the input of others and the
environment (social construction). The result is the class discussion in which
the students and professor learn about the writer's background, style, and attitudes in
order to interpret the selection in light of what the message contributes to
the participants today.
As defined by Partnership for Reading (2005), Reading
comprehension is understanding a text that is read, or the process of
"constructing meaning" from a text. Comprehension is a
"construction process" because it involves all of the elements of the
reading process working together as a text is read to create a representation
of the text in the reader's mind. It is very difficult to define comprehension.
Reduced to its simplest elements we might say that comprehension is a part of
the communication process of getting the thoughts that were in the author’s
mind into the reader’s mind. This is a difficult process because it involves
the transmission of an idea through several imperfect media. For example, the
author must have a clear idea in his mind, then reduce this idea to written
language; this will be printed; and finally the reader looks at the printed
word and forms an idea.
Reading can be thought of as being on two levels at once.
First of all the reader should get the objective information i.e. facts.
According to Fry (1965, p. 26) these facts require little interpretation or
judgment. Then on a higher level, the reader should be able to get subjective
information, i.e. the tone and the mood of the story, unstated ideas or the
overall information. “It might only hint at other situations with which the
reader is supposed to be familiar. Or the reader might be expected to
generalize from the specific facts given, in order to get a main idea”
Authors may not state the main purpose of a piece of
writing. It is for the reader to bring his background knowledge and thinking
ability to get the main idea. “Readers who can only read facts and nothing more
can never be called good readers.” On the other hand, readers who can get the
facts seldom get the subjective points (ibid.). While teaching reading comprehension,
the teacher must always keep in mind that the goal is to understand what the
author meant.
Davis (2008) writes that undoubtedly students of any
language need to be able to read in that language. However, it is not very
clear what is exactly meant by reading. Native speakers read a big deal of
material each day depending largely on their motivation for reading. Reading in
a foreign language is a very useful and relatively painless way to improve the
command over the target language. When students already have a thorough
understanding of the basic structure and vocabulary of the language, they are
able to tackle and enjoy authentic texts on subjects of their interest the benefits of reading widely and
relatively long texts are enormous for students with a relatively high level of
proficiency in the language. They have different needs and different problems
from those which they faced at lower educational levels. As they have already
studied the vast majority of structures and ways of expressing meaning in
English, these students need to be well familiar with the intricacies of these
structures, rather than learning ever more. Through reading they can have
better understanding of “the subtleties and shades of meaning carried by the
use of a particular choice of words in a particular context.” Grammatical
Structures and vocabulary can be learned easily through reading a lot. While
students are about to complete their formal study of the “structural elements
of English”, vocabulary will continue growing.
Aebersold and Field (1997, p. 15) write that reading is what
happens when people look at a text and assign meaning to the written symbols in
that text. The text and the reader are two physical entities necessary for the
reading process to begin. It is, however, the interaction between the text and
the reader that constitutes actual reading.
The basic purpose of reading in first language learning is
somehow different from that of second language learning. “In FL (Foreign Language) learning, reading is often used for
purposes which are different from those found in mother – tongue. The most
typical use of reading in a foreign language class is to teach the language
itself.” In this way, vocabulary, structures and other things can be learnt
through reading in a foreign language and to extend command over that
particular language (Nuttall, 1982, p. 19).
2.
Reading Process
Woryodijoyo (1989 : 10-11) puts forward
some stages on reading process as follow
:
a. Perception
The perception here indicates the ability to read word
b. Comprehension
The comprehension refers to the ability to make the
author or writer word conductiveto useful through as read in
contexts
c. Reaction
The reaction is the action that requires consideration in
connection with what has been writen by author or writer.
d. Integration
The integration reveals to the ability to comprehend or
to understand through concept towards the experiences background of the write
that can be useful as a part of thr readers experience.
This four
stages according to wiryodijoyo are interpendent to teach each other in reading
as means for problem solving. The reading process according to Halim (1967 :
42) described in the following manners. In general, the eyes began at the left hand side of the line of print, proceed with
a series (fixation) along the right hand side and then move smoothly of reason.
Instructors want to produce
students who, even if they do not have complete control of the grammar or an
extensive lexicon, can fend for themselves in communication situations. In the
case of reading, this means producing students who can use reading strategies
to maximize their comprehension of text, identify relevant and non-relevant
information, and tolerate less than word-by-word comprehension.
To accomplish this goal, instructors focus on the process of
reading rather than on its product.
1.
They develop students' awareness of the
reading process and reading strategies by asking students to think and talk
about how they read in their native language.
2.
They
allow students to practice the full repertoire of reading strategies by using
authentic reading tasks. They encourage students to read to learn (and have an
authentic purpose for reading) by giving students some choice of reading
material.
3.
When
working with reading tasks in class, they show students the strategies that
will work best for the reading purpose and the type of text. They explain how
and why students should use the strategies.
4.
They
have students practice reading strategies in class and ask them to practice
outside of class in their reading assignments. They encourage students to be
conscious of what they're doing while they complete reading assignments.
5.
They
encourage students to evaluate their comprehension and self-report their use of
strategies. They build comprehension checks into in-class and out-of-class
reading assignments, and periodically review how and when to use particular
strategies.
6.
They
encourage the development of reading skills and the use of reading strategies by
using the target language to convey instructions and course-related information
in written form: office hours, homework assignments, and test content.
7.
They
do not assume that students will transfer strategy use from one task to
another. They explicitly mention how a particular strategy can be used in a
different type of reading task or with another skill.
By raising students' awareness of reading as a skill that
requires active engagement, and by explicitly teaching reading strategies,
instructors help their students develop both the ability and the
confidence to handle communication situations they may encounter beyond the
classroom. In this way they give their students the foundation for
communicative competence in the new language.
3. Developing
Reading Comprehension
Anderson
(1969: 107) points out some specific and method of improving reading comprehension,
they are:
a.
determine the porpuse of reading. Ask
your self what you want to gain from reading the passage of selection
b.
Pay attention to words each subject in
the curriculum has it is own special vocabulary and the students’ success will
depend on some extend on their mastery of it. The students’ should look at all
words carefully.
c.
Utilize context clues. The use of
surronding context can help the students’ derive the full meaning from a
passage.
d.
Use the six WH question in all reading.
Comprehension is based on the questions who, where, what, when, why and how.
e.
Phrase reading not only reduces the
usual number of fixation per line, but also makes the meaning clearer.
f.
Examine the structure paragraph.
4. Difficulties in Reading
There are
some difficulties in reading that frequently accurs. They are:
a. Sub Vocalizing
One
undesirable habit that commonly happens is that the readers unconsciously form
word with the lips or in throat in reading the habit of “sub vocalizing” in
reading, this habit should be aroided abandoned. In this case Brewton, et al,
1962 : 121 explain : perhaps you have some readings that are holdovers from the
habits you formed when you first learned to read. On such habit is quite coming
among adults is that of unconsciously forming words with the lips of in the
throat such as habit called “sub vocalizing”.
b. Habit of Regression
Brewton, et, al (1962: 122)
also point out
that another habit to
avoid in reading is that of going
back over your track, almost everyone reads in this way that is by doing the
habit of regression. When reading very difficult materials, the reader
sometimes rereads the passage, this habit is allowed. However, in ordinary
reading, that habit should not be frequent because it can block reading and
comprehension. In this following, the emphasize “ another habit to avoid is
that of “going back over tracks”. Almost everyone is guilty of habit of
regression to a degree, if you are reading very difficult materials, you form
understanding what come next. But such a return should not be deliberate one
and it should not be frequent on ordinary reading. Do let yourself jump back and fort of close the of what you
are reading, if you keep reading the next sentence or paragraph may clear what
is puzzling you.
c. Word-by-word reading
The reader
who reads word by word may provide himsellf and handicap or roadblock to
understand meaning rapidly and to speed his reading in this case relation. Let
us deal with the following statement the word by word reader is getting his information too slowly. This
though wonder, other ideas come and before long. The reader is not
concentrating on the meaning of what his eyes see because he is unable to keep
his mind fully involved. Based on the statement above, it is abvious that word
by word.
d. Poor concentration
Concentration
is very important in effective reading. The reader can not submerge himself
completely in the reading prices, if he has poor or less concentrations in
reading. Consequently, high reading speed and perfect comprehension can not be
realized well. Therefore, good and high comprehension is considerable needed.
In these relations, Bakka
(1989:27) comments that poor concentration makes the readers unable speed up
his reading rate and to get understands all meaning of he passage he is reading.
In this case, he says the effectiveness of every part of the modern reading
technique is depending on the ability to submerge you completely on the reading
process. Concentration is the secret you can not get at your faster speed ans
still get all meanings unless you concentrate. This statement indicates that convention is needed. Of
course, good concentration is extremly needed in reading activity. That is why
a reader should concentrate in reading.
D. Concept of reading comprehension
Reading comprehension
is primarily a matter of developing approproate, efficient comprehension
strategy. Some experts have formulated the definitions of reading
comprehension, they are: Smith and Robinson (1980) state that reading
comprehension means that the understanding, evaluating and utilizing the
information and idea gained through an interaction between reader and authors.
Reading comprehension is such a kind of dialogue between an author and a reader
in which the written language become the medium of communication. It means that
with understanding and comprehending the material that have written, the
interaction between a reader and author
accour effectively.
According
to Kustaryo (1980) states that reading comprehension understands what has been
read. It is an active thinking process that depends not only comprehension
skill but also the students’ experience
and prior knowledge comprehension involves understanding the vocabulary, seeing
the relationship amonmg words and
concepts, organizing judgment and evaluating.
Anderson
(1984: 160) states that reading comprehension is a reader’s comprehension
abusively by contracting meaning from interacting with material that is read.
Anderson
(1984: 162) argues that comprehension involves the reader discovering the meaning
needed to achieve the particular purpose. It may be of finding a particular
peace of information, solving problem, and working to understanding an idea or
following a set of direction. Therefore reading comprehension is also way
directed to control by the needs of the
purpose of the reader.
From the
above statement, it can be concluded that reading comprehension means a way of
discovering, understanding and utilizing the information accurately through the
interaction between the reader and author.
1. The Role of Reading Comprehension
One of the most important aspects of teaching reading is
the selection of the reading text. There are some fairly considerations. The
reading selection should not contain market dialects or slang leatures (many
pocket books are unsuitable in this aspect) or old fashioned language use
(which rules out many classics in their original versions). The selection
should have high interest value to the student and the simple way of
establishing this by asking the students their opinions of the readings and the
eliminating low interest selection from future curricula. The content should
not contrast with is interesting and ideologically compatible, at least at the
early stages. Anderson (1972: 50-59).
Michael west
argues against using reading with a local setting as it result in a vocabulary
of low frequency: Bullock being much less frequent than horse is the example he
gives. We should argue the opposite: student need the vocabulary of what is
relevant to their world. It is also easier to learn to read when the culture
background is familiar and students can be interested on cultural information
in the coding process. Actually we have had very good result with Asimov
Science. Fiction Nine Tomorrow, which tends to be culturally neutral. On the
intermediate and advanced levels the student also need to be exposed the type
of writing other than narrative and dialogue which are the basic staple of
elementary level text. They need practice with critical reading decoding and
evaluation, explanation and analysis, argument and persuasion summeries and non
fictional narration such us news reporting, history and biographies.
2. Categories of Reading Comprehension
Comprehension
involves thinking. As there are various levels of comprehension. Smith (1997:
107) devides the comprehension skill into four categories:
a. Word,
idea, sentence in the text. This is a fundamental skill to any level of reading
skill.
b. Interpretative
reading
Interpretative
reading involve between the lines or making inferences. Interpretative level of comprehension goes beyond the
literal comprehension to supply meaning which is not apparent in word
presented. The reader must read between one line to get inferences or implied
from the text.
c. Critical reading
Critical
reading is higher level than other two categories because it involves
evaluation the meaning of personal judgment on the accuracy, vallue,
truth-fullness of what is read.
d. Creative reading
Creative
reading uses different thinking skill to get beyond the literal comprehension,
interpretation and critical reading level. In creative reading, the readers
tries to come up with now or alternate solution to these presented by the
writer. In this skill, the readers recognizes the idea from new p0rinted into
new pattern and he can express the recognized learning through various media. There are some factors affect the students’ success in reading comprehension
all of which share the success in reading comprehension.
1.
Motivation
Motivation
is very important for the success and failure in reading. One’s motivation can be influenced
by internal or external factors. Internal factors mean everything which come
from the reader themselves, where it can help to push student always read and
interact in reading process. While external factor means everything from uot of
readers themselves that can help the students to learn especially to read, as
an example, reading material can be easily learnt, when the student understand
about everything has relationship with their environment.
2.
Concentration
Concentration
means to focus one’s attention clearly on a purpose. Concentration is very easy to do, if one is
interested in what he or she reads.
3.
Teacher’s guidance
The
teacher’s guidance influences how the students understand particular
assignment, because lack of sufficient guidance may also be a major factor in
low reading comprehension.
4. The
length and the difficulty of the material affect reader of reading.
5. Vocabulary acquistion and the ability to form concept
are essential for reading.
3. Level of Reading
Comprehension
Clearly, we read in order to understand, regardless of what we read and whether for information or
for pleasure. Point out three levels of comprehension, as below:
a. Literal level
Reading
the lines to the literal meaning of the material, clearly the most basic level,
without no others as possible. When we note that about third of the second
years students can not read thierbtextbook. We mean that they do not comprehend
the material, even on this literal level. The reader must determine wheter the
words, sentence structure, concept or any coombination of these create the problem
of comprehension or other the students’ training, ability or background is
nvolved.
Reading
the lines or literal comprehension involves acquiring information that directly
state in the selection is important of itself and it also prerequisite for higher
level understanding. Example of this skill involves the ability to follow
direction and the ability to restate the author’s material in word.
Recognizing
stated main ideas, details, cause and through understanding of vocabulary,
sentence, meaning is important. Reading the line is usual stated by question
such us, what is the author telling us? What evidence is he giving for his statement? What does the sentences (paragraph, selection
and chapter book) mean?
b. Interpretative level
The second
level, reading between the lines, is one which the readers recognize the
author’s intend and purpose interpret his statement, search for an
interpretation clues, distinguish between the fact and opinion. This is
obviously a nature level of reading, requiring thinking and evidences. Burns (1984: 183) point out that skill of interpretive
involve:
1.
Inferring main ideas of passage in
which the main idea are not directly stated
2.
Inferring cause and effect relationship
when they are not directly stated
3.
Inferring referents of pronouns
4.
Inferring referents of adverb
5.
Inferring omitted words
6.
Detecting mood
7.
Detecting the author’s purpose in
writng, and
8.
Drawing conclusion
c. Explorative level
Reading
between the lines involves deriving implication, speculating about consequences
and drawing generalization not stated by the author. The process of analysis
also leads to a new synthesis by the readers whose initiative and originally
leads to a new insights and reflections on the significances of the ideas.
4. Kinds of Reading
Comprehension
Harris (1980: 15) classified
reading into two kinds as follow:
a.
Development reading activities are those in which the
teacher main purpose to bring an improvement in reading skill activities in
which learning to read is the main goal.
b.
Functional reading is includes reading
which the primary aim is to obtain information. In other words, reading has
enjoyment, entertainment and appreciation as major purpose. Reeading is
classified into two kinds namely: silent reading and reading aloud.
1. Silent reading
Silent
reading is the acticity we normaly engage in when we read books, newspaper read signs, etc. It involves looking in the silences and
understanding the message
they convey. We could developed our understanding in the silent reading by
giving short reading passages in the beginning and by asking question about
after word.
2. Reading
aloud
Reading
aloud is a completely different activity. It
purpose is not only to understand
a text but also to convey the information to someone reading aloud.
5.The Contextual Guessing Technique
The technique of finding the meaning of an unknown
word through its use in a sentence and then
guessing how it is pronounced
is known as contextual guessing or context identification, or the use of
context clues. The context in which
an unknown word is used limits the number of words that could be correct. The
problem then is to select from the
possible synonyms the exact word used. When the students know the probable
meaning of the word and have two
or three synonyms in mind, it is easier for them to use structural and phonics
analysis to identify the word. Contextual
guessing is the most important skill used by most readers in attacking new
words. It is closely related
to comprehension and this is one of the most practical skills students learn.
Context clues have several uses in
reading. The four uses named below are of special
importance to readers of foreign languages: First, context clues help readers to derive the
pronunciation and meaning of a known word from its uses in a sentence. Second, context clues also help to determine the
pronunciation and meaning of an unknown word from its use in a sentence. When context is used for this
purpose, a student reads around an unknown word, gets the general meaning of the sentence and then guesses
at the pronunciation and meaning of the unfamiliar word from the way it is used. Third, context determines
how the accentuation of similar words used in different contexts or with different grammatical usages affects
their meanings. Fourth, context provides clues to the meanings of words that vary according to the subject area in
which they are used. Context clues can function only if the material is suited to the reader in terms of difficulty and
familiarity or interest. If the context is too involved, or if there are too many unknown words, context is of little
value. When the material deals with unfamiliar concepts or is dry and dull to the reader, he is not likely to
be able to develop a continuous line of thought suitable for anticipating an unknown
word. All reading materials, therefore, should be chosen with these criteria in
mind:
a. Reading
materials should be of interest to the reader
b. Concepts
developed in the material should be in line with the reader’s experience background
c. There
should be no more than one unfamiliar word to among 20 conceptive words in
materials used for contextual
guessing training
d. Upper-grading
reading materials should include pictures, graphs, charts and tables
e. Sentence
structure should be appropriate for the achievement level and language maturity of the students.
The procedures for developing abilities in
contextual guessing can be incorporated in class reading presentations or special exercises. Before we go further analyzing
contextual guessing we must consider a few preliminary questions concerning this skill. These questions
pertain to the usefulness and to the trainability of the guessing skill. As to the usefulness, the favorable effect of
the guessing skill on reading speed and text comprehension can be well noted.
It is self-evident that a reader who is not able to use context adequately will
have to refer to the dictionary continually and in many cases will not
be able to choose the correct alternative. With
respect to the trainability of the skill we may refer to an investigation to a
varied series of experiments carried
out in an English reading class. All the experiments require subjects (three
different levels) to
try to guess the meaning of unknown words (limited in number) or to fill in
blanks in their foreign language texts.
Then they were asked to verbalize their thought processes. An analysis was made
by contrasting successful and unsuccessful actions of different subjects with
respect to the same unknown words or blanks.
Analysis of the experiments indicated that different
subjects can act on different linguistic levels. The subjects were found to be acting on a
syntactic level when trying to find out the grammatical structure of a sentence. They were acting on a semantic
level when exploring the immediate or wider context of the unknown word or blank in order to find its
meaning. Subjects were acting on a lexical level when they inspected the word form in order to derive its meaning.
Sometimes, though not always, they were acting on a stylistic level when they tried to appreciate the stylistic usage of a
word. These analyses also indicated that guessing skill is trainable.
An analysis of the various errors at different
levels in guessing the meaning of an unknown word or blank may help in setting up a training
procedure for contextual guessing skills. In syntactic level the subjects sometimes leave some elements of the
sentence unexplained, or add themselves some elements that is necessary for their interpretation of the passage.
Or, in more cases, they misread some words and distort the context in such a way that it fits in with their
premature guessing. At another level, the semantic level, a subject does not
check his hypothesis for
acceptability within the context, which often results in a total misconception
of what is being said.
CHAPTER III
METHOD OF THE
RESEARCH
A. Research Design
This research will be carried out through
pre-experimental design with one group pretest and posttest design. The students will be given pretest to know the students ability in reading
comprehension without using contextual guessing technique.
The research design conducte as follows:
Where:
O1 : pre-test
X : treatment
O2 : post-test
(Gay, 1987)
B. Research Variables
This research consists of two variables. They are
dependent and independent variables. The independent variable is the use of contextual guessing
technique in teaching reading, while the dependent variable is the student’s
achievement in reading comprehension.
C. Population and
Sample
1.
Population
The population of this research is all the first
year students of SMK Negeri 1 Mehalaan in academic year of 2011/2012 which consists of
35 students’.
2.
Sample
This research,
the researcher will use total sampling technique which consists of 35
students’ will be taken as sample.
D. Instrument of Research
The instrument of this research is reading test for both pretest and posttest
which consist of 40 items in three types, they are 15 items multiple choose, 15
items true-false and 10 items matching.
Pretest will intended to know the students’ reading comprehension before giving
treatment. While posttest will intended to know the students’ reading comprehension
of the giving treatment and it will use contextual guessing technique.
E. Procedure
of Collecting Data
The procedure of collecting data, will present in
chronological order as follows:
1. Pre-test
Before doing treatment, the researcher will
take
total sampling and then give test, and it will intended to know the students prior knowledge on reading
comprehension.The procedures of pretest as follows:
a. The researcher will distribute the test to the students
b. The researcher will explain to the student how to work out the test
c. The students will do the test in 90 minutes
d. The researcher will collect the test.
2. Treatment
The students receive treatment of reading
material by using contextual guessing technique that the teacher will give
explanation about: contextual guessing technique.
a. The researcher will ask the students about the topic
b.
The
researcher will ask the students what did they want to know about the
topic
c.
The
material will give by the researcher to the students, and then the students
answer the question accordance with the topic
d.
The
researcher will give
chance for the students to explain the topic based on their own knowledge and how to get information by the
topic
e. The researcher made conclusion
3. Post Tes
Post test will given after treatment and it aimes to find out weather or not there are any significantly
differences on the students knowledge after learning through contextual
guessing technique. The procedure of the
posttest is the same as in the pretest.
F. Technique
of Data Analysis
To analyze the data, the researcher
will employ the formula as follow:
1. Scoring the students’ correct answer of pretest and posttest by using this formula:
Students’ correct answer
Total number of items score
( Gay,1987)
2. Classifying the score of students’ pretest and
posttest
|
No.
|
Rate of score
|
Categories
|
|
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
|
9.6 – 10
8.6 – 9.5
7.6 – 8.5
6.6 – 7.5
5.6 – 6.5
3.6 – 5.5
0.0 – 3.5
|
Excelent
Very good
Good
Fairly good
Fair
Poor
Very poor
|
(Gay, 1987)
3. Calculating
the mean score of the students’ answer by using this formula:
Where :
∑x
= total row score
N = total number of students’
(Gay, 1987 )
4. Finding
out the significant different between pretest and posttest by calculating the
value of the test. The following formula will employ:
Where:
N = total number
Notation :
T = test
D = the mean score
N = number of students’
(Gay, 1987)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aebersold, J.A. and M.L. Field. 1997. From
Reading to
Reading Teacher:
Issues and Strategies For Second Language
Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press
Anderson, N. (Ed.). 1969. Studies in Multilingualism. Leiden: E.J. Bnrill.
Anderson, R.C.1972.
How
to Construct Achievement Tests to Assess Comprehension. Review of
Educational Research (pp.2, 42, 145-170)
Anderson, R.C. 1984.
A
Schema-Theoretic View of Basic Processes in Reading Comprehension. Handbook of reading research. New
York: Longman.
Anderson and Person. 1972. Teaching
Reading. Boston: J Estily Alexander.
Arikunto,
S.
1993. Prosedur Penelitian – Suatu Pendekatan
Praktek. Penerbit PT Rineka Citra Jakarta.
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