The impact of repeated reading on efl learners reading speed and reading comprehension

NGUYEN HUONG GIANG THE IMPACT OF REPEATED READING ON EFL LEARNERS’ READING SPEED AND READING COMPREHENSION Major: Theory and Methods of Teaching English Code: 60.14.01.11 MASTER’S TH

NGUYEN HUONG GIANG

THE IMPACT OF REPEATED READING

ON EFL LEARNERS’ READING SPEED AND READING COMPREHENSION

MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION

NGHE AN - 2016

NGUYEN HUONG GIANG

THE IMPACT OF REPEATED READING

ON EFL LEARNERS’ READING SPEED AND READING COMPREHENSION

Major: Theory and Methods of Teaching English

Code: 60.14.01.11

MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION

Supervisor: Dr Tran Thi Ngoc Yen

NGHE AN - 2016

70 students at Vinh University of Industry The participants did a general English test and 70 students were divided into two groups: control group and treatment group Both groups were asked to complete a pre-test before participating in the repeated reading sessions and a post-test after taking part in the repeated reading sessions This was to see how many words per minute can they read and how much they comprehended The data were mainly collected through sixteen lessons for both groups The collected data were analyzed in terms of reading speed (words per minute) and reading comprehension (accuracy) The research findings indicated that the experimental group’s reading speed and reading comprehension increased during the treatment Based on the findings, some implications for teaching the reading skill were proposed Limitations of the study were pointed out and further research was suggested

guidance she offered to help me carry out the study

I wish to express my sincere thanks to the students of the two classes I worked with in order to gather data for my study

I would also like to thank my friends for their friendship and proofreading in the preparation of my thesis

Last but not least, I owe special heartfelt appreciation to my parents without whose unceasing support, patience and understanding I could not have been able to complete my study

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi

LIST OF TABLES vii

LIST OF CHARTS x

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.2 Aims of the study 2

1.3 Research questions 2

1.4 Scope of the study 2

1.5 Design of the thesis 2

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 4

2.1 The reading process 4

2.1.1 The definitions of reading 4

2.1.2 Models of reading 6

2.1.2.1 Bottom-up model 6

2.1.2.2 Top-down model 8

2.1.2.3 Interactive model 10

2.2 The role of reading in learning 11

2.3 Reading purposes 12

2.4 Classification of reading 14

2.4.1 According to manners of reading 14

2.4.1.1 Reading aloud 14

2.4.1.2 Silent reading 16

2.4.2 According to purposes of reading 17

2.4.2.1 Skimming 17

2.4.2.2 Scanning 18

2.5.2 Factors involved in reading comprehension 25

2.5.3 Factors affecting reading comprehension 26

2.5.4 Assessing reading comprehension 28

2.6 Reading speed 30

2.6.1 The nature of reading speed 30

2.6.2 The importance of reading speed in EFL 31

2.6.3 Factors hindering reading speed 32

2.6.4 Measuring reading speed 33

2.7 Repeated reading 33

2.7.1 What is repeated reading? 33

2.7.2 Background of repeated reading 34

2.7.3 Strategies of repeated reading 36

CHAPTER 3 THE EXPERIMENT 39

3.1 Methodology 39

3.1.1 Research questions 39

3.1.2 Participants 39

3.1.3 Materials 39

3.1.4 Procedures 40

3.2 Results 42

3.2.1 Pre-test results 42

3.2.1.1 Reading speed 42

3.2.1.2 Reading comprehension 43

3.2.2 Repeated reading results 44

3.2.2.1 Reading speed and reading comprehension for the first week 44

3.2.2.2 Reading speed and reading comprehension for the second week 47

3.2.2.3 Reading speed and reading comprehension for the third week 49

3.2.2.4 Reading speed and reading comprehension for the fourth week 52

3.2.2.5 Reading speed and reading comprehension for the fifth week 54

3.2.2.6 Reading speed and reading comprehension for the sixth week 56

3.2.2.7 Reading speed and reading comprehension for the seventh week 58

3.2.2.8 Reading speed and reading comprehension for the eighth week 59

3.2.3 Post-test results 61

3.2.4 Comparison of results and means 62

3.3 Discussion of the main findings 64

CHAPTER 4 CONCLUSION 67

4.1 Pedagogical implications 67

4.2 Limitations of the study 68

4.3 Recommendation for further research 69

4.4 Conclusion 69

REFERENCES 70 APPENDIX

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

1 EFL: English as Foreign Language

2 L2: Second language

3 IR: Intensive reading

4 ER: Extensive reading

11 WPM: Word per minute

12 MCQ: Multiple choice question

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 Means and standard deviations of participants’ reading speed

measured by words per minute (wpm) for two groups 42 Table 3.2 Means and standard deviations of participants’ reading

comprehension measured by percentage (%) for two groups 44 Table 3.3 Means and standard deviations of participants’ reading speed

measured by words per minute for two groups 45 Table 3.4 Reading speed of Treatment group for four reading times at the

first week 45 Table 3.5 Means and standard deviations of participants’ reading

comprehension for two groups at the first reading 46 Table 3.6 Reading comprehension of Treatment group for four reading

times at the first week 47 Table 3.7 Means and standard deviations of participants’ reading speed

measured by words per minute for two groups 47 Table 3.8 Reading speed of Treatment group for four reading times at the

second week 48 Table 3.9 Means and standard deviations of participants’ reading

comprehension for two groups at the first reading 48 Table 3.10 Reading comprehension of Treatment group for four reading

times at the second week 49 Table 3.11 Means and standard deviations of participants’ reading speed

measured by words per minute for two groups 50 Table 3.12 Reading speed of Treatment group for four reading times at the

third week 50 Table 3.13 Means and standard deviations of participants’ reading

comprehension for two groups at the first reading 51

Table 3.14 Reading comprehension of Treatment group for four reading

times at the third week 51 Table 3.15 Means and standard deviations of participants’ reading speed

measured by words per minute for two groups 52 Table 3.16 Reading speed of Treatment group for four reading times at the

fourth week 52 Table 3.17 Means and standard deviations of participants’ reading

comprehension for two groups at the first reading 53 Table 3.18 Reading comprehension of Treatment group for four reading

times at the third week 53 Table 3.19 Means and standard deviations of participants’ reading speed

measured by words per minute for two groups 54 Table 3.20 Reading speed of Treatment group for four reading times at the

fourth week 54 Table 3.21 Means and standard deviations of participants’ reading

comprehension for two groups at the first reading 55 Table 3.22 Reading comprehension of Treatment group for four reading

times at the fifth week 55 Table 3.23 Means and standard deviations of participants’ reading speed

measured by words per minute for two groups 56 Table 3.24 Reading speed of Treatment group for four reading times at the

sixth week 56 Table 3.25 Means and standard deviations of participants’ reading

comprehension for two groups at the first reading 57 Table 3.26 Reading comprehension of Treatment group for four reading

times at the sixth week 57 Table 3.27 Means and standard deviations of participants’ reading speed

measured by words per minute for two groups 58

Table 3.28 Reading speed of Treatment group for four reading times at the

seventh week 58 Table 3.29 Means and standard deviations of participants’ reading

comprehension for two groups at the first reading 59 Table 3.30 Reading comprehension of Treatment group for four reading

times at the seventh week 59 Table 3.31 Means and standard deviations of participants’ reading speed

measured by words per minute for two groups 60 Table 3.32 Reading speed of Treatment group for four reading times at the

seventh week 60 Table 3.33 Means and standard deviations of participants’ reading

comprehension for two groups at the first reading 61 Table 3.34 Reading comprehension of Treatment group for four reading

times at the eighth week 61 Table 3.35 Posttest Means of Reading Speed and Reading Comprehension

of Control and Treatment Group 62

LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 3.1 Pre-test and Post-test reading speed (wpm) of control

andtreatment group 63 Chart 3.2 Pre-test and Post-test reading comprehension (%) of control and

treatment group 64

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter consists of the following five parts which offer a general outline of the study: rationale, the aims and objectives, research questions, scope and design of the study

1.1 Rationale

English learning has been popular in Viet Nam for many years Especially, learning English has become a growing requirement when Viet Nam fosters its international relation Nowadays, people learn and use English for many different purposes and there is no doubt of the necessary role that English plays an important part in our society, especially in the process of regional and global integration People with good knowledge of English are needed in many fields This results in the great demand of learning English It is also an international means of interaction and communication in almost all the countries Moreover, the career opportunities will come to the graduate who can use English properly Hence, students have already realized the importance of English to their jobs in the future and they have paid more attention to the study of English

Reading is considered as one of the most essential skills which language learners should master, particularly it helps to build a variety of language expression and structures, broadens general knowledge, increases levels of understanding and concentration and leads to lifelong learning and improvement

in the first and second language skills “Reading is an essential skill for ESL or EFL students; and for many, reading is the most important skill to master” (Anderson, 1999) Krashen and Terrell (1989) state that “reading is an important source of comprehensible input and can make a significant contribution to competence in a foreign language.”

According to West (1941), reading ability is powerful because it transfers from one language to another language Therefore, if a person’s reading speed in his

mother language improves, it is likely that his foreign language reading rate will increase as a transfer effect

Techniques and methods related to the teaching and learning skill process have also been taken into consideration There is a large number of reading methods

to examine as well as improve reading speed and reading comprehension

All these important impacts of reading make me always think about the way how to apply repeated reading to language teaching and learning

All the aforementioned reasons urge the author to carry out the study entitled

“The impact of repeated reading on EFL learners’ reading speed and reading comprehension.” Hopefully, the result could serve as a useful source of reference

for those who concern about the subject matter

1.2 Aims of the study

This study was carried out to see if reading speed and reading comprehension of the EFL students will improve with consistent use of repeated reading method

1.3 Research questions

The research was carried in order to answer the following questions:

1 How does repeated reading affect EFL learners’ reading speed?

2 How does repeated reading affect EFL learners’ reading comprehension?

1.4 Scope of the study

With the aim of discovering the effect of repeated reading on EFL learners’ reading ability, survey was used as the main method to collect the needed data from the learners Seventy students at Vinh University of Industry were involved in this study

1.5 Design of the thesis

This research comprises five chapters as follow:

Chapter 1: Introduction – This chapter provides the rationale of the problem tackling with the topic, the aims of the study, the research questions and the scope of the study

Chapter 2:Literature review - This chapter presents the previous studies related

to the thesis and some concepts as theoretical basis for the study

Chapter 3:The experiment - This chapter introduces research methodology of the study It provides information about the materials, participants, instrument for data collection, research procedures and data analysis.This chapter presents the results and discussions developed after the impacts analyzed

Chapter 4:Conclusion - This chapter summarizes the main issues touched upon

in the research, the limitations of the research and some suggestions for further studies Following the chapters are the references and appendices

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter focuses on the literature review and theoretical background of the study It presents a brief review of the literature on the topics that are generally related to the research in this thesis Previous studies on the reading process, the role of learning, reasons for reading, classification of reading, reading comprehension, reading speed, repeated reading and repeated reading in EFL reading instruction will be mentioned

2.1 The reading process

Reading is a comletely individual activity which takes place in all different ways from newspapers, magazines, written texts, etc Understanding the process of reading is probably important to understanding of its nature Therefore, “Reading is

an exercise dominated by the eyes and the brain The eyes receive message and the brain then has to work out the significance of the message ” (Harmer J, 1989:190) Thus, the speed of reading depends much on mechanical process of looking and perceiving and it is the reader who decides how fast he want to read the text

2.1.1 The definitions of reading

So far, the term reading has been defined quite differently according to its

various aspects such as criteria, features and functions For many learners, reading

is a very essential skill, particularly in English as a second language Concerning the role of reading, Carrell (1988:1) states that “ Without solid reading proficiency, second language learners can not perform at levels they must in order to succeed” Anderson, N.J, (1999) also confirms that “The more exposure a student has to language through reading, the greater the possibilities that overall language proficiency will increase” Reading plays such a significant part in the success of second language learning and it is essential to understand what reading really is However, the act of reading is neither completely understood nor easily described

In a general term, reading is defined as “An active, fluent process which involves

the reader and the reading material in building meaning” (Anderson, 1999:1) This definition of reading has been generally shared by other researchers

According to Aebersold and Field (1997:15), “reading is what happens when people look at a text and assign meaning to the written symbol in that text The text and the reader are the two physical entities necessary for the reading process to start It is, however, the interaction between the text and the reader that constitutes actual meaning” These interactions, in their opinion, are the interactions between purpose and manner of reading and through reading strategies and schema Purpose determines how people read a text People may read the text to understand it (reading for full comprehension), or simply to get the general idea (skimming), to find the part that contains the information they need (scanning) Readers also use some mental activities that are often referred to as reading strategies to construct meaning from a text In addition, readers base on their previous knowledge that they bring to the text to assist their reading comprehension This prior knowledge is known as schema Research in reading has shown that schema plays an important role in helping the reader to comprehend a text

Moreover, Rubin, J and Thompson, I (1994:91) offer another definition of reading: “Reading is an active information-seeking process in which readers relate information in the text to what they already know” From this point of view, the reader’s knowledge of the language and knowledge of the world is of importance to their reading success Goodman (1971: 135) states that reading is “a psycholinguistic process by which the reader- a language user, reconstructs, as best

as he can, a message which has been encoded by a writer as a graphic display” For Goodman, this act of reconstruction is considered as cyclical process of sampling, predicting, testing and confirming

Additionally, Walker (1992:37) defined reading as an active, problem solving process that involves predicting or guessing what the author says, based on expectations about story events He believes that reading involves recalling an individual’s life experience and trying to understand what is written He also

confirms that reading is comprehending and developing of human learning In other words, reading is more than just receiving meaning in a literal sense

From a cognitive attitude, Smith defines reading that “Reading is to understand author’s thought” (Smith, 1985:102) This means that the meaning of the text depends on the context in which appears The more the reader conceives the author’s thought, the more he is aware of the writer’s intention

Taking an interactive attitude, Nutall (1982:4) expresses “Reading means getting out of the text as nearly as possible the message the writer puts into it” He also emphasizes the interaction between texts and readers in the reading process In his opinion, “Text is full of meaning like a jug of water, the reader’s mind soaks it

up like sponge”

To sum up, it can be said that there is a variety of perspective Therefore, no definitions can possible apprehend all the characters and opinions what reading is Each author defines reading in his own point of view In order to understand clearly about the nature of reading, it is necessary to take a closer look at the actual process that really takes place in the reader’s mind

2.1.2 Models of reading

In the last forty years, reading researches have been studying between the reading process and how to teach reading Depending on their interpretation of the reading process, they have developed a model of reading Up to now, there have been a lot of attempts to characterize the interaction between reader and text and many different views of reading process have been recommended These views are classified into three major types of reading models The three types include the bottom-up category, the top-down category and the interactive one

2.1.2.1 Bottom-up model

Early researcher often assumed a passive, bottom-up view of second language reading, that is it was viewed as “ a decoding process of reconstructing the author’s intended meaning” via recognizing the printed letters and words and building up a meaning for a text from the smallest textual units at the bottom (letters and words)

to larger and larger units at the top (phrases, clauses, inter-sentential linkages) In other words, in the bottom-up reading model, the reader begin with the written text (the bottom) and constructs meaning from the letters, words, phrases and sentences found within and then processes the text in a linear fashion The incoming data from the text must be received before the high level mental stages of understanding transform and recode the data

Bottom-up model emphasizes the written or printed texts It emphasizes the ability to decode or put into sound what is seen in the text According to Gough (1972), the bottom-up processing focuses on how readers extract information from the printed page Gough (1972) supported that this reading model explained the sequence of the reading system from a bottom-up perspective as follows: First, the grapheme information enters through the visual system and is transformed at the first level from a letter character, which is from a grapheme representation to a phonemic representation Second, the phonemic representation is converted, at level two into a word The meaning units or words then pass on to the third level meaning

is assimilated into the knowledge system on their interpretation of the reading process, they have developed a model of reading

Alderson (2000) supposed that “bottom-up approaches are serial models, where the reader begins with the printed words and recognizes graphic stimuli, decodes them to sounds, recognized words and decodes meaning Each component involves sub-processes which take place independently of each other” These definitions show that bottom-up processing is analogous to field-independent cognitive styles It can be seen that, in bottom-up processing, readers are passive decoders of essential graphic-phonemic-syntactic-semantic system (Alderson, 2000) Therefore, the sophisticated linguistic knowledge of the reader is necessary

In short, the bottom-up model has tendencies to be linear as they start with the printed stimuli and proceed to higher level stage, one step after another The basis for bottom-up processing is the linguistic knowledge of the reader However, this model reveals several short comings in describing the actual reading process

Although bottom-up approach was considered as “the best way to teach reading” (Brown, 2001), as pointed out by Samuel and Kamil (1988:31), bottom-up model is

“the lack of feedback, in that no mechanism is provided to allow for processing stages which occur later in the system to influence processing which occurs earlier

in the system

Because of the lack of feedback loops in the early bottom-up models, it was difficult to account for sentence-context effects and the role of prior knowledge of text topic as facilitating variables in word recognition and comprehension.” On the other hand, in this model the interaction between the reader and the text includes little or no interfaces from the reader’s own background knowledge A sound criticism was directed by Stanovich (1980), it lies in the fact that bottom-up models lack feedback among the different stages or sequences of the model This prevents the low processing stages to interact with the higher ones to decode meaning This makes it difficult to account for sentence-context effect and the role of prior knowledge of the topic of text to facilitate word recognition and comprehension (Stanovich, 1980)

Due to this limitation and together with the advent of Goodman’s top-down view of reading, the bottom-up view of reading fell into disfavor

2.1.2.2 Top-down model

According to Nunan (1991) and Dubin and Bycina (1991), the psycholinguistic model of reading and the top-down model are in exact concordance The to-down model is direct opposition to the bottom-up model

The top-down model is influenced by schema story, which emphasizes the importance of the reader’s background knowledge in the reading process (Carrell, 1998:4) According to this theory, so as to comprehend a text, readers make use of both the text and their background knowledge Therefore, interaction of the background knowledge and the text is essential for efficient reading Top-down rejects the notion that identification of better to form words, and the derivation of meaning from these words is efficient reading Smith (1971) indicated that reading

process includes the reader’s experience, knowledge of the context of the text, familiarity with the structures and patterns of the word and specific subject matter knowledge

Kenneths Goodman (1981: 137) notes that “the goal of reading is constructing meaning in response to text It requires interactive use of graphphonic, syntactic, and semantic cues to construct meaning” and “it is one which uses print as input and has meaning as output But the reader provides input too, and the reader, interacting with text, is selective in using just as little of the cues from text as necessary to construct meaning”

About over three decades ago, the views on reading changed together with the top-down model of reading Goodman (1971:135) described reading as a

“psycholinguistic guessing game”, in which the “reader reconstructs, as best as he can, a message which has been encoded by a writer as a graphic display” According to this point of view, the reader reconstructs meaning from written language by using the graph phonic, syntactic and semantic systems of the language, but he merely uses cues from the three levels of language to predict meaning, and most important, confirms those predictions by relating them to his pas experiences and knowledge of the language Reading is a process of reconstructing meaning rather than decoding form, and the reader only resorts to decoding if other means fail This perspective was also supported by Carell (1988), Clarke and Silberstein (1977), and Wild Dowson (1978) as they claimed reading is “an active process in which the second language reader is an active information processor who predict while sampling only parts of the actual text.”

Although Goodman did not characterize his theory as a top-bottom model, several other reading experts have considered it as basically a concept-driven top-down pattern in which “higher level processes interact with and direct the flow of information through low level processes” (Stanovich, 1980:34)

Just like bottom-up models, to-down models do have some limitations These models “tend to emphasize such higher-level skills as the prediction of meaning by

means of context clues or certain kinds of background knowledge at the expense of such lower skills as the rapid and accurate identification of lexical and grammatical form That is, in making the perfectly valid point that fluent reading is primarily a cognitive process, they tend to deemphasize the perceptual and decoding dimensions of that process” (Eskey, 1988:93) Another problem of top-down process, according to Samuel and Kamil (1988)’s point of view is that “generating a prediction may take more time than recognizing the words” Moreover, for many text, the reader has no or little knowledge of the topic, as the result, they can not make any predictions about the text’s meaning A more serious problem is that even

if a skilled reader could generate predictions, the mount of time necessary to generate a prediction may be greater than the amount of time the skilled reader needs simply recognize the words

Because of the above limitations of both bottom-up and top-down models, a new and insightful model of reading process has been proposed by Rumelhart (1977), Samuels and Kamil, M, (1988) named interactive model Interactive model

is a combination of top-down and bottom-up processing

2.1.2.3 Interactive model

The interactive model combines element of both bottom-up and top-down approaches, assuming that “a pattern is synthesized based on information provided simultaneously from several knowledge sources” (Stanovich, 1980: 35)

Some other researchers have discussed reading as the process of combining textual information with the information a reader brings to a text In this view, the reading process is not simply a matter of extracting information from the text Rather, it is one in which the reading activates a range of knowledge in the reader’s mind that he uses, and that, in turn, may be refined and extended by the new information supplied by the text

Eskey (1988) defines the interactive model as a reading model that “posits a constant interaction between bottom-up and top-down processing in reading, each source of information contributing to a comprehensive reconstruction of the

meaning of the text” According to this view, good readers are regarded as “both good decoders and good interpreters of texts, their decoding skills becoming more automatic but no less important as their reading skill develops” (Eskey, 1988: 94) Eskey also believed that to achieve both fluency and accuracy in reading, developing readers must work at perfecting both their bottom-up recognition skills and their top-down interpretation strategies In other word, good reading that is fluent and accurate reading can result only from a constant interaction between these two processes

The following views by Stanovich (1980) can summarize all the strengths of the interactive model over the other two models “interactive models of reading appear to provide a more accurate conceptualization of reading performance than strictly top-down or bottom-up model When combined with an assumption of compensatory processing (that a deficit in any particular process with result in a greater reliance on their knowledge sources, regardless of their level in the processing hierarchy), interactive models provide a better account of the existing data on the use of orthographic structure and sentence context by good or poor readers” (1980: 32)

Therefore, it is generally agreed that the interactive model is the best one that can truly reflect the reading process that takes place in the reader’s mind In this process, the reader constantly shuttles between bottom-up and to-down processes and he can not be successful in reading comprehension without either of these two processes As this study focuses on the role of reading, the next part is going to summarize some outstanding studies on the role of reading in learning that has been carried out

2.2 The role of reading in learning

Reading plays an inevitably important role in comprehending a text and using the foreign language appropriately and fluently “A person’s future opportunities for success and prosperity will be even more entwined with skill reading abilities It is therefore an important societal responsibility to offer every person the opportunity

to become a skilled reader, and in many cases, this means becoming a skilled L2 reader” (Grabe, 2009: 6)

It is possible for us to claim that reading has a very important role to play in language learning as it can bring benefits to learners William (1984: 13) suggests some advantages of reading to learners including: First, learners can have further practice in the language that they have learnt This means that learners will have many opportunities to gain further knowledge of the target language Second, learners can practice language in order to reuse it in other skills such as speaking and writing Learners can not understand anything if they can not read Third, learners can learn how to get benefit from the texts to extract the information they need The more comprehension learners conceive the more major intelligence they receive

Reading has a large number of major benefits that help learners study language faster and more successfully Reading is one of the most essential skills for language learners When learners’ reading skill improves, their listening, speaking, and writing also advance There are some specific reasons why learners are encouraged to practice reading For instance:

The constant repetition of words and patterns in reading helps you learn and remember vocabulary and grammar structures Reading plays an important part in providing vocabulary and structure types Learners can understand the usage of structures better when they catch the meaning of sentences

Reading is something you can do your own Learners can spend much time on reading by themselves Language learners are able to practice reading skill whenever they want The skill does not extremely depend on others

2.3 Reading purposes

To satisfy ordinary desires, readers engage in various kinds of reading which rely

on their intensions or purposes and the context or situation they encounter Smith (1985: 101) states that instances of these situations are reading books, newspaper, news reports, weather forecasts, entertainment guides and advertisements, etc According to Mcshane

(2005: 72), readers’ purpose into two types : learning about something and finding specific information The first type of purposes entails searching a subject in a magazine article or in a newspaper, study for a test, reading for pleasure, and learning how to do something like in directions The second type of reading purposes, on the other hand, involves reading to find specific information such as looking for a date in a list or checking the televison listings

Kucer (2005: 128) confirms that the intention behind reading a particular text

is tightly related to the way it is read This means the reader decides either consciously or unconscious what he would do to gain his purpose It leads him to take a “tentative plan of action” to present in a particular way to achieve his intended goal Someone who can read can get much information from the different afore mentioned reading situations; yet, much of this data is not gained, for the sole reason that is not needed Readers tend to obtain only parts what are relevant to their needs (Smith, 1985: 102)

Alderson (2000: 50) investigates the condeption emphasing that the purpose for which someone reads a text has a great impact on the process of reading In other words, the manner inwhich he reads it and the skills required to be used, and the end product of this reading; that is to say comprehension of the text and the amount of information being recalled Alderson argues that “the process of reading differ for the same reader on the same text at a different time or with a different purpose in reading It is even more likely, then, that the process will be different for different readers on different texts at different times and with different purpose” (Alderson, ibid., 03)

The purpose of reading specifies the way in which a text is being read and the importance of any idea in a text is also influenced by the perspective from which it

is read The reader’s goal of reading impacts a great deal his decision about the text’s ideas that he considers significant and need to be recalled from less important one Be added that, a reader’s purpose has a direct and significant influence on how and what meanings are ultimately constructed by the reader

Although readers may engage in diverse kinds of reading for different purposes, the primary object is comprehension This is obvious since in studying or

in trying to follow directions their ultimate goal is to grasp and recall what we have read Even when we read for pleasure, our aim is to apprehend the material; otherwise, the act of reading would not be profitable The reader should be able to select the information that is the best suitable with his demands, not to “strive mechanically” to the whole data offered by the writer (Smith, 1985: 103) In this scope, Deleeux (1965: 13) notes that “if the reader becomes passive, he is inclined

to mistake or ignore his purpose Lack of purpose is a great waste of capacity

2.4Classification of reading

One of the most important points to keep in mind when teaching and learning Reading skill is that there is a large number of reading types and readers have to base on one’s purpose for reading Both teachers and learners will never be good readers if they do not know how to adapt their reading skill to their aims when reading According to the reading process, it is essential to distinguish the reading activities depending on manners and purposes of reading

2.4.1 According to manners of reading

Reading, according to manner, is divided into reading aloud and silent reading

2.4.1.1 Reading aloud

Doff (1988: 67) supposes that “reading aloud involves looking a text, understanding it and also saying it” Although reading aloud is considered a way to convey necessary information to the others, it is unpopular activity outside classroom For the teachers, reading aloud is more of a speaking exercise of pronunciation

Infact, reading aloud proves itself to be advantageous for the learners because it helps them make the connection between sounds and spelling of letters and words and assists the teachers to check learners’ pronunciation It must be recognized that reading aloud is primarily an oral matter so that for those who teach and learn foreign languages, it is closer to “pronunciation” than it is to

“comprehension” While it is perfectly proper to try to develop the skill of reading aloud, it clearly can not be done using an unfamiliar text the content and language

of which stretches the linguistic capabilities of the learners to the utmost Therefore, it must be accepted that the usefulness of reading aloud is limited As Doff (1988: 58) articulates that reading aloud is not a very useful technique for some following reasons Firstly, “reading aloud is not an activity we engage in very often outside the classroom” (Doff, 1988: 67) Indeed, in the daily life, few people are required to read aloud as a matter of daily routine, radio newscasters, clergymen, perhaps actors To the huge majority, its importance is minimal Secondly, the readers are often merely mouthing meaningless language because of lack of rehearsal and time to comprehend what he has to read aloud It means that when reading aloud, the readers’ attention is focused on the pronunciation, not on the understanding of the text Furthermore, in the classroom, only the reading student is active at a time, others are either not listening at all or listening to bad model Finally, some students’ reading speed is very slow so it takes a lot of time

in class By whispering the word while reading, reading aloud slows the reader down and forces him to read every word so it can distract him from understanding the text

Moreover, several researchers claim that reading aloud has not only disadvantages but also advantages Anderson (1985) considers that “the singer most important activity for building knowledge for their eventual success in reading is reading aloud”.Reading aloud to students, regardless of their reading competence, provides them with the comprehension that impression has meaning Learners can become familiar with the phrasing, expression, and flow of sentences in stories or text that are read aloud to them

In summary, reading aloud can be applied for those who begin learning a foreign language to establish the connection between sound and spelling On the other hand, their main object of learning reading is farther than improving vocabulary, pronunciation of fluency Learners focus on understanding the text

and doing comprehension exercises which can not be completed perfectly by reading aloud because asking a student to read aloud means that he may lack concentration on the meaning He may read correctly but after that he will not be able to remember the main content he has already read It is difficult to read aloud and understand the text at the same time of reading Thus reading aloud might be a good way to practice pronunciation It might not correspond with larger purposes

2.4.1.2 Silent reading

Silent reading is the activity we usually engage when we read books, newspapers, advertisements, etc Silent reading is widely used in both real life and classroom; silent reading is defined as “the simplest method of reading, frequently forgotten by language teachers It is the method we normally use with our native language, and on the whole the quickest and most efficient” (Lewis and Hill, 1985: 110)

It is obvious that by far the greatest amount of reading which is done in the world is silent A reading room is a silent room Silent reading is the interpretation which is most likely for the term “reading” It is perhaps the nearest approach to the essence of reading Silent reading can be applied effectively to teaching and learning a reading comprehension text because reading a text silently help students concentrate on understanding its meaning With silent reading, we can have the best understanding of the reading materials in the shortest possible time because we do not need to read all the words in the text, we can read at our own speed and if we do not understand what we are reading, we can read ago or slow down for intensive reading Doff (1988: 67) states that silent reading or reading for meaning “is the activity we normally engage in where we read books, newspapers, road sign, etc it involves looking at sentences and understanding the message they convey, in other words, making sense of a written text” According to Doff, we know that silent reading is of great help in developing reading skills Students do not have to pay attention to the exact pronunciation of words, they will spend most of time on

focusing on the main ideas of the text Therefore, they can cover the greatest possible amount of the text in the least time Furthermore, through silent reading, learners can control the time they read If they do not understand the sentence or an opinion, they can go back and read it again So silent reading is a very effective way

of the reading comprehension process

For the teachers, silent reading is helpful for controlling the class In silent reading, students are in fact concentrating on the text, obtaining the meaning and extracting what they need Therefore, it is a useful technique in a reading skill applied to learners to develop reading lesson Silent reading is sometimes considered as recreational reading or independent reading as in silent reading something is read in a relaxed mood and only a single individual remain concerned about it Reading silently improves students’ understanding because it helps them concentrate on what they are reading rather than the pronunciation of words When teachers encourage students to read silently, this means that students have opportunity to develop the strategies they need for reading fast, and with better comprehension

In short, silent reading is the most useful and practical way to develop the students’ reading ability However, it is more beneficial when the teacher sometimes combines it with reading aloud to improve students’ pronunciation and intonation because reading aloud has its own advantages

2.4.2 According to purposes of reading

According to the purpose of reading, researchers categorize reading into skimming, scanning, intensive, extensive and repeated reading

2.4.2.1 Skimming

Skimming is a quick reading to get to know the general meaning of a passage,

to know how the passage is organized, that is, the structure of the text and to get an idea of the intension of the writer Skimming is a tool in which the author’s sequence can be observed, unlike scanning in which some predetermined information is sought after

According to William (1984: 96), skimming means glancing rapidly through a text by “merely dipping into it and sampling it at various points” to comprehend its general content He also emphasizes that the purpose of skimming is to briefly summarize what the text is about He believes that one of the reasons for practicing skimming is that it helps learner to acquire a study technique, to organize his thoughts and also to specify what information he can get from a book

Skimming is used to quickly gather the most important information, or “gist” Grellet, F (1981: 19) presents that “When skimming, we go through the reading material quickly in order to get the gist of it, to know how it is organized, or to get

an idea of the tone or the intension of the writer, but not to find the answer to specific questions” Due to its nature, the key to skimming is to know where to find the main idea of different paragraphs and to be able to synthesize them by the way

of generalization

Hedge, T (2000: 195) states that “skim reading is used to get a global impression of the content of a text An example would be previewing a long magazine article by reading rapidly, skipping large chunks of information, and focusing on headings and first lines of paragraphs” There are some examples of skimming: The newspaper (quickly to get the general news of the day), magazines (quickly to discover which articles you would like to read is more detail) Business and Travel Brochures (quickly to get informed)

Skimming can also help readers make decisions about where to place their greatest focus when they have limited time for reading Skimming is a useful reading skill which is often applied for the first reading stage of reading teaching so that the students can have an over view of what they are reading

2.4.2.2 Scanning

Skimming and scanning are two very different strategies for speed reading They are each used for different purposes Scanning is another useful tool for speeding up your reading Readers concentrate on a specific fact or piece of information without reading everything

Scanning occurs when a reader look quickly through the text searching for

a specific piece of information or to see if the text is suitable for a specific reading purpose Hedge, T (2000: 195) points out that “scanning involves searching rapidly through a text to find a specific point of information For example, the relevant times on a timetable, items in a directory, or key points in academic text” Scanning is the reading skill we use when we want to find the answer to a specific question Like skimming, scanning is an advantageous reading skill that may at first strange to a learner who is used to reading everything in a foreign language with the same degree of attention Scanning is a quick reading, focusing on locating specific information It involves quick eyes movements, not necessarily linear in fashion, in which the eyes wander until the reader finds the piece of information is required, such as a name, date, symbol, formula or phrase, is required The reader knows what the item looks like and so, knows when he has located what he was searching for

Scanning is another useful skill to locate a specific item of information that

we need William (1996: 100) defines “scanning occurs when a reader goes through

a text very quickly in order to find a particular point of information” He explains that the purpose of scanning is to find the answers to particular questions, ignore unrelated information In contrast to skimming, scanning is far more limited since it only means retrieving needed information This kind of reading is widely used in reading comprehension

Although these two reading techniques are important for quick and efficient reading, they should not be selected separately In order to understand a text effectively, the readers should not use these ways independenty They must know how to use suitable ways to achieve their reading purpose Davies, F (1995: 137) asserts that “it is difficult to draw clear boundaries between the types of reading termed skimming and scanning; in real life, scanning inevitably involves some skimming of large selections of texts, and skimming, reciprocally, must embrace some scanning”

2.4.2.3 Intensive reading

Intensive reading (IR) occurs when the learner is focused on language rather than the text Intensive reading means reading every detail to certify everything in the text Intensive reading involves a close study of texts and an examination of the features of foreign language at the various levels of word, sentence, paragraph and whole text

According to Nuttall (1996: 38) defines that “intensive reading involves approaching the text under the guidance of a teacher or a task which forces the students focus on the text” Brown considers intensive reading as “a classroom-oriented activity in which students focus on the linguistic or semantic details of a passage” (Brown, 1999: 297) In other word, Grellet, F (1981: 4) also states that

“intensive reading means reading short text to extract specific information This is

an accuracy activity involving reading for detailed” The objective of IR is to achieve a full understanding of the text, not only of what it means but also of how the meaning is produced Through IR, the reader must arrive at a profound and detailed understanding of logical arguments, purposes of the writer and his linguistic means to achieve his purposes In other words, IR is reading for accuracy which is essential to the students’ comprehension

Intensive reading has these following characteristics:

Firstly, the reading materials may not be relevant to learners’ ability and interest as they are chosen by teachers not learners

Secondly, in doing IR, the actual amount of time spent on reading is very little

as a lot of procedures such as listening to the teacher’s instruction, reading comprehension questions, discussing the content of the text

Thirdly, reading speed is usually slower than faster as learners have to stop at some moments during their reading in the classroom to look up new words in dictionary, ask the teachers for a definition or analyze the text by reading it word by word or sentence by sentence

Finally, reading in intensive approach is not individual as learners are assumed

to interact more with the teacher than with the text

Intensive reading is the most typical method of teaching reading In comparison with intensive reading, extensive reading approach is argued to be more beneficial to learners in foreign language acquisition in general and reading ability

in particular

2.4.2.4 Extensive reading

Extensive reading (ER), on the other hand, means reading some materials for pleasure outside the classroom Some researchers like Krashen, Hill and Holden consider extensive reading as “free voluntary reading” Hill and Holden (1990: 91-93) claim that students who read for pleasure are better readers and have more advanced vocabulary since “free voluntary reading” is comprehensible input in a low anxiety situation, and students never fell pressured while reading outside the classroom

According to Nuttall (1982: 168), “the best way to improve your knowledge of

a foreign language is to go and live among its speakers The next best way is to read extensively in it” ER is a language teaching procedure where learners are supposed

to read large quantities of material or long texts for global understanding, the principal goal being obtaining pleasure from the text The reading is individualized, what means that students choose books they want to read, they read it independently

of the teacher and they are not required to do any tasks after reading Moreover, they are encouraged to stop reading whenever they consider the material not interesting or too difficult.Extensive reading is used to obtain a general understanding of a subject and includes reading longer texts for pleasure, as well as business books Use ER skill to develop our general knowledge

Extensive reading is considered to be useful for students’ self learning Their reading habit and passion for reading are also formed through ER Students can choose the topics they like and read for their own purpose for pleasure or entertainment However, it is more effective if students’ extensive reading is

followed an instructional program with the help of the reading teacher Infact, most

of ER is done silently and out of the classroom and it give the students opportunities

to use their target language knowledge for their own purposes

In short, reading is necessary to every learner and undeniably an important skill in comparison with others In addition, it is notable that intensive and extensive reading should not be seen as in being opposition but need to be paid equal attention for the sake of students For foreign language learners, both intensive and extensive reading are of great importance as they act as a means to gain knowledge

2.4.2.5 Repeated reading

Repeated reading (RR) means students read through a passage repeatedly, silently or aloud until a desired level of reading fluency and comprehension are achieved Samuel (1979: 404) defines repeated reading is a “supplemental reading program that consists of re-reading a short and meaningful passage until a satisfactory level of fluency is reached”

Repeated reading is considered to be especially beneficial to learners Learners’ capacity is very different therefore repeated reading will helps them to gain better fluency and understanding by various activities Repeated reading helps students to develop a deeper understanding of what they have read RR also helps readers with greater fluency, allowing them to give more attention to making sense

of what they have read Furthermore, students can improve greater accuracy in RR When they reread, words that they may have struggled to decode on a first reading become increasingly easier to parse The process of repeated reading is valuable for improving reading speed because it allows readers to practice a text over and over until the text becomes more and more familiar and the readers can decode the text automatically, giving them more cognitive capacity for comprehension

According to Laberge and Samuels (1974), repeated reading refers to when students read the same text many time until they become familiar with all the vocabulary and grammatical constructions RR (or the rereading method) emerged mainly from the pedagogical implications of the theory of automatic information

processing in reading.Samuels (1979) states that RR is not a method for teaching all beginning reading skills but is a supplement in a developmental reading program Samuels is the leading researcher in the fields of repeated reading His work from 1970’s continues to have a larger influence in the field of reading strategies that focus on practice and repetition Repeated reading has been used with regular and special needs students, young children and adults This practice has been successful

as a widely adaptable technique used in intervention settings, whole group instruction and skill-based reading lessons Numerous researchers have demonstrated the positive results of this method Repeated practice has been shown

to facilitate faster reading speeds, greater accuracy, and increased comprehension (Carver and Hoffman, 1981)

2.5 Reading comprehension

Reading comprehension (RC) plays an important role in teaching and learning reading a foreign language It has the nature of communication, in which reading activity acts as a means of communication between the writer and the reader

Reading comprehension can be affected by word knowledge, with many demonstrations that readers who process rich prior knowledge about the topic of reading of understand the reading better than others with low prior knowledge

2.5.1 Comprehension and reading comprehension

According to interactive model of reading, comprehension is built up or constructed from knowledge sources which interact with each other on the input from the written page Anderson and Pearson (1984: 225) argue that when students make a critical evaluation of the ideas conveyed in the text: “they are making connection between the new information on the printed page and their existing knowledge.”

Numerous studies have explored the nature of comprehension in reading Smith (1978) considers it as a state of having questions answered in which readers have to find a configurations of hypotheses which offer a coherent account for the various aspects of the text (Rumelhart, 1977) Calfee and Curley (1984) show that

readers modify the organizational structure of the texts for their own purposes in order to comprehend a text While reading, they keep making predictions or questions based on their theories about the world, and if the questions are answered while or after reading, comprehension is achieved (Smith, 1978)

Lee and Vanpatten (1995: 191) indicate that comprehension is the process of relating new or incoming information to information already stored in memory Readers make connections between the new information on the printed page and their existing knowledge They must allow the new information to enter and become

a part of their knowledge store

If reading is simple mechanical movements of the eyes, reading comprehension includes mechanical and mental activities In teaching reading, it is necessary for both teachers and students to have a deep understanding about the definition of reading comprehension The students who study reading should evaluate continually what they are learning about the definition of reading comprehension Many people have done some researches to define what reading comprehension is

Reading comprehension takes a very important part teaching and learning reading a language as well as a foreign language According to Durkin (1993) RC is

“intentional thinking during which meaning is constructed through interactions between text and reader.” It is the capacity to get information from the text as efficiency as possible This agrees with Grellet (1981: 34)’s definition, which says that “reading comprehension or understanding a written text means extracting the required information from it as effectively as possible” From this point of view, Grellet focuses on readers’ ability of understanding the meaning of a written text based on the individual’s background knowledge Alon similar lines, Swan (1975: 1) states that “a student is good at comprehension we mean that he can read accurately and efficiency, so as to get the maximum information of a text with the minimum of understanding.” This means that the student can express his awareness

by re-expressing the content of the text in many ways such as summarizing the text,

answering question, etc After reading, readers can master the grammatical structures, word pronunciation, understand the context of the texts and use it in real life as effective as possible

Richards and Rodgers (1986: 7) discuss reading comprehension is “the understanding between the author and the reader” This means that during the reading process, readers on the way to explore what the author implies and to raise meaning for themselves at the same time in their own language, their thinking and the own view of the world depended on their background knowledge It is not easy

to understand the author’s meaning fully if there is no good interaction between the author and reader about language and thought Therefore, the reader is as active in searching for meaning as is the writer in forming written language Although linguists defined RC in different ways, they all agree with the idea that without comprehension reading is meaningless

RC plays a very important part in teaching and learning a foreign language in general and teaching reading in particular However, the reasons for reading differ from one person to another As a result, the ways we read are also different In other words, the purposes of reading determine the ways or the styles of reading Now it

is necessary to identify the factors involved in the RC to have a closer look at RC

2.5.2 Factors involved in reading comprehension

So far, there have been various factors affecting reading which both teachers and students have to take into consideration According to Aebersold and Field (1997: 23), there are some following factors involved in reading comprehension Firstly, cognitive development and cognitive style orientation at the time of beginning second language or foreign language study

Secondly, language proficiency in the first language

Thirdly, metacognitive knowledge of L1 structure, grammar, and syntax Fourthly, degree of difference between the L1 and L2/ FL that includes writing systems, rhetorical structures, appropriate strategies

Fifthly, cultural orientation which includes attitudes toward text and purpose for reading; types of reading skills and strategies used or appropriate in the L2/ FL; belief about the reading process (use of inference, memorization, nature of comprehension); knowledge of text types in the L1 (formal schemata); background knowledge (content schemata)

Language proficiency in L2 and background knowledge are two factors which affect RC the most because if readers apply their background knowledge to texts in order to read and understand them Readers who are good at language capability, it will be much more convenient for them to apprehend and acquire L2 purposes they are studying Therefore, to help students able to read texts or materials in their learning program perfectly, it is advisable for teachers to identify the students’ level

of language proficiency and how they understand the required texts So that the teachers can choose suitable texts to ask learners to read carefully Furthermore, teachers should be aware of the rest factors affecting reading skills to help the students to the maximum Especially, teachers should motivate their students by providing them with as many reading strategies as possible and know how to focus them on appropriate texts when practicing and try to decline the difference as well

as the difficulty between target and native language

2.5.3 Factors affecting reading comprehension

Reading comprehension is a cognitive process that requires myriad, skills and strategies It involves various factors such as background knowledge, vocabulary and fluency, attention and motivation, and quality of reading material that must work together

Firstly, background knowledge plays an essential role in RC Students effort to apprehend a text, students depend on their background knowledge to link what they have already known to the meaning of the text they are reading The influential role

of background knowledge on RC is actually unveiled as early as children’s beginning years Bauer and Fivush (1992; in Pressley, 2000: 549) determine that even very young children develop schematic representation for repeated events in

their lives such as having dinner at home or at a restaurant, celebrating birthday, making cakes, etc Such knowledge enables them to draw inferences from bedtime stories relying on information accumulated in their schemata Therefore, the more abundant the knowledge a child acquires form outside world through experiences and from stories or newspapers, the larger his schematic knowledge tends to be, and the more successful will be his processing of text when he reads

Secondly, the decoding and word recognition speed are two cognitive factors that can affect RC at which readers decodes and recognizes words Decoding refers

to the readers’ ability to make sense of letter-sound relationships, including proper word pronunciation and noticing common letter combinations, in order to quickly recognize familiar words According to Pressley (2000), if the reader is not able to decode, his comprehension will be impaired skilled decoders do not sound unfamiliar word letter by letter, they are rather able to recognize suffixes, prefixes, Lation or Greek roots, etc Decoding is a set of fundamental skills that underlies all successful reading Readers who experience difficulty with decoding and recognizing words read at a much slower pace and find it more difficult to apprehend the meaning of reading passages than their peers without decoding difficulties

Thirdly, vocabulary can also have an impact on reading comprehension Experiments have found out that “a more expensive vocabulary promotes comprehension skills” (Pressley, 2000: 548) However, as skilled decoding has a tendency to affect RC, it also relies much on understanding This means, the more fluency letters are linked to their sounds, the less conscious effort is required for this, and the more capacity is left over for comprehension of words Readers use decoding skills to figure out the pronunciation and approximate

Meaning of words they have not seen before, but this process takes far more time than recognition of a familiar word: individuals with a wider vocabulary can interpret the meaning of reading passages faster and more thoroughly than individuals who must guess at the meanings of unfamiliar words based on context clues

Fourthly, fluency of reading allows students to retain information with accuracy, expression and increased speed The capacity to read fluently develop through reading practice As learners become fluent readers, they will spend less time trying to decipher the meaning of words and more time considering the overall meaning of the sentences Over time, fluent readers will strengthen their ability to insightfully respond to a text

Fifthly, reader’s attention and motivation are integral to reading comprehension A reader whose attention is only partly on the reading passage may read the same paragraph several times without understanding what he is reading Readers who lack motivation to penetrate the text may do the bare minimum of reading and understanding necessary for their assignment or class discussion without fully absorbing or interpreting the meaning of what they have read

Finally, the quality of writing can also affect reading comprehension Text that

is poorly organized and difficult to understand can slow reading speed and significantly hinder RC Poor quality writing may slow decoding comprehension Poor quality reading material can also cause the readers to lose motivation while reading, which negatively affects the reader’s comprehension of the text

2.5.4 Assessing reading comprehension

Accurate assessment of reading comprehension is necessary to know if this goal is being met, to identify learners who need remediation, and to help plan future instrument

Reading comprehension can be assessed by means of different procedures, however, none of which can be elected as the best process or the most suitable one This is because no procedure is able to encompass all testing purposes (Alderson, 2000: 203) According to Alderson (2000:205-206), testers can use many typologies

to measure learners’ reading: multiple choice questions, short-answer questions, sentence completion, completing summaries and tables, identifying writer’s views and attitudes by yes/ no questions, matching lists and matching phrases The following is a brief discussion of what each assessment method entails according to Alderson (2000)