Many students of English as a foreign language consider reading English is very difficult. They also find that reading lesson in class is boring. In order to see how students of English as foreign language can understand well a reading lesson and find it easy and interesting, we need to look more detail in what reading suppose to be for the foreign learner.
Reading is a process that discusses not only decoding the texts. But it also needs internal translation, in other word; students need to interpret the writer’s words, so that they understand not only their surface meaning but also what the words suggest beyond. For passive reader, reading only learns to interact with texts. But for the active reader, reading means enter into a relationship with the writer, a two-way process of communication between reader and writer. Although the writer is physically absent, the words on the page are to be analyzed, interpreted, questioned, and even challenged. Therefore, the active reader involve into silent dialogue with the writer.
Reading is a skill like playing, some one read better than others; some people play football better than others. And those who are good in reading are those who understand how phrases, sentences, and paragraphs. Those who are good in playing football are those who understand all the possible ways. Those who are successful in football, in reading and in other skills are those who always practice
Characteristics of A Good Reader
Becoming a good reader is difficult if we want to be skillful in our college reading courses. Many students lack confidence because they do not know what to look for when they read, or they aren’t sure what their instructors want when they prepare reading assignment. To understand about technique in reading, we need to know the characteristic of a good reader first.
According to Deanne Milan Spears,[1] a good reader reads carefully and thoughtfully. This needs keeping one’s attention on the material, keeping the authors’ discussion, and then goes on reading actively. If the introduction to an essay invites us to the author’s world, we are engaged with the text and fully participate in this world.
The reading process itself begins with decoding words. That is, the reader recognizes and pronounces the words and looks up any unfamiliar words from dictionary and guesses the writer’s main points. When we find many difficult words and then ignore their meaning and connotation, we may think that they are not really problem. In fact, they will seriously bother our comprehension.
Although the meanings of individual words are important, however, the real meaning of text is depended on the relationship of the whole words. A good reader looks for these relationships and asks questions through out reading process. Two most important questions are, what is the principal idea of what the author is saying and what is the author saying about the main point.
A reader then can evaluate main ideas and supporting evidence by asking questions: Does the information seem reasonable? Has the writer offered sufficient support? Is there any significant information missing? Is the author biased? Does she or he seem to have an “agenda”? Is there an underlying but unstated motive? What believes or assumptions underlie the author’s statements? What other information does the need to make an intelligent appraisal, to accept or reject the key ideas? How does the writer’s thinking accord with the reader’s own experience, values, observations, or thought?
Failure in Reading Comprehension
There are several factors for students who fail in reading;
– Some students find difficult to comprehend certain expression such as; see the wood for the trees. They may read slowly and carefully paying a lot of attention to individual points but without succeeding in getting a clear idea of the over all meaning of a text.
– Other students especially those who read quickly do not always pay attention to detail. They may have a good idea of the general meaning of the time by overlooking an important small word, for instance a conjunction, a negotiation, a modal verb. They may get a completely false impression of the meaning of a part of the passage.
– Some students are imaginative reader especially if they know something about the subject or have strong opinion about it, they may interpret the text in the light of their own experience and ideas, so that they find it difficult to separate what the writer say from what they feel themselves.
Other Problems Arise from Text.
– Some writers favor a word and repetitive style. Practice is needed to be able to see through the words to the ideas which underlie them.
– Words and expression which the students do not know usually present a problem (unless he is working with dictionary). However, students do not always realize how easy it is to guess many unknown words simply by studying context. Some students often disturbed by unfamiliar vocabulary that will affect comprehension of the whole passage as result.[2]
Therefore, good readers have to possess many different skills which they can apply actively to the reading of the text:
- They read in phrases, not in single words and actually skip over words if they are not needed for general understanding.
- They can predict from syntactic and semantic clues from their existing knowledge of a subject described and explored in the text.
- They learn to read ‘between the lines’ and work on the meaning of the text at different levels, understanding information, making inferences and critically evaluating ideas.
- They can guess the meaning of new words from contextual clues of by applying knowledge of how words can be formed from others.
- They can distinguish fact from opinion and statement from example.
- They follow meaning through a paragraph by recognizing a signals like ‘however’ and ‘on the other hand’ and by understanding how words and phrases like it, this, the latter, and ‘these matters’ refer back to something earlier in the text.[3]
Techniques of Reading
According to Bill Cosby[4] there are many techniques that can help students to be a good reader. Students have to think and questions all the way through the text. Reading is not just looking at words. Reading is receiving and sorting out information from the words.[5]
SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite and Review)
Survey, survey means to get an overview before reading intensively. The first thing to do by a reader is to look at the title, subheading, illustration, and graphs to get an overview of the article. This will help a reader determines the author’s direction. If the writer is going to write about the world economy, will he discuss general theory? Will he discuss economics from a historical perspective? By knowing what the author wants to discuss will prepare a reader to understand the passage.
Question, after making survey, a reader should have a general idea of what a reading passage is about. Then a reader needs to have a propose for reading. When a reader reads with specific purpose, a reader will understand and remember more of what he/ she reads. A reader should make question based on his/her observation, and then read to see if a reader can answer his/her own question.
Read, when a reader reads on article, a reader should try to read all the way to the end without stopping, not to stop and look up unfamiliar words, and try to understand such word from the context. When he stops to look up a word in the dictionary, he looses continuity in his reading. He may look up that world later if he is uncertain to confirm.
A reader should try to read the article as fast as possible. And push to read faster, the average college- educated, native- reader of English reads 350 words a minute.
To find out the rate of reading, and count the number of words and divide by ten. a reader should try to improve the score in every reading.
Recall, After reading, a reader should try to answer the question. Then ask before reading. If still there is no answer, scan the reading passage to find them. Scanning means to look over a reading passage very quickly to find specific information (a date, a name, an explanation etc). Skimming means to give a quick, general overview of the passage. Skimming and scanning will help to complete understanding of the entire passage.
Review, finally, a reader should look over the material, and remember of what the article was about. The more frequently to review the article, the longer information will stay and keep.[6]
Improving Vocabulary
A good vocabulary is probably the most important requirements for good reading. Every other skill such as; comprehension, retention, making inferences, drawing appropriate conclusion, evaluating, depends on whether we knows what the words on the page mean in relation to each other and according to the context. After all, if we aren’t sure what the words on the page mean, we cannot fully understand the texts. Sometimes it is possible to “wing it”, getting the general description even if some words and ideas still not clear. Often in critical reading we will be asked to do in this course, our understanding of a passage may depend on the meaning of a single word, a guessing in such situation may cause a problem.
If the task of improving vocabulary is unavailable. A college student is expected to know more than this way, because the level of difficulty of college reading assignments is greater than in high school assignment.
Learning New Words
The very best way to learn a new word is to read a lot; most of the words we recognize in our reading because we often read them. Memorizing list of words separately is one of many ways but inefficient, we won’t remember many of them, nor will understand their nuances, their subtleties in meaning, or their meaning in various contexts. We’d better learn a new word, when we encounter them in our reading.
Here are some suggestions to start on an active program to learn new words. First, use proper dictionaries, such as shortened edition for class, complete edition to use at home. Besides, there are several excellent dictionaries varieties on the book stores on gramedias, such as; the American Heritage Dictionary, the random house Webster college dictionary, Webster new world dictionary, Merriam Webster’s dictionary, the shorted Oxford English Dictionary (2 volumes) and many more.
Because the language is constantly changing, be sure that our dictionary is a current edition. Second, develop an interest in language. When we look words up in a dictionary, look at their etymology, or history, because so many English words have unusual origins. The etymology of a word is always printed in Brackets [] following the definitions. It explains and traces the derivation of the word and gives the original meaning in the language or languages the word is derived-from.
Try to think of words that share similar meanings and origins as belonging to group families. For example, the Latin roof spacer meaning “to look” gives us the English words spectacle, spectacular, introspective (to look into) inspect, speculate, spectrum, spectrograph, and so on.
Finally, make a plan of a system for learning important new words. We might try to write new words in a special notebook or on index cards. Adding both the original context and brief definition and reviewing the list will ensure our mastery.
b.3 Using Context Clues
Although a good dictionary is very necessary, it is irreasonable if we must look up every unfamiliar word we find in our reading. Besides looking at the roots, prefixes, and suffixes of words, another way to look the meaning of a new word is to look carefully at the context, in other words, the way a word is used in a particular instance. Relying on context clues is not a substitute for looking up exact meanings in the dictionary, or in every sentence with unfamiliar words necessarily provide us with clue. But if a clue is present, it is a useful shortcut toward more efficient reading, especially when the word is not absolutely crucial to our understanding the text.
There are four kinds of context clues: (1) Synonyms (2) Antonyms (3) Example & illustration, and (4) Opinion & tone.
- Synonyms
A synonym is probably the most frequently used in context clue. The writer may provide a word similar in meaning to the unfamiliar one. Although it may not have the exact meaning, it may be close enough to give us an approximate definition.
For example:
“The politician was clearly in the wrong occupation. When called upon to give a campaign speech, he was so reticent that his long silences made everyone uncomfortable.”[7]
From the example above, the unfamiliar word is the word “reticent”. The phrase, “long silences” is the context clue that come after the “unknownword(reticent)”, and from that a reader can probably guess that the word reticent means “unwilling to speak”. So that, it is called guessing the meaning from the context through synonym.
Another example:
“When Sarah Smith discovered that her husband had cheated on her, she filed for divorce, citing infidelity as the reason.”[8]
From the example above, the unfamiliar word is the word “infidelity”. The phrase ”had cheated on” is the context clue that come before the word the “unknown word(infidelity)”, and from that a reader can guess that infidelity means ”unloyal”. It is also called guessing the unknown word from the context through synonym.
- Antonyms
If a sentence suggests a contrast or a contradiction, the context clue may be in the form of an antonym, a word that means the opposite of the word in question. If we know the antonym, then we may be able to figure out the new word.
For example:
“Although Professor Rivera wants his writing students to develop a concise writing style, Melvin’s papers are always returned with lower grades than he would like because his style is too verbose.”[9]
From the example above, the unfamiliar word is the word “Verbose”. Because it is obviously being contrasted with the word “concise”, is probably familiar to the reader. So, a reader can guess that the word “Verbose” means “overly wordy” that contradiction with the word “concise” which has meaning “simple”. It is called guessing the meaning from context through antonym.
Here is another example:
“A well-known writer was most upset when he learned that his publisher planned to release his new novel, which contained profanity and steamy sex scenes, in an expurgated version. Instead, he canceled the contract and found a company that would publish the book without removing any of the objectionable parts.”[10]
From the example above, the unfamiliar word is a word “expurgated”. The reader can guess that the word “expurgated” is contrast to “objectionable”. It is also called guessing the unknown word from the context through antonym.
- Examples and Illustrations
The meaning of an unfamiliar word may be suggested by proximate examples and illustrations. In this case, no one word or phrase implies the definition, but taken together, the examples help us infer the meaning.
For example:
“The squalid conditions of many American inner cities-with their burned-out buildings, high crime rates, crumbling schools, and high unemployment – pose a problem for parents trying to raise their children in such grim circumstances.”[11]
The examples or illustration printed between the dash marks, a reader can probably determine that squalid means “wretched and neglected”. Because the phrases located between the two dashes are illustration and example explaining the condition of American inner cities is disorder. So that, it is called guessing the unknown word from the context through example and illustration.
Another example:
“Professor Frederick applies stringent rules for his students’ papers: margins have to be exactly 1 1/4 inches on all sides (he even measures them), and after the third sentence fragment or spelling error he assigns a failing grade.”[12]
From the illustration after colon, a reader can probably guess that “stringent” means “very restricted”, because the sentences after colon explain that Professor Fredrick is very restricted in applying rule to his students. So that, it is called guessing the unknown word from the context through example and illustration.
- Opinion and Tone
This last kind of context clue is less direct and consequently more difficult to rely on. The writer’s tone – that is, his or her attitude toward the subject or the opinions the writer expresses – may give you a clue for are unfamiliar word.
Study this example:
“Some critics of mass media of mass media blame daytime television talk shows for their insidious influence on the viewing public, because these programs parade their guests’ bizarre and deviant behaviors and create an unhealthy appetite for ever more grotesque revelations”.[13]
The obvious critical nature of this sentence suggests that “insidious” is something bad, and indeed it is, because it means “progressing or spreading in a harmful way”, a reader can probably guess that the tone or opinion of the following paragraph given by the writer explains that the word “insidious” has negative meaning. So, it is called guessing the meaning from the context through opinion and tone.
Another example:
“Charley is an avid reader whose daily reading habits are admirable. No matter how hectic his schedule or how much studying he has, he manages to find a quiet hour to read just for pleasure from his extensive book collection.”[14]
From the example above, the unfamiliar word is the word “avid”. The world “avid” is obviously explained that it has meaning ‘enthusiastic”, because the tone or opinion of the following sentences given by the writer explains that Charly is very anthusiastic in reading. So that it is called guessing the meaning from the context through opinion and tone.
Conclusion
Reading English as a foreign language often pose a problem for student whose vocabulary is still poor. So that, a reader is encouraged to use the strategy “guessing unfamiliar word from the context”. Experience and a careful attention to the context will help a great deal for students who want to improve their reading skill.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- . Spears, Dean Milan. Developing critical Reading Skil MC-Grow hill Companies, Inc. 1999 (p.1-3/11-13)
- Developing reading skill and strategy. Departement of education papua new guinea 1987 (p.15)
- Alderson, J. Charles and A.H Urgu. Reading in Foreign Language. New York, Longman Inc. 1984.(p.3-5)
- Swan, Michael. Understanding Ideas: advanced reading skill. Cambridge univ. press, 1971 (p.1-3)
- Maxwell, James. Reading Progress. NEFR publishing company windsor, 1977 (p.3-5)
- A Reading Skills Book: mosaic one, Mc Graw Hill companies, inc 1996(p.22)
- Grellet , Francoise. Deveoping reading Skill: a practice guide for reading comprehension exercise. Cambridge Press, 1981.(p.5-8)
- Troyka, Lynn Structured reading. Library of Congress 1971 (p.8-11)
I THINK SO 