A. Aspect In Reading Comprehension
Reading is a complex language skill. Each aspect of reading has its own skill set and only when all of these skill sets are linked together are students able to achieve the ultimate goal of reading to read to learn. Langan (2002:359) states that reading comprehension is the capability of understanding what the reader read. In this understanding the reader should recognize eight skills, they are recognizing definitions and examples, enumerations, heading and sub heading. Signals word, main ideas in paragraph and short selections, knowing how to outline, how to summarize, and understanding graph and tables. Comprehension is achieved gradually, as you move from a general feeling about what something means to deeper level of understanding. Dr. Eugenia Krimmel, stated that reading can be considered as an information processing skill, which is composed of a number numbe r of cognitive sub -skills. There are some aspects in reading comprehension: 1.
Phonemic Awareness Every word is made up of a combination of individual units of sound, called phonemes. For instance, the word cat is made up of three individual sounds; c/a/t. Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, identify and manipulate these individual units of sound. It is the most fundamental skill children need to acquire when learning to read. Word games, language play, rhymes and simply reading are all very effective ways to develop phonemic awareness.
2.
Phonics Building directly from phonemic awareness, phonics is a method of instruction that introduces children to the link between letters and sounds, known as the alphabetic principle. One of the major difficulties children can have when learning to read understands the alphabetic principle. Failure to grasp that written spellings represent the sounds of spoken words makes it difficult to recognize printed words. There are countless phonics activities available either online or in books that can help children develop this critical skill, although these activities should always be complemented with regular reading.
3.
Vocabulary
Every child approaches reading with different levels of ability. The larger a child’s speaking and listening vocabulary, the more words they will be able to easily map to their reading and writing vocabularies. Reading a wide variety of books is one of the best ways for a child to expand their vocabulary. Some of the most fundamental words that a child will learn when starting to read are sight words – words like ‘is’, ‘the’, ‘and’, ‘it’, etc. that can often be spelled irregularly and therefore need to be learned ‘at sight.’ The first 100 sight words make up more than fifty per cent of most early texts, therefore they are very important for a child to develop early on in their reading journey. 4.
Fluency Fluency enables readers to quickly span the gap between recognizing a word and understanding its meaning. It’s where the magic of reading takes place. Because fluent readers don’t have to concentrate on decoding words, they can focus more on interpreting the meaning conveyed by words and sentences. Fluency is something that comes as a child develops their phonemic awareness, phonics skills and vocabulary. Regular reading practice is essential to developing fluency. Reading regularly to your child can also provide them with a vocal model to help them understand what fluent reading sounds like.
5.
Comprehension Reading for meaning is the ultimate goal of learning to read. Comprehension is a skill that will not only affect a child’s future reading ability but also their academic ability throughout school and beyond. Asking your child questions or encouraging them to ask questions about a book they are reading is a great way to both monitor how much they understand and improve their comprehension. Taringan (1985: 37), defined that reading comprehension program has the aims in
order that the students get: 1.
Finding the main idea of the sentences, paragraph, or the text.
2.
Choosing the important items.
3.
Following the indicates.
4.
Determining the reading element organization.
5.
Finding the visual form of the written.
6.
Drawing the conclusion.
7.
Guessing meaning and the assumption the effect a nd also the conclusions.
8.
Conclusion what had been reader it.
9.
Distinguishing the fact of the opinions.
10. Getting information the several of the facilities, like encyclopedia, atlas, and map. Based on the above opinion, it can be concluded that reading is the receptive language process to get new ideas. From the text to the reader and the ideas give understanding or knowledge. And then, reading comprehension is the capability of the understanding what the reader read. and expect to readers needed to know aspects of reading.
A. Definition Of Reading Comprehension ................................................................. 8 B. The Purpose Of reading comprehension ................................................................ 10 C. Aspect In Reading Comprehension ........................................................................ 12 D. Teaching Reading Comprehension ........................................................................ 16 E. Mapping Strategy .................................................................................................... 19 F. The Way How To Use The Mapping strategy ....................................................... 22 G. Related Previous Studies ........................................................................................ 25 Theoretical Framework
Test Items
Number of test
Items Total
Main idea
1,17,18,21,24
5
Detail information
4,6,8,11,12,19,20,22,23
9
Vocabulary
2,7,15,25
4
Inferential question
3,5,9,10,13,14,16,
7
The total number
25
A. Main Idea 1. Definition Understanding the topic, the gist , or the larger conceptual framework of a textbook chapter, an article, a paragraph, a sentence or a passage is a sophisticated reading task. Being able to draw conclusions, evaluate, and critically interpret articles or chapters is important for overall comprehension in college reading. Textbook chapters, articles, paragraphs, sentences, or passages all have topics and main ideas. The topic is the broad, general theme or message. It is what some call the subject. The main idea is the "key concept" being expressed. Details, major and minor, support the main idea by telling how, what, when, where, why, how much, or how many. Locating the topic, main idea, and supporting details helps you understand the point(s) the writer is attempting to express. Identifying the relationship between these will increase your comprehension. 2. Applying Strategy The successful communication of any author's topic is only as good as the organization the author uses to build and define his/her subject matter 3. Grasping the Main Idea A paragraph is a group of sentences related to a particular topic, or central theme. Every paragraph has a key concept or main idea. The main idea is the most important piece of information the author wants you to know about the concept of that paragraph. When authors write they have an idea in mind that they are trying to get across. This is especially true as authors compose paragraphs. An author organizes each paragraph's main idea and supporting details in support of the topic or central theme, and each paragraph supports the paragraph preceding it. A writer will state his/her main idea explicitly somewhere in the paragraph. That main idea may be stated at the beginning of the paragraph, in the middle, or at the end. The sentence in which the main idea is stated is the topic sentence of that paragraph.
The topic sentence announces the general theme ( or portion of the theme) to be dealt with in the paragraph. Although the topic sentence may appear anywhere in the paragraph, it is usually first - and for a very good reason. This sentence provides the focus for the writer while writing and for the reader while reading. When you find the topic sentence, be sure to underline it so that it will stand out not only now, but also later when you review. 4. Identifying the Topic The first thing you must be able to do to get at the main idea of a paragraph is to identify the topic - the subject of the paragraph. Think of the paragraph as a wheel with the topic being the hub - the central core around which the whole wheel (or paragraph) spins. Your strategy for topic identification is simply to ask yourself the question, "What is this about?" Keep asking yourself that question as you read a paragraph, until the answer to your question becomes clear. Sometimes you can spot the topic by looking for a word or two that repeat. Usually you can state the topic in a few words. Let us try this topic-finding strategy. Reread the first paragraph on this page - the first paragraph under the heading Grasping the Main Idea. Ask yourself the question, "What is this paragraph about?" To answer, say to yourself in your mind, "The author keeps talking about paragraphs and the way they are designed. This must be the topic - paragraph organization." Reread the second paragraph of the same section. Ask yourself "What is this paragraph about?" Did you say to yourself, "This paragraph is about different ways to organize a paragraph"? That is the topic. Next, reread the third paragraph and see if you can find the topic of the paragraph. How? Write the topic in the margin next to this paragraph. Remember, getting the main idea of a paragraph is crucial to reading. The bulk of an expository paragraph is made up of supporting sentences (major and minor details), which help to explain or prove the main idea. These sentences present facts, reasons, examples, definitions, comparison, contrasts, and other pertinent details. They are most important because they sell the main idea. The last sentence of a paragraph is likely to be a concluding sentence. It is used to sum up a discussion, to emphasize a point, or to restate all or part of the topic
sentence so as to bring the paragraph to a close. The last sentence may also be a transitional sentence leading to the next paragraph. Of course, the paragraphs you'll be reading will be part of some longer piece of writing - a textbook chapter, a section of a chapter, or a newspaper or magazine article. Besides expository paragraphs, in which new information is presented and discussed, these longer writings contain three types of paragraphs: introductory, transitional , and summarizing . Introductory paragraphs tell you, in advance, such things as (1) the main ideas of the chapter or section; (2) the extent or limits of the coverage; (3) how the topic is developed; and (4) the writer's attitude toward the topic.Transitional paragraphs are usually short; their sole function is to tie together what you have read so far and what is to come - to set the stage for succeeding ideas of the chapter or section. Summarizing paragraphs are used to restate briefly the main ideas of the chapter or section. The writer may also draw some conclusion from these ideas, or speculate on some conclusion based on the evidence he/she has presented. All three types should alert you: the introductory paragraph of things to come; the transitional paragraph of a new topic; and the summarizing paragraph of main ideas that you should have gotten.
B. Vocabulary
1. Definition and usage Vocabulary is commonly defined as "all the words known and used by a particular person". Knowing a word, however, is not as simple as simply being able to recognize or use it. There are several aspects of word knowledge which are used to measure word knowledge. 2. Productive and receptive The first major distinction that must be made when evaluating word knowledge is whether the knowledge is productive (also called achieve) or receptive (also called receive) and even within those opposing categories, there is often no clear distinction. Words that are generally understood when heard or read or seen constitute a person's receptive vocabulary. These words may range from well known to barely known
(see degree of knowledge below). A person's receptive vocabulary is the larger of the two. For example, although a young child may not yet be able to speak, write, or sign, he or she may be able to follow simple commands and appear to understand a good portion of the language to which he or she is exposed. In this case, the child's receptive vocabulary is likely tens, if not hundreds of words but his or her active vocabulary is zero. When that child learns to speak or sign, however, the child's active vocabulary begins to increase. It is possible for the productive vocabulary to be larger than the receptive vocabulary, for example in a second-language learner who has learned words through study rather than exposure, and can produce them, but has difficulty recognizing them in conversation. Productive vocabulary, therefore, generally refers to words which can be produced within an appropriate context and match the intended meaning of the speaker or signer. As with receptive vocabulary, however, there are many degrees at which a particular word may be considered part of an active vocabulary. Knowing how to pronounce, sign, or write a word does not necessarily mean that the word has been used to correctly or accurately reflect the intended message of the utterance, but it does reflect a minimal amount of productive kn owledge. 3. Degree of knowledge Within the receptive – productive distinction lies a range of abilities which are often referred to as degree of knowledge. This simply indicates that a word gradually enters a person's vocabulary over a period of time as more aspects of word knowledge are learnt. Roughly, these stages could be described as: a. Never encountered the word. b. Heard the word, but cannot define it. c. Recognize the word due to context or tone of voice. d. Able to use the word and understand the general and/or intended meaning, but cannot clearly explain it. e. Fluent with the word – its use and definition. 4.
Depth of knowledge The differing degrees of word knowledge imply a greater depth of knowledge, but the process is more complex than that. There are many facets to knowing a word,
some of which are not hierarchical so their acquisition does not necessarily follow a linear progression suggested by degree of knowledge. Several frameworks of word knowledge have been proposed to better operationalise this concept. One such framework includes nine facets: a) Orthography - written form b) phonology - spoken form c) reference - meaning d) semantics - concept and reference e) register - appropriacy of use f) collocation - lexical neighbours g) word associations h) syntax - grammatical function i) morphology - word parts
C. Inferential Questions Inferential questions require answers that require context clues. Inferential questions are tougher to answer because they can have more than one correct answer. In reading comprehension exercises, answers to inferential questions cannot be found in the text, but they are supported by evidence in the text. Answers to inferential questions shed light on why and how. An inferential question is an indirect form of asking that requires an individual to read in between the line so as to understand. They are normally expressed in text form and are known as the best in invoking the students mind to think outside the conventional mathematical manner. Inferential questions deal with the big picture. They are involved, complex, and open ended.
You need to use your prior knowledge and the text evidence to make an
inference. (An educated guess). Some inference questions include: a) Why (cause and effect/inference), b) Why do you think…? c) What if…?
d) How would you feel…? e) What might …? f) What does ________ (word) mean? (context clues) g) What is the main idea? h) What details support the main idea? i) Sequence of events and cause/effects can be inferential. j)
Main idea, supporting details, vocabulary (context clues) questions are inferential. Inferential questions ask for answers that you arrive at by gleaning background
information and finding a conclusion without allowing your own opinion to color the answer. Examples include: "Why does the concert start at 7:30?" "How did you manage to finish your paper by the deadline?" and "Why did she choose to write about such a difficult topic?"
