Introduction
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eading is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols for the intention of constructing or
deriving meaning (reading comprehension). It is a means of language
acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information and ideas. Like all language, it is a
complex interaction between the text and the reader which is shaped by the
reader’s prior knowledge, experiences, attitude, and language community which
is culturally and socially situated. The reading process requires continuous
practices, development, and refinement.
Readers
use a variety of reading strategies to assist with decoding (to translate
symbols into sounds or visual representations of speech) and comprehension. Readers may
use morpheme, semantics, and syntax and context
clues to identify the meaning of unknown words. Readers integrate the words
they have read into their existing framework of knowledge or schema.
What is Reading?
Most of us think
of reading as a simple, passive process that involves reading words in a linear
fashion and internalizing their meaning one at a time. But reading is actually
a very complex process that requires a great deal of active participation on
the part of the reader.
To get a better
sense of the complexity of reading, read what some experts in the field have
said about the reading process:
Reading is asking
questions of printed text. And reading with comprehension becomes a matter of
getting your questions answered.
- Frank Smith in Reading without Nonsense (1997)
Reading is a
psycholinguistic guessing game. It involves an interaction between thought and
language. Efficient reading does not result from precise perception and
identification of all elements, but from skill in selecting the fewest, most
productive cues necessary to produce guesses which are right the first time.
The ability to anticipate that which has not been seen, of course, is vital in
reading, just as the ability to anticipate what has not yet been heard is vital
in listening. - Kenneth Goodman in Journal of the Reading Specialist (1967)
Literacy
practices are almost always fully integrated with, interwoven into, constituted
as part of, the very texture of wider practices that involve talk, interaction,
values, and beliefs.
- James
Gee in Social Linguistics and Literacies (1996)
As we can see,
reading involves many complex skills that have to come together in order for
the reader to be successful. For example, proficient readers recognize the
purpose for reading, approach the reading with that purpose in mind, use
strategies that have proven successful to them in the past when reading similar
texts for similar purposes, monitor their comprehension of the text in light of
the purpose for reading, and if needed adjust their strategy use. Proficient
readers know when unknown words will interfere with achieving their purpose for
reading, and when they won't. When unknown words arise and their meaning is
needed for comprehension, proficient readers have a number of word attack
strategies available to them that will allow them to decipher the meaning of
the words to the extent that they are needed to achieve the purpose for
reading. Reading is also a complex process in that proficient readers give to
the text as much as they take. They make meaning from the text by using their
own prior knowledge and experiences. Proficient readers are constantly making
predictions while reading. They are continuously anticipating what will come
next. Their prior knowledge and experiences with texts as well as with the
world around them allow them to do this. It is this continuous interaction with
the text that allows readers to make sense of what they are reading.
Types of Reading
Several types of reading may occur in a
language classroom. One way in which these may be categorized, as suggested by
Brown (1989) can be outlined as follows:
