Diterima : 25 Mei 2022 http://journal.unmasmataram.ac.id/index.

php/GARA
Disetujui : 30 Juni 2022 Jurnal Ganec Swara Vol. 16, No.2, September 2022
Dipublish : 10 September 2022 ISSN 1978-0125 (Print);
Hal : 1674 - 1680 ISSN 2615-8116 (Online)

MASTERING READING SKILL FASTER

I GUSTI NGURAH OCTOVA SEVENTILOFA

Program Studi Teknik Sipil K. Mataram UNMAS Denpasar

rahocta@yahoo.com

ABSTRAK
Penelitian ini merupakan jenis penelitian kualitatif, dimana si penulis menggunakan pendekatan
paradigma literatur review. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk memberikan informasi cara tercepat untuk
meningkatkan kemampuan reading. Objek dari penelitian ini adalah beberapa jurnal dan artikel yang terkait
dengan cara meningkatkan kemampuan reading seseorang.
Temuan penelitian ini mengungkapkan bahwa, bahan bacaan dan kegiatan harus sangat menarik bagi
siswa agar mereka mudah menyerap buku, dan harus disesuaikan dengan tingkat kompetensi mereka. Guru
harus memotivasi siswa mereka untuk membaca bahan-bahan ini, peka terhadap kesulitan pemahaman siswa
mereka, dan membantu siswa mereka dalam mengubah sikap mereka terhadap membaca dan
mengembangkan sikap positif terhadap kegiatan membaca mereka sehingga mereka dapat lebih memahami
berbagai teks.

Kata Kunci: kemampuan membaca

ABSTRACT
This is a qualitative study in which the author use a literature review paradigm approach. The goal of
this research is to discover the quickest technique to increase reading skills. Several periodicals and articles
about how to increase one's reading abilities are the focus of this study.
The findings of this study reveal that, reading materials and activities should be very interesting for students
so that they can easily absorb books, and must be adapted to their level of competence. Teachers should
motivate their students to read these materials, be sensitive to their students' comprehension difficulties, and
assist their students in changing their attitudes towards reading and developing positive attitudes towards
their reading activities so that they can better understand various texts.

Keywords: reading comprehension skill

INTRODUCTION

Reading is an interactive process in which readers construct a meaningful image of a text using
effective reading strategies. Effective reading strategies are considered as significant skills that have
established the special motivation on students’ reading comprehension aptitude.
"Reading" is defined in The World Book of Encyclopedia (Susanti, 2002: 89) as "the act of deriving
meaning from printed or written words." Reading is defined as analyzing ways of reacting to written
materials as part of communication, according to Wallace (1992: 4). Reading is the foundation for learning
and one of the most crucial life skills. The reader is concerned not just with the amount of word recognition,
but also with comprehending the text's meaning and message. Reading is an extremely difficult talent to
perfect. Reading is a difficult activity that necessitates the reader's specific abilities. It's also a
comprehension process. Reading, according to Williams (1992: 11), is a process of extracting meaning from
text.
Reading is defined by Anderson et al. (1985) as the process of extracting meaning from written texts.
It necessitates the synchronization of numerous interconnected data sources. Reading, according to Wixson,

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Peters, Weber, and Roeber (1987), is a process of making sense out of (a) the reader's prior knowledge, (b)
the text information, and (c) the reading environment. Reading is defined by Grabe (1991, as referenced in
Alyousef 2005) as an interaction activity between readers and texts that affects reading fluency. Readers
interact with texts in order to extract meaning, and there are two types of knowledge: linguistic or systems
knowledge (bottom-up processing) and schematic knowledge (top-down processing) (top-down processing).
The basic purpose of reading, according to Pourhosein Gilakjani and Ahmadi (2011), is to obtain reliable
information.
Comprehension, according to the RAND Reading Study Group (2002), is the process of eliciting and
producing meaning from written language through interaction and involvement. McNamara and Magliano
(2009) stressed that this process is a result of both reader and text elements occurring in a larger social
context. According to Duke (2003), comprehension is a process in which readers make sense of literature by
interacting with it using a combination of past knowledge and experience, information in the text, and
readers' perspectives on the text.
Reading is a lifelong ability that can be employed in school and in everyday life. Reading is a basic
life skill, according to Anderson, Hiebert, Scott, and Wilkinson (1985). It is essential for a child's academic
and personal development. Opportunities for personal fulfillment and professional success will eventually be
lost if you can't read proficiently. Despite the significance, reading is one of the most difficult subjects in
school. This challenge is exacerbated by our technological society's increasing demand for high levels of
literacy (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998).
Students' attitudes toward the purposes of reading have an impact on their reading skills. Students
must learn to read critically or analytically if they are to get the most out of the contents they are given. The
concept is that when we read something, we should strive to figure out what the author is trying to say. When
we read, we come across two layers of reality: one that we can see and one that we can't. As a result, the goal
of reading is to reveal and clarify the hidden layer, or underlying meaning (Kose, 2006). Teele (2004, p. 92)
claims that all readers should strive to comprehend what they read. According to research, good readers are
engaged in the text. They are also aware of the methods they employ to comprehend what they read.
Teachers can assist students increase their comprehension by teaching reading skills. Research has
demonstrated that predicting, creating connections, picturing, inferring, questioning, and summarizing are
effective ways for improving reading comprehension (Block & Israel, 2005). It is critical to teach the
strategies by naming them and demonstrating how to use them through the think-aloud process, group
practice, partner practice, and autonomous use (Duke & Pearson, 2005).
Based on preliminary observations of the teaching and learning process in the classroom, the
researcher discovered that pupils had various issues with comprehension. Students continue to struggle with
reading English texts. This is due to the lack of vocabulary, which makes it difficult to read the text or
extract meaning from it. Students struggle to understand sentences, broad ideas, and primary ideas in the
book because they have trouble interpreting foreign terms in the text. Students have trouble distinguishing
between implicit and explicit text information.

METHOD

This study is library research that uses a literature review strategy to gather information. A literature
review is more than just reading the literature; it is an in-depth and critical assessment of past research on a
subject. A literature review is a thorough and critical analysis of prior research (Shuttleworth, 2009). A good
literature review assesses the quality of a scientific paper as well as its fresh results. It is important to note
that so-called scientific publications might take the form of: Paper from Scientific Journal, Paper from
Conference (Proceedings), Thesis and Dissertation, Reports from Trusted Organizations, or Textbook.
Literature study is a way to solve problems by tracing the sources of writings that have been made before. In
other words, the term Literature Study is also very familiar with the term literature study. In research to be
carried out, of course, a researcher must have broad insight regarding the object to be studied. If not, then it
is certain in a large presentation that the research will fail (Salmaa, 2021).
A literature review is a procedure for discovering, analyzing, and synthesizing research works and
ideas created by academics and practitioners that is systematic, explicit, and repeatable. The goal of a
literature review is to assess and synthesize existing knowledge about the issue in order to identify gaps in
the research. Okoli and Schabram (2010) went into greater detail about the objectives, which included (1)
providing a theoretical background/base for the research to be conducted, (2) studying the depth or breadth
of existing research related to the topic to be researched, and (3) answering the following questions: practical
questions with an understanding of what previous research has produced.

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 Following a literature review, the researcher not only examines the literature, but also summarizes,
analyzes, and synthesizes the studied or reviewed papers critically and in depth. The outcomes of this
summary, analysis, and synthesis are subsequently written as scientific publications, which are frequently
classified as survey articles. It is important to understand that the paper is separated into two categories:
technical paper and survey paper. Technical papers represent the findings of our trials and research, which
frequently necessitate fresh discoveries that contribute to knowledge. While the survey paper provides the
findings of a literature review, in this case in the form of a summary, analysis, and synthesis of hundreds or
even thousands of papers, the literature review paper contains the results of a literature review.

FINDING & DISCUSSION

Kinds Of Reading
There are two different kinds of reading. They are extensive reading and intensive reading.
1. Extensive Reading
Extensive reading is defined in a variety of ways. Hafiz and Tudor (1989, as cited in Alyousef 2005)
stated that exposing learners to vast volumes of meaningful and engaging information and activities will
have a major impact on their knowledge of L2. In recent years, many researchers have expressed an
interest in doing considerable reading. Hafiz and Tudor conducted a three-month thorough reading
research (1989 as cited in Alyousef 2005).
According to Hedge (2003), extended reading changes depending on learner motivation and school
resources. A well-trained and highly motivated teacher can undoubtedly choose relevant materials and
activities for their students. Extensive reading should be incorporated into EFL/ESL programs, according
to Hedge (2003), because it helps learners improve their reading skills. However, the materials chosen
must be valid and categorised. Furthermore, considerable reading, whether done in class or at home, aids
learners in gaining independence.
Extensive reading activities, according to Carrell and Eisterhold (1983, as cited in Alyousef 2005), can
help learners become self-directed persons seeking meaning if they are based on student-selected texts
and the learners are interested in what they are reading. The process of selecting reading books will be
based on content, difficulty level, and duration. Students can improve their language competence, grow
in their reading skill, become more independent in their study, obtain cultural information, and gain
confidence and motivation to continue their own learning, according to Hedge (2003).
2. Intensive Reading
Learners read a page to identify the meaning and become familiar with writing skills in this style of
reading. Students can gain foundational practice in performing these tactics based on a series of
resources by reading this book. Text-based or learner-based techniques are both possible. The first is text
organization recognition, and the second is text organization methods such as linguistic, schematic, and
metacognitive strategies (Hedge, 2003).
Intensive reading, according to Yang, Dai, and Gao (2012), is beneficial for improving reading
comprehension. Intensive reading, according to Waring (1997), is critical for learning vocabulary and
comprehending how literature is constructed. Stahl (2003) discovered that extensive reading activities
and language proficiency are linked. For greater language preparedness, retention, and activation tactics,
teachers need to boost the three periods of learning called pre, while, and post-reading, according to
Paran (2003). According to Pollar, Durodo, Gonzalez, Simmons, Kwok, Taylor, Davis, and Simmons
(2011), focused reading is a valuable tool for enhancing reading comprehension.

Models Of Reading Process

There are three models for the second-language reading process: the bottom-up model, the top-down
model, and the interactive model.
1. The Bottom-up Model
The main focus of this paradigm, according to Carrell (1989, as stated in Ahmadi & Pourhosein
Gilakjani 2012), is the smaller units of a text, such as letters, words, phrases, and sentences. Before
understanding a phrase or a sentence, the reader examines all of the words in it. This paradigm begins by
decoding the lowest language units, such as phonemes, graphemes, and words, and then works its way
up to the largest ones. The reader applies his or her prior knowledge to the information found in the
texts. There are some issues with this model. One of the disadvantages is that the reader only succeeds in
reading when he or she deciphers the linguistic units and comprehends the relationship between words.

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 The reader is not be able to remember the meaning of every word. Another issue is that it is impossible
to link one word to another.
2. The Top-down Model
Reading, according to Goodman (1967, cited in Ahmadi & Pourhosein Gilakjani 2012), is a
"psycholinguistic guessing game" in which readers use their prior knowledge to relate to a text and
connect it to new information obtained in the text in order to comprehend it. Readers do not read every
word in a text; instead, they concentrate on recognizing the next few words. They try to figure out what
words or phrases signify. Readers begin anticipating from the reading text's title, which allows them to
limit the scope of their reading. They then assume the writer's intended message and adjust their
assumptions based on what they read in the text. Comprehension begins with higher levels of processing
and progresses to the application of lower levels (Nuttall, 1996, as referenced in Ahmadi & Pourhosein
Gilakjani 2012).
3. The Interactive Model
Effective reading, according to Rumelhart (1977), Nunan (1990), and Grabe (1991), requires both top-
down and bottom-up decoding. Top-down reading can help L2 readers compensate for weaknesses in
bottom-up reading. To compensate for the lack of bottom-up knowledge, they use their schemata (as
cited in Ahmadi & Pourhosein Gilakjani 2012). This model is built on information from multiple sources
such as orthographic, lexical, syntactic, semantic knowledge, and schemata, according to Stanovich
(1980 as referenced in Ahmadi & Pourhosein Gilakjani 2012). Decoding processes help each other while
readers read. If students are having trouble understanding readings, they should use their prior
knowledge to assist them. Readers who rely on the top-down approach derive meaning from textual
signs, but they must compensate for shortcomings such as word recognition problems and a lack of
effective bottom-up processing. This methodology produces the most efficient text processing. To
improve the skills of L2 readers, teachers should identify reading instructions based on this paradigm.
The interactive model is used in the mutual teaching technique of reading education. There are four main
reading strategies involved.

Effective Strategies For Reading Comprehension

There are numerous reading comprehension methods available. This section goes into these methods
in depth.
1. Activating and Using Background Knowledge
Readers use this method to activate their prior knowledge and apply it to better understand what they are
reading. This knowledge is made up of people's experiences with the world, as well as their ideas about
how written texts work, such as word recognition, print concepts, word meaning, and how the text is
constructed (Anderson & Pearson, 1984).
Anderson & Pearson (1984); Anderson, Reynolds, Schallert, & Goetz (1977) emphasize the importance
of schema theory in the understanding process. This hypothesis is based on how humans acquire and use
prior information. According to this hypothesis, people construct a succession of knowledge frameworks
or schemas as they learn about the world. As people gain new information through experience and
reading, their schemas evolve and adapt. For example, a child's schema for dog may include
understandings of the family pet such as white, fuzzy, and entertaining. The dog schema develops and
can be improved as the youngster gains more experiences with a variety of dogs in various contexts. It
can be applied to various schema-types of dogs, such as dog colors, dog meals, sites where the family
stays when on vacation, and dangerous dogs.
Successful readers, according to cognitive scientists, maintain a lasting link between their existing
knowledge and the new information they encounter in texts. When good readers begin reading, their
schema is activated. The first schema has an impact on how readers understand and respond to a text
(Pichert & Anderson, 1977). Reading comprehension is especially dependent on schemas. When
students grasp how a text is organized, they are better able to comprehend that text (Armbruster,
Anderson, & Ostertag, 1987).
2. Generating and Asking Questions
Readers use this method to ask themselves relevant questions while reading the content. This method
aids readers in combining information, identifying important concepts, and summarizing data. Successful
readers can concentrate on the most relevant information in a text by asking the right questions (Wood,
Woloshyn, & Willoughby, 1995). Creating relevant questions allows good readers to focus on
comprehension issues and take the required steps to resolve such issues (Pressley, Symons, McGoldrick,
& Snyder, 1995).

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3. Making Inferences
Readers evaluate or derive inferences from textual information. Writers who use this method do not
always convey complete information about a topic, location, person, or event. Instead, they supply
information that readers can utilize to read by drawing inferences from the text that combine text
information with prior knowledge. Readers' ability to make sense can be improved through this
procedure. Making inferences is a crucial aspect of good reading for readers (Anderson & Pearson, 1984;
Hansen& Pearson, 1983).
4. Predicting
Readers can deduce meaning from a text using this method by making educated guesses. To make sense
of what they read, successful readers use forecasting to apply their prior knowledge to new information
from the text. Readers can use what they know about a writer to predict what a piece will be about before
they start reading. The title of a text can trigger memories of similar messages, allowing individuals to
guess the content of a new one. Successful readers can guess what will happen next or what ideas the
writer will offer to promote a discussion while reading. Readers attempt to constantly check these
predictions and revise any prediction that is not supported by the reading (Gillet & Temple, 1994).
5. Summarizing
Readers mix facts in a text to explain what the work is about in their own words. Summarizing is an
important method for helping readers remember text quickly. Readers can be aware of text structure,
what is significant in a text, and how viewpoints are related to one another using this method.
Condensing the steps in a scientific process, the stages of the evolution of an art movement, or the
occurrences that lead to certain significant historical events are all examples of effective summarizing of
explanatory material. Connecting events in a story line or recognizing the components that motivate a
character's behaviors and behaviour are examples of effective summarizing of narrative material (Honig,
Diamond, & Gutlohn, 2000).
6. Visualizing
Readers can visualize a book to better understand the processes they encounter when reading. This
ability demonstrates how a reader interprets a text. Pressley (1976) found that readers who create a
mental image while they read are better able to recall what they have read. When it comes to narrative
materials, visualizing is crucial. When readers read narrative texts, they can quickly grasp what is going
on by imagining the setting, characters, or plan's activities. It can also be used to read expository
materials. Readers recalling abstract ideas or significant names by imagining steps in a process or phases
in an occurring or constructing an image (Gambrell& Bales, 1986).
7. Comprehension Monitoring
Readers can use this method to recognize when they understand what they're reading, when they don't,
and how to use appropriate strategies to improve their comprehension. Successful readers are aware of
their cognitive processes and check them as they read. Fix-up strategies are methods used by effective
readers to increase their comprehension. Rereading, reading forward, explaining the terms by looking
them up in a dictionary, or asking someone for help are all examples of mending strategies (Paris, Wasik,
& Turner, 1991).
Successful readers employ a variety of ways to interpret what they read. They don't utilize the same
techniques; instead, they prefer to broaden and practice the ones that work for them. Furthermore, they
are quite versatile in how they apply their methods, switching from one to the next and using different
techniques with different sorts of texts (Paris, Wasik, & Turner, 1991). The key point here is that
effective readers may make informed decisions about which methods to employ and when to employ
them. Many students can benefit from explicit education that teaches them how to use specific strategies
to comprehend a material. The other argument is that certain comprehension strategies may be taught
and learned, and that their deliberate application can aid readers in improving their understanding
(National Reading Panel, 2000).

CONCLUSION

This study's findings revealed that reading techniques had a significant impact on pupils' reading
comprehension abilities. Students are active producers of meaning rather than passive users of knowledge.
Successful readers use a variety of skills to extract meaning from texts. Readers should participate in the
reading process by employing various ways to track their meaning. This study underlined the premise that a
variety of tactics influence understanding processes. All of these techniques work together to make the

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meaning-making process simple and effective. According to the conclusions of this study, reading materials
and activities should be very appealing to students in order for them to readily absorb a book, and they
should be matched to their competence levels. Teachers must motivate their students to read these materials,
be sensitive to their students' comprehension difficulties, and assist their students in changing their attitudes
toward reading and developing positive attitudes toward their reading activities so that they can better
understand the various texts.

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