Before going through the theories of reading, it seems essential to know what reading is according to the definitions of some scholars in the field of reading. As Smith (1978, p. 53) explains, reading “involves looking for meaning.” During such a unique, complex, creative, and constructive process as Broek and Kremer (2000) describe, the mind selects and organizes every things with the influence of the right mental purpose. Therefore, it looks logical to have an overview on the theories of reading at this very step as Nuttall (1996) believes that understanding reading theories is essential both for the teachers as well as the students. Some of the reading theories are developmental or the psychometric model, communication model, reading as a psycholinguistic guessing game or the top-down model, bottom-up model, automaticity of component processes model, and interactive model. Other researchers offered their theories to address the nature of the reading process.
The most accepted models by the researchers are the bottom-up, top-down, interactive, and transactional theories. The first model is the bottom-up model according to which the decoding process begins with the visual recognition of the written marks on the page. The reader proceeds in letter or word identification and then goes on to larger linguistic units to get the meaning. Block (1992) clarifies that in the bottom-up model, reading is language based and the information is text-driven. Because of this shortcoming, later the top-down model was introduced which views reading as a “psycholinguistic guessing game,” which involves partial use of minimal but most productive language cues to generate guesses. Goodman (1976) claims that in this psycholinguistic guessing game, t...
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...al or electronic analogy or metaphor, the same as the top-down and bottom-up modals.
According to Rosenblatt, reading is a transaction and a composing activity. It is a two-way process that involves the reader, the text, and the meaning, each of which is an aspect of a relationship occurring at a particular time in a particular circumstance (Rosenblatt, 1991, 1993). Rosenblatt (1994, 1995) believes that meaning is not in the text, but is made by the reader who “transacts” with the text. Rosenblatt (1985) does not agree that her transactional theory shares a common ground with the interactive theory. However, she (1985) clarifies that the transaction is similar to something that happens between a buyer and a seller, and it is meaning that happens between the reader and text. To her (1995), the reader, the reading process, and the “read” are aspects of one structure.
The DeFord Theoretical Orientation to Reading Profile, developed in 1985 by Diane DeFord, is a way to measure the philosophy and belief systems associated with instructional practices in the beginning of reading. The three systems include phonics, skills, and whole language (Vacca et al 2006). The bottom-up beliefs systems, associated with Behaviorism, place emphasis on letters, letter-sound relationships, and the understanding that the student, in order to comprehend the selection, must recognize each word in a text. There is importance placed on decoding, and skills are taught in a systematic and sequential format.
Cokely (1992) states that there are a variety of processing models used to help understand the process of interpreting. However, while the variety of process models have subtle differences in factors and characteristics, these models share a view that interpreting is a “complex cognitive process” (p.185). The basic interpretation process model depends upon input of the source language over which the interpre...
Reading is not just reading words on a paper. It is a process that uses many resources in the brain and the use of strategies. Teachers have to use all six areas of reading to help students learn how to read, what strategies to use when reading, how to interpret a text and many more. Reading is a complex process and this paper will describe the six areas of reading.
Reading is seen as a simple task that a person learns at a young age. This is not true. In the Introduction to the book called “Ways of Reading” by David Bartholomae, Anthony Petrosky, and Stacey Waite explain that reading and writing is a complex process that may be difficult to understand. Two terms mentioned heavily in this book are reading against or with the grain. These being two complex terms when it comes down to reading. In most novels the author gives the reader the opportunity to agree or disagree with them. Reading with the grain is taking the author’s insight, while reading against the grain is not supporting the author’s view but your own. Both of these terms have different meanings but when it comes down to reading both of these
Reading requires people to train their minds to understand the text. Media has also played a key role in shaping actual parts of the brain to understand written language. Studies have demonstrated that readers of different languages developed differently in the “mental circuitry” apart from each other’s language. In the brain, variations can be found all over the cognitive regions responsible for language. Car goes on to explain that one could assume that there will be differences between the use of the Net and reading physical matter.
reader creates “supplementary meaning” to the text by unconsciously setting up tension, also called binary opposition. Culler describes this process in his statement “The process of thematic interpretation requires us to move from facts towards values, so we can develop each thematic complex, retaining the opposition between them” (294). Though supplementary meaning created within the text can take many forms, within V...
There is interaction between the text and the reader. If there were no interaction between the text and the reader, people would not read. Iser made a very good point that the text is not only in motion, but the reader is too. The reader's perception of the text is what makes the story come alive, and what enable readers to write and analyze different ideologies that are presented in a text.
In an interview with Robert Probst (2012), author of Response and Analysis, Probst discusses Rosenblatt’s work on the transactional nature of reading, and reminds us that Rosenblatt taught us that the only way you can see anything is through your own eyes. Then you can refine your vision by respecting what you see first, knowing it and understanding it, and then looking at what another viewer might offer (Probst, 2012).
My previous conceptions and beliefs about reading have been challenged by looking at a different group of learners. Now, I have a more solid theoretical understanding understanding of the importance of reflective reading practices, in which the reader realize that reading is a complex process that is not determined for the fluency and “correctness” of matching the printed word with its expected and “appropriate” sound. I am also more aware of the importance of continuous support for struggling readers in post-secondary
Reading involves translating symbols and letters into words or sentences. Anderson defines reading as a process of constructing meaning from a written text. We indulge in reading for many different purposes, be it survival, leisure or occupational. In a way, reading serves as a kind communication between the writer and the reader. The writer encodes what he or she wishes to convey while the reader decodes according to his or her own perception. Johnson quotes “A young man should read five hours in a day, and so may acquire a great deal of knowledge.”
Reading is a complex process that’s difficult to explain linearly. A student’s reading capabilities begin development long before entering the school setting and largely start with exposure (Solley, 2014). The first remnants of what children are able to do in terms of reading are built from their parents and other people and object around them as they’re read to, spoken to, and taken from place to place to see new things (Solley, 2014). As kids are exposed to more and more their noises quickly turn into intentional comprehensible messages and their scribbling begins to take the form of legible text as they attempt to mimic the language(s) they’re exposed to daily.
In this paper, I will analyze reading strategies for the content area of language arts in a fifth grade class. Reading comprehension is one of the most critical skills a student can master. Without a firm grasp on the comprehension process, learners will struggle in every subject they encounter, whether it’s science, math, or social studies as well as everyday living skills. The content areas typically included disciplines like science, social studies/history and math, but any area outside of English literature instruction constitutes a content area. The reading associated with content area courses reflects not only the concepts and ideas important to these subjects, but also the text structures used by those practicing the field.
Such views influence both L1 and L2 reading studies. Kern (2000) explains the importance of the social and personal interpretation of reading, he says that readers have the freedom to interpret texts in any way they like if they do not deviate from the so-called interpretive constraints. In terms of fo...
In this information–driven age, preparing students to read a variety of texts with complete understanding should likely be one of our educational system’s highest priorities. Understanding is more than just the ability to produce information on demand (knowledge) or the ability to perform learned routines (skills). “Understanding is the ability to think and act flexibly with what one knows.” (Active Learning Practice for Schools, n. d.) A review of the literature in the area of reading comprehension of elementary-age students shows two principle areas of focus. There is a body of literature that examines the development of proficient vs. struggling comprehenders and another body of literature that compares methodologies for teaching reading comprehension.
Just, M.A., & Carpenter, P.A. (2010). The psychology of reading and language comprehension. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, Inc.