Chapter II

Literature Review and Research Works Concerned

This chapter focuses on the concepts, theories, and
research related to reading skills. It defines the meaning of
reading for academic purposes. The topics are thoroughly
investigated, including the proficiencies in reading, reading
problems as a second language learner, practical methods for
improving reading comprehension, and internal and external
attribution. Reading skill is considered a necessary skill for
language professionals due to its various beneficial effects on
knowledge, such as understanding words, writing
development, and critical thinking.
This research paper critically studies English reading
skills through sections that provide an overview of studies on
proficiencies in reading, reading problems, and practical
techniques. It also examines the development of theories
related to English reading skills in an academic context.
Furthermore, English reading skill is recognized as the primary
means to encourage people to learn from written texts,
which contain information about human history and social
preferences. Through reading, knowledge has greatly
contributed to the development of mankind.
The research work suggests four crucial categories as key
points, as follows:
2.1 The proficiencies in reading
8

2.1.1 Reading processes

2.1.2 Models of reading
2.1.3 Reading comprehension
2.1.4 Reading for experience
2.2 Reading problems as a second language learner
(L2)
2.2.1 The difficulties in reading
2.2.2 Students' and external issues
2.2.3 Effects of reading difficulties
2.3 Practical methods for improving reading
comprehension
2.3.1 Practical techniques for understanding text
2.4 Research work concerned
Figure 2.4.1 Site map of Reading Comprehension
Problems face on Senior High English Study.
2.5 Conceptual Framework
Figure 2.5.1 shows the conceptual framework

2.1 The proficiencies in reading

Reading proficiency is a strong predictor of school
success, and housing insecurity in early childhood is
associated with inhibited cognitive and social development
9

1
and poor school performance. Due to reading is a complex
skill that needs to be taught early, deliberately,
systematically, contextually and incrementally, the right kind
of literature must be introduced at the right time to build a
reading ability. People who are proficient in reading are more
likely to do well in subjects other than languages. Proficiency
in reading is needed to be experienced in reading processes,
reading strategies, models of reading, and reading
comprehension. Some researchers wrote that reading
proficiency entails two things: (1) Decoding skills that enable
students to read a text, and (2) meaning-making or
comprehension skills that enable the learner to understand,
engage and get involved with a piece of text. Students who
are proficient readers and have reading-friendly environments
at home, as measured by their performance on various
2
reading tests, are more likely to perform better than others.

1
Reading Proficiency Definition, Law Insider, [Online], Retrieved
from journals, <a
href="https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/reading-
proficiency">Reading proficiency Definition | Law Insider</a> [July 10,
2023].
2
Proficiency in reading, FE Bureau, 24 September 2018 (Online),
Financial Express,
https://www.financialexpress.com/education-2/heres-the-difference-
10

2.1.1 Reading processes

Lower-level and higher-level reading processes

considering the complexity of the cognitive processes in
reading, it is difficult to give an overall reading process that
universally applies to every individual in every reading
situation. However, research has been done on the workings
of component skills involved in reading. Grabe discusses
them by using two categories: the lower-level skills and the
3
higher-level skills.

The lower-level skills include “word recognition,

syntactic parsing, meaning encoding” and “working memory”
mentioned by Grabe. All the above skills contribute to the
understanding of propositions at the sentence and the clause
level, i.e., local comprehension, as mentioned by 10 Khalifa
and Weir. Word recognition is the identification of words.
Treiman uses some examples to illustrate the relationship
between printed words and their linguistic forms, such as
meaningful morphemes and spoken syllables. Therefore,
identifying the phonological (or sound) forms of words is

between-proficiency-in-reading-and-literacy/1323818/
3
Xia Yan, “Efficient reading in standardized tests for EFL
learners”, D-essay in English Didactics, (School of Teacher Education:
English IV, Kristianstad University, 2011), p. 6-11.
11

involved in the recognition process. Although skilled readers

are reading silently, this phonological activation also exists in
a covert way. Fluent word recognition is only ensured when a
reader can recognize the word forms on the page very
quickly, associate the written form with the spoken form, link
proper meaning to the structure of a sentence and activate
4
his own mental lexicon said by Grabe.

Syntactic parsing refers to how words are integrated to

make sense in a sentence. Absolutely, syntactic processing is
important for reading comprehension. In this process, a
reader is supposed to make use of classification of words,
word order, clauses, tenses, etc. to process the information in
a text. A reader is also required to process the transitional
markers and discourse organizational markers to decide how
important specific information is in the text. What should be
noted is that this is where grammatical knowledge is brought
into consideration. Reading processing time is certain to be
extended when sentence structures become more complex
and ambiguous while grammatical resources are limited.
Meaning encoding involves the formation of semantic

4
Xia Yan, “Efficient reading in standardized tests for EFL
learners”, D-essay in English Didactics, (School of Teacher Education:
English IV, Kristianstad University, 2011), p. 9-10.
12

propositions. According to Grabe, semantic propositions are

units almost equal to phrase and clause units. They are
formed at the same time as word recognition and syntactic
parsing occur. Researchers find that the number of
proposition units in a series of sentences decides the
processing time for the sentences even when the sentences
have the same number of words and clauses. It can also be
inferred that proposition decoding affects the automatization
5
of semantic interpretation of words.

Higher level comprehension processing includes the

building of both a text model network and a situation model
of interpretation, the making of inferences, the focusing of
attention and the processing of strategies discussed by Grabe.
The former represents a reader’s comprehension of the
whole text by linking information derived from a newly
formed proposition with already active information; the latter
refers to “the understander’s representation of the
circumstances to which a discourse refers” mentioned by
Singer & Leon and uses reader knowledge in comprehending
the text. Higher level comprehension is also what Khalifa and

5
Xia Yan, “Efficient reading in standardized tests for EFL
learners”, D-essay in English Didactics, (School of Teacher Education:
English IV, Kristianstad University, 2011), p. 10.
13

Weir refer to as global comprehension, i.e., an understanding

of propositions from the sentence and clause level to the
6
macro-structure of a text.

2.1.2 Models of reading

The models of reading tell what occurred in the

reading progress, they describe how the reader processes
printed texts to construct meaning that means these models
are concerned with ability of read to translate given printed
words into meaning from the level of perception of the text
by the eyes into analysis by the brain. This shed us a light on
three main theoretical models of reading process that have
been researched by many cognitive and behavioral scientists:
bottom-up, top-down and interactive models said the Marto
Redondo.

There are three methods of the model of reading:

schema theory, an interactive view of reading and view of
met cognition in reading. Schema is the most prominent
representing theory for reading researchers’ background
knowledge in the language of comprehension. Schema
theory is viewed as a psychological framework that

6
Xia Yan, “Efficient reading in standardized tests for EFL
learners”, D-essay in English Didactics, (School of Teacher Education:
English IV, Kristianstad University, 2011), p. 10-11.
14

transforms both top-down and bottom-up processing. The

text only offers guidance to the reader to figure out the
meaning. Comprehension appears when the reader’s
background knowledge interacts with the text. Schema
theory stresses much more on top-down processing than
bottom-up one in the comprehension process.

Furthermore, Top-down processing is an approach for

background knowledge makes predictions, and searches the
text to confirm or reject the reductions that are made.
According to the top-down model, the schemata, which are
the world knowledge that a reader brings to the reading
process are central to his or her understanding of the text.
Just as Goodman puts it, reading is a “psycholinguistic
guessing game” quoted from Alderson, which means readers
can guess or predict the text’s meaning with the least use of
word processing. It seems that a good understanding of the
reading text lies in the retrieval of contextual knowledge.
Top-down theorists advocate whole-language teaching in
which the teaching of reading focuses more on predicting the
meaning from the context instead of translating the printed
individual word to sound and processing it completely said
by Treiman. Arguments occur mostly because advocates of
the bottom-up theory claim that when readers decode
15

information from the print, they process all the letters and
words thoroughly and systematically, while advocates of the
top-down theory contend that readers can guess what words
are to come in the next part of the text and take in “only
just enough visual information to test their hypotheses”
7
Treiman

On the other hand, bottom-up processing is an

approach for processing a text in which the reader builds up
meaning from the black mark on the page: recognizing letters
and words, sentences, and longer text. Finally, meaning is the
order of bottom-up model for achieving comprehension. This
reading model is found by Gough who claims that reading is a
process of decoding letter-by-letter. After readers begin to
decode the letters of words level and syntactic features of
text, they can build their textual meaning. They read texts by
ways of focusing on linguistic forms at the level of words and
sentences. As familiarities with the words increase, the
readers will automatically recognize the words. This helps
8
them to read fluently.

7
Xia Yan, “Efficient reading in standardized tests for EFL
learners”, D-essay in English Didactics, (School of Teacher Education:
English IV, Kristianstad University, 2011), p. 7-9
16

According to Landsberg, Kruger & Nel, the interactive

model became popular because of the limited success of the
bottom-up and the top-down models. Rumelhart states that
the top-down and the bottom-up models of processing occur
simultaneously and that most researchers agree that a
combination of the two models is necessary for the
successful teaching of reading and for reading
comprehension. Teachers who use this model for reading
instruction use an eclectic approach in which the strengths of
both methods are used to acquire reading proficiency
discussed, Kruger & Nel. Norton refers to this approach as the
“balanced approach”, and points to the sub-skill approach to
reading in which teachers using this approach believe that
there is a set of sub-skills that have to be mastered for
learners to read proficiently, for example, sight words and
word attack. These sub-skills include a set of identifiable
9
skills that are considered the building blocks for reading.

8
Mr. Rupam Chakma, “An Assessment of English Reading
skills of Master of Art students in Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya
University”, Thesis of Master of Arts (English program, MCU, 2018), p.
41-42
9
Bella Dudula Hlalethwa, Reading Difficulties experienced by
learners in the foundation phase in inclusive schools in Makapanstad”,
Dissertation of Master of Education (University of South Africa, 2013),
17

Next, the interactive model emphasizes sound

recognition, sound-symbol association and reading
comprehension. It takes the view that the reader continually
shifts his/her attention between the text (i.e., analysis of
specific letters and words) and reading comprehension (i.e.,
thought content of the reading material). According to this
model the reader will use the top-down approach when the
reading material is known and the bottom-up approach when
the reading material is not known, and as the reader’s skill
increases more attention is given to reading comprehension
and less to word recognition and analysis of individual letters
said the Norton.

View of metacognition in reading consists of (1) a

reader’s knowledge of strategies for learning from texts, and
(2) the control readers have their own actions while reading
for different purposes.in short, metacognition refers to
awareness of one’s own reading process. It means awareness
of monitoring comprehension during reading. Learners need
to understand how text worked and what they did while
reading. Meanwhile, they must be able to move their own
comprehension. For example, students are able to recognize
that they don’t understand a text, and then adopt a strategy

p. 32-33
18

that will improve matters. Teacher is one of the school

environment factors who has an important role to increase
students learning achievement. Teacher is a subject in
education who has duty to transfer the knowledge to the
10
students. Reading, whether in L1 or L2, is a ''cognitive
enterprise'', which occurs in part as a result of the interaction
among the reader, the text, and the context in which reading
takes place (Flavell). Furthermore, to accomplish the task of
comprehending the text successfully, the reader must utilize
metacognitive knowledge and must invoke conscious and
deliberate strategies. The readers' metacognitive knowledge
about reading may be influenced by a number of factors,
including previous experiences, beliefs, culture-specific
instructional practices, and, in the case of non-native readers,
proficiency in L2, and it may be triggered, consciously or
unconsciously, when the reader encounters a specific reading
task. The readers' metacognitive knowledge about reading
includes an awareness of a variety of reading strategies and
of the fact that the cognitive enterprise of reading is
influenced by this metacognitive awareness of reading

10
Metacognition and Reading Comprehension, Ikala,
[Online], Retrieved from journals, http://www.scielo.org.co/scielo.php?
script=sci_arttext&pid=S0123-34322011000200001 [August 10, 2011].
19

strategies. It is the combination of conscious awareness of

reading, strategic reading processes, and the actual utilization
of reading strategies that distinguishes skilled from unskilled
11
readers.

The research on metacognitive awareness of reading

strategies –broadly defined here as the deliberate, conscious
procedures used by readers to enhance text comprehension–
indicates the need to increase our understanding of readers'
metacognitive knowledge about reading and reading
strategies to develop them into active, constructively
responsive readers.

A reading model is a graphic attempt to depict how

an individual perceives a word, process a clause, and
comprehends a text First language learning professional
proposed a variety of theories from their exploration of
reading process by creating reading model which were
categorize in to three following groups.

Teaching technique Teacher is one of school

environmental factors who has important role to increase

11
Metacognition and Reading Comprehension, Ikala,
[Online], Retrieved from journals, http://www.scielo.org.co/scielo.php?
script=sci_arttext&pid=S0123-34322011000200001 [August 10, 2011].
20

students learning achievement. Teacher is a subject in

education who has duty to transfer the knowledge to the
students.49 A teacher is an important person in teaching
learning process, especially for teaching reading, because the
teacher also determines whether their students are good
readers or not. Teacher also will become a source of learning
difficulties if he/she does cannot choose the right technique
to teach the material. Wang argued that although teachers
are very knowledgeable about the subject they are teaching,
they often rely on one teaching technique to impart this
information. They sometimes do not realize that the
techniques they use are not in accordance with the subject
matter they convey. Therefore, the teacher should be careful
in choosing the technique to teach because it related to the
students’ understanding of the material.

Learning to read is a life-long process. People begin

developing knowledge that they will use to read during their
earliest interactions with families and communities. In their
pre-school years, children learn to understand and use
spoken language and learn about their world through
meaningful interactions with others.

Research on the role of L2 oral proficiency, as second

language students learn to read continuous text, they use
21

their intuitive knowledge of spoken language and their

knowledge of the topic to figure out printed words in text.
For example, if a native reader reads “catch me, catch me”,
if you can. to second language learners while pointing to the
print, the students use their memory of what was read to
them to help them to figure out which words in the sentence
represent catch and me. L2 learners take a long time to
develop their L2 oral proficiency. Even after five to six years
of attending school in the L2 environment, aspects of L2 oral
proficiency skills, and especially those required for academic
12
learning, continue to lag behind the skills of L1 peers.

By the beginning of grade 2 (following one year of

instruction in English), performance on phonological
awareness and rapid naming can predict subsequent
performance on word-based reading skills of ESL students.
Even when L2 children’s second language proficiency is still
developing, they can learn to read and spell words and
achieve similar accuracy to that of L1 student. Aspects of L2

12
Learning to Read in a Second Language, Geva E. PhD,
[Online], Retrieved from article,
https://www.child-encyclopedia.com/second-language/according-
experts/learning-read-second-language-research-implications-and [May
15, 2006].
22

language proficiency such as vocabulary and grammatical

skills are related to text-based aspects of literacy such as
reading fluency, reading comprehension, and the ability to
write.

At the same time, as students learn to read more and

more words in context, they use their developing knowledge
of patterns of letter-sound correspondences in familiar words
to figure out how to pronounce unfamiliar words. For
example, students who have learned to read small and smile
and cart and part, can figure out that sm- is pronounced /sm/
and -art is pronounced /art/ and then figure out how to
pronounce smart. The more they read, the better readers
they become. Students read more when they have access to
engaging, age-appropriate books, magazines, newspapers,
computers and other reading materials. They read more on
topics that interest them than on topics that do not interest
them.

Readers continue to grow in their ability to make

sense of an increasing variety of texts on an increasing variety
of topics throughout their lives as they learn more spoken
and written language, acquire more knowledge on an ever-
expanding variety of topics, and have more and more life
experiences.
23

Browsing It important of reading where goals are not

well defined, parts of a text may be skipped fairly randomly,
and there is a little attempt to integrate the information into
a macrostructure. have observed that there are some people
who read loosely structured texts and they have “no clear
goals in mind” the outcome of which, as far as the resulting
macrostructure is concerned, ‘is indeterminate’. This process
13
is referred as browsing.

2.1.3 Reading comprehension

Reading is defined as an act to comprehend or

understand the meaning of the text or in the dictionary.
Reading is a process for the reader to acquire information and
to understand the message from the materials. Pointed out
that reading is a process that readers transferred the message
from materials, and absorbed by the reader. Importantly,
reading word by word is less necessary. Readers may skip
some clauses, sentences or even paragraph which is not
important, and just read the essential part of the articles.
According to Neil proficiency of English reading is a significant

13
Phra Vanhxay Onechoumsitthi, “A study of English Reading
Skill of Grade 6 students of Wat Sitaram school in Pomprap,
Sattruphai district, Bangkok”, Thesis of Master of Arts (International
program, MCU, 2016), p. 35-40
24

and basic skill for the students who study English as the
second language.

Reading is a complicated skill that demands

considerable time and practice to develop Lundhal’s
mention. The ability to read involves more than merely
decoding a text. In addition to the practical skill of putting
letters together, turning them into words together with
comprehension; the result of interpreting linguistic elements.

Reading comprehension can be understood as the

process through which the recognized words are transformed
into a meaningful idea it is a complex process that requires
the activation of numerous cognitive skills. There are also
different depths of understanding of most the basis level,
reading comprehension may involve the picture that comes
to mind when reading the word cat. It may be as in-depth as
the symbolic representation of a cat as have good-like
qualities, as is sometimes associated with ancient Egyptians.
Comprehension is the reason for reading: it encompasses the
learning, growing and evolution of ideas that occurs as one
reads.

English reading skills can be used to enhance and

improve reading skill and writing skill of readers. Having a very
good skill for the readers, supporting the enhancement of
25

comprehension, improving critical thinking, increasing reading

activity, creating writing opportunities, increasing knowledge,
and extending other educational activities.

Briefly, researchers believe that reading

comprehension provide fundamental skill that students can
understand text by just guessing the meaning of the words
through the context to understand the sentences, story,
article, essay, and so on without the quality of vocabulary
and the fundamental knowledge of grammar.

Another important point, the relationship between

comprehension and vocabulary is important about
hypotheses for examining the effects of word learning on
reading comprehension, the instrumentalist, aptitude, and
knowledge hypotheses. The instrumentalist position suggests
that knowledge of word meanings is the primary factor
responsible for reading comprehension but the
instrumentalist position does not make suggestions about
14
where vocabulary knowledge originates. The aptitude
hypothesis suggests that people with large vocabularies are

14
Phra Vanhxay Onechoumsitthi, “A study of English Reading
Skill of Grade 6 students of Wat Sitaram school in Pomprap,
Sattruphai district, Bangkok”, Thesis of Master of Arts (International
program, MCU, 2016), p. 10-17
26

better at comprehension because they possess higher mental

agility. There are few instructional implications from this
hypothesis. The third hypothesis, the knowledge hypothesis,
suggests that world knowledge is crucial to the understanding
of text. Performance on vocabulary tests is seen as a
reflection of a person’s background knowledge. The
knowledge hypotheses emphasize that knowing a word well
implies that one knows a lot of words related to it and this
larger of knowledge is crucial for understanding a given text.
The knowledge approach suggests an interactive approach in
which conceptually generated knowledge is combined with
information in the text the instructional implications are that
the more word meanings one although researchers have
been able to document a strong relationship between
vocabulary and comprehension, they have been unable to
sort the exact nature of the reciprocal relationship, a
graphical representation of a model of the reciprocal nature
of vocabulary and comprehension of studies documenting
the strong association between vocabulary knowledge and
reading comprehension. Pointing out that the most
vocabulary acquisition occurs during reading that children
with weak vocabularies read less, acquire fewer new words
and like comprehension instruction for children in primary
27

School grade 6 have to study vocabulary instruction has not

received attention the way other reading instructional
methods have despite its influence on reading
comprehension. Readers must understand words in order to
comprehend text. Some interventions with children in both
primary School grade have shown that vocabulary instruction
increases word knowledge.

Relationship indicated that the level of the instructed

word vocabulary had a reliable effect on word knowledge
and text comprehension. Students grade 6 who received
instruction of central words learned more central vocabulary
and understood more story ideas related to of central
vocabulary than students who received instruction of central
words. Children who received instruction on central words
learned more central vocabulary and understood more story
ideas related to central vocabulary than students who
received instruction of central words. In addition, preheating
vocabulary enhances Students grade 6 understanding of
ideas related to the instructed vocabulary regardless of the
level of importance. The concept method of instruction did
not provide any advantage over the dictionary method in this
study. In a comparison of direct teaching of individual word
28

meanings and practice deriving word meanings from context

concluded that learning words.

In this research, some older sources are referenced to

indicate the long road that has already been travelled to
improve reading comprehension in learners. The United
States, for example, is the one country in the world where
reading research has been done for many years. for a variety
of historical, political and theoretical reasons, so views of
comprehension of text have changed. Text is no longer
regarded as a fixed object that the reader is supposed to
depend on as closely as possible as he or she reads. Instead,
the text is viewed as a blueprint for meaning. The reason
being that according to their view no text is ever fully explicit,
no text ever specifies all the relationships among events; this
means that readers play a much more active and
constructive role in their own comprehension an active and
constructive model of comprehension has enormous
implications for the role of the classroom teacher in
promoting comprehension. This is because a teacher can no
longer regard the text as the ultimate criterion for defining
what comprehension is, but must view the text along with
learner’s prior knowledge, learner’s strategies, the task or task
given to learners and the classroom environment.
29

Comprehension is the goal of reading and listening. We

do it every day, often without being aware that we are doing
it. However, the reader needs comprehension strategies in
order to accomplish the task of reading most effectively,
efficiently and meaningfully. Reading comprehension seems
to be a complex process. Successful comprehension enables
readers to acquire information, to experience and be aware
of other worlds, to communicate successfully and to achieve
academic success. Comprehension strategies are very
important in reading. They reflect a purposeful, intentional,
on-going, and adaptable plan, procedure, or process to
improve reading performance, because without it, learners
have virtually no means to increase the sophistication of their
reading. Comprehension strategies are intentional actions that
a reader can take to increase their chances of understanding
or remembering the information in a text. Comprehension
strategies are important in that they provide the reader with
knowledge of how to use the strategies appropriately and
understand the text. As far as practical application is
concerned, there are cognitive and met cognitive strategies.
According met cognition means awareness of thought
processes in the act of carrying them out. The human being
then uses this awareness to control him/herself. Met
30

cognition makes the person aware of the way in which

he/she is thinking. Good readers use met cognition strategies
to think about and have control over their reading, for
example, before reading; they might clarify their purpose for
reading and preview the text. During reading, they might
monitor their understanding, adjusting their reading speed to
fit the difficulty of the text and fixing up any comprehension
problems they have. After reading, they check their
understanding of what they read Met cognitive strategies are
higher-order executive tactics that entail planning for learning,
monitoring, identifying and remedying causes of
comprehension failure or evaluating the successes of a
learning activity, that is, the strategies of self-planning, self-
monitoring, self-regulating, self-questioning and self-reflecting
strategies involve planning, monitoring and evaluating before,
during and after any thinking act such as reading
comprehension.

2.1.4 Reading for experience

In literary reading, the reader engages with the text to
become involved in imagined events, setting, actions,
consequences, characters, atmosphere, feelings, and ideas,
and to enjoy language itself. To understand and appreciate
literature, the reader must bring to the text his or her own
31

experiences, feelings, appreciation of language and

knowledge of literary forms. For young readers, literature
offers the opportunity to explore situations and feelings they
have not yet encountered. The main form of literary texts
used in the student’s assessment is narrative fiction.68 Given
differences in curricula and cultures across the participating
countries, it is difficult for Students to include some types of
literary texts. For example, poetry is difficult to translate and
plays are not widely taught in the primary grades. Events,
actions, and consequences depicted in narrative fiction allow
the reader to experience vicariously and reflect upon
situations that, although they may be fantasy, illuminate
those of real life. The text may present the perspective of
the narrator or a principal character, or there may be several
such viewpoints in a more complex text. Information and
ideas may be described directly or through dialogue and
events. Short stories or novels sometimes narrate events
chronologically, or sometimes make more complex use of
15
time with flashbacks or time shifts.

15
Phra Vanhxay Onechoumsitthi, “A study of English Reading
Skill of Grade 6 students of Wat Sitaram school in Pomprap, Sattruphai
district, Bangkok”, Thesis of Master of Arts (International program,
MCU, 2016), p. 46
32

2.2 Reading problems as a second language learner

Reading competence in a second language (L2) has been
a matter of concern among scholars because of the observed
tendency among L2 and foreign language (FL) readers across
the globe to manifest profound reading difficulties. Wuit
explains the situation by pointing out that second language
reading may place additional demands on the reader due to
second language and cultural proficiency as well as previous
literacy experience and belief. Unoh, writing about the
Nigerian L2 reading situation, points out the existence of
reading problems such as slow reading, low comprehension,
inability to distinguish between main idea from subordinate
details, ineffective recall, difficulty in creative reading, and
many others. Some scholars like Onochie and Tswanya have
emphasized the experiential factor which they argue deprives
an L2 reader of schemata required for comprehending texts
written in a second language. This view, which is hinged on
the schema theory, is viewed by Landry as an untenable
explanation of poor L2 reading. Wallace, in his own
submission, observes that readers in second language
situations often do not have the minimum threshold of
general L2 ability required to read well. Obviously, there are
divergent positions regarding the source of reading difficulties
33

among L2 readers. Yet, appropriate pedagogical responses

would depend on a clear picture of the causes of reading
problems. In view of this, this researcher embarked on this
study to contribute to the establishment of a clear position
regarding the issue and to recommend solutions to reading
16
problems.
In a foreign language the situation is more complex. At
first, language use has not reached this “automatic, intuitive
level.” It depends on the level of proficiency, a conscious
process, full of doubt and interference. The anticipatory
process which, according to Goodman, constitutes such an
important part in the process of reading is then hindered by
the fact that the foreign-language reader has not yet reached
the level at which choices are made automatically and
17
intuitively.

2.2.1 The difficulties in reading

16
Reading Errors in Second Language Learners, Ifeyinwa Rita
Obiegbu, [Online], Retrieved from Sage journals,
https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244018792973 [August 10, 2018].
17
Carlos Alfredo Yorio2, Some Sources of Reading Problems for
Foreign-Language learners, (University of Michigan, Language Learning,
Vol. 21, No. 1), pp. 108-110.
34

Researchers find that some identified obstacles are

currently faced by most students as a second language
learners. They are:
2.2.1.1 Word-meaning factor
Second language learners had difficulty with the
meaning of some words. Here the number and difficulty of
words are increasing. The vocabulary becomes more
sophisticated, and word meaning becomes more of
problems.
2.2.1.2 Word-attack factor
Most of students have obvious word-attack problem.
Either the examiner has to supply words or the students
mispronounce words or sometimes they sounded them out.
The wrong kind of phonics instruction may be characterized
as follows: (1) It is too abstract, requiring sophisticated
prerequisite abilities, (2) It spends time on tasks that do not
contribute to reading, (3) It omits components needed for
successful decoding
2.2.1.3 Syntactic-structure factor
The problems with syntactic structures can be arisen in
two ways. First, student’s ability to understand the syntactic
structure when their speaking is not guaranteed that these
same structures will be understood when they read. Second,
35

some syntactic structures are more frequent in speech than

in print and are unfamiliar when encounter in print.
2.2.1.4 Problems in teaching and learning
reading skill
Some problems in teaching and learning reading skills
that are faced by the teachers are language, topic, genre,
comprehension tasks and negative experience as followings:
2.2.1.4.1 Language
In the case of written text some researchers look at
word and sentence length (Wallace 1992), on the premise
that texts with longer words will be more difficult to
understand than those shorter one. It means that if students
face the situation, they will get difficult in absorbing what the
meaning of the text is.
2.2.1.4.2 Topic and genre
The teaching of receptive skill sometimes will not go as
want it to be because of the inappropriate topic or unfamiliar
genre they are dealing with and will not interest to learn.
2.2.1.4.3 Comprehension task
When the teacher wants to give the task and chooses
the comprehension task to do it, sometimes that kind of task
is not helping the students to understand the skill. It is more
likely to be testing them. By tasting they will not be
36

appropriate way to accomplishing the student’s

improvement in this skill.
2.2.1.4.4 Negative expectations
Before the students were starting to learn the skill, they
already have negative expectations. They feel that they are
not going to understand the passage because it is bound to
be too difficult and they will be frustrating and be motivating.
18

2.2.1.5 Fluency factor

Most of second language learner read haltingly, in a
monotone, and with many hesitations. The comprehension of
students is weak when texts are read too slowly. Some
researchers indicate that slow word recognition is related to
poor sentence processing and that face word recognition is
correlated with better comprehension.

2.2.2 Student’s and outer issues

18
Ikah Atikah, “Analysis on The Students’ Linguistic Problems
in Reading Comprehension”, Bachelor of Arts Degree, English
language Education, (State Islamic University, Syarif Hidayatullh,
Jakarta, June 2, 2009), pp. 21-23
37

19
Regarding Weiner’s attribution theory , various aspects
influence one’s success or failure in education. The theory
mainly focuses on causes that lead to achievement-related
contexts, and they are categorized into three groups, namely
locus (internal or external), stability (stable or unstable), and
control (controllable or uncontrollable). Focusing on the
locus of the causal attribution, the internal attributions that
affect learners’ education achievement are ability, effort,
strategy, and interest. They exhibit in the learners’ selves. On
the contrary, the external attributions are luck, task difficulty,
teacher influence, and family influence, and they are the
components that surround the learners. Considering the
internal and external attributions, learners seem to relate
their success in learning to the internal variables. In contrast,
they seem to attribute their failure to some external
variables.

In this theoretical concern, the researcher converts the

locus in attribution theory from internal and external
attribution to student’s and outer issue in order to simplify
the meaning, making sure that they are easily understandable

19
Unaree Taladngoen, “A study of factors affecting EFL tertiary
students, reading comprehension ability”, Rangsit Journal of
Education Studies Volume 7, No. 1 (January-June 2020), pp. 13-14
38

for conducting research and the profit of communicating

aspect. Operating this theory to the subject of reading skill for
participants, the student’s and outer issues play an integral
role in enhancing or impeding “A study of English reading skill
of bachelor’s degree students, faculty of humanities at MCU,
Chiang Mai campus”.

The first student’s factor is the ability, which covers

learners’ linguistic knowledge of English, such as grammatical
and vocabulary knowledge. Learners’ linguistic performance
usually indicates their linguistic competency as well as
reading comprehension stated by Gan, Humphreys, & Hamp-
Lyons; Yilmaz & Kahyalar; Galakjani & Sabouri. Another outer
affecting issue is learners’ perceptions toward themselves
and other components that surround them. Learners’
perceptions include feelings of interest, boredom, anxiety,
sickness, and discomfort due to personal problems. The
presence or absence of positive or negative personal
perceptions toward self and surroundings will either promote
or obstruct reading comprehension ability explained by
Habibian, Roslan, Idris & Othman.

The other parts were student attraction toward the

subject and their motivation in learning English in general.
39

These aspects were lack from the student, most of the

student did not find reading comprehension was attractive
subject. They tend to think that this subject is boring and
also lack of motivation in learning English. This was portrayed
by very few students studying English outside the school,
such as taking English course. This was in accordance with
Ulfa who stated that there were students who do not have
good motivation to read and they felt the text is not
interesting for them because they must keep on looking up
the words in a dictionary to find out the meaning of the
words. These activities make them feel bored and
uninterested in reading comprehension. So, it was a problem
for the teaching reading comprehension in the class.

Additionally, the outer variables can also facilitate or

hinder learners’ reading performance. The first affecting factor
is teacher influence, which can be any attributes related to
the teacher. For instance, teaching methods, teaching
materials, the content of reading lessons, and the potential
application of the learned knowledge in daily life can
influence learners’ reading ability. These variables link to
learners’ interest in reading. As Habibian, Roslan, Idris and
Othman mentioned, the factors that cause a positive attitude
40

to learners would lead them to succeed in the reading

process.

The other outer issue of reading comprehension

problem was problem from the teacher. These problems
arouse due to mainly the teacher’s way of teaching. From
the articles that discussed reading comprehension, some
researcher found that teacher did not apply any method to
comprehend the reading text. Teacher just read, led the
student read and told them to finish some questions in the
text book. This was in accordance with Soemantri which
stated that traditional teaching still applied in many teaching
classrooms. Seomantri also stated that lecture’s technique
was uninteresting while others state that it was monotonous.
However, teaching learning process was dominated by the
teacher as indicated by 70% of students convince the
researcher that lecture was still dominated by the lecturer
20
(teacher center) .

20
Rohani Ganie, Deliana, and Rahmadsyah Rangkuti, “Reading
Comprehension Problems on English Texts Faced By High School
Students in Medan”, article of the second annual international
conference on language and literature (University of Sumatera
Utara, Medan, Indonesia), Volume 2019, p. 691
41

Another outer issue is family influence. This affecting

variable deals with assistance, encouragement, and support
from the family members (Phothongsunan). Although family
involvement in reading activities, such as providing English
writing books and helping with reading-related homework or
assignments, usually promotes young learners’ literacy skills
said the Dawkins, teenage learners should benefit from it
when they feel the encouragement from the family members
and recognize their attention to their learning. The last
affecting outer variable is the environment. The environment
has both advantages and disadvantages to learners’ reading
comprehension ability. As mentioned in Galakjani and
Sabouri’s study, reading under a supportive environment with
enough light, mild temperature, and tranquility, learners will
be able to concentrate more on their reading tasks. On the
other hand, an unsupportive environment, such as
insufficient light, extreme temperature, and interrupting
noises, will distract learners from their reading tasks.

2.2.3 Effects of reading difficulties

Typical reading difficulties of adolescents with mild
disabilities include problems with vocabulary, word
recognition, reading comprehension and reading rate. Reading
appears to affect performance in all other academic subjects
42

as well as to impact vocational needs and options

mentioned the Feagans, Hallahan, Kauffman & Lioyd. Mercer
denotes several types of reading problems that are typically
found among students such as reading habits, word
recognition errors, comprehension errors and miscellaneous
symptoms. Smith et al., also lists several common problems
experienced by some students who suffer from reading
disabilities. These include: omitting letters, syllables or words;
inserting extra letters, words or sound; substituting words that
look or sound similar; mispronouncing words; repeating words
and using improper inflection during oral reading. Reading
disability is a deliberating problem for many second language
learners, adolescents and adults in North America and
throughout the world. Educators, parents, physicians, as well
as society in general share a common concern about
individuals who do not learn to read. All teachers have the
responsibility of understanding and helping their failing and
frustrated students. Elementary classroom teachers, reading
teachers, special education teachers and secondary school
teachers need knowledge about the assessment and
43

treatment of reading difficulties noted by Richet, List &

21
Lerner.
Studies show that almost 80 percent of second language
learners with learning disabilities have their primary
educational problem in the area of reading. The reading
problems of all these students have a substantial impact on
their ability to master other subjects in school. Richet et al,
indicate that as a primary cause of school failure, poor
reading ability leads to lowered self-esteem and serious
emotional overlays. Moreover, reading problems prevent
individuals from reaching desired career goals and robs them
of the opportunity to read for pleasure and enjoyment.
Reading difficulties are the principal causes of failure in
school told by Carmine, Silbert & Kameenui. They further
affirm that reading failure could lead to misbehavior, anxiety
and lack of motivation. According to Lerner, reading
experiences strongly influence self-image and feelings.
2.2.3.1 Comprehension Errors and Students
Academic Performance

21
WANJIKU KARANJA, “Effects of Reading difficulties on
Academic Performance Among Form Three Students in Public
Secondary Schools, Kiambu, Kenya”, Thesis of Master of
Education (Kenyatta University, 2015), p. 2
44

Reading difficulties are the principal causes of failure in

school mentioned by Carmine, Silbet & Kameenui. According
to Mercer and Mercer, between 10 percent and 15 percent of
school-going learners have reading difficulties. Teachers
should be in a position to identify a learner’s problem
including those related to reading from a holistic point of
view in order to help such a learner manage academically in
school said the Dreikrurs, Gronwall & Peper. Lerner also notes
that teachers should identify children with reading problems
early and provide them with appropriate early interventions
rather than practicing the policy of wait - and - fail method.
Researchers conducted in Kenya highlights that learner with
problems in reading English have problems in school
performance in general added the Chege, Kirigia& Njoroge.
According to Kenya Institute of curriculum development,
secondary education syllabus volume one, the ability to read
fluently is vital both in school and for life. Good reading skills
will improve performance in all school subjects. 20 Reading
helps in information gathering and learning of concepts.
Through reading, the learner is exposed to new vocabulary,
new sentence structures and different registers. Reading also
acquaints the learner with good models of language use. A
good foundation of reading should be laid in Form One. This
45

is because reading is a very important component of

language learning. It will also help in the study of all other
subjects.
2.2.3.2 Reading Difficulties and Learning
Disabilities Controversy
According to Runo, about 80 percent of all learners with
learning disabilities experience reading difficulties. It is
estimated that among all learners who have any sort of
disability, 51 percent of them have learning disabilities.
Inability to learn to read has been called “word
blindness”. Reid et al., maintains that dyslexia is
conventionally defined as difficulty in the ability to identify
printed words and letters in learners who have at least
normal average intelligence and who are not impaired by
general learning difficulties. Estimates of the prevalence of
learning disabilities vary widely ranging from 19 percent to 30
percent of the school population. Majority of learners with
learning disabilities are found in regular schools. This means
that there are many learners in school who have reading
difficulties. This study used the terms learning disabilities,
reading disability and dyslexia to mean reading difficulties as
teachers in secondary schools were not aware of their
meanings or their differences.
46

2.2.3.3 Challenges of Dealing with Students with

Reading Difficulties
Teachers face a lot of challenges while handling
students with reading difficulties. The purpose of reading is
comprehension and many students with reading difficulties
lack that aspect of comprehension which poses a big
problem to teachers trying to teach them. Learners with
reading disabilities have problems with reading and spelling
and find comprehension a challenge. They also find it
difficult to transfer their thoughts to paper when answering
comprehension questions.
According to Runo teachers faced such challenges as
teaching sounds, inadequate materials, and inadequate time
to teach reading and mother tongue interference. Lerner
argues that problems of low self-esteem and poor social
relationships are carried forward into adolescence where they
can develop into learned helplessness, a significant drop in
their confidence to learn and succeed, low motivation to
achieve, attention problems and maladaptive behavior which
can affect secondary school student performance negatively.
Many of the students end up dropping out of school before
the duly time and others portray chronic absenteeism.
2.2.3.4 Strategies to Enhance Reading Difficulties
47

According to Lerner, the National Reading Panel of 2000

recognized several strategies that had a solid scientific basis
of instruction for improving reading comprehension including:
Comprehension monitoring: Students learn how to be
aware of their understanding of the material. Cooperative
thinking: Students learn reading strategies together. Use of
graphic and semantic organizers, including story maps:
Students make graphic representations of the materials to
assist their comprehension. Question answering: Students
answer questions posed by the teacher and receive
immediate feedback. Question generation: Students ask
themselves questions about various aspects of the story.
Story structure: Students are taught how to use the
structure of the story as a means of helping them recall story
content in order to answer questions about what they have
read. Summarization: Students are taught to integrate ideas
and to generate ideas and to generalize from the text
22
information.
Williams, learner however suggests that students with
learning disabilities require a different type of comprehension
22
WANJIKU KARANJA, “Effects of Reading difficulties on
Academic Performance Among Form Three Students in Public
Secondary Schools, Kiambu, Kenya”, Thesis of Master of Education
(Kenyatta University, 2015), pp.23-24.
48

instruction than typical learners and that just as students with

learning disabilities need explicit structure instruction to learn
word-recognition skills, they need explicit, highly structured
instruction to learn reading comprehension skills. Williams
emphasizes a “Themes Instruction Program”, which consists
of a series of twelve 40 minutes lessons and each lesson is
organized around a single story and is composed of five parts
namely: pre-reading discussion on the purpose of the lesson
and the topic of the story that will be read, reading the story,
discussion of important story information using organized
(schema) questions as a guide, identification of a theme for
the story, stating it in general terms so that it is relevant to a
variety of stories and situations and finally practice in
applying the generalized theme to real-life experiences.

2.3 Practical methods for improving reading

comprehension
Comprehension is an important aspect of reading. When
students read, strive to understand and extract meaning for
better overall awareness of what they are reading. By learning
and implementing reading strategies and changing how
learners read, they can improve their reading comprehension
abilities and make reading easier and more enjoyable. In this
49

article, researcher will explore what reading comprehension is

and the best strategies that learners can use to advance their
reading skills.
Reading comprehension is the ability to comprehend or
understand, what readers are reading. This is an intentional
and active part of reading and takes place before, during and
after readers read something. By being able to comprehend
what they are reading, they can extract meaning from the
text and better realize what the author is trying to convey.
There are two components of reading comprehension: text
comprehension and vocabulary knowledge. Vocabulary
knowledge is the ability to understand the language being
used, while text comprehension is using this language to
develop an awareness of what the meaning is behind the
text. The reasons that reading comprehension is important
and needed because of several reasons. Being able to
effectively read can improve both personal and professional life
and can increase overall enjoyment of reading. Knowing how to
understand a text can help boost knowledge in certain areas
and help readers learn new skills and information faster.

2.3.1 Practical techniques for understanding text

There are several reading strategies that readers can begin
implementing to improve reading comprehension skills. The
50

more student practice, the better they will become at

understanding what they are reading. The following are seven
simple strategies students can use to work on comprehension
23
skills:
2.3.1.1 Improve vocabulary
Knowing what the words that are being read mean can
improve reader’s ability to comprehend the meaning of the
text. To improve vocabulary, learners can:
(1) Take an online vocabulary quiz to assess current level of
vocabulary understanding, (2) Use flashcards to quiz oneself
on words that is not known once or twice a week, (3) Make a
point to use newly learned words in verbal and written
communication, (4) Read as much as possible to improve
ability to guess what a word means in a certain context, (5)
Make a list of unfamiliar words as already read and look them
up in the dictionary
2.3.1.2 Come up with questions about the text
are being read
Asking questions about what are being read can help
improve readers’ reading comprehension by allowing readers
23
Indeed Editorial Team, “7 Simple Strategies To Improve
Your Reading Comprehension”, [Online], Retrieved from: https:
www.Indeed./7 Simple Strategies To Improve Your Reading
Comprehension | Indeed.com [June 10, 2021].
51

to become invested in the text. It can also broaden overall

understanding of what are being read by enabling to explore
themes, motifs and other components of text that readers
otherwise wouldn’t inquire about. The following are
examples of questions students could pose as they read: (1)
Why did the author begin the book at that location? (2) What
kind of relationship do these two characters share? (3) What
do readers know about the main character up to this point in
the book? (4) Are there any themes that have consistently
come up throughout the book? If so, what do they mean?
The more specific questions, the more likely readers will gain
further insight into the text and its meaning.
2.3.1.3 Use context clues
Using context clues is a great way to understand what is
being read even if readers don’t know all the vocabulary
being used. Context clues can be found in the words and
sentences surrounding the word those readers aren’t familiar
with. To use context clues, readers can focus on the key
phrases or ideas in a sentence and deduce the main idea of a
sentence or paragraph based on this information. Readers
can also look for nearby words that are synonyms or
antonyms of the word they don’t know.
2.3.1.4 Look for the main idea
52

Identifying the main idea of a paragraph or article can help

readers determine the importance of the article. Understanding
why what is being read is important can give readers a better
comprehension of what the author is trying to convey. When
reading, pause every few paragraphs and see if reader can
decipher what the main idea is. Then, try to put the main idea in
reader’s words for even further understanding.
2.3.1.5 Write a summary of that text or story
A great way to increase the knowledge of what readers
have read is to write a summary. Summarizing requires reader to
decide what is important in the text and then put it in reader’s
words. Summarizing allows readers to determine if it is truly
understandable what readers have read and better remember
what readers have read in the long term.
2.3.1.6 Break up with the reading into smaller
sections
If readers are reading longer or more challenging text,
consider breaking it up into smaller sections. For example,
reader could read two paragraphs at a time and then pause to
quickly summarize what have just read in reader’s mind.
Breaking up what is being read can help readers feel less
overwhelmed and give readers a better chance of truly
comprehending the information in the text.
53

2.3.1.7 Pacing
Pacing is also an effective way to work on reading
comprehension skills by allowing readers to set realistic goals for
reading practice and habits. This is especially true for books or
other literature that reader find challenging. Example, rather
than saying that readers want to read an entire book in two
days, say that readers will read three chapters a night. This
allows readers to reach the goals and also provides adequate
time for readers to process what are being read between each
session.

2.4 Research works concerned

Phra Vanhxay did a survey entitled “A Study of English

Reading Skill of Grade 6 Students of Wat Sitaram School in
Pomprap Sattruphai district Bangkok”. The instrument used
for collecting data was a questionnaire and interview. The
results were that reading was more challenging to learn
compared to other skills. Owing to this study, reading skill is
more important which students should practice regularly.
Students with the mean rate of 3.53 seem to understand
what reading is, whereas other students do not realize the
existence of it and face the reading problems for their
studies. Moreover, the students with the mean rate of 3.13
54

admitted that they do not have previous knowledge of

English reading skill, so this was found that one of the
24
reasons which caused reading difficulties.

Yulianah Prihantin did research entitled “Reading Skills

Problems and Their Solution”. The instrument used for
collecting data was an observation and interview concerning
as qualitative approach. The result of the studies indicated
that there are still a lot of pupils that struggle to
comprehend reading strategies. Still, there are a lot of errors
that pupils make when reading. The reading speed will be
slowed down if reader continue a bad reading habit. The
following are a few of the negative habits that the
investigation discovered. 1) vocalization, the student habit
that was discovered for the first time was reading aloud.
Apart from affecting reading speed and comprehension, this
habit will also irritate other students. However, if while
reading aloud, this habit should be made so that the listener
can hear well. 2) Lip movement, some students moved their
lips while reading. This habit will also affect comprehension

24
Phra Vanhxay Onechoumsitthi, “A study of English Reading
Skill of Grade 6 students of Wat Sitaram school in Pomprap, Sattruphai
district, Bangkok”, Thesis of Master of Arts (International program,
MCU, 2016), p. 69
55

and reading speed. 3) Head movement, when reading, many

students also move along word for word in the reading
material so that the head regularly moves from left to right,
then returns to the left, and so on. This habit will hamper
reading speed because head movement is far less than eye
movement. 4) Regression (backwards), They often do
repetition while reading. For example, reading a sentence or
paragraph, then being unsure of its content or feeling that
you don't understand it, then the reader returns and repeats
the sentence or paragraph, so a lot of time is wasted. Some
students do not focus on and lack concentration, so they do
regression or backward repetition.

The recommendation made for this challenging issue is to

teach kids effective reading strategies beforehand. To solve
these issues, the teacher must also modify the reading
strategy according to the content or learning goals that must
be met. In order for pupils to become interested in and
motivated to participate in learning, the instructor, acting as a
motivator, must employ this solution. The third solution sets
up a favorable learning atmosphere in the classroom.
Environmental factors must be as conducive to learning as
feasible because reading involves focus and concentration.
56

On the other hand, by selecting techniques and tactics

that are effective for teaching reading to children and that
they enjoy using, the problem of approaches and strategies in
learning reading abilities can be solved. The KWLA (Know,
What, Learned, Affect) strategy, for instance, is one of the
methods used to make reading instruction enjoyable. One
reading strategy is the KWLA method. Strategy Teachers
should be aware of students' backgrounds and knowledge,
according to KWLA. The KWLA technique involves students
before, during, and after reading. It is focused on student
activity. By using this technique, students are given the
chance to connect their personal assessments and areas of
interest to their learning experiences after reading. Students
might engage in group brainstorming so that the extent to
which students' interests and knowledge are tied to the texts
they are reading can be seen by the teacher. Based on the
results of the research conducted, it was found that the
response of student interest in learning was obtained by
90.4%. In the aspect that contains student responses to the
ease of understanding and studying the material, the
percentage of 89.1% is found in the very good category.

Moreover, researchers interviewed one of the professors

by asking him a number of questions. Where do you typically
57

use teaching resources when learning to read? The school's

textbooks serve as the teacher's primary source of
instructional materials for students learning to read. Of
course, the issues with reading proficiency mentioned above
just require a solution to be solved. The government,
universities, and schools should collaborate to hold basic
training on computer and internet-related topics so that
teachers can access various online resources, such as news
videos that can be used as teaching resources for learning to
read, especially in suburban schools that lacks by far the
necessary facilities. Teachers in schools can learn more about
using computers and the internet through this course. The
teacher should be able to produce their own media, such as
25
3D media, as a second option to grab students' attention.

Rohani Ganie, Deliana, and Rahmadsyah Rangkuti did a

conference paper entitled “Reading Comprehension
Problems on English Texts Faced By High School Students in
Medan”. The research method used purposive sampling

Yulianah Prihantin, Resdianto Permata Raharjo, Arisni

25

Kholifatu, “Reading Skills Problems and Their Solutions”, Palarch’s

Journal Of Archaeology Of Egypt/Egyptology (Universitas Hasyim
Asy'ari), p. 738-739
58

technique. The data sources were obtained through internet

by browsing the key words (library research). Based on the
data analysis, which were articles of journal on reading
comprehension theme from 2010 -2018, it was found some
theme which represent the problems face in reading
comprehension learning. These themes presented by this
figured below:

Reading
Comprehension
Problems

Problems from
Problems from External
the Students
the Teacher Problems
itself

Student Student
Student basic Unsuitable Not Applying
Attraction on Motiveation on Material Environment
English Ability Methods any Methods
the Subject Learning English

Books did not

Seldom practice
Not know the support the Not English Avoid using
Less Vocab outside the
meaning actual condition daily rgion English
school
of student

Figure 2.4.1 Site map of Reading Comprehension Problems

face on Senior High English Study.

The problems appeared in reading comprehension on English

Text divided into three major problems, which were; 1.
59

Problems from the student itself, 2. Problems from the

26
teacher, and 3. External Problems.

Kanyaporn Torudom did journal entitled “An

Investigation of Reading Attitudes, Motivation and Reading
Anxiety of EFL Undergraduate Students”. This study used the
two instruments i.e. Erten and colleagues’ Foreign Language
Reading Attitudes and Motivation Scale, and Saito and
colleagues’ Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale. The
results in this study showed that there was a significant
difference between science major and non-science major
students, and there was a significant difference between
language proficiency levels. For these reasons, it is suggested
that instructors should understand and be aware of the
differences between (1) science major and non-science major
students, (2) the language proficiency level differences of
students. Doing so, instructors will be able to provide
appropriate reading content and manage reading classrooms
accordingly. This may not appear so straightforward, however,

26
Rohani Ganie, Deliana, and Rahmadsyah Rangkuti, “Reading
Comprehension Problems on English Texts Faced By High School
Students in Medan” The Second Annual International Conference
on Language and Literature Volume 2019, KnE Social Sciences, p.
690-691
60

as it involves a number of factors, e.g. students, instructors,

classroom environment, in a very specific setting. Therefore,
the instructors should put into account these context-based
factors in order to reduce students’ L2 reading anxiety as
well as encourage positive reading attitudes and motivation.
27

2.5 Conceptual Framework

This research paper has been done from many other
sources, documents, theoretical books and concerned
research about relevant subject which is agreed by
conceptual framework as follow:
Independent Variables which refer to personal
information, gender of respondents, monk, novices, and lay
people.
Dependent Variables are the problems of bachelor’s
degree students in fourth year at

27
Kanyaporn Torudom, “An Investigation of Reading Attitudes,
Motivation and Reading Anxiety of EFL Undergraduate Students”,
Language Education and Acquisition Research Network Journal,
Volume 10, Issue 2, 2017, (Language Institute, Thammasat University,
Bangkok 10200, Thailand) p. 56-57
61

Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, Chiang Mai

campus.
Figure 2.5.1 shows the conceptual framework
Independent Variable Dependent
Variable
- The problem of
English reading
skills
- Attitude toward
student who has
different age,
status and
experience
- Perception
toward student
who has different
age, status and
experience
- Solutions toward
- Gender
reading difficulty of
---Male / Female
student
- Status
--- Monk /
Layperson
- Age
- Experience