The Models of Reading



In reading process, there is interaction between the text and the reader to convey the meaning. As stated by Aebersold (1997: 15), the text and the reader are the two physical entities necessary for the reading process to begin. The reader’s meaning is not exactly the same with the writer’s meaning. Therefore, people can get information from the text in different models. There are three models of reading as stated below:
1)   Bottom –up
According Aebersold (1997: 18), he stated that in this model the reader constructs the text from the smallest units (letters to words to phrases to sentences, etc) and that the process of constructing the text from the small units becomes so automatic that the readers are not aware of how it operates. The reader builds up a meaning from the black marks on the page: recognizing letters and words, working out sentence structure (Nuttal, 1996: 17).
2)  Top-down
The readers bring a great deal of knowledge, expectations, assumptions, and questions to the text and, given a basic understanding of the vocabulary, they continue to read as long as the text confirms their expectations (Aebersold ,1997: 18). The reader draws on his/her intelligence and experience and make predictions based on the schemata the reader has acquired to understand the text (Nuttal, 1996: 16).
3)   The interaction of top-down and bottom-up
A process that moves both bottom-up and top-down, depending on the type of the text as well as on the reader’s background knowledge, language proficiency level, motivation, strategy use, and culturally shaped beliefs about the reading (Aebersold, 1997: 18). The reader moves from one focus to another, from top-down model to predict the probable meaning, then moves to the bottom-up to check whether that is really what the writer says (Nuttal, 1996: 17).
Davies (1995: 57-74) divided three models of reading, those are:
1)   Bottom-up model
This model brings a reader to understand sounds, words, sentences, and finally the meaning and thinking.
2)   Top-down model
On the contrary of bottom-up model, this model brings a reader to use thinking and meaning in very early stage.
3)   Rumelhart’s interactive model
This model incorporates the possibility of parallel processing that is the simultaneous processing of information from more than one source.
Based on those theories above, it can be seen that the reader can use one or three of them to get information from the text.

Komentar

Postingan populer dari blog ini

Pernikahan dan Tradisinya di Pekalongan

Mengajarkan Simple Past Tense Dengan Game

Report Text