Issue in Reading

A.    What is Reading?

The visible answer to the question is that a series of activity which involves identifying words and interpreting words that have different meanings in different sentences. However, the ability to interpret words requires readers to have a large extent on the prior knowledge that enables readers to predict the purpose of the written texts.

Besides sufficient background knowledge, readers also need to be aware of monitoring strategies, which is making repair of the reading text, to acquire a smooth and efficient reading activity. Further, readers involve in a meaning-based activity that is purpose and comprehension driven. All of these are elements of literacy events or literacy acts in the second or foreign language reading. However, the L1 literacy will affect the target language learners. As Cook (in Hudson, 2011:10) notes that the L1 is present in the L2 learners’ minds, whether the teacher wants it to be there or not.”

There are some assumptions in viewing literacy. Literacy in linguistics focuses on lexicon, syntax, and phoneme-grapheme correspondence. In addition, there is another focus that is cognitive which readers encountering text and constructing meaning through strategy and skill activation. The other factor is sociocultural dimension which views literacy through social practice, including links to ideology and power (Kucer in Hudson, 2011:10). Later, when we talk about reading in foreign language context, we also talk about reading assessment. 

Postmethod Era

Lesson 02

September 21^st, 2011

By early 1990s, many experts as well as practitioners believed that there was no single method that was superior or better than others. Thus, there was an opinion to unify all methods. This particular time is called “postmethod era” when there is no single method that is predominant. Since then, there is no more new method that is created. Further, in case there appears a “new term” on method that is actually uprooted from the existence methods and approaches. David Nunan (in Brown, 41) explains that it has been realized that there never was and probably never will be a method for all, and the focus in recent years has been on the development of classroom tasks and activities which are consonant with what we know about second language acquisition, and which are also in keeping with the dynamics of the classroom itself. 

Approach and Method in Language Teaching

Lesson 01

September 14^th, 2011

            Basically, every teacher should has four competences in language teaching; namely academic competence, pedagogic competence, personality competence, bla bla competence (sorry, I missed this part).

            Academic competence refers to a competence or ability to understand what to teach, in this context English. It involves elements of English, English skills and English components. Meanwhile, pedagogic competence is ability on how to teach English and personality competence is dealing with social aspects. However, teachers tend to give a very heavy emphasize on pedagogic academic that somehow they are not aware of academic competence.

Assumption and Hypothesis

After stating the research problems, a researcher will define a hypothesis. The statement of a hypothesis becomes important in quantitative problem as it asks about the relationship between two or more variables. Statement of research problem usually provides only general information, thus a good hypothesis will lead to more specific information. There are some terms and features in stating a good hypothesis that will be discussed further and also some examples on hypothesis.

               Meanwhile, assumption is somewhat taken for granted exist when a researcher states the hypothesis. For example, when a researcher asks ‘can I see you tomorrow?’ of course she or he assumes that there is a tomorrow. 

Review of Related Literature

Everybody has been understood that a research can be gone further for the sake of expanding of knowledge after it is related to the previous study. In other words, a researcher has to trace back the knowledge through reading to certain literatures. The discussion of having review of related literature becomes crucial in a research and understanding about plagiarism is another strand of it.