The Effectiveness of Extensive Reading Course at the English Department, State University of Malang, in Cultivating the Student’s Reading Strategies

The Effectiveness of Extensive Reading Course at the English Department, State University of Malang, in Cultivating the Student’s Reading Strategies
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.1 Extensive Reading The term "extensive reading" was originally used by Palmer (1917, quoted by Day and Bamford, 1997) to distinguish it from "intensive reading" - the careful reading of short, complex texts for detailed understanding and skills practice. It has since acquired many other names: Mikulecky (1990, cited in Day and Bamford, 1997) calls it "pleasure reading." Grabe (1991) and others use the term "sustained silent reading", while Mason and Krashen (in press) call it simply "free reading".
According to Day & Bamford (1997), extensive reading is reading large amounts of text with the aim of getting an overall understanding of the material. In other words, learners read to get the meaning of the text rather than the meaning of individual words or sentences. Brown (2001:313) also explains that “extensive reading is carried out to achieve a general understanding of a usually somewhat longer text (book, long article, or essay, etc).”
To sum up, the hierarchy of extensive reading is reading a longer text which is emphasized on overall meaning without a pressure but a pleasure. It means that the students can read the materials they want to read and stop when they feel lack of interest on them. It is easier for the student to comprehend the reading materials because they enjoy their experiences in reading.
2.2 Extensive Reading Course at the English Department, State University of Malang The identification of “Extensive Reading” as one of the subject taught at the English Department, State University of Malang can be found in the catalog faculty of letter 2008. Extensive Reading aims at developing good reading habits, building up knowledge of vocabulary and structure, and encouraging a liking of reading. It basically requires the students to respond to what they have read and to carry out a variety of classroom activities in order to share with one another what they learned from their reading materials. Then, it develops that students are required to write a brief comment and a short summary for each of their reading materials. In the catalog, Extensive Reading is divided into 3 levels which are Extensive Reading I, Extensive Reading II, and Extensive Reading III. Extensive Reading I served on the second semester and provides the students with opportunities to choose and read poems, fables, fairytales, folktales, and short stories for children at the pre-intermediate level. In addition, Extensive Reading II is designed on third semester and provides the students to choose and read short stories and abridged novels at the pre-intermediate to intermediate levels. Moreover, Extensive Reading III is served on fourth semester and provides the students to choose and read short stories, novels, and non fictions, such as articles from the National Geographic chapter of textbook, at the intermediate level.
In conclusion, through Extensive Reading perhaps the students of English Department at the State University of Malang can develop their ability to comprehend all of the reading materials in pre-intermediate till intermediate levels even to summarize the text and give respond or comment as an evaluation what they have read in oral and written reports.

2.3 Reading Strategies In general terms, learner strategies are the cognitive steps learners use to process second language input (Oxford, 1990:10). These cognitive steps include retrieving and storing new input. For most second language learners who are already literate in a previous language, reading comprehension is primarily a matter of developing appropriate, efficient comprehension strategies. Some strategies are related to bottom-up procedures, and others enhance the top-down processes (Brown, 2001:306). The combination of both can develop the students to utilize their ability in translating print into meaning as well as their background knowledge to comprehend reading texts. According to Block (1986) reading strategies refer to what textual cues they attend to, how they make sense of what they read, and what they do when they do not understand. She categorizes reading strategies into two major classes, general strategies and local strategies which prove to be more essential, complete, and complex classification of cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies. This classification also reflects the existence of two important reading process same as in Brown’s concept. In sum, the definition of reading strategy refers to all kinds of metal operations that readers plan and apply consciously in order to understand the reading materials.
2.4 Related Studies Grabe (1986: 396, quoted in Mutoh, Bamford and Helgesen 1998) called extensive reading a "major way to round out a reading program", and in 1991 went on to sum up simply and forcefully the many benefits of extensive reading by arguing: "students need to read extensively. Longer concentrated periods of silent reading build vocabulary and structural awareness, develop automaticity, enhance background knowledge, improve comprehension skills and promote confidence and motivation."
Murdibyono (1992: 33-34) in his study about reading strategies, summarizes two main types of reading strategies from the various studies, i.e. successful comprehension strategies and unsuccessful comprehension strategies. Successful strategies are those employed by good learners, which yield successful result. Unsuccessful strategies, on the other hand, are employed by poor readers with unsuccessful result.
The accumulated wisdom embodied in the current studies and the many which came before it strongly suggests that extensive reading can play an important role in helping students to gain their level of reading skill. Reading skills are essential if students can develop their reading strategies in using the word to know and change the world. Based on those related studies, we can find relationship between extensive reading and reading strategy in which extensive reading is very effective to cultivate the student’s reading strategies to get successful results.

References
Block, E. K. 1986. The Comprehension Strategies of Second Language Readers. TESOL Quarterly, 20 (3): 463-494.
Brown, H. D. 2001. Teaching by Principles an Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy. Second Addition. New York; Wesley Longman, Inc.
Day, R. and Banford, J. 1997. 'Extensive Reading: What Is It? Why Bother? ' The Language Teacher Online. Available: http://langue.hyper.chubu.ac./jp/jalt/pub/tlt/97/may/extensive.html
Day, R. and Bamford, J. 1998. Extensive Reading in the Second Language Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Grabe, W. 1991. 'Current Developments in Second Language Research ' TESOL Quarterly, Vol. 25: 375-406.
Murdibjono, A. W. 1992. Students Problems and Strategies in Understanding Complex Sentences. Unpublished S-2 Thesis. Malang: Fakultas Pasca Sarjana IKIP Malang.
Oxford, R. L. 1990. Language learner Strategies: What Every Teacher Should Know. Boston, Massachusetts: Heinle and Heinle Publishers.

References: Block, E. K. 1986. The Comprehension Strategies of Second Language Readers. TESOL Quarterly, 20 (3): 463-494. Brown, H. D. 2001. Teaching by Principles an Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy. Second Addition. New York; Wesley Longman, Inc. Day, R. and Banford, J. 1997. 'Extensive Reading: What Is It? Why Bother? ' The Language Teacher Online. Available: http://langue.hyper.chubu.ac./jp/jalt/pub/tlt/97/may/extensive.html Day, R. and Bamford, J. 1998. Extensive Reading in the Second Language Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Grabe, W. 1991. 'Current Developments in Second Language Research ' TESOL Quarterly, Vol. 25: 375-406. Murdibjono, A. W. 1992. Students Problems and Strategies in Understanding Complex Sentences. Unpublished S-2 Thesis. Malang: Fakultas Pasca Sarjana IKIP Malang. Oxford, R. L. 1990. Language learner Strategies: What Every Teacher Should Know. Boston, Massachusetts: Heinle and Heinle Publishers.