1.1. What is Reading?
Reading is much more than a single skill, it engages the harmonization of a series of abilities, strategies, and knowledge. (Cain, 2010 :2).
Reading is an act of communication in which information is transferred from a transmitter to a receiver (Smith 1973:2).
1.2. Reading Comprehension Strategies:
Reading comprehension is best understood as the process through which the recognized words are transmitted into a meaningful idea (Hooverand Gough, 1990). In other words, reading comprehension is the ability to build a meaning after decoding the written symbols.
Reading comprehension strategies are : cognitive or behavioral action[s] that [are] enacted under particular contextual conditions, with the goal of improving some aspect of comprehension. (McNamara, 2007 :7). They are : pre-reading, during reading, and post-reading.
1.2.1. Pre-reading:
Pre-reading aims at prepar[ing] the [readers] for a reading selection, or giv[ing] them the first steps in order to develop skills in anticipation and prediction for the reading, activating background knowledge so they could later interact with the text. (Medina, 2008)
1.2.2. During reading:
During reading is intended to help [readers] to understand the specific content and to perceive the rhetorical structure of the text (Celce-Murcia, 1991 ; in Medina, 2008). In other words, readers, in this stage learn how to interact with the text they read.
1.2.3. Post reading:
In post-reading, readers verify and expand the knowledge acquired in the reading. These last tasks also lead the learners to discuss and analyze issues presented in the reading. (Medina, 2008)
1.3. The Reading Strategies:
1.3.1. Extensive Reading:
According to Carrell and Carson (1997 :49-50):" extensive reading [...] generally involves rapid reading of large quantities of material or longer reading(e.g. whole book) for general understanding with the focus generally on the meaning of what is being read than on the language".
1.3.2. Intensive Reading:
Intensive reading is: "to completely deconstruct a text, with the goal of absorbing as much meaning from it as possible. This is done by taking a text, and systematically looking up every word, phrase, or collocation that you do not understand". (Lampariello, 2017).
1.3.3. Skimming:
According to Baele (2013): "Skimming refers to looking only for the general or main ideas, and works best with non-fiction (or factual) material. With skimming, your overall understanding is reduced because you don't read everything. You read only what is important to your purpose".
1.3.4. Scanning:
Scanning is looking only for a specific fact or piece of information without reading everything. [numbers, dates, names, etc] Baele (2013).
1.3.5. Critical Reading:
Critical reading is an analytic activity. The reader rereads a text to identify patterns of elements - information, values, assumptions, and language usage-- throughout the discussion. These elements are tied together in an interpretation, an assertion of an underlying meaning of the text as a whole. (Kurland, 2000).