Introduction
Making meaning of the text is what comprehension is all about; it refers to the process of interpreting texts utilizing the reader’s prior knowledge (schemata) to generate sense. Various reading specialists acknowledge that the schema theory is among the most plausible explanations for human information processing. One standard theory is that schemas are the underlying building blocks of our minds. It is hypothesized that the less visual information is needed, the more the reader knows without seeing it. Educators are urged to use a wide range of strategies when instructing their students.
Schema Theory
Schemas have altered cognition of reading comprehension by affecting readers’ capacity to understand new information. New information is tied to their prior knowledge, enhancing the readers’ understanding of the texts they are reading. Reading comprehension is a problematic cognitive skill to master. It is receiving the writer’s intended meaning from the text. The schema theory consequently explains how content is encoded, utilized, and perceived; it provides insights into the cognitive process (Xue, 2019). This approach equally emphasizes the relevance of prior information in enhancing reading comprehension and has encouraged the creation of reading research and training to increase comprehension reading capabilities.
Notably, Schema leads students from sensory to creative thinking, encouraging them to participate in the process of reading, guessing, and understanding the material. Students use past knowledge in the schema framework to connect/comprehend texts. Schemata in reading comprehension allow students to logically deduce and patch in content that is not directly incorporated in the text (Xue, 2019). Insufficient schemata cause students’ weakness or confusion in making sense to the reader that could comfortably accommodate the text’s content.
Construction-integration Theory
Similarly, the construction-integration hypothesis, on the other hand, offers an alternate perspective on evaluating reading comprehension. Reading comprehension begins with the generation of text-based information, and a coherent mental picture of the text is built by combining structured text-based knowledge with the reader’s general knowledge (Kintsch, 2018). Despite their opposing viewpoints, the two theories are both helpful in understanding reading comprehension.
Notably, the Construction Integration Mode promotes the study of the function of text coherence in research reading comprehension. Readers with limited knowledge of the article’s topic have gained from coherent texts. Equally, readers with extensive expertise have gained from a moderately comprehensive text. The theory establishes a new Integrated Intelligent Architecture, a discourse comprehension paradigm. Similarly, It is a hybrid model with both symbolic and connectionist elements.
The Instructional comprehension approach for English learners will increase their reading abilities and proficiency. Similarly, volunteering to read comprehension literature in the classroom will give English learners a positive momentum and enhance their understandability (Zingan, 2022). They modify their idea map following their reiteration of the primary ideas and supporting details in small groups (Kintsch, 2018). Additionally, re-reading the English book regularly and either creating their questions or writing a summary of what they just read improves their mastery (Zingan, 2022). Furthermore, for enhancing English learning comprehension, identifying ambiguous words in passages, and turn reading during classroom presentations are vital features.
Conclusion
In conclusion, English learners frequently have persistent reading comprehension difficulties. Random effect analysis with robust standard error estimations reveals that intervention effects were minor but statistically significant. The procedure for reading comprehension involves selecting schemata and elements to explain incoming data. Schema, a data format used to describe broad ideas kept in memory, is critical in editing and retrieval planning.
Schema selection is an inference technique that speeds up reading comprehension. Because schema variation causes reading comprehension failure, language education and psychosocial background should be enhanced to assist students in creating schemata that will help them integrate, extract, and consolidate content. In reading instruction, learners must progress swiftly from basic schemata to higher schemata.
References
Kintsch, W. (2018). Revisiting the construction—integration model of text comprehension and its Implications for Instruction. In Theoretical models and processes of literacy (pp. 178-203). Routledge.
Xue, Y. (2019). The use of schema theory in the teaching of reading comprehension. International Journal of Liberal Arts and Social Science, 7(4), 58-63.
Zingan, O. (2022). Theoretical issues in teaching reading research and their implications on the development of professional reading competence. Univers Pedagogic, 75(3), 39-44.