artikel

Using Choral Reading (CR) Method to Teach Reading Comprehension

By

Prissilia Leonita

Abstract

The aims of this study are to know how effective aplication of using Choral Reading (CR) method to teach reading comprehension and to find out more effective choral reading method to teach reading comprehension.choral reading method is one of effective method to teacg reading comprehension. By using choral reading method can helps children become more fluent and confident readers. Choral reading provides support for students who may ordinarily feel self-conscious or nervous about reading aloud in class. Reading along with more fluent readers enables less proficient readers to be successful with a shared text. Choral reading may provide the support necessary to encourage struggling readers to take risks and build their confidence. When students participate in choral reading on a regular and repeated basis, students will internalize the fluent reading of the text being read and begin to transfer their developing fluency to other texts.

Key words : choral reading (CR), reading, teach reading, reading comprehension

Introduction

English language is international languages. Reading is one of the four language skills that must be mastered by students. Reading is important because it provides access to information due to the fact that it can give valuable knowledge to the reader who wants to get information. The implementation of teaching English  at present is based on the Content Standard. Its target is to have the students reach an informational level of literacy. It means that the students are expected to be able to access knowledge by using English (Depdiknas, 2006).

Reading is important not only to the individual, it possesses also great social significance. Such records usually are easily accessible, and they may be read at any time by any person in accordance with his needs, (Amita Bahardwaj, 1997:2)”. Students’ reading comprehension has very strong relationship with the gained information. It means that more the students comprehend the text, the more the students get information. In other words, without any comprehension the students will fail in gaining the information available in the text.

According to Clymer in (Beck, Robert H, 1959:135) “Reading is an ability that is constantly called into use in a society as complex as ours. Reading ability is also a necessary prerequisite to competence in any occupation”. It means the importance of reading is widely recognized among educational workers; not a few teachers in the elementary school view reading as the most important skill the school has to develop.

Many student shy and not encourage when read aloud in classroom,using choral reading method can help students to improve their reading ability, another students more selfconfident when reading.

Theoritical Review

1.1 Definition of reading

Reading ability is a broad term for which one single, absolute definition is probably not possibl. Depending on one’s focus or area interest, one individual might argue that reading ability has to do with accuracy, and that without accuracy reading will be ineffective. Another individual might argue that reading ability has more to do with comprehension, and that without comprehension reading becomes poinless. In fact, is that ability to read is based on a number of prerequisite skills, all of which need to be taught and mastered in order for a child to read effectively.

Goodman (1998:9) states the ideas that reading, far from being passive, is an active process, with emphasis on both active and process. Though reading is a process in which information is dealt with and meaning constructed continuously, it can be usefully represented as a series of cycles (Goodman 1998:15).

1.2 Purpose of Reading

Sethi (2010:72) states before actually beginning to read it is important to know the purpose of reading, i.e. why reading is being done. When the purpose of reading is known, it greatly enhances the effectiveness of reading. Also, the knowledge of the purpose can help one adopt a style of reading, best suited for that purpose. One of the basic purposes of all reading is to provide the missing link to the reader between what he knows and what he needs o know.

Reading different types of texts requires the use of different reading strategies and approaches. Making reading an active, observable process can be very beneficial to struggling readers. A good reader interacts with the text in order to develop an understanding of the information before them. Some good reader strategies are predicting, connecting, inferring, summarizing, analyzing and critiquing. There are many resources and activities educators and instructors of reading can use to help with reading strategies in specific content areas and disciplines. Some examples are graphic organizers, talking to the text, anticipation guides, double entry journals, interactive reading and note taking guides, chunking, and summarizing.

An overall goal of reading is to help students learn how to create new knowledge from what they read and apply it to specific problems in every day life. Helping students reach such a goal requires instruction in many small goals throughout their school careers. The critical goals in reading instruction discussed here are to develop students' (a) concepts about print, (b) phonics knowledge, (c) vocabulary knowledge, (d) fluency, and (e) comprehension abilities.

Concepts about Print. For beginning readers, developing concepts about print is often the first step in learning how to read. Concepts about print include understanding (a) about how to hold, open, and turn pages in books, (b) that text is read from left to right and top to bottom, (c)  that printed words have meaning, and (d) there is a one-to-one match between spoken and written words As students develop their concepts about print they learn how to interact with texts in ways that will help them gain meaning from them as they read. Students should have developed strong concepts about print by the end of kindergarten.

Phonics Knowledge. Knowing the sound that the letter s makes and that this sound is different from the letter n is an example of phonics knowledge. Reading cannot take place without understanding the sounds letters make. Readers rely on their knowledge of phonics whenever they come across an unknown word and must sound it out.

Vocabulary Knowledge. Full word knowledge means that students know multiple meanings for a given word and/or different ways a given word can be used. It is not necessary, or possible, to have full word knowledge for every word. For most words, students will have partial knowledge. They will know one definition for the word and be able to use it in a sentence. The more words students have at the partial and full knowledge level, the better their comprehension of text. Students who have limited partial and full word knowledge in the early grades often have reading difficulties later in school if their vocabulary is not fully developed.

Fluency. Fluency is the ability to read words accurately, quickly, and with expression (Rasinski, 2006). Students with poor fluency abilities read words slowly, in isolation, and often without any inflection. They tend to focus more on how to say the words and less on what the words in a sentence or paragraph mean. Students may read at faster or slower rates depending on the difficulty of the text being read, and their fluency abilities may change depending on the genre of the text being read. Most students should be able to read fluently by third grade.

Comprehension. Students must be able to locate main ideas and facts within a text and use that information to further their understanding of a concept or idea. Comprehension strategies can be taught that assist students in making meaning from texts. Examples of comprehension strategies include visualizing, asking questions, and summarizing what was read.

1.3 The concept of teaching

Teaching is an activity, which is designed for multiple objectives, in terms of changes in pupil’s behavior (Mahapatra, B.C, 2004:vii). Pupils have multi dimensional personality having different learning styles.

Helping students become good readers is an important part of the education process. Students need to be able to gain information from a variety of texts, know how to access texts to solve problems, and be able to critically examine information presented through texts. However, providing reading instruction that develops such abilities can be a complex and challenging task. Therefore, this entry was designed to provide readers with some of the more prominent theoretical positions and instructional techniques that can be used to provide students with excellent reading instruction. This entry is meant to serve as a brief introduction and broad overview for teaching reading.

1.4 The concept of comprehension

According to reading theory, comprehension is depend on several cognitive process, including decoding, word recognition, and knowledge ( Gibbons 1988:60).  Summarizing is a comprehension strategy that also needs to be taught. Summarizing is not telling what is important about the text. A summary might include the answers to who, what, where, when, why, and how. You can not have students summarize any text that you are using the classroom.

Putting all of these "tools" together will give your students a toolbox of strategies to help them with reading comprehension. For more reading activities, you can check out these websites:

Sharon (2004:98) states comprehension is the active process of constructing meaning from text; it involves accessing previous knowledge, understanding vocabulary and concept, making inferences and linking key ideas. Reading comprehension includes the following:

1. Applying one’s knowledge and experiences to the text.
2. Setting goals for reading, and ensuring that they are aligned with the text.
3. Using strategies and skills to construct meaning during and after reading.
4. Adapting strategies that match the reader’s text and goals.
5. Recognizing the author’s purpose
6. Distinguishing between facts and opinions, and

7.      Drawing logical conclusions.

1.5 The Concept of Reading Comprehension

Reading comprehension is defined as the level of understanding of a text/message. This understanding comes from the interaction between the words that are written and how they trigger knowledge outside the text/message.

The importance of reading is widely recognized among educational workers; not a few teachers in the elementary school view reading as the important skill the school has to develop.Proficient reading depends on the ability to recognize words quickly and effortlessly. If word recognition is difficult, students use too much of their processing capacity to read individual words, which interferes with their ability to comprehend what is read.

Many educators in the USA believe that students need to learn to analyze text (comprehend it) even before they can read it on their own, and comprehension instruction generally begins in pre-Kindergarten or Kindergarten. But other US educators consider this reading approach to be completely backward for very young children, arguing that the children must learn how to decode the words in a story through phonics before they can analyze the story itself. During the last century comprehension lesson/s usually comprised students answering teachers' questions, writing responses to questions on their own, or both. The whole group version of this practice also often included "Round-robin reading", wherein teachers called on individual students to read a portion of the text (and sometimes following a set order). In the last quarter of the 20th century, evidence accumulated that the read-test methods assessed comprehension more than they taught it. The associated practice of "round robin" reading has also been questioned and eliminated by many educators. Instead of using the prior read-test method, research studies have concluded that there are much more effective ways to teach comprehension. Much work has been done in the area of teaching novice readers a bank of "reading strategies," or tools to interpret and analyze text.There is not a definitive set of strategies, but common ones include summarizing what you have read, monitoring your reading to make sure it is still making sense, and analyzing the structure of the text (e.g., the use of headings in science text).

Some programs teach students how to self monitor whether they are understanding and provide students with tools for fixing comprehension problems. Albert Bandura “Instruction in comprehension strategy use often involves the gradual release of responsibility, wherein teachers initially explain and model strategies. Over time, they give students more and more responsibility for using the strategies until they can use them independently. This technique is generally associated with the idea of self-regulation and reflects social cognitive theory, originally conceptualized”.

Today, most reading comprehension programs teach students explicit reading strategies using teacher direct instruction with additional student practice. Comprehension through discussion involves lessons that are "instructional conversations" that create higher-level thinking opportunities for students. The purpose of the discussions are to promote critical and aesthetic thinking about text and encourage full classroom involvement. According to Vivian Thayer, class discussions help students to generate ideas and new questions. (Goldenberg, p. 317) .Making a connection is when a student can relate a passage to an experience, another book, or other facts about the world. Making connections will help students understand what the author's purpose is and what the story is about. You can use connections with any fiction or non-fiction text that you read. Questioning is another strategy that will greatly benefit a student. Dr. Neil Postman has said, "All our knowledge results from questions, which is another way of saying that question-asking is our most important intellectual tool" (Response to Intervention).^] There are several types of questions that a teacher should focus on: remembering; testing understanding; application or solving; invite synthesis or creating; and evaluation and judging. Teachers should model these types of questions through "think-alouds" before, during, and after reading a text.

Visualization is when a student can create a picture or movie in their mind while reading text. Use terms like "mental image" and asking sensory questions will help students become better visualizers. Another way of looking at visualization, is to think about bringing words to life.

1.6 Concept of Choral Reading Method

Choral reading broadens experiences with different genres. You can choose materials that teach content area subject matter or reading content such as phonics, vocabulary, and rhyme. Through repeated reading of the text, the student becomes a more fluent reader, which allows for increased content comprehension.

Choral Reading means reading out loud with your child, the same text at the same time (Wood, 2006:216). You read together in unison, and your child gets to hear your voice, guiding and supporting, all the while.

Based on Barbara (1996:326), use a single selection with various Choral Reading Methods so students learn about the various ways of expressing meaning.

There are four common types of Choral Reading:

1. The easiest to learn is refrain, in which the teacher reads most of the lines and the students read the refrain.
2. Line-a- child reading, individual students read specific lines, while the entire group reads the beginning and ending of the selection.
3. Antiphoral or Dialog, Choral Reading is most appropriate for middle-or intermediate-level students. It enables reader to explore pitch and durations of sound.
4. Unison is the most difficult Choral Reading approach because the entire group speaks all of the lines.

Support for choral reading is found in several reading theories and educational paradigms. Types of choral reading (adapted from The Fluent Reader by Timothy Rasinski) Antiphonal -- Divide the group into groups and assign parts of the text to each group. Give students an opportunity to practice how they will read before bringing them back together to chorally read together.

Dialogue -- Select a text that contains different speaking parts. Assign the part of the narrator to one group and each character to other groups.

Cumulative Choral Reading -- The number of students reading gradually builds as the text is read. An individual or small group reads the first line or section of a passage, and then they are joined by another group. By the end of the passage, the whole group is reading. (This can also be done in reverse, starting with whole group and ending with just one person or group.)

Impromptu Choral Reading -- As a text is read, students join in or fade out as they choose. Some students may choose to highlight certain words or sections of the text, read every other line, or the whole selection. Students choose ahead of time what section(s) of the text they will read. (If no one selects a section, someone usually jumps in!)

If you like these ideas, Rasinski includes more ideas for choral reading in his booksThe Fluent Reader and Goodbye Round Robin.

Choral reading provides support for students who may ordinarily feel self-conscious or nervous about reading aloud in class. Reading along with more fluent readers enables less proficient readers to be successful with a shared text. Choral reading may provide the support necessary to encourage struggling readers to take risks and build their confidence. When students participate in choral reading on a regular and repeated basis, students will internalize the fluent reading of the text being read and begin to transfer their developing fluency to other texts.

1.7 The Benefit of Choral Reading Method

The benefit of choral reading based on (Mc Cormack and Pasquarelli, 2010:57), when children are choral reading a 200-word passage, every student gets the same amount of practice. The students are not listening or scrutinizing each other. If a student makes an error reading, no one really knows. Choral reading is also an excellent method to build prosody. As the students listen to each other, those students who have natural expression and phrasing will model those characteristics for the other.

Students each have their own copy of a text, and all read aloud together. Start with short, interesting passages. The teacher can stand in front of theclass to lead choral reading. Students can also lead if they are comfortable doing so.When reading dialogues, plays or stories with dialogue, different groups often read different parts of the text. Assessment suggestions: After students are comfortable with a text, have a student-lead the choral reading while you walk around the room, standing behind individuals as they read. Note their progress on self-stick notes for individual folders or on class checklist. This strategy helps children become more fluent and confident readers.

It can provide less skilled readers the opportunity to practice and receive support before being required to read on their own.  It provides a model for fluent reading as students listen. It helps improve the ability to read sight words

1.8 Procedure using Choral Reading (CR) Method

According to Optiz and Rasinski in (McAndrews, Stephanie L 2008:119), the Procedure of Choral Reading (CR) Method is:

Preparation:

1.    Select a text that is easy to read in unison, such as a poem, nursery rhyme, or a predictable book.

2.    Provide a copy of the text for everyone, or have it displayed in large writing such as on chart paper, overhead transparency, or computer projection.

The procedure of teaching using choral reading

First, read the text aloud to the students to model choral reading. Next, read the text chorally several times the first day and then repeat it over several days.

Conclusion

As we know that  reading is one of important thing skill. To make student antusias and enjoyed with learning reading, the teacher should be using method, like choral reading (CR) method. It can provide less skilled readers the opportunity to practice and receive support before being required to read on their own. Choral reading may provide the support necessary to encourage struggling readers to take risks and build their confidence.