Reading comprehension is an important and central concept of this dissertation. In a general and broad overview, reading includes two main components: decoding and understanding of the meaning of a text (Hirsch, 2006; Karlin, 1978). Arguably both decoding and comprehending are important but the ultimate goal of reading is comprehending and understanding the meaning of a text (J. D. Cooper, 1993; Hirsch, 2006). In addition, meaning is considered an integral part of the reading process (Karlin, 1978).
There are various definitions of comprehension that have been provided by experts and researchers over the years (J. D. Cooper, 1993; Goodman, 1967; Pearson & Johnson, 1972; Snow, 2002; Thorndike, 1917). One of the earliest definitions is Thorndike‘s, suggesting that reading is reasoning and thinking (Thorndike, 1917). Goodman (1971) challenged the traditional conceptualisation of reading and defined it as a psycholinguistic process that begins with a linguistic surface representation encoded by a writer and ends with
the meaning, which the reader constructs. Goodman (1967) introduced the interactive nature of reading, stating that there is an essential interaction between language and thought in reading in which the author encodes thought as language and the reader decodes language as thought (Goodman, 1967). Later Pearson and Johnson (1972) defined reading comprehension as ―building bridges between the new and known‖ (p. 24), emphasising the reader‘s active role and the interactive process between the reader and writer. Similarly, Morris and Stewart- Dore (1986) defined reading comprehension as bringing background knowledge (e.g., language structure, background of the topic, word meanings) to the page in order to get meaning from it and make predictions. From these definitions there is a clear emphasis on the active role of the reader in constructing meaning, the interactive nature of reading, and the importance of prior knowledge in the comprehension process. Meaning construction is considered the ultimate aim of all literacy instruction (Cooper, 1993).
In recent decades, a comprehensive definition was provided by the RAND Reading Study Group (2002), stating that the term ‗reading comprehension‘ refers to ―the process of simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning through interaction and involvement with written language‖ (Snow, 2002, p. 11). In this definition, extracting refers to working out how print represents words or translating the print to sound in an accurate way, while constructing, at the same time, refers to understanding the information presented in the text. Constructing meaning occurs by integrating new knowledge with prior information and experiences (Sweet & Snow, 2003).
Based on the RAND1 reading study group‘s definition, reading comprehension and meaning construction results from an interaction between the reader, text and reading activity (e.g., the activity of decoding words and applying comprehension strategies). These three elements interplay within a particular sociocultural context, which impacts the overall reading
comprehension process (Abadiano & Turner, 2003; Pardo, 2004; Snow, 2002). From this perspective, constructing meaning is an interactive process in which learners interact with text, and use prior knowledge and cultural tools.
The definition of the RAND group provided above combines various models of reading including the bottom-up, top-down and interactive models. In addition, it emphasises the role of readers‘ prior knowledge and information presented in the text in comprehending texts. This definition is in line with different theories and models that emphasise: (a) that reading and learning is constructive (e.g., constructivist theory) and the reader is active in knowledge construction; (b) the role of context and social interaction in learning (social constructivist theory); (c) the schemata theory and the role of prior knowledge; and (d) reading is a transaction between a reader, text, activity and context (transactional theory).
As this study is conducted in an Arabic language context, definitions and views of Arabic reading comprehension were explored to assess the alignment between new perspectives of reading, current learning and reading theories and teaching of reading in Saudi Arabia. Al-Khalifa (2004) compared old perspectives of reading with more recent perspectives, stating that the old understanding of reading was based on decoding skills in which the teacher‘s attention focused on basic skills, e.g., asking students to read (decode) the texts (words) with less attention given to the ability of comprehending the text. According to this author, this old understanding is still perceived and upheld by a number of teachers. However, Al-Khalifa (2004) and Madkor (2007) provided a recent definition of reading from the Saudi Arabian context, referring to it as a combination of various skills including recognising and decoding words, understanding and evaluating the text, connecting the readers‘ prior knowledge to the written language, expanding experiences and applying them to daily life, solving problems and enjoying reading.
Madkor (2007) emphasised that understanding meaning is the important component of reading, and students‘ understandings of the text are influenced by their prior culture, experiences, knowledge, author‘s styles and the text itself. From this perspective, it can be implied that the authors refer to the active role of a reader in understanding a text as well the four components (reader, text, author and cultural background). These definitions and perspectives provided by Arabic authors are in line with various reading models and learning theories that emphasise the active, constructive and transactive nature of comprehension. However, According to Al-Khalifa (2004), this perspective is not reflected in some teachers‘ practice of teaching reading.
After defining the general concept of reading comprehension, it is important now to explore definitions of the different levels of reading comprehension that are addressed in teaching. The following sections discuss the concept of reading comprehension levels, which in turn will reveal the rationale behind how students‘ comprehension is measured and taught in this study.