The Important Act Of Reading In Life English Language Essay

Reading is one of the important things in our lives. For sure, we will read every day and it is not important that what types of the material that we read, it just that we read. Watching also can be one of the medium of reading. We watch movies or something also we learn, and how it is happen is we watch something and our mind will interpret what we see and that our mind will unite what we have seen and it will became our knowledge. Why this also can link to the meaning of reading is, reading also need we to unite the letter become words and words will became sentence. This has the same way we watch and we read. That why watching also one of the reading. Some people, to make them more understand on what they are read, they need to watch videos, picture and diagrams or charts.

Someone must to read because with reading we can get more knowledge and experience. That why there a proverbs says that “reading people is knowledgeable generations”. Without reading people will get lack of knowledge. In communication also we need knowledge and we get the knowledge from reading. Without reading, how people can share their knowledge, how people can know what happen in this worlds, how people can talk very well without experience and make knowledge, this all from reading.

We all know that the science world start from the reading. Here we can conclude that reading was really important in the field of education. That why in the field of education, there are concept of 3M (Membaca, Menulis, dan Mengira). Here we can see that one of the important concepts learning in the field of education is reading. In Islam also say reading is important. This can be prove by, Nabi Muhammad saw himself get the first revelation from Allah and that was “IQRA” mean Bacalah….. Here we can know that Allah also called his people to read.

There are many type of reading, read aloud, shared reading, guided reading, fluency reading, and independent reading. Read aloud is the way that we read, and this also one way of teaching especially for the blind student and pre-school student. For shared reading is the group of people shared their idea, knowledge and experience from what they have read. Guided reading is someone has to be guided in their study to become more independent. Here mean that, student learn or read something but guided by tutor. Fluency reading is the how fluent someone in his or her reading, if he or she can read faster, that mean he or she already fluent in reading and he or she slow in the reading, he or she must work hard because they still not fluent in reading. Independent reading is someone that already fluent in reading, this kind of people no need guide anymore.

However, all of this must practice every day and this was the behavior in reading. It is also can be known as reading habits. Reading habits can be described as someone hobbies, he or she make the reading as his or her hobbies and this must be regularly read. Example, he read newspaper every day.

Here we can see that reading is really important. One of the important of the reading is reading can enriches someone knowledge. By reading we will directly exposure to the world. That why with reading we will be exposing and learn new thing. Every day we will get new knowledge.

Besides that, reading also can increase the reading skill of someone, this skill really important for student. More reading can improve someone or student in reading skill and fluent in reading. With reading also can improve someone reading, she or he can fluent in reading, and he or she can learn more.

According to chickiemomma1961, November, 2010, reading is important because it affects your whole life and everything you do. Want to drive? You have to know how to read the signs, the handbook, the testing materials, etc. Want to buy a home? You’ll have to know how to read that contract, unless you want to be ripped off! Every contract you ever sign, from leases, to credit cards, to loans, will need to be read.

Reading also can give someone wide in knowledge and experience. Any material that we read would give knowledge and experience because with reading we will get new knowledge and new thing. That why, student who have reading habits will good in study because he have something new to shared, to write in his essay and can confidently communicate with his friends and teachers.

The student also have high IQs, creative and have better results id they like to read and make reading as their hobbies. Reading will help them in studies. Besides that, reading also can improve their language, speaking and learning. If student want to improve their language, he or she must read more. With reading someone can make his or her language better and can confidently in talking.

All people know the important of the reading in their life especially parents, government and ministry of education. These parties try to increase the reading habits among student and peoples. There are research have been doing to survey the reading habits among Malaysian people. According to Woman battles serious book dependency problem blog, (Monday August 28, 2006), from Sharmag article….the depressing state of readership in Malaysia on Sunday, August 13, 2006 says… a lot about Malaysia when in population of 25 million, the local industry can only print 1,000 to 3,000 copies per general title…says Law King Hui, president of the Malaysian Book Publishers Association.

From the Daily Express published on Sunday, May 23, 2010, based on the statistics issued by the National Statistics Department during the year 2002, Malaysian students only read two books a year. Many students perceived that reading is a waste of time and they only read for purpose of passing examinations. We are quite aware the myriad of benefits that can be acquired by reading books and the positive progressive result that it can induce for the country.

From what have been talks above seem that our government and ministry of education really care about the reading habits among Malaysian people and student in Malaysia. There are many program have been handle like NILAM PROGRAM cooperation between ministries of education and the library in Malaysia. There are also the programs like KEMPEN MARILAH MEMBACA. School also conducts campaigns such as lectures, NILAM program, and provides incentives such as giving a gift to any student who reads a lot. Most important is the encouraged from the parent and people.

There are few ways to improve reading among people and students. First ways is people and students always have a material around to read. This means that everywhere they go they must bring materials for they read. Examples, reading newspaper in bus or reading novels while waiting for the train, and so on. There can read anytime and anywhere they can, there no reason says that they have no time for readings. There must time to spend in readings. Even, our Prime Ministry also have time to read why not us as people and students.

Besides that, we have to set a reading goal. If we want something, we must have goals or aims. This is one way to give encourage for our self to read. Other ways to improve reading is keep a log, every time we have finish in our reading, we must keep the list of the materials that we have read and also make some summary to remember what the important in the materials that we have read to be remember. Although, we should make a list of the materials that we want to read. Example, the list of the novels that we want to read, the list of the comics, and so on. Here we will remember the materials that we want to read.

We also should join the reading group or book club so here we can share our experience and knowledge with our group and try to get new knowledge from them. Here will be the discussion on what we have read. Also, we need to visit libraries or bookstore often because in the place like this we can read whatever materials we want to read. In the place like this, there are so many materials that we can read.

Build your own strategy is the most important because without strategy you would lost tour ways. We have to keep the strategy and what we want to do so if we get success, we will feel satisfy in our works. So, we should drop everything and read. Make the reading habits fun in our mind. After we set our mind that reading habits is fun, automatically we want to read. Drop everything here mean that, if we have time to spend we must read don’t make the time we have we spend to something that not give benefits to our life.

That why reading is one of the important in education. Before we can read fluently in our studies time in pre-school, teacher will teach us on the letter. After we can read letter we would ask by the teacher to combine the letter become words and the words combine with other words to become sentence that have meaning. Here the ways of reading start in our life. Here we can know that reading is important in our life.

For more deeply understand about reading, in the article “Teaching reading”, by Elizabeth S. Pang, Angaluki Muaka, Elizabeth B. Bernbardt, and Micheal L. Kamil, have write that, What is reading? Reading is about understanding written texts. It is a complex activity that involves both perception and thought. Reading consists of two related processes: word recognition and comprehension. Word recognition refers to the process of perceiving how written symbols correspond to one’s spoken language. Comprehension is the process making sense of words, sentences and connected text.

1.1 Problem Statement

Reading habits was really important for each people especially students. They need read more than other people because with reading can give them experience and wide knowledge, also can improve their language and communication. Without reading, how they will know something to talk about. With reading they will have many ideas to share and more ideas to tell others. So, they must read. The problem here is why the students have to read and make the reading as their reading habits. It is they read because they want to fulfill their career as the student or for their own knowledge. Besides that, the other problem is what type of the materials student like to read as reading habits. Is it they like to read the knowledgeable materials or they want to read the materials that can make their mind relax like newspapers, novels, comics, and magazines. The students also have the limit time in a day because they also have a works that they have to finish. The problems that occur here is the frequency of the reading. Is it they have time to read and how frequent they read? Because the students like to fill their encouragement in their studies, there must be reason why they less reading or they have active in reading. So the problem here is what the factors that inhibit their reading habits.

1.2 Rational of the study

The rational of this study was to encourage student to read and make the reading is one of their habits. Besides that, this study also wants student know the important of the reading and they must know the reason they read.

1.3 Research Questions

This section will tell about the research question that related to this research.

The research questions of the study are as follow:

1. What types of reading materials do the students read?

2. How frequent do the students read the materials?

3. How frequent do the students read academic and non-academic materials?

4. The medium they use to read?

5. The amount of the materials they read?

6. The times they spend for reading?

7. What factors influence them to read?

1.4 Significant of the study

This study hoped that the student will know the important of the reading habits and they will continue their habits in reading. Besides that, firstly the student and also people should know the meaning of the reading habits. If they do not know the meaning of the reading habits, they will not know the important of the reading habits. The most important is for what they keep the reading habits in their self. The reason they read.

This study also to ensure the reading habits always continues in students’ daily life. The reading habits is really important especially the materials the student choose is that show the new issues happen in this worlds, so the student will get new information and new knowledge every day. Hope also the academic library take the responsibilities and make the program that will attract the student to come and read materials in the library, the libraries also must try to show to the student how important is the reading habit for the student especially their future life. The libraries also must increase the materials is the libraries to promote the reading habits to students.

1.5 Objective of the study

Objective is the reality that will happen in this study. It is the object that already thinks by the researchers that related to his or her study and the existing of this study sometimes according to the philosophy. The objective of this study is:

To investigate the factors that influence reading habits.

To investigate the type of the materials students read.

To investigate the student frequency in reading the academic or non-academic materials.

1.6 Definition of term use

This section will give the definition of the term or explain several terminologies related to this study.

1.6.1 Reading- According to Kamus Dewan Edisi Keempat (2005), readings is give attention to the contents of a written or printed material carefully and understands the meaning of its contents. Through reading habits, individuals can make themselves as a reference either to him or to others. Interest in reading is closely related to cultural knowledge because reading is a feature of cultural development in the community-oriented education and reading.(Kamus Dewan Edisi Keempat, 2005).

1.6.2 Habits- From the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, habits is something that you are do regularly or usually, often without thinking about it because you have done it so many times before.

1.6.3 Reading habits- According to the Answers.com (wikianswers), reading habits mean process of reading itself.” He is in the habit of reading the daily newspapers” mean that he regularly reads the newspaper. If you are in habit of reading, it means that you are read regularly.

1.6.4 Students- For the MacMillan Dictionary, student can be refer to someone who goes to a university, college, or school. But, in the UK, a student is someone who is studying at university or college. A child at school is usually called a pupil. In US, student can refer to anyone who is studying at school or university.

1.6.5 Knowledge- According to Merriam Webster, knowledge is obsolete: cognition. The fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association (2): acquaintance with or understanding of a science, art, or technique. It is also a body of facts learned by study or experience.

From the Your dictionary.com, the definition of knowledge is the act, fact, or state of knowing like acquaintance or familiarity, awareness, and understanding. It is acquaintance with facts; range of information, awareness, or understanding and all that has been perceived or grasped by the mind; learning; enlightenment.

1.6.6 Communication- Definition of communication in You Dictionary.com is communication is the process whereby speech, signs or actions transmit information from one person to another. This definition is concise and definitive but doesn’t include all the aspects of communication. There are other definitions, which state that communication involves transmitting information from one party to another. This broader definition doesn’t require that the receiving party obtain a full understanding of the message. Of course, communication is better when both parties understand… but it can still exist even without that component.

1.6.7 Education- According to Wayne Leon Learmond (May 28, 2010), education can be defined as education covers a broad spectrum. Other may believe that education is simply life, and that we must learn every aspect of life as we grow. There some people who have never received a full-time education in any sort of school at all, but have learned the family ways, ie: gone into trade that maybe has been passed down from one generation to the next.

According to Jessica Rangel (November 18, 2010), the definition of education is simple: Learning new and important material that is vital to every day issues and subjects. The most important thing about education that intrigues most people and students is how information they can get from a subject. Education is basically what drives the world today, because those that have the proper education also carry information that can help them get anything that they want in life. This is by far one of the most important things about education, and what education stands for. 

1.7 Scope of the study

The scope of this study is about the reading habits among student of Faculty of Information Management. How important reading habits in order to fulfill the career as a student, need of the student and this will plays a big role to produce the quality works and leading to successful academic person. This research is being conduct among student in Faculty of Information Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, campus Puncak Perdana.

The scope of this study are limited to two main areas, which is the contents of the study that is base on the title and the location of the study which is I have chose in Faculty of Information Management Campus Puncak Perdana, UITM, Shah Alam.

The respondents for this study comprises of the students in Faculty Information Management and in this faculty there are four courses, IM220 (Library Science Management), IM221 (Information Systems Management), IM222 (Records Management), and IM223 (Resource Centers Management). This faculty located at University Teknologi MARA, Campus Puncak Perdana, Seksyen U10, Shah Alam.

1.8 Limitation of the study

Firstly, the respondents of this research are the students in Faculty of Information Management and in the Faculty if Information Mangement, there are 4 courses. IM220 (Library Science Management), IM221 (Information Systems Management), IM222 (Records Management), and IM223 (Resource Centers Management). This faculty located at University Teknologi MARA, Campus Puncak Perdana, Seksyen U10, Shah Alam.

I choose this Faculty which are located in UITM Campus Puncak Perdana, Shah Alam because it is my Faculty and I think I want to improve the reading habits among student of Faculty Information Management.

Secondly, the reasons why I choose all of this courses in the Faculty of Information Management because I want to know do they know about the reading habits is, what kind of the materials they refer to read and because this course is related to the reading habits. The student of this faculty will be professional in the information management, so the reading habits will increase their knowledge. The study meant only to describe the reading habits of the students in Faculty of Information Management.

1.9 CONCLUSION

This study is all about the reading habits among student of Faculty of Information Management, UITM, Campus Puncak Perdana. There are many conclusions that can be draw from this chapter. But the most important fact is the reading habits very important to students. Nowadays, reading habits among student were lack. They read because they want to finish their assignment and reading is just to past their exam.

In Chapter One, we discuss about the problem statement of the research, the objective of the research, research question and so on. It is very important why we do a research. Moreover, in this chapter it also describes scope of research, conceptual framework and the operational definition for every term used in the research and the significant and limitation of research.