What is The Teacher’s Attention on Students’ Difficulties in Reading? A Neuroscience Perspective

10.2478/bjlp-2022-001114

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to identify the causal factors and solutions that must be
done to overcome students' difficulties of learning to read. The research method used is
descriptive qualitative by analyzing data from the IRI (Informal Reading Inventory)
instrument. The research respondents were 6 4th grade students in Bandung, West Java
Indonesia. They were chosen based on the purposive sampling technique. The results
showed that the factors causing the difficulty of learning to read were external factors such
as the objective condition of their reading ability, which they were able to recognize some
letters of the alphabet and did not understand the capital letters and they were only able to
read syllables with V-K (Vocals – Consonants). Teaching preliminary reading is one solution
that teachers can do to overcome this difficulty. Based on the neuroscience perspective, the
performance of the hemisphere in the brain can be optimized by preliminary reading so it
supports the fluency of reading activities. The preliminary reading contains short and simple
sentences that are easy to be articulated and spoken by students. Those sentences help
students a lot to overcome students’ difficulties in reading effectively. Teachers are expected
to be able to choose a method of learning to read that is adapted to the needs of students
to obtain effective and efficient learning outcomes.