THE PROCESS OF READING

Reading is not a mechanical activity but a complex cognitive and linguistic process through which a reader constructs meaning from written symbols. Educationally, the process of reading takes place through three interrelated stages: Recognition Stage, Structuring Stage, and Interpretation Stage.

1. RECOGNITION STAGE

Meaning and Nature

The recognition stage is the first and basic stage of reading. At this stage, learners simply recognise written symbols and words and relate them to their spoken forms. Reading here is largely visual and mechanical.

For Indian learners, this stage becomes difficult because English uses a different script and is a non-phonetic language, where spelling and pronunciation often do not match.

Real Examples

Example 1 (Classroom):
The teacher writes the word “apple” on the blackboard. Students match the written word with the spoken word they already know.

Example 2 (Pronunciation Difficulty):
The learner reads “knife” as /k-nai-f/ instead of /naɪf/ due to silent letters.

Example 3 (Non-phonetic Nature):
Words like though, through, thought confuse learners because spelling and sound differ.

“Recognition stage involves identifying written symbols and relating them to spoken words, often causing spelling and pronunciation difficulties.”

2. STRUCTURING STAGE

Meaning and Nature

The structuring stage refers to the learner’s ability to understand grammatical relationships among words. Meaning is derived from sentence structure, word order, tense, and agreement.

Real Examples

Example 1 (Word Order):
“The teacher scolded the student.”
“The student scolded the teacher.”
Same words, different structure, different meaning.

Example 2 (Tense Understanding):
“Rama is playing football.”
Learner understands the action is happening now.

Example 3 (Condition):
“If it rains, we will stay at home.”
Learner understands the cause–effect relationship.

“At the structuring stage, learners understand sentence meaning through grammatical relationships.”

3. INTERPRETATION STAGE

Meaning and Nature

The interpretation stage is the highest stage of reading. Learners go beyond words and grammar to understand ideas, emotions, opinions, author’s intention, tone, and theme.

Real Examples

Example 1 (Fact vs Opinion):
“Sachin Tendulkar is the greatest cricketer.”
Learner identifies this as an opinion.

Example 2 (Mood):
“She sat silently, staring at the empty road.”
Learner interprets sadness or waiting.

Example 3 (Author’s Purpose):
A poem on pollution is understood as a warning and awareness message.

Example 4 (Real Life):
Reading a newspaper editorial and forming one’s own opinion.

“At the interpretation stage, learners analyse meaning beyond words and understand the author’s intention and message.”

COMPARATIVE VIEW

Stage	Focus	Nature	Example
Recognition	Words & symbols	Mechanical	Misreading “knife”
Structuring	Grammar	Linguistic	Teacher vs student sentence
Interpretation	Ideas & evaluation	Critical	Fact vs opinion

CONCLUSION

The process of reading moves from recognition of written symbols, to structuring of grammatical meaning, and finally to interpretation of ideas. True reading takes place only at the interpretation stage where reading becomes reflective, meaningful, and critical. Therefore, all three stages must be developed systematically in reading instruction.