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โครงการรวบรวมและจัดทําวารสารอิเล็กทรอนิกส์ มหาวิทยาลัยเกษตรศาสตร์

constituents which are linked by connectors (e.g., in and out, make or break, and part

and parcel). Fourth, phrasal compound idiom is formed by various grammatical structures
such as noun-noun, adjective-noun, and adjective-verb (e.g., bloodbath, red tape, and

small fry). Fifth, incorporating verb idiom is composed of two constituents and functions as
a verb (e.g., whitewash, mastermind).

3. Reading Comprehension: role of text and context

One dominant aspect in reading comprehension which plays a great role in
readers’ understanding is called “schema.” Schema can be def ned as “cognitive structures

or networks constructed in the brain to organize and add new information to what a person
already knows” (Cooter, 1996). It helps retrieve information or recall their past experiences.

People have a different schema depending on their culture i.e., age, sex, race, religion,
nationality, and occupation.

Schema theory proposes that when humans acquire new information, they will
comprehend better if they have already known its content. The more they know, the better

they can understand the new information. In reading, they would recall more of the text
with familiar background knowledge than the unknown text.

In connection with the role of context, Carrel (1988) explains about the inf uence of

readers’ background knowledge in two main aspects: content schema and formal schema.
Content schema refers to background knowledge related to the topic of the text. Formal

schema is the knowledge about the structure of the text such as genre, language, and
organization of the texts.

Anderson (2004) brief y explains the role of schema affecting both learning and
remembering in six aspects. First, a schema helps retrieve the proper information which f ts

the reader’s schema. Second, a schema helps the reader pay attention to the important
part of a text. Third, a schema enables the reader to make inference beyond the text.

Fourth, a schema allows the reader to search the information orderly. Fifth, a schema
enables the reader to summarize the important information and omit unnecessary data.

Finally, a schema helps the reader recall the missing information.

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