Definition of Reading According to Experts

Reading is the process of looking at a series of written symbols and getting meaning from them. When we read, we use our eyes to receive written symbols (letters, punctuation marks and spaces) and we use our brain to convert them into words, sentences and paragraphs that communicate something to us. Reading can be silent (in our head) or aloud (so that other people can hear).

Reading is a receptive skill - through it we receive information. But the complex process of reading also requires the skill of speaking, so that we can pronounce the words that we read. In this sense, reading is also a productive skill in that we are both receiving information and transmitting it (even if only to ourselves).

And this is an addition article which defines the same topic. Let's see what experts say about reading :

• According to (Tarigan (1990:7) in Jaenal 2010) argues that reading is a process that is carried and used by readers who want to get the message delivered by the author through the medium of words or written language.
• According to (Oka (1983:15) in Jaenal 2010) if viewed in terms of differences in scope, it can be distinguished three kinds of meaning to read: Understanding the first is a narrow sense, namely the sense that regards reading it as a process of written symbols recognition. Into this process included the recognition of words carefully, in a wide range, and quickly.
• According David Nunan (1989:33) “Reading is not an invariant skill, that there are different types of reading skills that correspond to the many different purposes we have for reading”. So, in the classroom, in students’ reading activities, the writer is sure that they have many purposes, among others are to graduate from their school and to provide themselves with the knowledge to continue their studies whatever their purposes are. In order to achieve the goal, the comprehension ability in reading is needed.
• According to Harmer (2007: 99) reading is useful for language acquisition. Provided that students more or less understand what they read, the more they read, the better they get at it. 
• According to Grellet (2004:7) reading is a constant process of guessing, and what one brings to the next is often more important than what one finds in it. In reading, the students should be taught to use what they know to understand unknown elements, whether these are ideas or simple words.
• According to Day and Bamford (1998:12) reading is the construction of meaning from a printed or written message. It means the construction of meaning involves the reader connecting information from the written message with previous knowledge to arrive at meaning and understanding.
• According to Cline et.al (2006: 2), states that reading is decoding and understanding written texts. Decoding requires translating the symbols of writing system (including Braille) into the spoken words which they represent. Understanding is determined by the purposes for reading, the context, the nature of the text, and the readers’ strategies and knowledge.
• According to Olson and Diller (1982:42), what is meant by reading comprehension is a term used to identify those skills needed to understand and apply information contained in a written material. This statement is supported by Harris and Sipay (1980:179), who say that reading comprehension ability is taught to be a set of generalized knowledge acquisition skills that permits people to acquire and exhibit information gained as a consequence of reading printed language. There's even a sense that views reading as a process of giving meaning to visual symbols (Oka, 1983:11 in Jaenal 2010).