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The theory of reading adhered by instructors is developed in the western world context. It points out that reading only happens when there is a text or visual information to be comprehended (Goswami, 2007), while the reality in the Indonesian context the meaning of reading can be narrower (e.g., merely pronouncing letters) or broader (e.g., reading the signs of the might of God, which are not represented by any written symbol). These narrow and broad meanings of reading are not commonly accepted in the West, while in the Islamic belief, even pronouncing a single letter of Quran is considered a service as it is a form of reading. Preliminary interviews with teachers in some traditional Islamic boarding schools reveal that, despite differences in their ways of expressing, the narrow and broad meanings of reading have been part of what they develop in teaching. More interviews with language teachers and lecturers and a focus group discussion with reading experts will help the completion of research data. The recorded data are to be condensed, presented and concluded to form a grounded theory. This differential issue is expected to gain responses in international forums to enable the establishment of a proper formula on these competing perspectives of reading theories, particularly in the Indonesian context.