Research has found that many children in South Africa come from disadvantaged communities with limited access to reading materials and an and oral culture where book reading is uncommon.
These factors together predict that children will not get off to a good start in literacy development. This is a matter of concern to those children, their parents, teachers and the community in general.
Reading process and school
Reading is a critical tool for the mastery of other subjects and one of the best predictors of how learners will perform in the future. For this reason reading must be considered a priority area in efforts to improve the quality of basic education, particularly for learners from disadvantaged backgrounds.
In the school context the word literacy means reading and writing on a level that enables learners to function successfully according to their age and class grade.
The close connection between reading, writing, speaking and listening are well understood to incorporate all aspects of literate behaviour. Children build on oral language knowledge as they learn to read and write; they develop a key understanding about reading, especially phonics through writing; and they extend their writing range through reading.
Learning to read is so important that educationists and parents agree that the success of a primary school is judged by its learners’ proficiency in reading.
Reading and language
Language is essential to learning. Reading as a specialised form of language is not only a basic skill, it is an indispensable tool for critical and creative thinking. Reading allows us to: make connections between our own and others’ experiences; to inquire systematically into matters; and to access, analyse and evaluate information and arguments.
One of the main goals for providing children with different reading experiences is to show them that reading can be enjoyable and something they want to do on their own. When they have success with specific texts, children often want to repeat the experience and this leads to favourable views on reading.
Modelling reading
Reading to children from infancy has an effect on all the variables of development whether the evidence of it is directly visible or not. Research shows that teachers and parents who read regularly to their children convey positive attributes to them. Parents act as role models and can have a significant influence on the child’s affinity for books and leisure reading. Unfortunately, evidence, both anecdotal and recorded, show that most parents do not read to their children as often as they should.
Children who are introduced to books at an early age are more prone to grasp the variances in phonics, which in turn affects their language skills and cognitive abilities.
Children’s familiarity with books is learned from primary care givers. Studies show that children’s familiarity with books is influenced by their parents’ education level. The higher the level of education, the more likely a child might be exposed to reading.
This cause and effect of reading on language skills and cognitive abilities is cyclical, yet progressive in nature. The more a child uses phonics to test out new words, the more he or she reads. The more he or she reads, the more is learned until the child branches out and repeats the cycle. This alone underscores the critical importance of reading and why it is not to be neglected in our homes and in our classrooms.
The next article will look at different reading methods. This series is in support of the department of education’s Foundations for Learning Campaign, aimed at bolstering learners’ literacy and numeracy skills.
Dr Molefe Ralenala is the director of children and youth literacy in the department of education