It was a special time of day. The time to shut out the entire day’s blur of activity and individual routines, and join the antics of old-familiar or just-introduced characters. The time to put behind lists of chores and responsibilities and indulge in carefree cavorting or fantastical adventures. The time to switch off from the mundane and monotonous, and switch on the magical and mythical.
It was “Let’s read a story time”.
This time was an important and inviolable part of our day—mine and my children’s for a large part of their early years. Reading aloud from a storybook as we were cosily tucked in bed was a special time indeed. A time to explore new words and worlds together, a time to share, and a time to bond. Many years later, for me those memories of reading stories are still strong and comforting, as they are, I hope, for my children.
I adopted the reading aloud ritual quite instinctively as a new mother. As one who loved to read, it was the most natural thing for me to introduce my children to the joy of books by sharing these with them from the time they were infants. Much before they learned how to read by themselves, they were encouraged to handle books, leaf through and look at the pictures, and tune their ears to the sound of words and spoken language; and much of this was achieved through our reading-aloud-together time. One generation later, I re-lived the magic once again when my grand-nephew and I tongue-twisted our way through the capers of Gajapati Kulapati and Snoring Shanmugan!
Today there is a lot of research and literature on the important role of reading aloud to children which endorses what was, for me, an intuitive and integral component of bringing up my children. Here are some key findings from different studies.
It is accepted that reading aloud is the single most important activity for reading success, and the foundation for literacy development. Several studies have found that reading aloud to children every day puts them almost a year ahead (academically) of children who do not receive daily read-aloud.
Reading aloud to children creates a lifetime interest in reading. Children learn to love the sound of language before they even notice the existence of printed words on a page. Hearing the flow of words helps them develop language and listening skills and prepares them to understand the written word. When the rhythm and melody of language become a part of a child’s life, learning to read will be as natural as learning to walk and talk.
Children who have been read to when they are young are much more likely to grow into a habit of reading. When they associate reading with happy memories, they are more likely to persist in learning to read, even when they run into occasional roadblocks in the process of learning to read.
Reading aloud to children aids in language development. By hearing the words as they are read out children pick up pronunciation, word usage and sentence structure, even as their vocabulary increases. One study found that children are exposed to a larger vocabulary from picture books read aloud than from conversations with adults. This is because we tend to speak with the same 5000 most popular words; while books–even picture books–are more likely to use words outside those that make up our daily vocabulary.
Reading to young children extends their attention spans. While toddlers tend to flit from activity to activity, a story can hold their attention and keep them engaged for longer periods. Hearing a story read aloud involves some level of comprehension, and comprehension is dependent on paying attention, so the child gradually learns to listen and follow the thread of the story, as it is curious to know “what happens next”?
Reading aloud to young children helps to stimulate their imagination. By listening to the story while leafing through the pages and the illustrations, children can visualize and imagine events and situations that are outside of their own personal experiences. Even before they can read, their mental world is already enriched by multi-cultural and multi-dimensional characters and situations. They can picture life in other parts of the world and in other cultures, and more easily accept that the world is made up of all kinds of characters—naughty, quirky, good, bad, and more.
Children also love applying stories to their own lives. This feeling of identifying with situations can be very supportive in helping a child cope with different situations they encounter in their everyday experience, such as fear of dark places or doctors; apprehension about meeting new people or starting school; liking and disliking certain food, places or activities. The stories also engender empathy, a sense of community and the comfort of not “being the only one like that”.
And perhaps the most precious of all, read-aloud time is great bonding time for both readers and listeners. It is a wonderful opportunity to connect in essential ways with children, creating nurturing spaces for them, and ways to talk and think together.
In 2010 LitWorld, an organisation that believes in the incredible power of reading proposed that a special day should mark, and celebrate, the many connections that reading aloud can make. “Because when every child is read aloud to for 15 minutes every day from birth, it will change the face of education…”
Since then, 3 February is celebrated as World Read Aloud Day to remind us to celebrate the power of reading aloud, and the magic of sharing journeys of words together, not just for a day, but every day.
–Mamata
Millennial Matriarchs 