But when children don’t have such experiences, and struggle to make sense of what they’re learning, as teachers and parents we often attribute this to their need to be taught particular skills rather than appreciating their need for linguistically and imaginatively rich input. When story time involves children and adults poring over words and illustrations together, crucial concepts relating to print become integral to the powerful process – even though, being informally structured, much of this learning may go unnoticed. Of course, learning to read cannot happen without close encounters with the mechanics of print, but it’s is far easier if healthy story language roots have already embedded themselves in fertile minds. For several decades research has confirmed this, as well as the fact that knowledge of story structure predicts children’s later general reading success. Comprehension and vocabulary grow strong in children who have stories told and read aloud to them. However, listening to stories is indeed significant for learning to read. ![]() Nor does the way in which ‘skills-based’ teaching methods for initial literacy tend to be prioritised over nurturing an interest in and a love of stories and reading. The pervasive insistence that children learning English must learn in English as soon as possible does not help to change this situation. There have been and there are few magnificent storybooks published in languages that most local young children and their families speak. But would the thousands of children who struggle through the education system benefit from listening to them? More specifically, for children learning to read, what is the significance of hearing well-told and well-read stories? A clear answer may elude many parents, teachers and librarians in modern day South Africa. Today, many of us are entranced by the vast visual world of digital stories. In Mesopotamia, just 6 000 years ago, the few who could read were called scribes rather than readers, possibly, surmises Alberto Manguel in A History of Reading, to emphasise the “greatest gift” of “having access to the archives of human memory and rescuing from the past the voice of our experience”. History, values and knowledge were shared. Listening brought its own pleasures: the first lines of a compelling story anticipated thrills like the ‘Ntunjambili’ chant opening the sheltering rock to fleeing, terrified children, or the call of ‘Open Sesame’ revealing the cave in which the forty thieves’ glittering treasure lay.Īpart from the sheer exhilaration of a great story, and the sense of belonging, community and connection experienced, this was how substantial learning took place. In days gone by, storytelling and, later, reading aloud was common practice. But there are those who cannot read, both children and adults. They give you reading as a gift.” People who love reading know the precise value of that gift, and how to access it. In his insightful book, The Rights of the Reader, Daniel Pennac comments: “When someone reads aloud, they raise you to the level of the book. Support young people to keep their grip on opportunityĪntoinette Sithole, sister of Hector Peterson, telling a story to an entranced audience.Create new connections to opportunity for young people.Accelerate learning for learners failed by the system.GOAL 3: All young people on pathways to productivity.Build simple, loving connections for every child.Make sure every child is ready to read and do maths by the time they go to school. ![]()
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