Reading aloud to children and with children of all ages is so important for their development, their imagination and their overall reading and writing skills. And while reading out loud is often done between adults and younger children, it should be encouraged amongst teenagers too.
World Read Aloud Day is celebrated on the first Wednesday of the month of February, but reading out loud should of course be encouraged all year long. According to Fundza Literacy Trust, a South African non profit dedicated to improving literacy among teens and young adults, when teens read out loud, it can benefit them as much as it benefits younger children.
Parents and guardians are encouraged to create a space in which their teenage children feel safe to read out loud. Sometimes teenagers will not want to read out loud in front of the whole class but would rather split into smaller groups to read. Or they might want to read out loud to themselves at home. Whichever way they do it, it should be something that becomes a habit over time. Here are three benefits of teens reading out loud plus some useful digital tools for your reading aloud pleasure:
It builds imaginative prowess
When teenagers read aloud, they often encounter unfamiliar words of which they must learn the meaning. This is great for the creative side of their brains as it means they must imagine the meaning of words and what they describe, unlike just seeing them on paper or screens. Additionally, when they are reading out loud, they’re listening to a story and will then imagine the scene in their head.
It bolsters comprehension and active listening skills
When teens are listening to words out loud – whether it be in the classroom setting or at home – their brains focus on the sounds the words make and their meanings. While this is happening, there is a cognitive exercise that happens in the brain that helps improve comprehension and listening skills.
It builds confidence and strengthens fluency
If teens are unsure of how to pronounce certain words and they are not confident readers, reading out loud to themselves can go a long way to improving this. Reading fluently means being able to read without much effort, at a good pace and with effective accuracy, and with appropriate rhythm and expression. It is often considered a conduit between decoding (understanding the relationship between letters and sounds) and comprehension. People with exceptional reading fluency are often great communicators, a skill that has become crucial in today’s world. Research shows that people should optimally start to learn this ability before the age of 10, and that after the age of 18 this learning becomes much more difficult.
The benefits of teens reading out loud to themselves or in a group cannot be overstated. Executive Director and Trustee of the Fundza Literacy Trust Lea-Anne Moses, agrees: “Reading aloud offers many and great benefits for children of all ages. This is a sure way to achieving exceptional language development, building thinking and comprehension skills, developing reading and writing sharpness, refining good listening skills, and, ultimately, bettering your children’s literacy skills – helping them to become great adults.”
If you don’t have access to books that you and your child can read out loud together, Moses recommends the following:
Fundza
Fundza is a learning and reading digital platform created by the Fundza Literacy Trust which aims to encourage reading and writing for pleasure in teenagers and young adults as a way to improve literacy levels in South Africa.
- My Childhood Story: This story is about a young girl who was born poor but dreamt of escaping poverty. She was doing well in her academics, and when she came across a self-discovery challenge, it would eventually become a turning point of her life. She questions everything including her own sexuality and her life journey begins. The book teaches children about life choices, decisions, self-awareness, and accountability. It is available to read online and to download.
- Zanele: This book is about a young and not incredibly happy girl growing up in Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape, craving love and to be loved. She struggles, especially due to her mother who interferes in her love life because of her own ideals of wanting her to marry a rich boy from a royal family. The story unfolds tumultuously, but eventually Zanele finds her true love. This book is great for teenagers and young adults, making it a great bonding session with your teenage children.
Nal’ibali
This platform seeks to spark and embed a culture of reading in children from birth to 12 years of age, across South Africa, through cultivating enticing reading content in all South African languages.
- Jabu’s Diary: In this story, the adventurous Jabu narrates his fascinating everyday encounters and adventures with his family in a small village in the Eastern Cape. Read this story aloud to children who are learning to read to support their reading skills and development. Children older than 11 years would enjoy reading this story on their own.
- There is no price for being kind: This story is about a young and poor boy called Thabo who is raised by his grandparents in an impoverished setting. Thabo’s grandparents instil in him the importance of kindness even under the circumstances of having very little. It makes his grandparents very proud that this young man had kindness to offer to his community regardless of his background. This book teaches about the importance of ubuntu – a trait we should all live by.
If you have children under the age of 12, the Nal’ibali trust is the perfect resource, while the Fundza Literacy Trust is excellent for those who have older teens and for young adults. These platforms are depository for valuable reading materials that are aimed at improving literacy skills across all ages.
