Is learning to READ really that simple?

When a child starts school, they start with the abc, learn to read, write and spell and after a few months they can read anything. That’s how it goes, right?

For those of you who have witnessed the struggle of a child or adult who is unable to read, you would understand that the short answer is NO, learning to read is not that simple. Reading requires a complex set of connections in the brain that must be learned practised until an automatic response can be applied.

After listening to the information detailed in some of the recent news articles and media reports, you could be mistaken for thinking that all we need to do is show our kids the letters of the alphabet a couple of times and make the sounds that are associated them, just a few times, and they will be able to ‘sound out words’. It is then assumed that our children will have a good idea of how to make words, and of course just listen to the words and seeing them a few times in a book should seal the deal! This could not be further from the truth. Meanwhile, we are left wondering why our education system is failing our children and society as a whole, when there is very clear research to show the proven methodology for teaching reading.

The number of children leaving school with below the required standards in literacy is on the rise!

While learning to read is not that simple, teaching someone to read, with appropriate methodology, is.

There is a lot more discussion now about the ‘science of reading’ as well as phonics…that’s a fantastic start. Without a structured, sequential, cumulative, multisensory, phonic based, explicit approach to teaching reading, we will continue to leave many students behind. It has been 17 years since I left the education system to find researched methods of reading instruction (including for those with learning difficulties) and to find out why so many students were falling through the cracks in literacy learning in our schools. My first discovery was that I did not learn any of this in my teaching training (so very long ago), but to my surprise, the teachers I have worked with over the last 12 years, also had very limited knowledge of this. Starting in our Universities would equip the next generation of teachers, however we also need to provide mentors and training for our current teachers if we are to improve our standards of literacy.

With our crowded curriculum and the additional duties now thrown onto our classroom teachers, the opportunities for more repetition and a slower pace for consolidated learning are becoming less available. When recently discussing with a parent the difficulties her child was having at age 8, the idea of returning to alphabet work was slightly distressing for her and she quickly become less responsive in our discussions, until I reminded her that without an automatic response to the form of the letter and the sound it represents, reading will be laboured and difficult, with little room for fluency or gaining meaning from the text.

My best analogy is to think of the skills/processes you require for learning to drive a car. This process needs to be practised many times to be become fluent and automatic. We need to train our brain to connect various actions simultaneously, in order to control and drive the car, navigate the road rules and avoid taking out another driver. Just think how many skills have become automatic when you take to the road, with other passengers chatting to you (or demanding children making requests from the back seat). If these skills have not become automatic, then driving is a terrifying experience for all!

The process of reading is similar in that we need to be able to identify the letter by sight, identify the sound that letter represents and use both visual and auditory memory all at the same time while sequencing in quick succession and make meaning of the text in order to read. Writing and spelling also require these automatic responses. Like driving the car, it is continual, regular practise of all of these skills together, at the same time, that takes away the terrifying experience!

Research and neuroscience across decades has proven the need for a specific approach to the teaching of reading. This article from Harvard medical school defines some of the key findings in recent years.

Prep classrooms are the perfect place to start this process, but the repetition in the specific methodologies needs to be implemented for all students, it really is an insurance policy for our young learners, ensuring they begin their journey to reading with an automatic response to letters and the sounds they represent.

If you are a parent, tutor or teacher, and would like to know more, please get in touch and I would love to tell you more to ensure your learner does not struggle with literacy. You could also take at look at our 26 Letters Program which takes you step by step to support your learner.

Never underestimate how hard a person, child or adult, is working when they are trying to learn to read. Contact Learnersaurus today for more support. www.learnersaurus.com