Reading out loud has long been touted as a staple in child education, whether it’s reading passages of a book out loud in the classroom, or reading a bedtime story at home.
Benefits for child development include improved memory, stronger focus, increased confidence, and more fluent speech – also making it a particularly effective activity for effective language study.
In 2015, the University of Montreal (Canada) conducted a study that showed that people were able to digest and retain information more easily when it was read out loud to them, compared to if they simply read the information in their heads. To add to this, another study in 2017 by the University of Waterloo (Canada) concluded that information recall was even greater when subjects read out loud themselves, as opposed to having someone else read to them. This is greatly thanks to the additional motor act (from speaking), on top of the auditory input.
These findings point to a major benefit of reading aloud with children: increased retention of information. In other words, reading to your children, or even better still, encouraging them to read to you, boosts their memory and helps them remember content faster, and for a longer time.
This is especially useful when trying to teach your child a new language, or raising a bilingual child. Reading out loud not only allows your child to get a better ‘feel’ of the language on their tongue, but also helps them to retain new vocabulary, expressions and stories longer. Furthermore, the increased practice of speaking out loud and hearing themselves speak will build their confidence in expressing themselves, and help make their speech become more fluent and eloquent in the long run.
In fact, in Minnesota, USA, the association ‘Reading Education Assistance Dogs’ (R.E.A.D.) connects children with volunteer therapy dogs, who act as reading companions! Children are able to read to the specially trained dogs, helping them improve their reading and communication skills with a judgement-free, attentive and patient listener. This scheme has proven to be a great success: aside from strengthening their reading skills, participating children have been said to have made huge progress in confidence, self-esteem and social skills.
A similar program has also been introduced to Finland since 2011.
You can easily start reading out loud with your child using your Sage Formula sets.
我們會經常為大家探討漢字和語文的課題。
要是你有特別的相關課題希望我們探討,歡迎您告訴我們。
We discuss Chinese language and culture related topics on a regular basis.
If you would like us to discuss certain topics about Chinese, please let us know.
很多家長都已是我們 Facebook 群組【講媽 · 講爸園地】 的成員。歡迎你也加入我們,一起互相鼓勵和支持,共同為孩子的學習而努力。
Many parents are already part of our Facebook Group. If you’d like to take advantage of the collective wisdom of your fellow parents, please join us.
We’d love to hear from you.
Sagebooks Hongkong promotes independent reading and life-long learning by nurturing the child’s confidence, autonomy and self-teaching abilities. Since 2006. Find out more About Us.
© 2020 Sagebooks Hongkong. All rights reserved.
Sagebooks Hongkong promotes independent reading and life-long learning by nurturing the child’s confidence, autonomy and self-teaching abilities. Since 2006. Find out more About Us.
© 2020 Sagebooks Hongkong. All rights reserved.
Sagebooks Hongkong promotes independent reading and life-long learning by nurturing the child’s confidence, autonomy, self-teaching abilities and mental health. Since 2006.
© 2023 Sagebooks Hongkong. All rights reserved.
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