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by Tilokasundari Kariyawasam

Promotion of reading habits is one of the most essential areas in education. The important role which it plays in intellectual, social, emotional and spiritual development has been a current topic of discussion.

For private and public reasons alike children must learn to read, for where the ability to read is not general, the maintenance of a high level of civilisation is hardly possible. Where the power to get enjoyment and information from books is lacking the development of a satisfactory personal life is unlikely to be realised.

It is widely assumed that practically all children can be taught to read, though nothing more may be meant than that they can be taught to utter the right noises when confronted with printed words and asked to translate them into some perceptual reading or "barking at print" as Sir John Adams used to call it.

It must be distinguished from the genuine thing, the ability to read with understanding and appreciation. In Sri Lanka reading is mostly a "mechanical skill", which is brought about by brute repetition of a given stimulus together with the appropriate response.

It is a matter of some doubt whether all children have acquired the ability to read in the genuine sense, by the time they have reached school leaving age.

It needs at least four years of attain the reading skill and is it reasonable to expect these children who drop out after primary level to sustain that skill afterwards. Reading is a complex process. It is not a simple skill, like writing, which once learned, can be increased automatically.

It may be practised at different levels of difficulty. As a result the existence of ability to read well at one level is no guarantee that an equal ability will be manifested at a higher level, or even at the same level in another field of interest.

We may be training the vast majority of our children just well enough to enable them to occupy themselves with the tawdriest reading material and get not well enough to ensure that they will wish to enter into and enjoy their rightful intellectual and spiritual heritage, or even that they will be able to withstand the word magic of the advertiser and the propergandist.

Among authorities on reading there is in fact, considerable agreement. One issue that has received more than its share of attention is that of approaches to the teaching of reading in the early stages.

It is argued that the essence of the process is converting print into sounds and then into words. It is argued that this must take second place to securing and expanding the child's interest, keeping the curiosity alive, and giving reading a meaning.

There is no particular age at which a child should actually begin the process of learning to read. It should appeal to real activity, to spontaneous work based upon personal need and interest. The law of interest is the sole pivot around which the whole system should turn.

The best way to prepare the very young child for reading is at the age of 4 months. You should hold him on your lap and show him the colourful pictures and talk to him a loud. Then later you should keep him on your lap and read aloud to him stories, he likes over and over again.

The printing page, the physical comfort and security, the reassuring voice, the fascination of the story, all these combine in the childs mind to identify books as something which hold great pleasure.

Even from the 4th month, colourfully illustrated books can be presented to the child to generate an interest in reading. Such books are not available to our children in Sri Lanka.

One of the most obvious ways to demonstrate to children the delight and excitement of books is to read to them. By reading to children everybody the teacher or adult firstly demonstrates his or her own love and appreciation of books. The purpose of literature is to provide meaning in our lives.

Child psychologist Bruno Bettleheim says that the finding of this meaning is the greatest need and most difficult achievements for any human being at any stage. Whom am I? Why am I here? What can I be? By reading to children one can create an atmosphere that reflects excitement, sorrow, joy and interest of a book normally too difficult for the emerging reading to create for himself.

Books are not written in an emotional vacuum, but children reading for themselves sometimes find it difficult to sense the feeling behind the words they are trying to decode. When we read aloud, they are all able to feel the impact of the story.

It offers the children a chance of a vicarious experience which develops their concepts, knowledge and thinking ability. Literature is the greatest source available for vicarious experience. It enables children to encounter emotions for which they might be psychologically ready but for which they lack the reading stamina.

In passing we may, perhaps, draw attention to the valuable part played by nursery rhymes in the linguistic education of infants. In about fifty of the commonest nursery rhymes there will usually be found at least five hundred difficult words.

They will suffice to introduce the child to a world of great interest and to a wealth of knowledge about it - to a large variety of natural objects, to the chief parts of the body, to the main parts of trades and occupations of the countryside, to various kinsmen, foods and drinks, fear and aspiration.

Add to the nursery rhymes, some of the traditional folk tales, jataka stories, historical stories, myths, songs, dances and games, an incalculable wide introduction to stimulating and useful literature is provided. Researchers have estimated that nearly 1500 folk tales relevant to children in Sri Lanka are available. Certainly no child is ready for instruction in reading, who has not somehow gained this indispensable background of experience.

The culture of a people derived much of its strength from history, folk tales and beliefs, ways in which one greets one's aunt, ways in which people thought of discipline and morals.

There was art, music, dance, song, riddles, stories about kings, stories about animals and their wisdom and how they behaved. This has significant implications for language in school.

Only the original language produces, the intended, emotional effects of puns, echoes and noises. Such culture should be given in childhood to sustain people through life.

All these things should be collected, collated, recorded, reproduced, so as to form a great part of children's literature than at present. It demonstrates literary language and structure. A good literature is precise, intelligent, sensitive and rich in meaning.

Young children should acquire from the beginning the skills that are employed in mature reading. These skills will obviously be used for more elaborate and demanding purposes, as the child grows older, but the pattern is one that can be established early.

The development of reading skills is a progressive one.

The primary skills in the early years mature into the understanding of word structure and spelling patterns. The intermediate skills, so essential in word attack in the early stages, are at work in skimming, scanning and the extinction of meaning in the more complex reading tasks in later stages.

The comprehension skills, themselves do not change, it is in the increasing complexity of the purposes to which they are put as the pupils grow older that the difference lies.

In the middle year there should be three major emphases. The first is to consolidate the work of the early years, and to give particular to those children who for one reason or another have failed to make progress.

The second is to maintain and extend the idea of reading as an activity which brings great pleasure and as a personal resource of limitless value. The third is to develop the pupils' reading from the general to the specific.

One of the most important tasks facing the teacher is to increase the amount and range of their voluntary reading. There is a strong association between this and reading attainment. There is a fairly large groups of children, who have the reading skills but do not choose to read books outside school time. A great deal depends on the home environment.

When reading has no status and books no place, incentives to read will be slight. Sri Lanka lacks a varied collection of books for children. What is available are also insipid reading.

Teacher influence and book provision hold the key to an improvement in reading.

There are varied weekly children's papers. Parents should help children to use the newspapers and the radio and TV in order to select their viewing. Parents should try to share some television with the children, so that they can talk about it afterwards.

"All of those who love children must see that we don't, by default, allow some TV character to become a better friend to our children than we are." Many words appear on the screen, help children to recognise and read them. If you write them on small cards, you will be surprised how quickly children learn them.

Hearing children read is essential to reading development. Part of the importance of this activity is the opportunity it provides for a child to enjoy the uninterrupted time and attention of an adult. From very early stage, let children read a book silently and then use the adults time to talk about what they have read. You should not expect perfect recall, but do praise evidence of reading for meaning.

Paired reading is a way to help children with reading and is especially useful for parents to do at home with their children. The adult and the child both read the text out loud together. It also prevents parents reverting to teaching their children in the way they remember being taught e.g. sounding out each letter.

The building up of book resources is often something of a piecemeal process. School library services are an invaluable resource, but that too is lacking in our schools. The importance of keeping a flow of good imaginative literature at the children's fingertips is of prime importance.

A large number of contemporary writers of good quality fiction are barely represented. Most of the available books fall within the category of narrative. The narrative mode provided for children of all ages by far the strongest motivation towards the reading of books. The potential of this for a grand increase in reading needs no elaboration. Children should have the books both to create and meet the demand.

This recognition cannot take place at too early an age and that fantasy, Jataka stories and folklore should take their place in the repertoire in the earliest stages of reading.

The essential elements involved in promoting of reading habits include:

1) An increase in the amount and range of voluntary reading in children.

2) Availability of a good stimulating and imaginative literature.

3) Fostering talent among authors, illustrators, librarians and publishers.

4) Social development aimed at an increased readership.

The Non-Formal Education Department of the Ministry of Education and NIE should open up village reading centres. These centres should be opened relapses into illiteracy. One of the objectives of the centre could be to provide news and knowledge.

Most successful reading centres could be those located in the home, in the school, or in a religious centre, such as the temple, the church or kovil. Mobile libraries conducted by temples have proved a great success in Sri Lanka.

A national campaign for promotion of reading habits should be given top priority. The campaign project should organise seminars for teachers, librarians, illustrators, publishers and educational administrators all over the country.

They should be trained in both theory and practice concerning knowledge about the reading process and reading skills. Activities should be organised to persuade students to learn and apply the reading skills.

Teachers should be taught techniques of making interesting reading materials and reading corners. They have to be introduced to techniques, such as reading aloud, story-telling, panel-discussions, debates, illustrations and book exhibitions.

A parent-child reading movement, with the objective of showing children the enjoyment of reading books should be introduced.

There should be a national centre for reading and language information, concerned with the teaching of reading the mother tongue in all its aspects, from reading in the early year to advanced studies.

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