Reading Ability: An Introduction
Reading ability refers to the skills required to understand written text. This skill is usually developed during early schooling. Reading is not as easy as we might think it to be. Reading is a complex process that requires many skills. People develop their reading ability over a few years. As you develop these skills over time, it helps you achieve the ultimate goal of reading which is reading comprehension or understanding what is written.
Reading ability includes five main skills. These are phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Comprehending or understanding what you’re reading is vital. Without comprehension, reading is usually pointless. Reading comprehension helps students develop relevant knowledge, skills, and experiences to become competent readers and use these skills later on.
What Does Research Say About Reading Ability?
Research on good reading skills shows that good readers are usually selective as they read. They tend to create a mental overview or outline of their reading goals before they start reading and note the structure and organization of the text. While reading, they understand words easily, can understand the flow of the text, and connect two sentences. They are more likely to focus on parts of the text that they feel are aligned with their reading goals. Some people are good at skimming through text also and infer what they need.
Reading can be challenging for some people due to lots of reasons. Some children struggle with reading initially. This can be rectified and improved over time using certain ways.
Importance of Reading Ability
Reading skills are always an asset because reading and understanding are a vital part of our everyday lives.
Reading ability is critical to the development of a child and is needed for better learning and education.
Reading is vital for overall attainment in school and a key to success in school and future life.
Engaging children in reading from an early age helps ensure that children are equipped with the skills necessary to understand the text and improve their reading ability.
Genetics and Reading Ability
People with certain genetic types are more likely to have a better reading ability and may exhibit characteristics such as rapid reading skills, fluency, and better recall of text.
Non-Genetic Factors That Influence Reading Ability
Several factors that influence reading ability include:
1. Vocabulary - Vocabulary skills also matter when you come across new words. Having good vocabulary skills helps you understand the text better, faster and improve comprehension skills.
2. Fluency - The ability to read fluently helps you read the text faster and spend less time understanding the meaning of words and sentences.
3. Active reading - People who read often develop their reading skills and tend to get better at reading, comprehension, and writing. Active reading also involves understanding and critically engaging with the content you’re reading. This saves time and helps you understand better.
4. Education - The quality of teaching also influences the reading ability of an individual. The quality and kind of teaching at the school level can affect a person’s reading ability.
Recommendations
There are several ways by which you can improve your reading skills and get better at reading comprehension. These include
- Start reading actively. Reading often and reading with determination helps you save time, understand the text better and relate the text with your reading goals.
- Set specific reading goals. This will help you improve your reading efficiency and identify what information is important for you. You can set goals based on how much you want to read, or what kind of content you want to read.
- You can improve your reading speed to read more within a given time frame. Concentrate on your reading and time your reading speed. You can also skim whenever needed. The main goal is to increase the number of words you read within a given time frame and single fixture of your eyes on the text.
- During the initial stages of reading, reading aloud helps you learn the language, improve fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension skills.
- Read a variety of content* that aligns with your interests.
Summary
- Reading ability is the set of skills required to understand written text and is usually developed during early schooling. The set of skills include phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
- Reading and understanding are critical to the development of a child and a vital part of our lives. It is an important part of educational and overall attainment and is needed for a child’s success in school and future life.
- Good readers are selective as they read, tend to create a mental overview of their reading goals, and note the structure, flow, and organization of the text.
- Active reading, vocabulary, fluency, education, and background knowledge are some of the non-genetic factors that influence reading ability.
- Engaging children in reading from an early age can help improve their reading ability. Reading actively, setting specific reading goals, improving reading speed, reading aloud initially, and reading a variety of content can help you get better at reading.
References
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042813001146
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225838366_Metacognitively_competent_reading_comprehension_is_constructively_responsive_reading_How_can_such_reading_be_developed_in_students
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/002205741619600302
https://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/landing.jhtml?src=pn
