Teaching Children To Read: What Are The Factors And Influences?

Learning to read is a slow and gradual process. It requires putting into practice many cognitive abilities and other abilities that are not language-related.

However, there are many factors that directly or indirectly influence the acquisition of this skill. This is especially the case with children. Looking at their situation, learning to read should not only have an adaptive function, but also be interactive and enjoyable.

We can divide these factors into emotional, physical and intellectual categories. Yet we often consider the latter two to be fundamental. However, the truth is that psychological and environmental factors can also lead to success or failure when children learn to read. Now let’s take a closer look at each factor.

Factors that play a role when children learn to read

Emotional Factors

One of the essential ingredients in learning to read is the attitude of parents and teachers in parenting and education. In many cases, a certain behavior on the part of the adult can make this process more difficult for the children. However, this does not happen in all cases.

An example of this is overprotection. Some children feel that they are being overprotected and treated like babies. When confronted with new challenges, these children are likely to feel unsure of themselves. Often they will reject the challenges.

Likewise, extreme indulgence can diminish self-discipline, self-responsibility, and the acquisition of good habits. The lack of rules can leave a child feeling unmotivated. He will experience this when he tries activities that require some effort.

Too much pressure from the family members or from the teachers also affects the child in a negative way. Comments like “You should have learned this ages ago” can undermine their confidence or discourage them. The same thing happens with comments like “You are way behind your classmates.” They can even cause the child to give up.

The worst is when that disenchantment and lack of motivation to learn to read is generalized to everything associated with school. This is where the dreaded academic fear of failure arises. The child then experiences a feeling of inevitable inferiority.

In addition, the child may also have more problems adjusting and integrating into the group of peers.

Physical Factors

Vision and hearing are essential physiological factors when it comes to teaching children to read. In fact, there are authors who consider the ability to hear even more important than the ability to see. They are talking about levels beyond reading.

The lack of sharp vision or balance in the eye muscles can impair reading ability. Deafness can also hinder the process in the same way. If these problems are diagnosed before the age of 3, there is a better chance that language development and learning to read will not be hindered as much.

Intellectual Factors

Many studies support the determination of the premature maturity of girls compared to boys. This speed in intellectual development is a result of the relative dominance of their left hemisphere. Reading that takes place “through” this hemisphere of the brain is therefore often better. It is performed with fewer errors and greater understanding.

That is also why lateralization of the cerebral hemispheres is a prerequisite for the child to be able to learn to read correctly. It does mean that there must be at least a preference for using one side or the other of the body. This will avoid distortions due to the lack of a distinction between the hemispheres.

When the lateralization is defective, a range of disorders can occur. They can affect reading ability. Some problems are difficulties in spelling or writing.

Understand and read

These two things may seem the same, but they are not. How many times have we sat down to read a book when this happens? Five minutes after we start, we realize we don’t know anything we’ve read.

Paying attention is fundamental to understanding what we read. If you’re not concentrating, you’re just looking at a bunch of letters without processing them cognitively.

Understanding requires a series of processes that are not language specific. These processes transcend the lexical and semantic features of the words. This includes interpreting, understanding context, problem solving and reasoning.

Understanding goes beyond the senses (visual or auditory). It means that someone is actively building the content of the text. This is at the top of the reading pyramid. It means you are deciphering a message.

The influence of the family on reading

The more stimulating the child’s environment is, the more beneficial the contribution we can make to them. That is also why the weight of the parents on this process is crucial. Parents play a fundamental role when children learn to read. The reading habits of the parents can also influence the acquisition of reading skills.

There are significant differences between children whose parents read frequently and those who do not have a role model for reading. Parents who read a lot themselves are often more willing to read a book to their children before they fall asleep. They may also have incentives in the house that invite the children to read: magazines, newspapers, and books.

On the other hand, there is one more symptom that often occurs in children who fail to read. These children are often too shy. It could also be related to a tendency to blush easily. It is normal for them to develop feelings of inferiority. This in turn makes them appear somewhat self-centered. It is a result of a fearful inner state.

Often they also have nervous habits such as nail biting or insomnia. It is therefore important to be extremely attentive to these situations. That way you can avoid that feeling of failure or of general dissatisfaction. Also remember that the importance of reading in the family influences the process by which children learn to read.

Bibliography

Trianes, MV and Gallardo, JA (2004). Education and developmental psychology in the school context. Madrid Pyramid.