Speech therapists emphasize reading the impact of gaps on vulnerable students

According to speech therapist and researcher Anna Eva Harin, young people have poor reading skills, and the most vulnerable students have been hit hardest. In her research, she aims to understand the best ways to support students with language and reading difficulties.

To understand the text, you need both decoding the text (meaning that words are read correctly and fluently) and to gain a linguistic understanding of what the words and sentences mean. Together, decoding and understanding of language constitute our reading comprehension. Alarms about the reading crisis among young people are regularly raised. But what does the research really show?

“Unfortunately, the decline seems real. International ratings such as PISA, which measure reading comprehension, show that they are declining in both Sweden and most other OECD countries. The latest PISA assessment So, 24% of students in 9th grade did not reach basic level of reading comprehension in Sweden,” said therapists and researchers, reading and writing for the Department of Language Sciences, Intervention and Technology. says Harin, a researcher in the field of difficulty.

PISA stands for Program for International Student Assessment and is an international study examining 15-year-old knowledge of reading, mathematics and science.

She said one factor that contributes to poor reading comprehension is the demographic changes Sweden has undergone over the last few decades. With the rise in immigration, the number of students who do not have Swedish as their native language has increased.

“The most affected are students with low socioeconomic status and their native languages ​​outside of Swedish. And boys generally perform worse than girls,” says Harin.

“Ideally, I would like the school to function as compensation. This means that students who do not receive strong support from their homes should receive the right support to develop language and reading skills at school. . It seems like the number of people who are good at reading and are weak is on the rise. This is a concern,” she says.

Another important factor in poor reading comprehension is simply the less time children and young people generally spend reading. This can be explained in part by the increased use of smartphones and social media. These provide quick, easily accessible entertainment that competes for young people’s attention with long texts.

According to a survey by Dalarna University, half of the ninth grade students did not even read a page of continuous textbooks during the 2017 school day.

A 2023 report from the Swedish Media Bureau, “Youth and Media,” shows that the country’s decline in reading between the ages of nine and 18 appears to have stopped. However, 14% of people aged 17 to 18 report reading books or newspapers every day.

Research shows that reading audio as early as possible is an important first step towards good reading development, especially in so-called alphabetical languages, such as Swedish, where letters represent the sound of speech. It’s been done.

“We need to ensure that all students have the basic skills to already resonate and decipher texts in the first few years of primary school. This is for all other learning in the school. It’s ultimately important,” Harin says. “Unfortunately, the Swedish teacher training programme does not emphasize this enough.

“We need to modify the curriculum so that early reading instructions always include explicit and systematic phonics methods. This appears to be ongoing. Throughout the school year, together, and individually. You need to have many scheduled readings. And read the discussion about stamina, and many group work and language and long texts. All subjects and all teachers and student teachers make this into evidence. You need to get a way to do it in a based way, she says.

Harin is also involved in the foundation lecilexi, which is the goal that all children should learn to read. Among other things, we provide a free screening tool used by many teachers around Sweden to identify students who are lagging behind reading development and to get advice and support on how to build an education.

“Part of my research involves developing this tool further with other researchers to make sure the testing is really good,” says Harin.

She also launched a four-year project on teacher professional development, supporting secondary school teachers and assisting students who suffer from different types of reading and language difficulties, including language disorders and Swedish students. That’s what I mean.

“We will further develop existing Australian teacher professional development programs and bring them to Sweden to test how Swedish teachers and students experience it, and impact not only on learning but also on classroom participation. “We will measure.” Harin.

Reading appears to have declined even among adults. Audiobook availability is increasing, with more people listening to today’s books than before. Is this worse than reading? A review of research on this topic shows that reading at your own pace is more effective when it comes to understanding what is said to be “between the lines” or linking understanding to prior knowledge. I did.

“When you are reading, you have the text before you, and you can choose to stop, think, go back and read again. Therefore, there are many things to read with your eyes. There are advantages, but at the same time, listening is an important help for students dyslexia, and you can absolutely train them to become better at listening to texts,” says Harin.

Despite some dark figures, she believes she has hope for reading ability, she. About half of children and young people of all ages report themselves as they read too much, according to a report from the Swedish media outlet. Schools aren’t the only solution. Harin’s message to all parents is transparent:

“Read role models and read to your kids and with your kids. Every day,” she says.