According to a 2007 research report released by the National Endowment for the Arts, nearly half of all teens report that they have not read a book for pleasure in the previous year – not one. Less than one-third of all thirteen year old respondents report reading daily, and that number declines as teens age. Teens spend less than 10 minutes a day on average reading for fun; by contrast, teens spend 2 and 1/2 hours watching television and a comparable amount of time online. This is a media saturated world, and reading has demonstrably fallen by the wayside.
What is the result of this inattention to reading? The following observations are purely anecdotal, but as a C2 instructor, here’s what I’ve noticed:
- Students’ working vocabularies are far more limited. Print materials generally contain more rare words than do media materials.
- Students’ general knowledge bases are less robust. Students who don’t read a variety of print materials on a regular basis are less informed about current events, history, literature, art — basically any subject you can name. And since cognitive scientists have found that a good store of general knowledge is an absolute prerequisite for good reading comprehension, this leads to a snowballing effect: because students don’t read regularly, they don’t gather the cultural capital they need to understand the materials they are given in school, and because they don’t understand the materials they are given in school, they fail to gather more knowledge, and because they haven’t effectively absorbed this new knowledge — I think you get the idea.
- Students’ writing skills are deficient. There are two reasons for this. First of all, the best way to learn how to write cogently and with style is through exposure to good writing. Readers get this exposure; non-readers do not. Secondly, non-readers, as noted above, don’t have access to enough cultural capital; therefore, they don’t know what to write about. My non-readers’ essays do not show grammatical and stylistic proficiency, true, but beyond the nuts and bolts, their essays are simply less interesting.
- Students’ interests are narrow or seemingly nonexistent. Countless times, I have asked non-readers about their hobbies, interests, and goals (usually to help them with application essays) and have received noncommittal responses – either shrugs of the shoulders or moments of dead, awkward silence. This could be attributed to traditional adolescent reserve (though as a fairly young adult, I’d like to think I project the air of someone friendly, open and nonjudgmental), but I also believe that students who don’t read have fewer opportunities to encounter new ideas and new experiences. Reading is one of the best ways to broaden a student’s horizons, as good non-fiction books and magazine articles expose a student to the lives, occupations, and interests of people around the world.
So what is the upshot of all of the above? We as instructors and as parents need to find a way to reach our reluctant readers and get them excited about reading — and summer vacation is a perfect time to start. How do we go about this monumental task? Here are some tips I have gleaned from the experts (youth librarians):
- Create a pro-reading atmosphere in your classroom or your home. Leave lots of books lying around. Let kids see you reading. Indeed, read to kids no matter how old they are — and put some passion into it! Teens may look at you like you’re the dorkiest adult they’ve ever met, but based on my personal experience with adolescents, they secretly like it when their parents and teachers show they are that excited about something. I can recall, while tutoring students in U.S. History one day, how much those kids smiled when I started gushing about how interesting the 1790’s were. They thought I was an enormous goofball, but they loved it all the same.
- Avoid summer reading lists assembled by schools. These kids are not going to be interested in reading literary fiction, so don’t try to force it on them. Instead, look for short novels with colorful, appealing covers, good “hooks” (openings that grab the reader), and fast-paced, action oriented plots. Fantasy is particularly popular among young adults currently thanks to J.K. Rowling and Stephanie Meyer, so try that genre. Many librarians have also successfully convinced reluctant teens to read using graphic novels, manga, and non-fiction. Don’t be a book snob; remember that a lot of the things we consider classics now were considered “trash” in earlier eras.
- Look for good movie adaptations of classic works. A lot of my students, particularly those who are learning English as a second language, have used these movies as an aid for comprehension. If your child/student must read a literary book or two over the summer for school, allow him or her to watch the movie too. Non-readers will appreciate these works more if they can see it in a form that appeals to them.
- Be mindful of each teen’s reading level. Many reluctant readers have put books aside because they read below grade level and have consequently associated reading with failure. For these kids, you may want to snag books from a Hi/Lo list. Hi/Lo books are designed to appeal to teens and their concerns, but they are typically written at a fourth or fifth grade level (or lower). About.com has gathered some Hi/Lo links here that are worth checking out.
- Don’t over-schedule your child. A lot of kids don’t read because they feel they don’t have the time. Make sure that your kids have at least twenty minutes free everyday to devote to pleasure reading.
Bottom line, it is possible to overcome a teen’s aversion to reading, but you have to really work at it — and put aside your prejudices.
