Impact of Reading & Language on Academic Success

The importance of reading and language has been portrayed to be limited to Arts subjects like English and Psychology. But students who are not competent in reading struggle with almost every other subject in their curriculum. Bad or underdeveloped reading skills impact the overall performance of the students. There is a direct correlation between reading and excellence in subjects like maths, coding, science, social studies, etc.

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How do reading and language impact other curricular subjects?

Mathematics

As the students get promoted to higher classes, the mathematical problems become more instructional or 'wordier' and demand thorough reading, comprehension, and critical thinking. Solving such problems with no proper understanding of what the question demands can impact the student's performance in the subject.

Coding

In recent studies, it has been stated that no skill stands at par with language aptitude when it comes to the relevant skills required for coding. Even mathematics which is believed to be the most essential requirement for coding is almost irrelevant when compared to linguistic comprehension.

Source: www.nature.com 

The graph above represents the outcome of an experiment which illustrates that to determine the learning rate, programming accuracy, higher-level coding knowledge, and average utility of a programming language, linguistic or language aptitude holds the maximum weightage whereas numeracy and other overrated skills hold low to no relevance, clearly depicting the important language in the fields of coding and programming. 

In simple words, the graph depicts how language is the most important skill required for coding, even more than maths.

Science

Subjects like physics, chemistry and biology are powered by extensive terminology and nomenclature which requires a strong vocabulary, reading, and comprehension skills. 
 

Social studies 

Under the umbrella of this curriculum are subjects such as history, geography, political science, etc. Students study topics that constantly present to them a new set of jargon and vocabulary. Weak reading and language skills make these subjects seem difficult and tiresome to understand.

Economics

Economics is a mix of terms, facts, theories, and numerical which require appropriate, skilled reading and linguistic knowledge, to interpret as well as convey. If wrongly interpreted, it becomes very confusing and arduous.

The number of students who fail to read proficiently as per their age and grade is worrisome and needs to be looked into. And the potential reading and language hold to impact students' other curricular subjects and academics is great and needs to be harnessed at an early age.

How can the reading and language skills of students be improved at an early age?

• For subjects like mathematics and coding, linguistic hacks for the respective functions must be introduced to the students which will make it easier for them to interpret the question.

• Subjects that have terms and facts that can be explained via practical demonstration must be taken into action. This will help students with weak vocabulary understand them better.

• Gift your child a membership to the local library or introduce them to second-hand book stores in your locality through which they can reuse and read books.

• Schools should try to insert formal reading sessions and evaluate the students based on their performance. This will motivate the students to work on their skills as well as weaknesses.

• Even if the student is not very proficient at reading and speaking, they must be encouraged to read, communicate and interact with each other to improve.

One of the best solutions we found for improving children’s language and reading at an early age is fREADom.

fREADom is India's first comprehensive learning platform that aims at enhancing the English reading, speaking, and conversation skills of children between the age groups of 3 to 12. Their content and method of teaching have helped in improving the academic performance of many primary school students by 30%.

• They guarantee improvement and progress at a very reasonable cost.

• Their educators are very experienced in their field.

• Their content is backed by a decade of research.

• They go beyond bookish knowledge with their AI-led online classes facility. They have also launched a free reading app for children with many other beneficial features.

• Students can choose from thousands of stories to read; participate in fun challenges; perform skill-based activities; earn exciting points; and also get a multicultural experience.

Also read: Help Your Child Build a Reading Habit