“Reading is the gateway skill that makes all other learning possible.”
-Barack Obama
The former president of the United States of America hit the nail on the head about the importance of reading. Reading is not just a skill that children need to pick up; they need to make it as “a way of life”. It has to become an integral part of daily life. One who reads books can live a thousand life within one. It brings us into different parts of the world and enables us to learn about the joys and hardships of people of different cultures that we have never seen in person.
Source: blog.frontiersin.org
Reading enables us to demystify and de-jargonise the darkest recesses of our own minds. It provokes self-analysis and the introspection enables us to grow and mature, to become better version of ourselves. Some schools have an inbuilt system of reading sessions in their curriculum while others simply encourage students to read books by other similar efforts.
School English teachers and English tuition teachers often emphasise the importance of reading as it improves critical thinking, it expands students’ vocabulary bank and even has psychological benefits.
So, let’s explore the importance of reading skills for students, in detail!
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
There is a direct correlation between reading and communication skills. The more than students read, the easier it is for them to speak fluently as words string up more easily in their mind. Reading teaches individuals to open up more to accept new perspectives so it certainly ensures students are not narrow-minded in their thinking.
Source: www.indiatoday.in
An effective communicator has to also be a good listener, and this requires lots of patience and a mind that is always ready to listen to and accept new perspectives and ideas. All this stems from the habit of reading. You can ask your English tuition teachers for some book recommendations too!
CRITICAL THINKING
Students are often wrapped up in their own safe bubble and there is not much exposure to anything that is happening beyond their world. Critical thinking is an important skill for students especially since the landscape of workforce and the kinds of skills being looked out for by employers is changing drastically.
Source: www.dumblittleman.com
Students need to be able to expand their thinking and widen their horizons. Many jobs are becoming obliterate and thus schools are changing their mode of teaching, and syllabi are being revised and reviewed. Changes are being made to ensure students become critical thinkers and reading certainly has a huge role to play in it.
WRITING SKILLS
The greatest authors are also the most avid readers. Most students struggle with proper sentence structure and grammar-free writing in essays as well as comprehension exercises. As students read more and more, sentence structure becomes less of a problem and it comes more organically in writing.
Source: www.bostonglobe.com
The brain gets used to reading sentences with the right structure and appropriate use of words as we read a huge variety of books. This enables the brain to form cohesive sentence structures when writing as well.
Our writing is heavily influenced by what we read.
A HEALTHY DISTRACTION
Students these days are stressed about the hectic schedule, examinations, extra-curricular activities and other commitments. Rather than giving in to unhealthy habits like binge eating or binge watching tv shows, a healthy to get some distraction and escape from stress for some time would be reading.
Reading soothes the mind and slows its down which enables it to have some control and relax. Often times, students can relate the character in their book and it makes challenging situations a lot easier to handle. When reading about the story of a child in the middle of the Syrian war crisis, self-reflection would remind us that there is a lot to be grateful for. This sense of gratitude makes life’s challenges a lot lighter and it is indeed a good coping mechanism for stress.
BOTTOM LINE
Every great habit has to be cultivated from young and it takes a long time to inculcate it and put it to practice. It is important to remain patient and persistent in order to master the English Language!