Tag • #literacy

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Tall tales but no dessert: the storyteller of Karachi and his ice-cream cart library

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Tuesday, 9 April - 09:00

In a country where 77% of 10-year-olds are illiterate, a reading scheme in Pakistan is reaching thousands of children in slums

Pedalling down a narrow alleyway in Karachi’s crowded Lyari Town, Saira Bano slows as she passes a group of children sitting on the ground, listening to a man reading aloud from a book. The eight-year-old gets off her bike, slips off her sandals, and sits on the mat at the back.

She has already heard the story from Mohammad Noman, who is entertaining more than a dozen children with the tale of Noori, an insecure yellow parrot. “I don’t mind listening to it again,” says Saira. “He’s so funny.”

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The impact of screen time on parent-child relationships | Letters

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Sunday, 17 March - 16:42

Readers respond to a letter that linked a drop in children’s school readiness to the lack of interaction with the adults in their life

It is frustrating to see a lack of understanding of the pressures that modern parents are under from readers such as Janice White, who laments seeing parents who are not engaged with their screen‑prodding children in public and draws the conclusion that it is such unengaged parenting that causes the outcomes raised by the Kindred ² school readiness survey ( Letters, 10 March ).

As a mother to a four-year-old and a technology ethicist, I fully understand the concerns around screen time and the complex context in which the 2023 cohort has started school: a lack of access to health visitors, the locking up of playgrounds and other socialising play areas during Covid; the lack of affordable childcare but rising cost of living meaning that any socialising childcare, preschool or playgroup takes away income and/or time from one parent; and the dire state of austerity-hit child services.

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World Book Day finds children are put off reading for pleasure

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Thursday, 7 March - 11:07

Annual event to encourage young readers has revealed research finding that significant numbers feel discouraged from following their own tastes

As World Book Day runs its annual event to promote reading for pleasure among children, it has revealed new research showing that more than a third of children cannot choose what they want to read, and one in five feel judged for what they do read.

“Children have told us that they think that reading choices are judged by the adults around them,” said Cassie Chadderton, CEO of World Book Day. “It discourages them, it puts them off reading for pleasure and by choice”.

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Lack of support for children in England leading to ‘literacy crisis’

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Wednesday, 28 February - 14:41

Crisis could cost economy £830m for each school year group, according to new research

Lack of support for early years language and communication development is leading to a “literacy crisis” that could be costing the economy £830m for each school year group, according to new research.

The report, led by Pro Bono Economics (PBE) and commissioned by KPMG UK in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust (NLT), also found that there are about 106,000 five-year-old children in England each year who are not currently meeting the expected standard for literacy but could with adequate support.

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Most parents want more time reading to young children, study shows

news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Thursday, 24 August, 2023 - 12:10

1,000-parent survey also found 33% lack the confidence to read to their child, despite not seeing the activity as a chore

Most parents with young children wish they had more time to read to them and a third lack the confidence to do so, according to a new survey.

The study, commissioned by the children’s publisher Ladybird and run by Censuswide, found that 33% of parents with children under five wished they had more confidence to read with their child. Reading out loud and doing character voices were cited as reasons for doubting their confidence.

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iSinkwe app, developed by CSIR in South Africa, can help children with their reading and listening skills in all 11 official SA languages

GadgeteerZA · news.movim.eu / gadgeteerza-tech-blog · Friday, 20 May, 2022 - 11:53

The app, called iSinkwe – the isiZulu word for a bushbaby – adds and synchronises human-narrated or computer-generated audio to text. It aims to make textbooks, class notes and other documents more accessible to learners by making reading and learning more interactive.

iSinkwe functions by adding audio, which can be recorded manually by someone or generated by a computer using a standard Electronic Publication Version Three (EPUB3) document, to text documents.

There is already an Android app, with an iOS app and a Windows store app still to follow.

See https://techcentral.co.za/csir-develops-app-to-help-kids-learn-to-read/211355/

#technology #SouthAfrica #reading #literacy #education