Reading Aloud

Every night, as long as there are no surprises in our schedules, I try my best to read aloud to my two daughters before bedtime. Typically we read one text in English, and another in Chinese.

In the last few months, the girls have been attracted to a wonderfully written series of non-fiction books about animals. Together we have gone through a number of books in this series, and I have not been keeping track of them.

I started on the sentence, "Dawn is breaking on the African savanna."

My younger girl, who is 7 this year, exclaimed, "Mummy we've read this book before! I remember this line, dawn is breaking on the African savanna."

"Yes, we accidentally borrowed it again," laughed the elder girl, who is currently 9 years old.

Considering my younger girl sometimes does not look at the book when I'm reading, I am reminded of the importance of reading aloud to them and to my students. Casually I did not think that hearing one line from a book only once would leave a great impression on a child.

I suppose I need to be more mindful about what I say to them too.

According to research work by the National Literacy Trust, audiobooks offer easy access to a wide range of texts. Children are also able to access more of a book than reading alone, as the listening experience deepens their understanding of tone, pronunciation, accents, and dialects. Stories beyond the children's current reading level are also made more accessible when they are read aloud.

​Don't give up on reading aloud to children and students, even adult learners love listening to stories.
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Get It Right runs phonics workshops for parents and caregivers, as well as English Language lessons for children, teens and adult learners. Math and Science (primary) lessons are also provided. We work with local and international students, as well as students in public school and homeschool settings.
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