愛讀書的孩子越來(lái)越少了，怎么辦

Study Finds Reading to Children of All Ages Grooms Them to Read More on Their Own

愛讀書的孩子越來(lái)越少了，怎么辦

Cue the hand-wringing about digital distraction: Fewer children are reading books frequently for fun, according to a new report released Thursday by Scholastic, the children’s book publisher.

為數(shù)字設(shè)備強(qiáng)大的分心效果痛心疾首吧。根據(jù)兒童圖書出版商學(xué)樂教育集團(tuán)(Scholastic)前不久發(fā)布的一份新報(bào)告，為享受樂趣而頻繁讀書的孩子比以前更少了。

In a 2014 survey of just over 1,000 children ages 6 to 17, only 31 percent said they read a book for fun almost daily, down from 37 percent four years ago.

在2014年針對(duì)大約1000名6歲至17歲孩子進(jìn)行的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查中，僅有31%的受訪者表示，他們幾乎每天都會(huì)為獲得樂趣而讀書，這一比例較4年前的37%有所下降。

There were some consistent patterns among the heavier readers: For the younger children — ages 6 to 11 — being read aloud to regularly and having restricted online time were correlated with frequent reading; for the older children — ages 12 to 17 — one of the largest predictors was whether they had time to read on their own during the school day.

這些閱讀量較大的孩子呈現(xiàn)出一些一致的模式：對(duì)于年幼的孩子(6歲至11歲)來(lái)說(shuō)，時(shí)常聽父母大聲朗讀，并限制上網(wǎng)時(shí)間，與頻繁閱讀呈正相關(guān)。而對(duì)于年齡較大的孩子(12歲至17歲)來(lái)說(shuō)，最大的預(yù)測(cè)指標(biāo)之一是，他們?cè)谛Ｆ陂g是否有時(shí)間自主閱讀。

The finding about reading aloud to children long after toddlerhood may come as a surprise to some parents who read books to children at bedtime when they were very young but then tapered off. Last summer, the American Academy of Pediatrics announced a new policy recommending that all parents read to their children from birth.

給早已過(guò)了學(xué)步期的小孩大聲朗讀，竟然能夠產(chǎn)生如此好的效果。一些家長(zhǎng)在孩子很小的時(shí)候，經(jīng)常在睡前給他們讀書，但隨后逐漸減少。這項(xiàng)發(fā)現(xiàn)或許會(huì)讓他們感到驚訝。美國(guó)兒科研究院(American Academy of Pediatrics) 去年夏天宣布了一項(xiàng)新政策，建議所有家長(zhǎng)在小孩出生后給他們朗讀。

“A lot of parents assume that once kids begin to read independently, that now that is the best thing for them to do,” said Maggie McGuire, the vice president for a website for parents operated by Scholastic.

瑪吉·麥圭爾(Maggie McGuire)在學(xué)樂教育集團(tuán)專門為家長(zhǎng)創(chuàng)建的一家網(wǎng)站擔(dān)任副總裁。她說(shuō)，“很多家長(zhǎng)認(rèn)為，一旦孩子開始獨(dú)立閱讀，他們就算大功告成了。”

But reading aloud through elementary school seemed to be connected to a love of reading generally. According to the report, 41 percent of frequent readers ages 6 to 10 were read aloud to at home, while only 13 percent of infrequent readers were being read to.

但在孩子的整個(gè)小學(xué)階段堅(jiān)持給他們朗讀，似乎有助于培養(yǎng)其熱愛讀書的習(xí)慣。這份報(bào)告顯示，在6歲至10歲的孩子中，41%的頻繁閱讀者經(jīng)常在家聽父母朗讀，而僅有13%的非頻繁閱讀者正在接受這種熏陶。

Scholastic, which operates book fairs in schools and publishes popular children’s books including the Harry Potter and Captain Underpants series, has been commissioning the “Kids and Family Reading Report” since 2006. For the first time this year, the report, conducted by YouGov, a market research firm, looked at predictors that children of different ages would be frequent readers, defined as children who read books for fun five or more days a week.

學(xué)樂教育集團(tuán)經(jīng)常在學(xué)校舉辦圖書展，出版過(guò)許多風(fēng)靡一時(shí)的兒童讀物，其中包括《哈利·波特》(Harry Potter)和《內(nèi)褲超人》(Captain Underpants)系列圖書。自2006年以來(lái)，這家公司一直委托研究機(jī)構(gòu)制作《兒童與家庭閱讀報(bào)告》(Kids and Family Reading Report)。這份由市場(chǎng)研究公司YouGov制作的報(bào)告，今年首次關(guān)注那些能夠預(yù)測(cè)不同年齡段的孩子是否將成為頻繁閱讀者的指標(biāo)。所謂“頻繁閱讀者” 是指每周五天(或更多天數(shù))會(huì)為享受樂趣而讀書的孩子。

Kristen Harmeling, a partner at YouGov who worked on the report, said that children in the survey frequently cited reading aloud as a special bonding time with their parents. As children age, “I don’t think that parents know how important that time and the role that it plays in children’s lives,” she said.

參與這項(xiàng)研究的YouGov公司合伙人克里斯汀·哈梅林(Kristen Harmeling)指出，許多受訪的孩子都認(rèn)為，聽父母朗讀是一段特殊的親密時(shí)刻。隨著孩子一天天長(zhǎng)大，“我不認(rèn)為父母真正明白這段時(shí)間的重要意義，以及它在孩子的生活中扮演的角色，”她說(shuō)。

Of course, children who love to read are generally immersed in households with lots of books and parents who like to read. So while parents who read to their children later in elementary school may encourage those children to become frequent readers on their own, such behavior can also result from “a whole constellation of other things that goes on in those families,” said Timothy Shanahan, professor emeritus of urban education at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a past president of the International Reading Association.

當(dāng)然，愛讀書的孩子通常來(lái)自擁有許多書籍，父母都喜歡讀書的家庭。因此，盡管父母在孩子上小學(xué)高年級(jí)時(shí)堅(jiān)持給他們朗讀，或許有助于鼓勵(lì)他們成為主動(dòng)拿起書本的頻繁閱讀者，但這種行為也有可能產(chǎn)生自“這些書香門第發(fā)生的其他一系列事情。”伊利諾伊大學(xué)芝加哥分校(University of Illinois at Chicago)城市教育學(xué)榮譽(yù)教授，國(guó)際閱讀協(xié)會(huì)(International Reading Association)前會(huì)長(zhǎng)蒂莫西·沙納漢(Timothy Shanahan)說(shuō)。

There is not yet strong research that connects reading aloud at older ages to improved reading comprehension. But some literacy experts said that when parents or teachers read aloud to children even after they can read themselves, the children can hear more complex words or stories than they might tackle themselves.

目前還沒有強(qiáng)有力的研究成果顯示，給較大年齡的小孩大聲朗讀，有助于提高他們的閱讀能力。但一些識(shí)字專家表示，甚至在小孩能夠獨(dú)立閱讀之后，如果父母或老師繼續(xù)給他們朗讀，這些孩子就能夠聽到一些他們依靠自身能力還無(wú)法掌握的復(fù)雜單詞或故事。

“It’s this idea of marinating children in higher-level vocabulary,” said Pam Allyn, founder of LitWorld.Org, a nonprofit group that works to increase literacy among young people. “The read-aloud can really lift the child.”

LitWorld.Org是一家致力于提高年輕人識(shí)字水平的非營(yíng)利性組織，其創(chuàng)始人帕姆·阿林(Pam Allyn)表示，“這就是讓孩子接受更高級(jí)別詞匯熏陶的理念。聽大聲朗讀，真的能夠提升孩子的閱讀能力。”

Other literacy experts say the real value of reading to children is helping to develop background knowledge in all kinds of topics as well as exposure to sophisticated language.

其他識(shí)字專家說(shuō)，給孩子朗讀不僅能夠讓他們接受復(fù)雜語(yǔ)言的熏陶，其真正的價(jià)值在于幫助他們掌握各種話題的背景知識(shí)。

“It wouldn’t have to be reading” to accomplish that, said Catherine Snow, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. “A two-minute conversation about something on television or something in a magazine or something that you’re reading yourself can also have some of the same positive effects as reading aloud.”

“要實(shí)現(xiàn)這一目標(biāo)，不見得一定要給孩子朗讀，”哈佛大學(xué)教育研究生院(Harvard Graduate School of Education)教授凱瑟琳·斯諾(Catherine Snow)說(shuō)。 “花上兩分鐘時(shí)間跟孩子談?wù)撾娨暋㈦s志或你自己正在閱讀的書籍上出現(xiàn)的某個(gè)話題，也能產(chǎn)生與大聲朗讀同樣積極的效果。”

Although the Scholastic report found that teenagers were more likely to read frequently for fun if they had dedicated independent reading time in school, only 17 percent of all children surveyed reported having time to read a book of their choice at school daily. Just 10 percent of 12- to 14-year-olds and 4 percent of 15- to 17-year-olds reported having that time in class. Such reading time at school may be particularly important for low-income children, who reported that they were more likely to read for fun at school than at home.

盡管學(xué)樂教育集團(tuán)的報(bào)告發(fā)現(xiàn)，如果青少年在校期間有時(shí)間獨(dú)立閱讀，他們就更有可能為享受樂趣而頻繁讀書，但只有17%的受訪孩子表示，他們每天在學(xué)校有時(shí)間閱讀自己選擇的書籍。僅有10%的12歲至14歲孩子，以及4%的15歲至17歲青少年報(bào)告說(shuō)，他們?cè)谡n堂上有時(shí)間進(jìn)行獨(dú)立閱讀。對(duì)于低收入家庭的孩子來(lái)說(shuō)，在校閱讀的這段時(shí)間或許尤為重要。這些孩子報(bào)告說(shuō)，相較于在家中，他們更有可能在學(xué)校享受讀書的樂趣。

While previous studies have shown little connection between independent reading time at school and better reading habits or comprehension, some large school districts, including Boston and Chicago, encourage teachers to include time in the day for students to pick books and read.

雖然以前幾乎沒有研究顯示，在校獨(dú)立閱讀和更好的閱讀習(xí)慣或理解力存在關(guān)聯(lián)，但包括波士頓和芝加哥在內(nèi)的一些大學(xué)區(qū)鼓勵(lì)教師每天給學(xué)生留一些時(shí)間，供他們挑選和閱讀書籍。