Charles Dube
I HOPE I am not going over the top to assume that the serious reading culture of past years has slowly diminished. We used to witness bookworms, people who moved around carrying novels to read at the slightest opportunity. You found learners engrossed in the novels of choice at different places. It was a sign that they enjoyed reading books.
The enthusiasm to read books, be it vernacular or English, is no longer there. Modern technology has taken over. Today’s learners carry cellphones with ear devices on. You see them moving their heads enjoying music playing in their phones. This goes on and on as they do the same even at home — there is no time for reading books. We might think the reading culture died with the demise of the once vibrant Literature Bureau which used to move across the breadth of the country selling books, hence encouraging both learners and ordinary citizens to like reading.
That kind of encouragement saw a lot of budding writers taking up to writing. Some wrote novels, plays while others penned poems which we find in different anthologies today. It would be wrong to keep on crying about what has been lost as today’s learners, modern as they are and deeply taken up by technology as they are, there are many websites which have thousands of books online and those interested can take their pick.
The only mistake we are making is that today’s learners only want to read those texts prescribed in their syllabi only and nothing more. This leads to shallow answers in subjects like literature. Learners need to show aspects of wide reading in answering literature questions. Reading does not need any specific time to be set aside for it. Anyone interested in reading can do so any time as I alluded to the past where some people would be seen reading books anywhere where there was quietness.
Having gone this far, it will be futile to talk about reading and forget to emphasise that learners need encouragement from the teacher if they are to take it up. If the teacher shows enthusiasm about reading learners are bound to do likewise. It is unfortunate that we will always talk about the collapse of the Literature Bureau, yet book fairs have come in to fill the gap. These book fairs are held across the country but some schools do not bother to expose learners to such events therefore denying them the chance to get the feel of what it is like.
By so doing such schools might be suppressing some dormant potential which could be in some learners. Schools need to help cultivate the culture of reading. As we speak some schools do not have basic libraries. Agreed, the economy is bleeding and resources are hard to come by, but some innovation or creativity should demonstrated by making some start in this direction by starting with maybe a makeshift library so that learners have an idea of using the library so that they do not find themselves at sea when they get to other environments.
I am reminded of the famous donkey cart library which covered some good ground in Matabeleland North. It was started because there was a strong need to conscientise the rural communities on the need of a library. By the way a library is not meant for learners only but the community at large. Zimbabwe is an agricultural country such that rural libraries can be stocked with agricultural books, journals and magazines to help farmers as well. The reading I am talking about here includes both English and local languages books. When learners are encouraged to read books the aims are to develop in them the love for the languages and help them use them accurately in communication.
I am talking about languages because it is no longer English, Ndebele and Shona languages which are taught and examined at school but the whole spectrum of other local languages. As the learners read a wide range of books this helps them develop their language skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing. Before going further on this note, learners who do not read books find it very difficult to express themselves in the different languages.
They make glaring language mistakes when it comes to essay or composition writing. Reading also helps develop the learners’ listening skills. Listening differs from hearing; it requires effort and involves comprehension and interpretation of what is said. Through reading learners will be able to listen attentively provided these skills have been emphasised by the teacher. They should be able to listen with discrimination by distinguishing between general topics and specific details.
Learners should be able to listen for information, listen critically involving evaluative skill and above all listen appreciatively. Maybe to emphasise the importance of reading to learners the teacher needs to have clear objectives. For example, learners should understand the different types of reading materials they are likely to meet both inside and outside school. They should read efficiently at a speed appropriate to the text and to the purpose of their reading, that is:
With good, silent reading habits, without basic faults like too many regressions, reading single words instead of phrases, — finding information fast from reference sources, like dictionaries, journals. Learners should be able to read intensively in order to be able to locate details and answer factual questions based on passage; — identify and recall in chronological order a series of events in a passage or a story.
Reading culture is part of learning hence it should not be allowed to die. Hear more from the next issue.
For views link with charlesdube14058@gmail.com or sms to 0772113207.