ON THE PROBLEM OF DEVELOPING CHILDREN’S INTEREST IN READING: THE SEARCH FOR EFFECTIVE METHODS OF WORK

Рассматривается проблема формирования интереса дошкольников к книге и читательской деятельности. Обосновывается необходимость ее решения из-за падения интереса к чтению и традиционной книге на всех этапах образования. Анализируются точки зрения ученых на данную проблему и различные методические подходы, связанные с формированием конкретных читательских умений у детей через соответствующие методические приемы литературного чтения, литературного слушания и литературного творчества. Приведены данные, полученные в результате эмпирического исследования, в котором участвовали дети старшего дошкольного возраста, а также показатели и критерии оценки уровня сформированности интереса старших дошкольников к книге и читательской деятельности, имеющие практическую значимость наравне с предлагаемыми путями решения обозначенной проблемы. The problem of the formation of preschool children’s interest in books and reading activities is considered, the necessity of its solution is justified due to the decline in interest in reading and traditional books at all stages of education. The points of view of scientists on this problem and various methodological approaches related to the formation of specific reading skills in children through appropriate methodological techniques of literary reading, literary listening and literary creativity are analyzed. The psychological features of the perception of the text of a work of art by children of middle and older preschool age are highlighted, based on which special methodological techniques have been developed and tested. The authors present their own experience of solving it and provide data obtained as a result of an empirical study (questioning kindergarten teachers, monitoring the activities of children), in which older preschool children participated. The indicators and criteria for assessing the level of formation of the interest of older preschoolers in the book and reading activities, which have practical significance on a par with the proposed ways to solve the designated problem, are given. A workbook is presented, based on which children perform interesting and diverse tasks when working with artistic texts. In the conclusion of the article, the authors demonstrate data confirming the effectiveness of the approaches they have developed.

Analysis of Reading Habits in Secondary Education in Extremadura

This study aims to discern the reading habits of secondary education students of the autonomous community of Extremadura (Spain). A survey was conducted with 4,392 students throughout the region. Their reading habits were analyzed in relation to time spent reading, book purchases, preferred literary genres, and other variables that may influence reading habits. By determining the geographic location of respondents, it became possible to map the variables. Key conclusions include clear differences between geographical areas, together with the following findings: women read somewhat more than men; students enrolled in bilingual programs read more; following specific reading plans has no impact on achieving better reading outcomes; despite the increase in digital reading, paper books are still read more; and reading is not perceived as a leisure activity.

Text mining, Hermione Granger, and fan fiction: What's in a name?

When fans rewrite characters, how do they engage that character's identity and the social constructions around it? Fan fiction writers resist, replicate, and create oppressive social systems by changing characters between published and fan texts. As such, fan studies scholars have long been interested in how fans construct characters, an interest that has often been paired with readings of race, gender, and sexuality. Digital humanities can help confirm and nuance extant fan studies scholarship around specific characters popular in fan fiction. We used Word2Vec software to mine the text of 450 pieces of fan fiction based on J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. By focusing on the depiction of Hermione Granger in both Rowling's novels and Harry Potter fan fiction, we tested how text mining character names can reveal properties closely tied to a specific character through the relationships between the target name and other characters. Analysis via Word2Vec found that "Hermione" is used grammatically and contextually differently in the books (in which she is most like Harry and Ron) than in our fan fiction corpus (in which she is most like other girls/women). This difference suggests that these fans have a specific reading of Hermione that is communally understood even if Rowling's diction offers a different reading.

On-Reading (Chinese-Style Pronunciation) Predominance Over Kun-Reading (Native Japanese Pronunciation) in Japanese Semantic Dementia

Japanese kanji (morphograms) have two ways of reading: on-reading (Chinese-style pronunciation) and kun-reading (native Japanese pronunciation). It is known that some Japanese patients with semantic dementia read kanji with on-reading but not with kun-reading. To characterize further reading impairments of patients with semantic dementia, we analyzed data from a total of 9 patients who underwent reading and writing tests of kanji and kana (Japanese phonetic writing) and on-kun reading tests containing two-character kanji words with on-on reading, kun-kun reading, and specific (so-called Jukujikun or irregular kun) reading. The results showed that on-reading preceding (pronouncing first with on-reading) and kun-reading deletion (inability to recall kun-reading) were observed in nearly all patients. In the on-kun reading test, on-reading (57.6% correct), kun-reading (46.6% correct), and specific-reading (30.0% correct) were more preserved in this decreasing order (phonology-to-semantics gradient), although on-reading and kun-reading did not significantly differ in performance, according to a more rigorous analysis after adjusting for word frequency (and familiarity). Furthermore, on-substitution (changing to on-reading) errors in kun-reading words (27.0%) were more frequent than kun-substitution (changing to kun-reading) errors in on-reading words (4.0%). These results suggest that kun-reading is more predominantly disturbed than on-reading, probably because kun-reading and specific-reading are closely associated with the meaning of words.

Attitudes of Youth Toward Reading Before and After a Motivational Project

As part of an evaluation project assessing the impact of a specific reading motivation program in 30 schools (20 elementary, 10 middle), a longitudinal study of student reading attitudes was conducted using the nationally-tested Elementary Reading Attitude Survey instrument. The instrument tested both attitudes toward recreational reading and school reading. The results have implications for types o reading programs as well as book access and use of libraries.

Document Analysis of State Dyslexia Legislation Suggests Likely Heterogeneous Effects on Student and School Outcomes

Previous studies of K-12 dyslexia legislation have described broad trends in legislative content, such as the presence or absence of screening and intervention requirements. This study uses document analysis to provide a finer-grained description of the laws to highlight critical variation in policy that will directly affect (a) the number and type of students identified as having or being at risk for specific reading disabilities, including dyslexia, (b) the types of supports they receive, and (c) the implementation of the laws. Results of the study indicate that differences in legislative content across states, and ambiguity within states, may lead to heterogeneous effects on student and school outcomes. Areas needing special analytic attention by researchers and policy implementers are discussed.