The effects of language on reading comprehension
in school aged children and how these effects can be addressed.
Abstract
A child who is not able to read at the appropriate age level is a concern for many teachers and parents around the world. During reading, humans are required to comprehend what they have read by decoding words and deciphering their meanings. Research is showing that poor readers have a limited understanding of language structure or syntax as it is known in psycholinguistics, the study of language and how humans use and acquire it. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of language on reading comprehension in school aged children and introduce strategies to address this issue.
Reading and comprehension are two of the most important aspects of education, however, there has been and still is an increase in the number of school-aged children who have a limited ability to read and/or comprehend what they have read. There have been a number of studies conducted on reading difficulties, language and memory. Bryant (1998) discussed that children who have reading difficulties struggle due to a lack of understanding of language syntax, grammar, and phonemes, alphabetic sounds. Mann, Cowin and Schoenheimer (2001) investigated how phonological processing problems inhibit a reader’s ability to maintain language in working memory. Alloway, Gathercole, Kirkwood and Elliott (2009) found that children who have low working memory made poor reading and academic progress. Blachman (1984) believed that poor readers are slower to recognise common nouns and adjectives. Cubukcu (2008) found that poor readers don’t utilize reading comprehension strategies such as decoding, inferences and phonetic awareness.
All of these research articles focused on how language can affect reading comprehension. Language is a form of communication that uses symbols, verbal or written words. In cognitive psychology B.F Skinner first introduced the...