Reading programs gain popularity

Reading institutes that teach vocabulary and writing to children are gaining strong popularity among parents. “We get several calls a week from parents worried about their children’s literacy skills. There are a lot of new reading institutes opening these days,” said Park Eun-hee (age 28), who runs a reading institute in Gumi City, North Gyeongsang Province.

There is growing interest of parents to send their children to reading programs to address literacy difficulties in the aftermath of COVID-19. Social distancing limited opportunities for children and adolescents to improve literacy skills via face-to-face communication. Widespread viewing of short-form videos is also seen as a hindrance to linguistic development.

Experts advised that reading education should be used to boost face-to-face communication skills to help develop children's linguistic skills. “For children to convey their thoughts and emotions through language, it’s important to develop literacy and communication skills. Reading helps build literacy and creativity,” said Professor Shin Hye-won of Children and Family Studies at Seokyeong University.

“Support is needed to help children accustomed to non-face-to-face interactions to become familiar with reading. The government should support provide more books catered to specific reading levels, and teachers should educate students to help them focus while reading,” said Professor Lee Jae-seung of Korean Language Education at Seoul National University of Education.


chaewani@donga.com