Context
Let’s Read & Write, a journey that began with two pupils aged 5 and 7 years in 2014 at Kojokrom did not fail to grow. It found moments and instances to give joy and hope to learners who want to excel in reading and writing. Let’s Read & Write shaped the creativity of young readers and instilled in them a love for reading stories.
Despite the challenges, the zeal and the unflinching support remain to see the vision of Let’s Read and Write realised. Being motivated by the joy of helping a reader read and write, there came the opportunity to join a team of researchers in a data collection project from May 20 to May 28, 2024, at Saltpond. Readers from Primary five, six and Junior High School (JHS 1) were assessed on reading levels and comprehension. This write-up chronicles the report on the data collection project at Saltpond, emphasising the implications for content and engagement for the Readopia app, which is targeted at one of its personas, the learner/readers.
Connection
Research shows that being good at reading helps learners learn a lot, think better, and communicate well, especially when they are young. However, a lot of children have challenges reading well. To develop the love of reading among children at an early age, Let’s Read and Write, a Reading Initiative, was established in 2014. With the understanding of how essential reading is to achieving success in school and growing as a person, I began to dedicate my time to helping children aged 5-7 to read.
As the years went by, the target learners were extended to include children from 7 to 12. This initiative paved the way for me to join a team of researchers working for Radboud University on a Project called Reading Beyond Borders. This is a 2-year project in reading among learners of selected schools in Saltpond, Central Region of Ghana. It evaluates learners and provides role linguistic skills that can help them learn to read both the indigenous language and English. About 320 children from three schools were assessed in 10 reading and language skill tasks.
Complications
The observations from the exercise showed that learners come in different degrees and with varying levels of comprehension.
The geographical setting of learners presents challenges to some learners and advantages to others. Yet no one should be denied the development learners deserve based on their geographical location.
The shock between perceived assumption and the reality of the issue. There were instances where, according to a learner’s level, we expected learners to be able to perform certain reading tasks, which failed.
Indigenous language as a cultural tool is not preserved and projected, making learners not realizing its value for an African child.
Implications for Readopia App
Provision to cater for the different needs
Readopia would make provisions to cater to different learners’ needs. Therefore, for each of the three personas of which the learner is one, a different level should be provided for the child to select the category that he or she may fall into.
Levels would include accessible, medium/intermediate, and advanced modes. A personalized feature is needed for every level to accommodate the different learning modes of the categories of learners.
Also, it would consider different abilities. There were instances where we encountered children with special needs, and for these people, we needed or had to extend their time, be more patient with them, or even reissue the instructions several times.
Language as a unique feature
The mother tongue language is essential for comprehending reading tasks in English.
Language setting should be critical, and this should be one of the unique features that makes Readopia stand out from its competitors.
The app includes the local language. Some of the stories can be written in the local language or translated from English or French into the local language.
Well-crafted and purposive content
In terms of content, there should be stories that unconsciously create awareness of the environment, cultural heritage, self, and other issues that children within the age range that we are targeting would appreciate because that would attract and gain their interest in reading more.
An interactive or live session where readers can engage with after a live session of reading and also can allow readers to ask questions needs to be added.
Reward System and Celebration
Lastly, there should be a sort of reward system that records progress made and celebrates achievements as that boosts the readers. When readers know that they have achieved a goal or there is a reward system to celebrate to recognize their efforts, it will always encourage them to strive to be celebrated.
Conclusion
Implanting the habit of reading in young readers can transform society for the better. It is a heartwarming opportunity to support young readers in their reading skills. Our app will serve over a million readers, and providing this excellent service will make a significant impact.
Research and Publication Officer