愛讀書的孩子越來越少了 怎麼辦大綱

Cue the hand-wringing about digital distraction: Fewer children are reading books frequently for fun, according to a new report released Thursday by Scholastic, the children’s book publisher.
爲數字設備強大的分心效果痛心疾首吧。根據兒童圖書出版商學樂教育集團(Scholastic)前不久發佈的一份新報告，爲享受樂趣而頻繁讀書的孩子比以前更少了。

In a 2014 survey of just over 1,000 children ages 6 to 17, only 31 percent said they read a book for fun almost daily, down from 37 percent four years ago.
在2014年針對大約1000名6歲至17歲孩子進行的一項調查中，僅有31%的受訪者表示，他們幾乎每天都會爲獲得樂趣而讀書，這一比例較4年前的37%有所下降。

There were some consistent patterns among the heavier readers: For the younger children — ages 6 to 11 — being read aloud to regularly and having restricted online time were correlated with frequent reading; for the older children — ages 12 to 17 — one of the largest predictors was whether they had time to read on their own during the school day.
這些閱讀量較大的孩子呈現出一些一致的模式：對於年幼的孩子（6歲至11歲）來說，時常聽父母大聲朗讀，並限制上網時間，與頻繁閱讀呈正相關。而對於年齡較大的孩子（12歲至17歲）來說，最大的預測指標之一是，他們在校期間是否有時間自主閱讀。

The finding about reading aloud to children long after toddlerhood may come as a surprise to some parents who read books to children at bedtime when they were very young but then tapered off. Last summer, the American Academy of Pediatrics announced a new policy recommending that all parents read to their children from birth.
給早已過了學步期的小孩大聲朗讀，竟然能夠產生如此好的效果。一些家長在孩子很小的時候，經常在睡前給他們讀書，但隨後逐漸減少。這項發現或許會讓他們感到驚訝。美國兒科研究院(American Academy of Pediatrics) 去年夏天宣佈了一項新政策，建議所有家長在小孩出生後給他們朗讀。

“A lot of parents assume that once kids begin to read independently, that now that is the best thing for them to do,” said Maggie McGuire, the vice president for a website for parents operated by Scholastic.
瑪吉·麥圭爾(Maggie McGuire)在學樂教育集團專門爲家長創建的一家網站擔任副總裁。她說，“很多家長認爲，一旦孩子開始獨立閱讀，他們就算大功告成了。”

But reading aloud through elementary school seemed to be connected to a love of reading generally. According to the report, 41 percent of frequent readers ages 6 to 10 were read aloud to at home, while only 13 percent of infrequent readers were being read to.
但在孩子的整個小學階段堅持給他們朗讀，似乎有助於培養其熱愛讀書的習慣。這份報告顯示，在6歲至10歲的孩子中，41%的頻繁閱讀者經常在家聽父母朗讀，而僅有13%的非頻繁閱讀者正在接受這種薰陶。

Scholastic, which operates book fairs in schools and publishes popular children’s books including the Harry Potter and Captain Underpants series, has been commissioning the “Kids and Family Reading Report” since 2006. For the first time this year, the report, conducted by YouGov, a market research firm, looked at predictors that children of different ages would be frequent readers, defined as children who read books for fun five or more days a week.
學樂教育集團經常在學校舉辦圖書展，出版過許多風靡一時的兒童讀物，其中包括《哈利·波特》(Harry Potter)和《內褲超人》(Captain Underpants)系列圖書。自2006年以來，這家公司一直委託研究機構製作《兒童與家庭閱讀報告》(Kids and Family Reading Report)。這份由市場研究公司YouGov製作的報告，今年首次關注那些能夠預測不同年齡段的孩子是否將成爲頻繁閱讀者的指標。所謂“頻繁閱讀者”是指每週五天（或更多天數）會爲享受樂趣而讀書的孩子。

Kristen Harmeling, a partner at YouGov who worked on the report, said that children in the survey frequently cited reading aloud as a special bonding time with their parents. As children age, “I don’t think that parents know how important that time and the role that it plays in children’s lives,” she said.
參與這項研究的YouGov公司合夥人克里斯汀·哈梅林(Kristen Harmeling)指出，許多受訪的孩子都認爲，聽父母朗讀是一段特殊的親密時刻。隨着孩子一天天長大，“我不認爲父母真正明白這段時間的重要意義，以及它在孩子的生活中扮演的角色，”她說。

Of course, children who love to read are generally immersed in households with lots of books and parents who like to read. So while parents who read to their children later in elementary school may encourage those children to become frequent readers on their own, such behavior can also result from “a whole constellation of other things that goes on in those families,” said Timothy Shanahan, professor emeritus of urban education at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a past president of the International Reading Association.
當然，愛讀書的孩子通常來自擁有許多書籍，父母都喜歡讀書的家庭。因此，儘管父母在孩子上小學高年級時堅持給他們朗讀，或許有助於鼓勵他們成爲主動拿起書本的頻繁閱讀者，但這種行爲也有可能產生自“這些書香門第發生的其他一系列事情。”伊利諾伊大學芝加哥分校(University of Illinois at Chicago)城市教育學榮譽教授，國際閱讀協會(International Reading Association)前會長蒂莫西·沙納漢(Timothy Shanahan)說。

There is not yet strong research that connects reading aloud at older ages to improved reading comprehension. But some literacy experts said that when parents or teachers read aloud to children even after they can read themselves, the children can hear more complex words or stories than they might tackle themselves.
目前還沒有強有力的研究成果顯示，給較大年齡的小孩大聲朗讀，有助於提高他們的閱讀能力。但一些識字專家表示，甚至在小孩能夠獨立閱讀之後，如果父母或老師繼續給他們朗讀，這些孩子就能夠聽到一些他們依靠自身能力還無法掌握的複雜單詞或故事。

“It’s this idea of marinating children in higher-level vocabulary,” said Pam Allyn, founder of , a nonprofit group that works to increase literacy among young people. “The read-aloud can really lift the child.”
是一家致力於提高年輕人識字水平的非營利性組織，其創始人帕姆·阿林(Pam Allyn)表示，“這就是讓孩子接受更高級別詞彙薰陶的理念。聽大聲朗讀，真的能夠提升孩子的閱讀能力。”

Other literacy experts say the real value of reading to children is helping to develop background knowledge in all kinds of topics as well as exposure to sophisticated language.
其他識字專家說，給孩子朗讀不僅能夠讓他們接受複雜語言的薰陶，其真正的價值在於幫助他們掌握各種話題的背景知識。

“It wouldn’t have to be reading” to accomplish that, said Catherine Snow, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. “A two-minute conversation about something on television or something in a magazine or something that you’re reading yourself can also have some of the same positive effects as reading aloud.”
“要實現這一目標，不見得一定要給孩子朗讀，”哈佛大學教育研究生院(Harvard Graduate School of Education)教授凱瑟琳·斯諾(Catherine Snow)說。 “花上兩分鐘時間跟孩子談論電視、雜誌或你自己正在閱讀的書籍上出現的某個話題，也能產生與大聲朗讀同樣積極的效果。”

Although the Scholastic report found that teenagers were more likely to read frequently for fun if they had dedicated independent reading time in school, only 17 percent of all children surveyed reported having time to read a book of their choice at school daily. Just 10 percent of 12- to 14-year-olds and 4 percent of 15- to 17-year-olds reported having that time in class. Such reading time at school may be particularly important for low-income children, who reported that they were more likely to read for fun at school than at home.
儘管學樂教育集團的報告發現，如果青少年在校期間有時間獨立閱讀，他們就更有可能爲享受樂趣而頻繁讀書，但只有17%的受訪孩子表示，他們每天在學校有時間閱讀自己選擇的書籍。僅有10%的12歲至14歲孩子，以及4%的15歲至17歲青少年報告說，他們在課堂上有時間進行獨立閱讀。對於低收入家庭的孩子來說，在校閱讀的這段時間或許尤爲重要。這些孩子報告說，相較於在家中，他們更有可能在學校享受讀書的樂趣。

While previous studies have shown little connection between independent reading time at school and better reading habits or comprehension, some large school districts, including Boston and Chicago, encourage teachers to include time in the day for students to pick books and read.
雖然以前幾乎沒有研究顯示，在校獨立閱讀和更好的閱讀習慣或理解力存在關聯，但包括波士頓和芝加哥在內的一些大學區鼓勵教師每天給學生留一些時間，供他們挑選和閱讀書籍。

Parents also see a connection. Emily Skelding, a mother of four in New Orleans and a former middle school teacher, said that her eldest son, Sumner, 15, used to devour books as a child. But now that he has no time at school to read on his own — or perhaps more significant, to choose the books he wants to read — “he stopped reading for pleasure,” Ms. Skelding said.
一些家長也發現了這種關聯。居住在新奧爾良市的前中學教師艾米莉·斯科汀(Emily Skelding)有四個孩子。她說，15歲的大兒子薩姆納小時候酷愛讀書。但由於他現在在校期間沒有時間自主閱讀——或許更重要的是，無法選擇自己想讀的書，“薩姆納已經不再爲獲得樂趣而讀書了，”斯科汀說。