A mother sent a message to Mommy Lingo, saying that since immigrating to Canada 🇨🇦, she has often felt that her child's Chinese language ability is regressing every day 🥺. Hong Kong children may be able to read Chinese books 📖 independently at the age of 8, but her child still needs the parent to read the story content. How can she help her child develop the ability to read independently❓
🧐First, we need to understand the different stages of reading development for children:
1️⃣Pre-reading stage
2️⃣Initial reading/decoding stage
3️⃣Confirmation/fluency/ungluing from print stage
4️⃣Reading for learning the new stage
5️⃣Multiple viewpoints stage
6️⃣Construction and reconstruction—A world view stage
According to Jeanne Chall's reading development theory, which is a renowned psychologist at Harvard, most children go through the pre-reading stage from 0-6 years old; the initial reading/decoding stage from 6-7 years old; the confirmation/fluency/ungluing from print stage from 7-8 years old; the reading for learning the new stage from 8-14 years old; the multiple viewpoints stage from 14-18 years old, and the construction and reconstruction—A world view stage from 18 years old and above.
However, for children in immigrant or multilingual environments, Mommy Lingo believes that we do not need to be limited to physiological age. Many second-generation immigrant children grow up in an English-speaking environment, and although they may be in their teens, their reading age may still be in the pre-reading stage, and parents should know their children's reading age the best.
💡Firstly, parents should observe their child's reading ability in order to choose the most appropriate books and use corresponding reading strategies.
⏭️Next, we will discuss in detail the guided reading methods, book selection criteria, and application examples for each reading stage. Stay tuned!!!
Reference：Chall, Jeanne. 1983. Stages of Reading Development. New York: McGraw Hill. pp. 10-24.
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