Reading comprehension is hard to explain to someone else not just because it usually happens entirely, silently, inside the head; the whirlwind of mental activity often whips up so much dust and debris it takes a few seconds to see clearly, and we just don’t know how it happens.
There's even more to this. Often people have never heard someone read a work out loud, with meaning. Like it was being spoken for the first time. Like an actor. Because I knew some of them had never made that final connection, to the human voice and the way it can be spoken to reveal emotion, detail, suspense, anger.... Every in-class reading assignment (because they wouldn't read it outside of class) began with me reading the beginning of a narrative from our American Lit. anthology, and after a page or two I'd ask if anyone else wanted to continue and, over time, more would do it and some just wanted to read it silently with what they just heard and discovered. People often think reading out loud is for kids, but really it's not.
Yes! Reading aloud is an untapped resource, Rob, and I think you're right. It's so powerful because it draws people together in a literal harmony in speech that is centered on a common text. It works in widely varying human settings ranging from religious to medical to legal to theatrical. i've seen secondary teachers use illustrated children books with great success in opening space for and desire to read more about a topic silently. This would be an excellent strategy for a university instructor to experiment with.
There's even more to this. Often people have never heard someone read a work out loud, with meaning. Like it was being spoken for the first time. Like an actor. Because I knew some of them had never made that final connection, to the human voice and the way it can be spoken to reveal emotion, detail, suspense, anger.... Every in-class reading assignment (because they wouldn't read it outside of class) began with me reading the beginning of a narrative from our American Lit. anthology, and after a page or two I'd ask if anyone else wanted to continue and, over time, more would do it and some just wanted to read it silently with what they just heard and discovered. People often think reading out loud is for kids, but really it's not.
Yes! Reading aloud is an untapped resource, Rob, and I think you're right. It's so powerful because it draws people together in a literal harmony in speech that is centered on a common text. It works in widely varying human settings ranging from religious to medical to legal to theatrical. i've seen secondary teachers use illustrated children books with great success in opening space for and desire to read more about a topic silently. This would be an excellent strategy for a university instructor to experiment with.