Reading books is good for you
Concordia
University
 |
| Try this thriller by Mitchell Zimmerman, a frequent Progressive Charlestown columnist |
No
one will confuse the above book series with high literature. But a new study
published in the journal Reading and Writing shows that the
more people read any kind of fiction -- even mass market stuff sniffily derided
as pulp -- the better their language skills are likely to be.
The
piece was written by Sandra Martin-Chang, professor of education in the Faculty
of Arts and Science, and PhD student Stephanie Kozak. They found that people
who enjoyed reading fiction for leisure and who identified as a reader scored
higher on language tests, whereas those who read to access specific information
scored more poorly on the same tests. Kyle Levesque of Dalhousie University,
Navona Calarco of Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and Raymond
Mar of York University also co-authored the paper.
As
leisure reading declines as a pastime for younger adults especially,
Martin-Chang says emphasizing the fun aspect of it can draw them back to novels
while at the same time boost their verbal abilities.
"It's
always very positive and heartening to give people permission to delve into the
series that they like," Martin-Chang notes. "I liken it to research
that says chocolate is good for you: the guilty pleasure of reading fiction is
associated with positive cognitive benefits and verbal outcomes."
Habit-forming pastime
Martin-Chang
and Kozak used a scale developed by Mar called the Predictors of Leisure
Reading (PoLR) to investigate reading behaviour (motivations, obstacles,
attitudes and interests). They then examined how well the PoLR predicted the
language skills of 200 undergraduate students, with all data gathered at York
University.
The
researchers note that the age range of the subjects in the study is of key
interest. In early adulthood, reading becomes self-directed rather than imposed
by others, which makes this a pivotal time for developing one's own reading
habits. This population is also rather understudied, with most existing
research focusing far more on children.
The
researchers administered a series of measures over two separate half-hour
sessions. First, the volunteers completed the 48-question PoLR scale measuring
various reading factors. They were then given language tests similar to those
found in the SAT and a measure of reading habits called the Author Recognition
Test. This test asks respondents to select the names of real fiction and
non-fiction authors they are familiar with from a long list of real and fake
names. Scores on this test correlate with both actual reading behaviour and
with verbal abilities: those who scored higher read more and have better verbal
abilities than those who scored lower.
After
analyzing the data, the researchers concluded that reading enjoyment, positive
attitudes and deeply established interests predict better verbal abilities and
that they were more strongly associated with exposure to fiction than
non-fiction.
The
written word: a love story
The
many benefits of reading have long been established. Besides having better
verbal abilities, lifelong readers are known to be more understanding of
others, more empathetic, less prejudiced, to attain higher socioeconomic status
and even to live longer, healthier lives than non-readers.
Teachers
and parents can nurture a love of reading by letting young people read what
they want, without guilt or shame.
"This
ingrained interest, wanting to read something over and over again, feeling
compelled to read an entire series, feeling connected to characters and
authors, these are all good things," Martin-Chang concludes.