Travel around the world, connect with your family and make exciting new discoveries with our suggestions for kick-starting your reading habit this year.
∆
Wattpad Publishing
Discover a world of book lovers network and get lost in your own circle of...
One of my favorite conversation starters is “What are you reading?” or “What is your favorite book so far this year?” or “Do you have a favorite literary character?” or “Do you have a favorite author or genre?” Talking about books gives people opportunities to discuss a variety of important and meaningful topics. I’m always flummoxed when the answer is “I don’t read.” Hummmm……. At that point, I ask the person to recall a time in their life when they did enjoy a book. I believe people who don’t read just haven’t found the right book yet, so my brain begins whirling with recommendations that would hook them.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
∆
How Complicated Is Reading?
We all know English is one of the richest languages in the world because we "borrow" words from almost every other language in the world - including dead languages. All these words make it seem complicated, but when you know the phonetic rules about 80% of English's almost one million words are either phonetic or have significant phonetic components. This leaves only 20% that are irregular [like laugh or rough], which simply have to be learned.
English has 26 letters which only make 44 sounds. Out of the 26 letters, 16 letters almost always make the same sound. This just leaves 10 letters that habitually make more than one sound.
So why do many people struggle with comprehending the written word? The fault is not with the people who struggle - many are brilliant people. The reason is that reading is made unnecessarily complicated by talking about "hard" or "soft" sounds [no such thing really], and teaching more consonant blends than are necessary, and giving long lists of words to memorize.
Academic Associates teaches reading in small, simple steps. By the end of the first lesson [usually 1-3 hours] every student, no matter how young, will have read out loud 300 words. The entire course only takes 30 - 60 hours of instruction on average, and will empower the student to read everything they desire to read. New worlds of information and entertainment will open up.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
