In order to solve children’s reading problems, it is important that teachers have a professional understanding of the reading process. They must understand that reading and reading aloud are two quite different activities. Reading is a silent, sub-vocal, receptive, anti-social activity involving only the reader and the reading material. You can see someone reading but you cannot ‘hear’ someone reading. Reading aloud is almost the exact opposite. It is a vocal, expressive, socially interactive activity involving the reader, the reading material and an audience even when that audience is a single person or indeed, the reader him/herself.
Hot Reading involves both Reading and Reading Aloud. The reader interacts with the reading material at a computer on his or her own, without the involvement of any other human being. The moment a reader becomes conscious of another human being during the reading process, the reading process ceases. The receptive act of assimilating meaning from text engages all of the reader’s consciousness. A child engaged at a computer with a piece of text is ‘reading’ therefore it is critical that no adult intervenes while the child is at the computer because this intervention interrupts the reading process.
During the reading aloud activity, a child reading his or her prepared text to a listener is interacting with that listener. He or she is communicating to the listener, not simply the text but the meaning which is encoded in the text and this is a more complex process which requires both tonal variation and shifting emphasis.
The reading process is illustrated and examined in greater depth in Restoring Reading Deficits. It is available online by clicking here.
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