Benefits of Reading [PDF]

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Benefits of Reading Reading maketh a man. Today, we enjoy such a wide array of reading material ranging from books, magazines, newspapers, comics and the latest e-books. However, we still do not make it a habit to read. This fact can be consolidated by a recent survey that has singled out that a majority of citizens hardly read. What a shame! Obviously, we do not realize the importance of reading. In this era of modernization, in order to become a successful person or a top-notch student, we should enrich ourselves with adequate knowledge and perspective. Instead, citizens in developed countries like Russia, China, Japan, Korea and Australia are enriching themselves with knowledge and information. Thus, it is high time that we make it a point to read. First and foremost, reading is the perfect platform for us to improve our knowledge. It is undisputable that, nowadays, the bookstores are flooded with various kinds of reading materials dealing with different subjects. By reading numerous genres of books, we are able to broaden our minds. For example, we can always flip through magazines or books to acquire knowledge and information on particular fields. Magazines like National Geographic, Popular Science, Discovery, Chips , Time and Reader’s Digest provide a colossal of information about science and the latest technologies. Those who are interested in technology will stand a golden opportunity to have a deep understanding on technology and thus helping them to get a promising job in the future. Aside from this, reading helps us to keep abreast with the latest developments in the world. One can know about the news or headlines of the world by just skimming through newspapers or surfing the Internet. People who are informative and knowledgeable are not considered as “a frog under a coconut shell”. Hence, it is true that reading enable us to widen our knowledge besides of keeping us oblivious of the latest developments in the world. In other words, “reading is the window of the world”. Furthermore, reading stands us a good stead in improving our command of languages. It has become an irrefutable fact that most of the people around the globe are not highly proficient in English which is an international language. This is because they tend to stick to their mother tongue. Sadly, they do not realize the importance of English. In order to master the language, we should cultivate the habit of reading. By reading we are introduced to a thousand and one words that are seldom applied in speaking but may come in handy when comes to writing. Persons who hardly read will not be able to do well in his essay writing as he fails to acquire the essential writing skills. On top of that, he also fails to learn

some useful words that are a necessity in writing a good essay. Thus, it can be said that reading increases one’s vocabulary as well as polishing up one’s writing skills. In addition, by reading we are able to be fluent in foreign languages like Japanese, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, French and Arabic, just to name a few. Therefore, we will have the ability to converse with the citizens of other countries. Nevertheless, reading provides relaxation and entertainment. It is an ubiquitous phenomenon that thousands of people in the world are deriving entertainment from reading. This is because reading is the best form of entertainment and relaxation after enduring their mind-boggling work. Reading helps them to vanquish their daily stress and soothe their pressured minds. Needless to say, we do not have to burn a hole in our pockets when we are craving for entertainment. Unlike DVDs or television programs, books are the cheapest source of entertainment which only cost us up to a few dollars, perhaps the most exorbitant books will only cost up to the maximum of 50 dollars which is within the budget of a layman. On the other hand, we should not overlook the advantage of reading which is associated with unleashing our creative powers. By reading thrilling story books like The Lost Symbol, Angels and Demons, Da Vinci Code, Digital Fortress which are written by a prominent author, Dan Brown will definitely keep us thinking about the plots. When we are thinking about the plots, question marks will be popped up in the frame of our minds. Subsequently, we will have to imagine the consequences or the next scenes of the story. All these require creativity, unlike watching movies or videos, where there is little left to the imagination. This is because the scenes are already portrayed using images or pictures. It is a huge fallacy to say that watching movies is far better than reading books to unleash one’s creativity. In a nutshell, it would cost us a fortune if we do not make an effort to read. If we take a close look at people who often read, they are generally creative, it is vital that every citizen in the world picks up the habit of reading. The government should play a pivotal role in promoting the habit of reading. Several awareness campaigns should be held in arm to raise the awareness of the nations on the importance of reading besides boosting the interest of the public in reading. Most importantly, parents should encourage their children to read when they are still young.

Write an article for a local daily expressing your views on why you think that schools should allocate more time for reading English books Instilling the culture of Reading in schools As a form five student studying at a local school, I must admit that we have a long way to go to making Malaysia a reading nation. At schools, I have found that most students only focus on studying and preparing for important examinations. Their reading is limited to schools books and hence, they possess restricted knowledge. Although the ministry of education had introduced the English literature component at the secondary level, the standard of English leaves much to be desired. I personally feel the prescribed novels and short stories are inadequate to increase the standard of English among students. Thus, I propose that schools allocate more time for reading English books, especially non-academic books such as novels and short stories which have literary values and merits. Books that can enhance one's general knowledge are plenty and should be suggested as part of a regular reading campaign. The reading culture must be instilled at a young age. Admittedly some students speak and write well in English largely due to their parents encouragement who are either highly educated or encourage their children to read widely and extensively. A large number of students are not that lucky and those who come from poor background do not have the advantage of reading and improving their language skills. Thus, schools play a very important role in encouraging the reading habit among students. Merely emphasizing on reading is not enough. Schools must set the trend. At least two free periods must be allocated for reading. Each classroom should be well stocked with books and students instructed to read at least three books in a week. An English language teacher or the existing English teacher should be appointed to discuss the books that students have read. The discussions can centre on the literary merits of the books as well as literary criticisms. Hence, in this way students are taught critical thinking skills and nurture the ability to think and discuss openly about a variety of issues. The school library should also be well stocked. Currently, school libraries mostly stock academic books. Very few acclaimed works of fictions by great writers such as VS Naipaul, Salman Rushdie, Timothy Mo and even classical writers such as Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, RL Stevenson, John Steinback, Vladimir Nabakov and local writers are stocked. Students should also be given assignments related to the books they have been

assigned to read, and not merely confined to the prescribed novels in the examinations. In this way, they would strengthen their writing skills and would not feel intimidated when they enter university and having to research books mainly written and available in English. It is my believe that if the above suggestions are taken seriously and incorporated by the schools as part of the curriculum or even extra curriculum, the low esteem that overwhelming number of students feel regarding their English language ability will be a thing of the past. in fact, students themselves would eventually develop an interest in the language and would try their best to improve themselves without the prompting of school authorities and their teachers.