3
A Love for Reading
“The development of
a love for reading is
too important to be
left to chance”
(Spiegel, 1981: 4)
What you should know about reading promotion
The
Teaching Reading in Europe
report (Eurydice Network, 2011) emphasizes that “In
2009, approximately one in five 15-year olds in the
EU-27 countries had difficulties using reading for
learning” (13). These numbers reflect the grim picture
of literacy in European education which, of course,
needs to be reversed, if Europe is to achieve its
ambitious educational, social, political, and
economical goals.
The LiRe consortium asserts that high levels of
reading literacy are directly correlated to positive
stances towards reading and strong reading habits.
The 2006 PIRLS International Report firmly concludes that “In PIRLS 2001, and again in
PIRLS 2006, students with the most positive attitudes toward reading had the highest
reading achievement” (Mullis et al, 2006: 6). This direct correlation between strong
reading habits and high reading skills outlines the motivation behind the Lifelong
Readers (LiRe) project.
Attributes of a lifelong reader
A lifelong learner is first and foremost a lifelong reader. Reading is perhaps the most
essential life-skill, as it plays a decisive role in a person's social empowerment,
professional success, and personal development. A lifelong reader is self- motivated,
finds value and pleasure in reading, and thus reads, learns, and evolves throughout
her/his lifetime. LiRe aspires to contribute to the effort of creating European schools
that are populated by thousands of lifelong readers. As Atwell purports, this should be
the central objective of language education: “And this is the goal: for every child to
become a skilled, passionate, habitual, critical reader” (Atwell,2007: 12).
Miller, who like Atwell is both an educator and researcher, describes the central
attributes of her lifelong reading students: “You see, my students are not just strong,
capable readers, they love books and reading. Building lifelong readers has to start here”
(Miller, 2009: 4). The emphasis on finding enjoyment in reading is evident. Research
suggests that pleasure in the reading experience itself is a key factor in motivating
readers:
People who do not find reading pleasurable tend to view book reading the way
most people view preparing an income tax return: it is hard to do, done under
compulsion, and requires long blocks of uninterrupted time. Confident readers,
in contrast, find reading effortless. They say that they pick up a book whenever
