The Rising Trend of Reading Habits

By Nakren Keo, I’mACE Magazine Intern

In Cambodia’s population of 16 million people, there is currently a 20% rate of adult illiteracy. For that reason, one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of Cambodia’s Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) is to substantially boost the national literacy rate by 2030. A number of events and campaigns have also been designed to promote a love of books and reading among Cambodians.

At the Australian Centre for Education (ACE), our teachers actively encourage reading for pleasure outside the classroom. ACE also offers students valuable learning support resources including the Guided Individual Learning (GIL) Centres, Book Clubs and initiatives such as Star Reader. In addition, ACE cooperates with the Cambodian Book Fair and the Australian Alumni Association of Cambodia (AAA-C) in an initiative called “Joy of Reading”. The goal of this program is to provide reading materials to rural Cambodian children, and therefore, to inspire them to read. This helps to build a strong foundation for their education. To date, over 7,000 books have been donated to schools in provinces including Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom, Kampong Speu, Pailin, Takeo and Siem Reap.

Events such as the Cambodian Book Fair and National Reading Day have successfully promoted a love of books and reading in the Cambodian population. These events have specifically targeted younger Cambodians, to try to instill in them the value of reading at an early age. The events have been strongly attended, resulting in a rising trend in reading. This trend is encouraging, especially because readers enjoy a wealth of benefits.

Benefits of Reading

• Mental Stimulation: Reading provides our brains with exercise. Like our bodies, our brains require exercise to continue to be strong and healthy. Reading helps to improve our memory, and concentration, and can also reduce stress and give us comfort.

• Entertainment: Reading is a source of entertainment. It not only helps readers learn more about a particular theme, but also expands our imagination. Reading a good book can be fun and thrilling. There are hundreds of thousands of great paper books and e-books into which readers can dive and lose ourselves.

• Vocabulary Building: When we read, we often come across words with which we are not familiar. Curiosity leads us to look these up in a dictionary or use contextual clues to derive their meanings. If we come across the same unknown word multiple times, we remember it and learn how to use it correctly.

• Improving Writing Skills: Typically, those who read more become stronger writers. Extensive readers also learn sentence structures and other grammar forms. To be good writers, we also have to be good readers. So, students who want to improve their writing skills should read as much and as often as possible.

• Improving Critical Analysis Skills: Reading can open our minds to many new ideas. When we read, our minds and imaginations expand. Reading also helps to improve our problem solving and critical thinking skills.

References

*The World Fact Book: Cambodia. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cb.html

*The Phnom Penh Post: Literacy target of a Sustainable Development Goal. Retrieved from https://www.phnompenhpost.com/opinion/literacy-target-sustainable-development-goal

*Self-Development Secrets: 11 benefits of reading books | Why it’s important to read every day. https://www.selfdevelopmentsecrets.com/benefits-importance-reading-books/