Canine friends help kids hone their reading skills
dubai — Man’s best friend is lending an ear at story time to help students in Dubai overcome their fear of reading aloud.
Come Sunday, two dogs will be taking up residence at Safa British School in Dubai as part of the Reading Dogs UAE initiative.
During a 20-minute reading session, the dogs will sit at the front of the classroom, with students taking turns to read aloud to them.
“It helps build student confidence. By not being interrupted and corrected, it gives the student power; like they are the teachers. It also urges them to self-correct too,” Karalynn Thomson, founder of the scheme, told Khaleej Times.
dubai — Reading aloud in class can be a daunting prospect. Will I stutter? Will I make a mistake? These are just some of the questions students with an aversion to public speaking ask themselves. But for the first time in the UAE, man’s best friend is lending an ear at story time to help students overcome that fear.
The saying goes: “Never work with children or animals”, but in this case, the coupling could prove to be quite the pairing.
On Sunday, two friendly dogs will be taking up residence in a classroom at Safa British School to aid students during a 20-minute pilot reading session called ‘Reading Dogs UAE’.
Sitting at the front of the classroom, students will read aloud to these furry stand-in teachers; and the whole ethos behind the unique initiative is to help build student confidence. Though the children may believe what they are doing is teaching the dog to listen, they are actually inadvertently teaching themselves, with no pressure, no prodding, and no embarrassment.
“With this scheme, the student believes they are reading only to the dog; a dog that won’t judge and a dog that won’t correct him/her,” Karalynn Thomson, founder of Reading Dogs UAE, told Khaleej Times.
University-based research studies have shown that one of children’s biggest fears in class is that they don’t read well. But by presenting a student with an audience member
With this scheme, the student believes they are reading only to the dog; a dog that won’t judge and a dog that won’t correct him/her.” Karalynn Thomson, founder, Reading Dogs UAE
that doesn’t judge, will ultimately help give them confidence. “It’s like a kind of role reversal. By not being interrupted and corrected if mistakes are made, it gives the student power; like they are the teachers. It also urges them to self-correct too.”
Using one dog per group of four to 12 students maximum (depending on the age group), the main aim behind introducing dogs into the classroom setting is to improve reading fluency. But the animalf-riendly reading sessions also promote a whole host of social and emotional benefits too. “Children will likely bond with the dog, build a connection, and that in turn will give them an incentive to behave,” Thomson said.
Working on the initiative for more than nine months, Thomson said after consulting the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) about the idea, they advised that it would be up to each individual as to whether they wanted to take the reading sessions forward on their campus — all provided the right licensing and insurance was in place.
And to date, Reading Dogs UAE has got the support of Safa British School (where the dogs have actually been training), as well as keen interest from several schools from the Taaleem and Gems organisations.
Between September 25 and October 9, the pilot scheme will use two dogs to deliver four reading sessions a week at Safa British School. The process will then be reviewed and amendments made if necessary.