Poor literacy skills amongst schoolchildren - but are apps the solution?

Two years ago a study revealed that as many as a quarter of all adults in the UK possess a literacy level of one or below. This means that they would struggle to read a bus timetable, or understand their wage slip. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, who are, in their own words `an independent organisation working to inspire social change through research, policy and practice` conducted the study, which disclosed the disturbingly low levels of literacy amongst the UK population. The level one (or lower) rating equates to GCSE grades between D and G - and numeracy levels actually fared slightly worse, with 29 percent scoring a level one or lower.

Nicky Morgan, the Education Secretary back in 2016, pledged to `boost the three Rs,` planning to initiate reforms that would ensure an improvement. Her successor, Damian Hinds, is also hoping to tackle the problem of poor reading and writing skills in primary schools. Recent figures published by the Department for Education show that as many as a quarter of five year olds are having trouble with reading, and possess a deficient vocabulary. The DoE has stated that 28 percent of four and five year olds are apparently failing to meet basic literary levels and communication skills.

There is a lot of hard evidence showing that a subnormal vocabulary can lead to low achievements later in life. Research conducted by the Department for Education suggests that those children with a poor vocabulary at the age of five face poor employment prospects, being twice as likely to be unemployed as adults than those amongst their peer group with a wider vocabulary. Damian Hinds made a point about just how vital these early years are for a child`s future in a recent speech at the Resolution Foundation:

`When you`re behind from the start, you rarely catch up: your peers don`t wait, the gap just widens. This has a huge impact on social mobility.`

The education secretary has a plan to address this issue though - he means to tap into the obsession we all have, young and old, to deal with the literacy crisis: he`s going to introduce an app to tackle the problem. That`s right - a phone app is going to be developed to solve this issue. In answer to any pessimists, who might be sceptical in believing that this problem can be solved with mobile technology, Mr Hinds made the point:

`If our phones and apps can help us bank, shop, diet, exercise and figure out where we are, why can they not also help us with helping our children develop their communication and reading?`

`That is why the department will be launching a competition to identify high quality apps, with the aim of making these free and easily accessible, making sure that disadvantaged families don`t miss out.`

At the moment details concerning how these apps will actually help children with their literacy have not been announced - but no one can deny that children take to using any kind of touchscreen technology very well. If this seemingly natural proficiency and congeniality can be used for didactic purposes perhaps the use of apps are something worth exploring.

Not everyone however is enthusiastic about the new proposals - the Learning Technologies Project at New America has examined the packaging of literacy apps in the app store, and its director Lisa Guernsey has reservations about the efficacy of a smartphone app to become a major teaching aid for children:

`Based on studies and evidence that I have reviewed, it is incorrect to make a blanket statement that apps can improve literacy skills.`

She has said that none of the apps she`s examined provide a comprehensive range of literacy teachings. Most seem to focus on simple skills, such as letter pronunciation, and the link between letters, or groups of letters, and sounds - basic phonics; and while this is certainly useful, it can`t provide the full spectrum of reading or writing abilities.

In my opinion the best way to teach reading and writing is to encourage children to take part in these activities themselves. Parents should be reading to their children from the earliest age, and pupils should be taught how to express themselves through writing. Everyone likes to talk about the things they find enjoyable - if children can be motivated to write about the things that most interest them, they will develop their expressive powers. In this age of ubiquitous technology, we may come to believe that technology itself offers the solution to everything: but when it comes to teaching reading and writing, traditional methods should not be sidelined.