Frammistaða íslenskra 15 ára unglinga í lesskilningshluta PISA-rannsóknarinnar hefur dalað um 23 stig frá árinu 2000 til ársins 2015. Lækkunin nemur um hálfu skólaári, en munur á innfæddum nemendum og fyrstu kynslóð innflytjenda hefur nær tvöfaldast á tímabilinu. Hér á landi er skortur á sjálfvirkni í lestri áhrifaþáttur hjá þeim sem slakasta frammistöðu sýna á lesskilningshluta PISA. Rannsóknir sýna þó að orðaforði er sá þáttur sem mest áhrif hefur á lesskilning unglinga. Orðaforði og málskilningur þróast frá fæðingu en máluppeldi á heimilum skiptir verulegu máli. Lestrariðkun er forsenda framfara í lestri, en munur á orðaforða og lesskilningi barna hefur tilhneigingu til að aukast með aldri.
Lagðar eru fram rökstuddar tillögur um það hvernig skóli og samfélag skuli taka höndum saman til að snúa við neikvæðri þróun lesskilnings íslenskra ungmenna. Horfa verður til máluppeldis, ekki aðeins í skólum, heldur líka á heimilum. Vefmiðlar gegna mikilvægu hlutverki í samskiptum, dægradvöl og upplýsingamiðlun til ungmenna, en þar er efnið að miklu leyti á ensku. Hlutverk skóla er að gefa öllum nemendum tækifæri til að efla með sér þá hæfni og þekkingu sem nútímasamfélag gerir kröfur um. Lestur, sem felst í því að finna, velja, túlka og meta upplýsingar, sem miðlað er á fjölbreytilegan hátt, þarfnast stöðugrar þjálfunar. Opinber menntastefna og aðalnámskrá þurfa að leggja áherslu á eflingu djúps lesskilnings, og þá þætti sem liggja honum til grundvallar. Í öllu námi og menntun allra kennara þarf að taka mið af þessu.
Börn og ungmenni þroskast í auðugu málumhverfi með hæfilegri ögrun og áskorunum. Efla þarf framleiðslu íslensks efnis, prentaðs og stafræns og á ljósvakamiðlum. Auka þarf þekkingu á íslenskum orðum sem liggja til grundvallar námsárangri, og þá sér í lagi lágtíðniorðum. Slíkar upplýsingar er hægt að nýta sem grunn við þróun námsefnis og mælitækja, og þær geta því leitt til markvissari náms- og kennsluhátta.
Reading literacy is defined by the OECD as “understanding, using, reflecting on and engaging with written texts, in order to achieve one’s goals, to develop one’s knowledge and potential, and to participate in society” (OECD, 2017, p. 51). Fifteen yearold celandic learners’ performance in the reading literacy part of PISA has declined since 2000, when the test was first administered. The drop in mean scores is equivalent to the progress that students are, on average, expected to make over a period of six months. No participating country shows a steeper decline during these years. The percentage of Icelandic participants in the highest proficiency levels has fallen, and the percentage in the lowest levels has risen. In 2015, 22% of Icelandic learners were under the second proficiency level, indicating very poor reading comprehension skills.
The gap between Icelandic-born students and first generation immigrants corresponded to one and a half year’s progress in 2000 but increased to two and a half year’s progress by 2015, suggesting that this group of Icelandic students, in general, has difficulties in fulfilling their personal, social, and educational needs in Iceland.
Research findings in Denmark and the US (Arnbak, 2010; LaRusso et al., 2016) indicate that vocabulary is the strongest single predicting variable for learners’ proficiency in completing reading literacy tasks as tested in PISA. Similar results from an Icelandic study (Freyja Birgisdóttir, 2016) demonstrate that Icelandic vocabulary was the strongest predictor of reading comprehension skills in PISA 2012, predicting more than self-regulated learning, the use of reading comprehension strategies, time spent on reading, and attitudes towards reading. Moreover, the study by Freyja Birgisdóttir (2016) revealed that low sight-word reading proficiency correctly identified 33% of poor performers. These findings indicate that a sizeable proportion of 15-year-old Icelandic learners is disadvantaged by basic reading skills and insufficient Icelandic vocabulary, which impedes their ability to comprehend written texts. Language skills and vocabulary develop from birth, and a rich language environment in the family is crucial for language development. Individual differences in language skills, as measured in the preschool, are likely to increase with age, and predict later academic performance (Jóhanna T. Einarsdóttir, Amalía Björnsdóttir and Ingibjörg Símonardóttir, 2016).
Citizens in modern society need the capacity to understand and evaluate an abundance of information from various media, and increasingly from the digital world. Consequently, opportunities to express one’s thoughts and knowledge have multiplied. It is noteworthy that a recent study (Rannsóknir og greining [Research and Analysis], 2016) revealed that the majority of Icelandic teenagers spend several hours on the internet every day. Due to the small size of the Icelandic population, there is a shortage of digital materials in Icelandic, and English is increasingly being used by Icelandic youth. The question remains whether they are increasing their English skills at the cost of their Icelandic language proficiency. In fact, Icelandic is one of many languages in the world that have to strive to survive in a globalized digital information society.
To address this issue, a comprehensive approach is needed from all those who are responsible for the well-being and educational success of Icelandic students: The Ministry of Culture and Education, local authorities, universities, teachers, and parents.
Financial investments are needed in the publication of Icelandic literature, films, and digital material that address young people’s interests. Learners must be provided with plentiful opportunities to practise deep reading comprehension skills, as well as productive language proficiency. The schools have a central role in giving support to those who lag behind, and to prepare all learners for becoming active citizens in Icelandic society.
More research is needed on Icelandic vocabulary, especially concerning lexical items fundamental for academic success in Icelandic schools, in particular low-frequency words. Such information can subsequently be used as a foundation for the development of teaching materials and language measurements which can lead further towards a more effective learning and teaching approach. The Icelandic language is best preserved when Icelandic speaking people understand and use Icelandic words.
