Young people who receive guidance in reading literature also understand business texts better, according to research by Dutch teacher Mira Beukering.
Young people in the Netherlands read less and less literature with less and less pleasure, says Beukering. She therefore experimented with guided deep reading, to see whether pupils understand texts better and appreciate them more if a teacher asks them questions about striking language use while reading.
"In a first experiment in grades 4 and 5 of a gymnasium, we compared students who were individually supervised with students who had to independently formulate questions about what they found strange or interesting about the text. In a second experiment, we performed both methods in class, in four fourth grades.
"In both studies, the students from the experimental group scored higher on literary text comprehension, but we couldn’t determine a higher story appreciation. There was however a transfer to business reading: their understanding of business texts improved."
"We did this research in the social context of de-reading and declining reading skills. Young people in particular spend less time on fiction, because social media demands a lot of their attention, causing their reading skills to decline. Those who read fiction regularly have significantly better reading skills than young people who don't."