







































AJELLS: Awka Journal of English Language and Literary Studies, Vol. 7 No. 2, 2020 

 

 

 Ihezie & Akujobi        195 

 

ACHIEVING READING READINESS IN EARLY YEARS 

 

Chinomnso C. Ihezie & Odochi S. Akujobi, PhD 

Department of English Language and Literature,  

NnamdiAzikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria 

Email:  ichinomnso@gmail.com 

 

 

 

Abstract 

Reading is one of the important skills every individual needs to acquire. If a 

child is able to speak a language, then it is pertinent that he knows how to read 

in that language especially for languages with written forms, as this will help 

him communicate better as well as acquire more knowledge from written 

texts. However, most individuals today are not reading-ready and if an 

individual fails to acquire this skill at an early age, it becomes more difficult. 

Hence, this paper tries to examine how reading readiness can be maximally 

achieved among early year’s pupils as the foundation for reading fluency 

should be laid at their level, to enhance productivity. The paper examined 

reading readiness indicators, possible factors that could limit reading readiness 

and ways to achieve reading readiness. 

 

Keywords: Reading, Reading-readiness, Fluency, Early-years, Language 

 

Introduction 

Reading ranks among the very important skills to be acquired if effective 

communication is to take place. If one lacks the basic foundation of the 

reading skill, it can lead to one’s inability to comprehend a text, communicate 

properly, as well as, deterioration in academic grades. The earlier a child is 

taught to read, the easier it is for him to learn. Reading is one form of 

communication that must be developed in children right from their early 

years. It is an activity that every child engages in, from the day the child 

commences the educational career at the pre-primary level then through the 

long years at primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education (Akpojotor 

2013). According to Akpojotor, the best opportunity to teach children the 

skills of reading is in the early grades (2013), or earlier if possible. If this 

window is missed, then children who have not begun to read and understand 

what they read will continue to fall behind unless swift action is taken (Gove 

&Cvelich 2011). 

 

Reading yields benefit in the lives of pupils, it develops critical thinking skills 

in pupils and enhances their ability to comprehend various concepts with 



AJELLS: Awka Journal of English Language and Literary Studies, Vol. 7 No. 2, 2020 

 

 

 Ihezie & Akujobi        196 

 

immense ease. It also improves pupils’ vocabulary, command on the language 

and communication skills thereby improving their writing skills 

(Ogbemudia&Alasa 2014). This is to say that being able to read and indulge 

in the activity of reading, exposes one to the entire world. One is able to travel 

round the world by merely being able to read and understand from books, 

what others have written from their wealth of experience. Unfortunately, for 

someone who does not know how to read, words in books would mean 

nothing but mere gibberish. 

 

Reading is the foundation for other learning activities in the classroom. The 

point of reading is comprehension, and the point of comprehension is 

learning. Children who fail to learn to read in the first few grades of school are 

handicapped in later grades because they must absorb increasing amounts of 

instructional content in print form. Poor readers cannot develop proper writing 

skills or become self-guided learners in other subject areas. The basic reading 

skills necessary to become ‘literate’ do not develop naturally; we have to learn 

to adapt the part of our brain that recognizes images to be able to recognize 

written letters and words (Wolf qtd. in Gove &Cvelich 2011). It can be 

deduced that reading is of utmost importance as it helps not only in enhancing 

critical thinking, but in comprehension, as well as, broadening the wealth of 

experience if one would have been able to read a wide variety of information. 

Hence, it is important that this communication skill is developed in people, 

right from their early years.  

What then does reading-readiness mean?  

 

Concept of Reading Readiness 

According to Smith and Chapel (1970), reading readiness is the time at which 

a child is capable of learning to read. Zarry (1985) defines reading readiness 

as that state which enables a child to learn to read without undue strain or 

difficulty. 

 

Previously in the past, it was believed that the state of readiness was closely 

aligned to age, whereby the mental age of six was considered the time to 

introduce reading skills to a child (Zarry,1985). However, this belief no longer 

holds strongly as scholars now believe that children’s learning age could vary 

from child to child depending on the needs of the child. While some might 

begin to pick up reading at birth; others might become ready at ages one, two, 

three or even six or later than six. This is why no two persons should be 

compared, rather the needs of each child should be considered and the best 

instructional method on how to learn should be adopted depending on 

individual needs. 

 



AJELLS: Awka Journal of English Language and Literary Studies, Vol. 7 No. 2, 2020 

 

 

 Ihezie & Akujobi        197 

 

Ausubell (1959) defined reading readiness as the adequacy of existing 

capacity in relation to the demands of a given learning task. Asubellqtd. in 

Petrich (1997) suggested in this definition of readiness, that what learning to 

read demands of a child is not one thing, rather a collection of abilities and 

that the selected teaching method is an important variable. This definition of a 

child’s readiness for reading has a two-fold focus: (a) the child’s capacity in 

relation to (b) the particular instruction that will be available. Because 

differences in instruction make for differences in demands, what is adequate 

for dealing with them also differs (Durkin qtd. in Petrich 1977). The 

instructional strategy employed by a teacher in the teaching–learning process 

is of great importance to the pupils’ readability level. This is because it helps 

the pupils to have a good understanding of the subject matter being taught by 

the teacher and it also motivates the pupils to learn and be actively involved in 

the learning process. Hence, in teaching reading, there are different 

instructional methods or strategies that could be employed such as; 

1. Jolly phonics instructional strategy and 

2. Conventional methods – such as 

i. Whole method (look and say method) 

ii. Alphabet methods. (Ogbemudia and Alasa 2014) 

 

To a large extent, this is to say that the learning process is facilitated by the 

instructional method being employed. Hence, it is of great importance to 

know which method is most effective before making use of any of them. 

 

Components of Reading Readiness 

There are several elements that can aid reading in children without necessarily 

creating panic. These elements are what this paper has termed as the 

components of reading readiness.  

1. Alphabet recognition- languages have their alphabet and letters 

(grapheme). In achieving reading readiness in early years, children 

should be able to recognize and identify the different alphabets in the 

target language, as well as, match the alphabet with the different 

sounds. 

2. Vocabulary development- Having a strong build of vocabulary in a 

language helps to facilitate understanding when reading. When readers 

come across familiar words, it becomes easy to read them without 

tension. But in the case of not being familiar with a lot of words while 

reading, the level of comprehension of what has been written will be 

low. This is why vocabulary development is an essential part of 

reading readiness and any child who must become a fluent reader must 

consciously develop his vocabulary in the desired target language.  



AJELLS: Awka Journal of English Language and Literary Studies, Vol. 7 No. 2, 2020 

 

 

 Ihezie & Akujobi        198 

 

3. Good word pronunciations- correct pronunciation will be realized 

when a child is phonologically aware of the target language and is able 

to blend and decode words rightly.  

4. Good auditory discrimination- auditory discrimination has to do with 

how we are able to perceive sounds. As part of reading readiness, 

children are supposed to know how to differentiate the different 

sounds in their target language. A good understanding of the 

phonological structure of the language will go a long way in 

determining how well their auditory discrimination will be. Learning 

to decode sounds and blend sounds to pronounce words is important 

and is an integral part of reading readiness. 

5. Good visual discrimination- a child should be able to see and 

differentiate printed texts. Reading requires adequate skill in 

differentiating words. Being able to distinguish the similarities and 

differences between words is an important skill to be learned. 

 

Reading Readiness Indicators 

How do you know if a child is ready to read? There are several signs or 

indicators that a child is ready to read. Nonetheless, not every child will show 

all the signs before you know they are ready to read. Some may possess a few 

at an earlier age and add up others as they grow and progress in reading. What 

is important is that they begin to develop the signs. The reading readiness 

indicators include: 

1. Keen Interest- The best and fastest way to learn is to have an interest 

in what you want to learn. It is that interest that becomes a drive to 

learn more. If a child must learn how to read, he must have keen 

interest in reading. Therefore, it is an indicator that the child is 

reading-ready. 

2. Correct Alphabet Recitation- This paper had earlier listed alphabet 

recognition as one of the components of reading readiness. That is to 

say that correct recognition and recitation of the alphabet of the target 

language is important and is a sign that the child is ready to read. 

3. Decoding and Blending- When a child is phonologically and 

phonemically aware, to the extent that he begins decoding sounds and 

blends them appropriately to pronounce words, that child is reading 

ready. 

4. Proper Book Handling-There is a right way to open books and read 

and there is a wrong way to do so too. When given a book to read, if 

the child can hold up the front and the right-side-up, it then means he 

understands that books should be read from right to left and back to 

right again. He would also be handling the book properly if he is aware 

that he should turn one page at a time.  



AJELLS: Awka Journal of English Language and Literary Studies, Vol. 7 No. 2, 2020 

 

 

 Ihezie & Akujobi        199 

 

However, Smith and Chapel (1970), are of the opinion that a child is ready to 

read when he has reached readiness in four different aspects of growth; 

physiological, psychological (emotional and intellectual), educational and 

sociological (cultural and environmental). 

 

Factors Responsible for Low Level Reading Readiness 

1. Economic factor- The economic state of a parent can affect the 

reading readiness of a child. This can happen when the parents or 

guardian of a child do not have enough resources to get the required 

materials such as books, internet and many more for enhancing 

reading. It's only rational that children who are exposed to these things 

at an early age are likely to start reading early and vice versa.  

 

2. Educational and socio-economic background of parents- The 

educational background of the parents or guardians have great 

influence on how well a child will do when it comes to reading. If the 

parents happen to come from homes where they had sound education 

and come from a good socio-economic class, the chances that they are 

fluent readers is high. The children begin to follow suit as even the 

parents would not want anything less for their children from what they 

already have. If a child comes from a family that is poor and have no 

form of formal education, chances also have it that they will not be 

fluent readers, hence, will not be able to teach their children how to 

read neither will they have the resources to employ someone who can 

coach the children on how to read. 

 

3. Parental knowledge and Experience-It is one thing to have the 

resources needed and another thing to know exactly how to channel 

those resources for the benefit of the children. Parents need to be 

aware of the books, games, and activities to engage their children with 

to enhance their reading readiness. Proper exposure will spur the 

interest of the children to read more. Parents could also take out time 

to read stories to their children from colorful, interesting and educative 

books during their playtime or bed time. Parents who do not have this 

knowledge or experience may fail in this aspect. This is why it is 

necessary to make them aware.  

 

4. Insufficient Phonemic Awareness- One of the basics for knowing 

how to read is to have a good understanding of the sound structure of 

the target language. A child who is not Phonemic awareness is 

characterized in terms of the facility of the language learner to 



AJELLS: Awka Journal of English Language and Literary Studies, Vol. 7 No. 2, 2020 

 

 

 Ihezie & Akujobi        200 

 

manipulate the sounds of oral speech. The question then is; how can 

phonemic awareness work to facilitate reading readiness?  

 

5. Poor Reading Culture- Some children find it difficult to read due to 

poor or no reading culture at home. Parental involvement is of great 

necessity in helping their children develop good reading culture at 

home. If they are exposed to reading a lot at home, it is likely that they 

will be stimulated to read more. 

 

Strategies for Enhancing Reading Readiness in Early-Year Pupils 

If we must achieve reading readiness among the early years, then several 

strategies must be considered and implemented. 

i. It is important to build a strong foundation. The early years which 

consist of all the levels before the primary stage should be the 

focus in starting to learn reading as they are the foundation on 

which reading fluency is laid. Once it is missed at this stage, it 

becomes a little more difficult at the next stage. Thus, parents, 

teachers and the pupils should ensure that reading starts taking 

place at this stage.  

ii. Identifying the needs of each child. Each child has his own 

peculiarity and needs. This is why no two children should be 

compared. It is very important to identify the specific need of 

every child to enable the child learn how to read through the best 

method to meet his needs. Children with special needs such as 

autism, dyslexia etc. have to be put into consideration,hence, they 

will not be expected to learn at the same pace and with the same 

method as everyone else. 

iii. Adopting the right instructional method. It is not enough to 

identify the needs of a child. One needs to go a step further in 

ensuring that the child learns how to read by employing the best 

instructional method to suit the child’s needs.  

iv. Parental Involvement- Parents need to get involved in the 

educational progress of their children. This can be achieved by 

implementing some practices in the home. They can make 

substantial financial commitments to aid getting the resources for 

learning how to read and by reading to the children on a daily 

basis. If daily reading of books by parents to the children isn’t 

achievable on a daily basis, then some days of the week could be 

picked out for this exercise. There is also need to build a healthy 

reading culture by allowing your children see you read daily. It is 

most likely that children will do the same things they see their 

parents do, so when they see you obtain useful information from 



AJELLS: Awka Journal of English Language and Literary Studies, Vol. 7 No. 2, 2020 

 

 

 Ihezie & Akujobi        201 

 

reading books and other written texts; it will spur them to develop 

a reading culture as well. As parents, time could be created for 

reading and telling interesting short stories right from their early 

years. As you read together with them, you can teach them some of 

the sounds and how to blend them to pronounce some of the words 

they might find difficult while reading. It is important to start with 

stories with simple short words. Once they have mastered how to 

blend those short words and pronounce them rightly, it will 

become easier for them to learn how to read more difficult and 

complex words. 

v. Another thing that can help children to get ready to read is if they 

are frequently made to read books, particularly, interesting stories 

for their age and then made to retell those stories. This practice 

exposes learners to reading. The learners progress through various 

stages of reading, by looking at pictures in books, then reading the 

pictures, and then making up a story about the pictures. Eventually 

learners learn letter sounds and make words by liking the sounds 

together. Learners then start incidentally, reading words that they 

see often, such as simple CVC words and logos (Plessis, 2016). 

 

Conclusion 

This paper has examined the concept of reading and how important it is to 

acquire the reading skill especially at an early grade level because children at 

young ages tend to be more receptive at that age. If the reading skill is missed 

at that early stage, it doesn’t necessarily become impossible to read, but 

rather, a bit difficult. Hence, pupils are advised to become reading ready at an 

early age. As simple as this may sound, it does not come without various 

problems when it comes to acquiring the reading skill. There exist several 

factors that could limit reading readiness in early years. These factors include 

poor reading culture, lack of parental involvement, parental educational and 

socio-economic background, inadequate phonological awareness of the target 

language and lots more. However, these limiting factors do not exist without a 

working solution. Some ideas were recommended in this paper to help 

enhance reading readiness in early years. Some of these ideas include, 

identifying the needs of each pupil, adopting the right instructional method to 

suit the individual needs of each child, improving the phonological awareness 

of the pupils, parents making out time to read stories to their children, as well 

as, making substantial financial commitments, developing good reading 

culture in the home, exposing the young ones to books at early ages to enable 

them start reading and retelling the stories and lots more. If these ideas 

recommended in this paper are put to work, reading readiness in early years 

will be achievable. 



AJELLS: Awka Journal of English Language and Literary Studies, Vol. 7 No. 2, 2020 

 

 

 Ihezie & Akujobi        202 

 

Works Cited 

Akpojotor, R. U. (2013). Effect of Phonics in Reading Strategy on Pupils’ 

 Achievement in Word  Recognition in Oshimili South Local 

 Government Area. M.Ed Thesis. University of Nigeria, Nsukka. 

Ausubel, D. (1959). Viewpoint from Related Disciplines: Human Growth and 

 Development.   Teachers College Record. 60. 245-254. 

Durkin, D. (1976). Teaching Young Children to Read. Boston. Allyn and  

 Bacon Inc. 

Gove, A. and Cvelich P. (2011). Early Reading: Igniting Education for All. A 

 Report by the Early Grade Learning Community of Practice.Revised  

Edition. Research Triangle Institute 

Ogbemudia, M. I &Alasa, V. M. (2014). Jolly Phonics Instructional Strategy: 

 A Panacea to  Reading Difficulty in Childhood Education’. Journal of  

Education Research and Behavioural Sciences. Vol. 3(1) pp 001-006. 

Plessis, S. (2016). Factors Affecting the Reading Readinesss of Grade R  

 Learners in Selected  Preschools in Gauteng Province.M.Ed Thesis.  

 University of South Africa. 

Smith, E. D. & Chapel, R. J. (1970). ‘Reading Readiness’. Reading Horizons: 

A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts vol. 10 No. 2 pp 58-62. 

Zarry, L. (1985). Reading Readiness in Kindergarten: Evaluation of a 

 Computer assisted Program.  McGill Journal of Education, Vol. 20  

No. 2 pp 189-196 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


