Comprehension is a natural skill that begins at birth when the child begins receiving responses which please them from caregivers (Knoph, 1986). As the child becomes aware of sounds (language) they begin building their language comprehension. Babies are able to understand words long before they are able to speak (Holinger, 2012). Many parents teach their children sign-language as a way to communicate prior to them speaking. These simple steps are building pathways of understanding in the brain which allows the child to express their understanding.
As the child develops and grows they are building their vocabulary. Vocabulary forms a foundation for comprehension (Robb, 2015). Vocabulary is a skill in which we mainly absorb the meanings of words. Therefore the more we are exposed to the language and use our language the better we are able to connect the dots to make meaning and understanding. The first step in building vocabulary is hearing words and connecting them to objects or events. As we develop, we also gain information for context clues. When hearing a word we are unfamiliar with, we must determine the meaning of this new word. We use the information we have gathered to make a meaning determination. All of these steps happen prior to the child ever reading any words. Vocabulary, therefore, is a language skill which begins at birth and is a vital component to future reading comprehension ability.
As a person begins learning to read they are transferring their language skills to texts. Many children have no difficulty making this transfer. For others, it is not so easy. Listening and speaking is a natural skill whereas reading and writing are man created skills and often people struggle with mastering these skills (Moats & Tolman, ND). If a person is having difficulty picking up reading skills their language development and vocabulary levels may need to be checked. Building those skills will strengthen the foundation of their reading and comprehension.
People who are struggling with reading may need to take time to focus on decoding and building their understanding of how our language is put into print. As these skills are presented to students in school, they are often presented several at a time, and some just get confused while others catch on without difficulty. If a student struggles to read, they are most likely going to struggle with writing. Some may have a strong language ability and be able to explain what they have heard, but may not have a strong understanding of word structure and most often won’t write well. This is an observation point. They are able to take and tell, but not read and write. The focus area for these students would be word structure (phonics).
Then, there are the students who have decoding down and have no problem reading but have absolutely no idea what they have just read. These students need assistance with reading comprehension. The first thing to check is language comprehension. Are they able to tell about an event or activity? Can they explain something that they watched? Can they retell something that has been read to them? If they are able to complete these tasks then chances are great they just need some support and guidance to transfer the language skill to their reading. If they are unable to do any of those tasks, step back and spend some time focusing on language comprehension.
Reading comprehension is a transferred skill from language comprehension. Prior to teaching reading comprehension, we need to check to make sure the students have an understanding of their language. Once they have language understanding, a strong vocabulary must be built. The next skill is to infer the meanings of unknown words from texts to build their vocabulary. Most students also need support and practice to retell events or passages read to them. Once they have mastered these skills, in most cases, the transfer to reading comprehension is smooth.
