It is estimated that half the people of the world can speak more than one language. In South India, a large percentage of the population is conversant in at least two languages. Thanks to a high rate of literacy, many of them can read and write in those languages too. We humans know a great deal about the languages of the world, and the scripts that they are written in. But we still have a lot to learn about how our brains read and comprehend languages.
The process of learning to read begins with getting acquainted with the letters of the alphabet and understanding how they produce sounds. As reading skills develop, children become increasingly adept at perceiving letter sounds and how these come together to form words. Eventually this becomes a subconscious action. Research has indicated that this progress is aided by the development of the visual word form area (VWFA) in the brain, which is formed in the part of the brain that is responsible for recognizing visual signals such as facial features and objects. With only a few months of education, this portion of the cortex is able to recognize the script that has been learned. When someone speaks multiple languages, patches of the VWFA are dedicated to recognising each language.
Memory and nutrition
The tasks to be learnt by a child are complex: They have to learn a vocabulary, and what each of those words mean. They have to read effortlessly to be able to understand sentences, and then whole paragraphs. Having a good working memory and flexible reasoning skills, commonly known as executive functions, allows children to become better readers. These traits help them excel in all areas of their lives: academically and emotionally. A study of preschoolers by Sumithra Selvam and her team at the St. John’s Research Institute in Bengaluru has shown that executive function improves with better nutrition (Child Neuropsychology, 2018). Healthy bodies are needed for bright minds.
It should be kept in mind that the time it takes for a child to understand visual text, to correlate text with speech, and to recognise vocal sounds varies from one youngster to the next.
Reading disorders
Dyslexia is a disorder marked by difficulty in reading. This neurological problem is associated with reduced language-processing activity in the brain. Aphasia, another language disorder, is caused by brain damage, such as after a stroke. It reduces the ability to express and understand language. The damage can also cause alexia — an inability to comprehend written language, or agraphia — the inability to write coherently. Eventual recovery from aphasia is quite common.
Individuals who speak multiple languages and are suffering from aphasia usually struggle in all their languages, but at different levels of severity. To explain this phenomenon, it has been hypothesised that the first-learned or most-used language is the least affected. Early training of the brain thus appears to set a strong foundation for reading skill and enjoyment.
(The article was written in collaboration with Sushil Chandani, who works in molecular modelling. sushilchandani@gmail.com)
