Kuwait

Reading Instruction in the Primary Grades

Teachers in Kuwaiti schools use several approaches to teach reading. The progressive synthetic approach starts with individual letters and then integrates them into syllables to form words and sentences. Alternatively, the holistic-analytical method begins with teaching larger language units of familiar vocabulary strung into sentences from which students extract words by correlating them with experiences and prior knowledge. The integration method combines the progressive synthetic and holistic-analytical approaches. In order to grab students’ attention and help them improve and interact while reading, topics are chosen to suit students’ ages and interests.

Use of Technology

Teachers use a variety of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) tools in reading instruction. Examples include computers, projectors, audio files, drawings, pictures, and smart screens.

Role of Reading Specialists

There are no reading specialists in Kuwaiti schools. Arabic language teachers are responsible for teaching reading skills and helping struggling students overcome problems by providing technical supervision and guidance. Some schools use free reading classes to help struggling students improve their reading skills.