Recreational Reading in the Arab World: A Critical Review of the Arab Reading Index (ARI)

Ahmed J Jouda,Md Azalanshah Md Syed,Puteri Kamilah Mohd Azanuddin,Azizah Hamzah

doi:10.22452/jpmm.vol19no2.2

Abstract

This study explores the concept and significance of recreational reading in the Arab world. Recreational reading, often termed Reading pleasure, (Clark & Rumbold, 2006), voluntary reading (Krashen, 2004), or independent reading (Cullinan, 2000) is the reading carried out by personal choice. However, recreational reading in the Arab world rarely gets attention through comprehensive of scholarly studies. Thus, this textual study also examines the context of recreational reading and the initiatives taken to enhance this activity in the Arab region.

Highlights

Recreational reading reflects the reader’s personal interest in books of their choosing, to be read at a time and place they please (Richardson & Eccles, 2007; Cullinan, 2000)
As the national reports and surveys found there is a distinct lack of reading among Arabs, and that a culture of reading, especially for pleasure did not have the foundation in society
Some of this could be accredited to the lack of access to books, especially in Algeria, Tunisia, and Syria be it in the home or a library that children could access

Summary

Introduction

Recreational reading reflects the reader’s personal interest in books of their choosing, to be read at a time and place they please (Richardson & Eccles, 2007; Cullinan, 2000). This study will provide a review of Arab national studies and their reported findings on Arabs’ levels of engagement in and attitudes toward recreational reading as well as the availability of resources or presence of home or publicly accessible libraries.

Results

Conclusion