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In today’s highly competitive world, it pays to have a remarkable set of literacy and numeracy skills. With an impeccable ability to read, write, understand, and analyse information, you will find employment opportunities knocking at your door in no time. So, whatever it is you decide to do, make sure that you’re equipped with the right skills to thrive in any work environment in New Zealand.
If you’re wondering how to improve literacy and numeracy skills as a young individual, this article has some answers for you. Here, we’ll tell you the importance of having an acceptable level of literacy and numeracy and some ways on how you can improve your basic reading, writing and numeracy skills.
Why Literacy and Numeracy Skills Matter
Our ability to read, write, speak and listen to communicate effectively with others are important factors that make us employable to future employers. When integrated with speaking and critical thinking, it’s safe to say that our literacy and numeracy skills will give us a better chance to succeed in our chosen career paths. Let’s take a look at the following strategies to improve numeracy and literacy among young individuals.
1. Try visualising
Everyone has different ways to learn. For some, creating mental images, or visualising a setting, character, or event helps them understand a passage in a text they’re reading. If you feel that you learn better and understand faster by studying photos, then it might prove helpful if you stick to studying photos and captions.
2. Practice Note-Taking
Taking down notes while doing schoolwork is one of the most effective strategies to improve one’s literacy and numeracy. Learners are highly advised to practice highlighting important passages via writing, underlining, or even encircling. This helps your mind retain the information you are learning.
After reading something important, remember to write it down, either verbatim or based on your own understanding.
3. Think Before and While Reading
To improve reading comprehension, young learners should read the book’s questions before they begin reading the actual text. This hones their ability to focus on a text and also to know when to skim it. So if you’re still in school, practice this strategy.
When you have a question or are confused about what you are studying, it is crucial to stop and think about what you have just read. From there, you have to reread the text or seek the answers to the questions you have in mind.
When you give yourself the space to think while reading, your critical thinking skills will vastly improve. Later on, you will find that this will be very helpful in your work activities, whichever career you pursue. Whether it be professional or vocational education, thinking critically is valuable.
4. Practice Goal Setting
To anyone wondering how to improve literacy and numeracy skills, this is another important strategy. Setting goals when studying or learning something doesn’t just motivate you. It also helps you tackle any subject you have to read about.
When learning a trade or a new skill, set a goal. It could be something as simple as, “I want to understand the retail sector in NZ.” If you’re one of those who are interested to take retail short courses, know that simply reading doesn’t accomplish much if you don’t set a goal to improve your learnings.
5. Practice, Practice, Practice
Yes, you can improve your numeracy and literacy skills when you practice by a lot. Practice visualising, note taking, thinking while and before reading, and goal setting. With constant notetaking, you are able to analyse the information and remember it easily and quickly.
Whenever you have to read and learn something, do everything in your power to understand and retain the information.
Forge Your Career at VSTET
We hope this blog gave you helpful tips on how to improve literacy and numeracy skills. If you’re looking into improving your skills and starting your career, you can enrol in VET programmes at a Dunedin Trades Academy. Here at VSTET, we offer vocational training that meet government accreditation standards. We look forward to being part of your career journey as a young individual.