Language competence in the Yakut language: Schoolchildren reading a book in the native language

   The article considers the problem of bilingualism and linguistic competence of the Sakha people in the current conditions of globalization, and reveals the role of knowledge of language and reading in the preservation of the Yakut language. We present the results of the sociolinguistic study of reading among children from the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), conducted by the Children’s Reading Center of the National Library of the RS (Y) together with the Research Institute of Reading NB RS (Y). 2,567 children and adolescents from 20 districts of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) took part in the survey. They were pupils from the 1st to the 11th forms from more than 100 settlements of Yakutia. The study contains the analysis of the data on the knowledge of the Yakut language, reading comprehension, reasons for the decrease in the number of readers, and reading motivation depending on gender, nationality and age. The data obtained indicate that the relevance of the problem of a lack of motivation to read in the mother tongue among children and adolescents. The main reason for the decline in interest in reading is the difficulty of the reading process itself, due to poor knowledge of the mother tongue. The author develops a research strategy to find a solution to this problem. The article concludes that it is extremely important to take timely measures to preserve national languages as an integral part of the multinational Russian culture. It is necessary to carry out complex studies of the perception of the text for reading comprehension, the knowledge of the basics of psycholinguistic, the linguocultural features of the language, the mechanisms of getting the gist of the text, and the understanding of the lexical background of words.

1. Nikiforova, P. G. (2008). Dvuyazychie i problema yazykovoi kompetentnosti naroda saha v sovremennyh usloviyah [Bilingualism and the Problem of Language Competence of the Sakha People in Modern Conditions]. Vestnik YaGU, Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 106–111. (In Russian)

2. Itogi Vserossiiskoi perepisi naseleniya 2010 g [Results of the All-Russian Population Census of 2010]. URL: https://sakha.gks.ru/folder/39644 (accessed: 19. 11. 2021). (In Russian)

3. Neustroeva, A. B., Afanas'eva, O. I. (2021). Sovremennoe sostojanie i tendentsii razvitiya detskogo chteniya v Respublike Saha (Yakutiya) [The Current State and Trends in the Development of Children’s Reading in ьthe Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)]. Chitatel', pol'zovatel', klient: novye modeli bibliotechnogo obsluzhivaniya : sbornik statei. Ros. Nac. B-ka ; sost.: L. V. Gluhova, A. G. Makarova, A. S. Stepanova, V. V. Yalysheva. Pp. 116-127. St. Petersburg, izd-vo RNB. http://nlr.ru/publ/ann1.php?id=397.(accessed: 18. 11. 2021) (In Russian)

4. Solovyova, Yu. I. (2005). Traditsii semeinogo chteniya kak faktor duhovnogo razvitiya rebenka [Traditions of Family Reading as a Factor of a Child’s Spiritual Development]. Vestnik PSTGU IV: Pedagogika. Psihologija, Issue 1, pp. 66–74. (In Russian)

5. Vorontsov, A. V. Chtenie kak social'naya problema [Reading as a Social Problem]. URL: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/chtenie-kak-sotsialnaya-problema (accessed: 10. 11. 2021). (In Russian)

6. Kuteinikova, N. E. (2016). Formirovanie chitatel'skoi kompetentsii shkol'nika. Detsko-podrostkovaya literatura XXI veka : ucheb. posobie dla obshheobrazovat. organizatsii [Developing Students’ Reading Competence. Children and Adolescents’ Literature of the 21^st Century: A Manual for General Education Institutions]. Pp. 6–7. Moscow, Prosveshchenie. (In Russian)

7. Otchet ob itogah deyatel'nosti Ministerstva obrazovaniya i nauki Respubliki Saha (Yakutiya) v 2021 godu i zadachah na 2022 god [Report on the Results of the Activities of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in 2021 and Tasks for 2022]. URL: https://departamentar.ucoz.ru/sov/publichnyj_otchet_2021-1.pdf (accessed: 03. 03. 2022). (In Russian)

8. FGOS (2022) [Federal State Educational Standard]. Tөrөөbүt tyly үөrjetii. Gazeta “Kyym”, No. 5. (In Yakut)

9. Pravitel'stvo Respubliki Saha (Yakutiya): postanovlenie ot 30 iyunya 2005 g. № 373 ob utverzhdenii bazisnogo uchebnogo plana dlya obrazovatel'nyh uchrezhdenii Respubliki Saha (YakutiYa), realizuyushhih programmy obshhego obrazovaniya [The Government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Resolution No. 373 of June 30, 2005 on the approval of the Basic Curriculum for Educational Institutions of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Implementing General Education Programs]. URL: https://docs.cntd.ru/document/445038633?ysclid=ln2x38j8z705361543 (accessed: 03. 03. 2022). (In Russian)

10. Filippova, T. A. “Poprygunchiki” razuchilis' dumat'? [Have the “Jumpers” Forgotten How to Think?] URL: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Furok.1sept.ru%2Farticles%2F699434%2Fpril1.docx%3Fysclid%3Dln2x56ey1w262619049&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK (accessed: 15. 10. 2021). (In Russian)