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Plain-language literature is a step towards inclusivity

In some situations, being able to read emergency exit can be a lifesaver. Hence reading can be considered a survival skill.

But it’s much more than just that. Minna Torppa, professor of educational sciences specialised in reading, writing, and learning difficulties at the University of Jyväskylä, notes that society in practice, and particularly in this day and age, runs on literacy. Everyday life, education, work, and the service system as well as keeping up with and taking part in society all require reading.

Silmälasipäinen nainen mustassa paidassa istuu puisilla portailla.
Minna Torppa talks about the experience of self-efficacy, which plays a significant role in what one decides to do.

Reading isn’t just about understanding what different characters mean together as words, phrases, and sentences.

On top of basic reading skills, there are also functional reading skills, such as reading comprehension and combining and evaluating information.

“And then there are critical reading skills,” says Torppa. “It takes a fair bit of reading and knowledge to be able to search for, compare, and assess information and distinguish, for example, misinformation and disinformation or propaganda from accurate and reliable information.”

Concerns over weakening literacy

As literacy is a necessity, plain language can be seen as an act of equality. Torppa notes that particularly when it comes to public services, providing them in plain language is one way of ensuring inclusivity.

“Both the need for and challenge of clarity are particularly apparent, for example, in the communication of matters regarding legal texts. Legal texts are complex and precise, but instructions based on them must be clear and unambiguous so that the reader can understand them.”

Not only immigrants studying Finnish or people with learning difficulties benefit from plain language. According to the most recent PISA study, published late last year and measuring the skills of young people, the reading skills of Finnish youth had weakened significantly since the previous evaluation.

“When reading skills are weak, it can affect not only education and work but also everyday life in general.”

Torppa points out that the PISA study measures reading comprehension. She, too, is concerned by the results, as they also show a widening gap between strong and weak readers.

“We can no longer be proud of the number of weaker students being small in Finland in comparison to other countries. When reading skills are weak, it can affect not only education and work but also everyday life in general.”

The deterioration of reading skills has been partially blamed on difficulty in focusing on a task and lack of persistence to finish it. According to Torppa, research shows that there are links between attentiveness, perseverance, and reading. For example, reading and internalising lengthy instructions can be strenuous, if one has trouble concentrating.

Supporting self-efficacy

Silmälasipäinen nainen mustassa paidassa nojaa puiseen seinään.

Plain-language literature provides easy access to practising and developing reading skills. When Finnish language skills are weak or it’s difficult to concentrate on a book, the threshold for reading a book in standard language might become too high.

Torppa talks about the experience of self-efficacy, which plays a significant role in what one decides to do. Self-efficacy arises not only from previous experiences but also from various internalised beliefs. Sometimes it’s based on a more certain knowledge, sometimes on assumptions that can be challenged.

“I don’t embark on a marathon because I don’t think I can do it. Similarly, someone won’t start reading a book because they believe it’s too difficult for them.”

Being able to read through a plain-language book proves that reading an entire book is possible. When reading gets easier, it usually becomes more interesting, and through more practice also reading skills start developing.

A pathway towards standard language

Plain-language books are often mentioned when schools are criticised for lowering their standards. Torppa understands the criticism, but she points out that not all literature needs to be written in plain language. If anything, plain-language books can be an introduction to the world of literature. 

“Plain language can be a gateway to reading in standard language,” she says.

“Accessible plain-language literature enables a lot of things.”

The aim is to further study the motivating force plain-language books might possess. Literature isn’t only about acquiring and building up knowledge; it’s also deemed to develop empathy and emotional skills, as books can offer peer support as well as open new horizons and thus increase understanding of oneself and others.

Torppa emphasises that plain language shouldn’t replace standard language.

“But accessible plain-language literature enables a lot of things. It’ll be interesting to see how plain-language books are being used in schools, for example.”

The 80,000 plain-language books donated by the Finnish Cultural Foundation were introduced in Finnish secondary schools in the autumn of 2024, in response to concerns about the declining reading skills of young Finns and the continuing challenge for schools to make literature accessible to all. 

One million euros’ worth of plain-language books for children who struggle with reading

The Cultural Foundation is initiating a two-year project, which involves donating a book package to all schools in Finland that teach years 7 to 9 (lower secondary school). The package will contain 50–150 specially produced or recently published plain-language or easy-reading books. The project will be carried out by the Finnish Institute for Children’s Literature.

The target audience are lower secondary pupils who for one reason or another are as yet unable to read books in standard language but can aim to do so with practice. The causes behind reading difficulties may be lack of practice or motivation, diverse attention deficit disorders, dyslexia or having an immigrant background.

Teachers will be offered training and materials for using plain-language and easy-reading books. At the same time, the current selection of plain-language literature will expand with the commissioning of new books for the packages.

“The adolescents who benefit from plain-language books are interested in reading the same books as their peers, so they are looking for plain-language adaptations of popular works,” explains Kaisa Laaksonen, executive director of the Finnish Institute for Children’s Literature. There is demand for more horror, detective, fantasy, sci-fi and romance books, as well as for non-fiction, including biographies of athletes and other celebrities. At the start of the project, a survey will be conducted to find out in further detail what kinds of books might encourage the pupils to read more.

“Many of the plain-language books that are available for young people are too easy, while standard-language ones are too hard. We need a more diverse selection,” says Finnish language and literature teacher Elina Mäntylammi from Juhannuskylä School in Tampere. “There is a huge shortage of plain-language texts in schools. This book donation will make life easier for teachers, because it will allow us to offer reading material to suit various readers.”

Plain-language books can inspire the less confident readers

Literacy has declined among Finnish children and adolescents during the twenty-first century. As many as 14 per cent of those graduating from comprehensive school lack sufficient reading skills for coping with everyday situations.

Plain-language books are used in Finnish lower secondary schools to respond to various reading difficulties. Children suffering from dyslexia or attention deficit issues can read them instead of books in standard language, which may be too difficult, while those who speak Finnish as a second language can use them as learning materials. Those who lack a routine or motivation for reading can use plain-language books to awaken their interest and practise their technique. Plain-language adaptations make it possible for readers of all levels to carry out group work together. Through practice with plain-language books, some can move on to easy-reading books and, eventually, standard-language ones.

Although the need for plain-language books has grown in schools, school libraries tend to stock a very limited selection. “Buying plain-language books for schools is difficult and expensive. Thanks to our support, the selection of new plain-language books that lower secondary schoolers have access to will grow considerably”, says author Karo Hämäläinen, who sits on the Cultural Foundation’s Board of Trustees.

The Cultural Foundation has been working consistently to improve reading skills in Finland. The aim of its Reading Gifts for Children programme, initiated in 2019, is to encourage families with young children to read aloud. This is done by handing out book bags via maternity and paediatric clinics. The Reading Clans project, on the other hand, focused on improving school libraries and their selections between 2017 and 2019. Since 2017, the Cultural Foundation has supported reading in Finland with around EUR 5 million in funding.

History of Interest in Reading

Text: Reeta Holma
Photos: Petri Summanen

Tuija Laine (PhD, Theology) is researching Finnish people’s motivation for reading from the 1600s to the early 1900s. Even in those centuries, some people were more motivated to read than others. “I am interested in the factors that have influenced this,” Laine explains.

In her research, she is using some of the concepts of modern motivation studies. How have the needs for competence, autonomy and fellowship been fulfilled by reading and writing at various times, and what roles have these played in individuals’ motivations to read or write?

Even the peasantry were required to learn to read; it was a civic duty and a prerequisite for marriage.

Mustavalkoinen kuva naisesta nojaamassa kaiteeseen

The research subjects include some learned people, but the main emphasis is on common folk and children. Even the peasantry were required to learn to read; it was a civic duty and a prerequisite for marriage.

Being allowed to get married was a strong external motivator for literacy, but many other factors have also influenced people’s appetites for reading. Motivation increases if one is able to influence the content of one’s reading and if one feels capable. Community support is also important.

“References to disorders such as dyslexia can be found from earlier centuries, and even though they were not recognised as such, my materials indicate that they may have been linked to reading motivation.”

Laine’s background is in church history, specialising in the history of books. She wrote her thesis on the reception and translation of devotional literature, and has also researched bookselling and worked as a professor of book history. Laine was involved in the Finnish National Bibliography project.  

Church record books as histories of reading culture

How is it possible to obtain information on people’s reading customs in history, when interviews are not an option?

“Church record books are an important source of information in Finland. They provide details on the development of literacy among individuals and their family members, and allow us to theorise on the factors that might have encouraged or discouraged people from reading,” Laine says.

The development of someone’s literacy may have been strongly impacted by life events, such as the death of their spouse.

Church records included information on who had attended literacy examinations and with what degree of success. Very personal, even tragic stories can be found therein; the development of someone’s literacy may have been strongly impacted by life events, such as the death of their spouse, for example.  

Mustapaitainen nainen nojaa valkoiseen pylvääseen.

Laine also has other sources. Some people were so well versed in reading and writing that they were able to tackle autobiographical writing. We also know about certain literacy-related practices, such as lessons given by the clergy and travelling schools. Textbooks provided guidance as to the most important factors in learning to read.

“Many of the things we now consider important aspects of literacy were already recognised centuries ago,” Laine says. Our understanding of them has only increased through modern-day research. The usefulness of music in learning was understood already in the Middle Ages, when texts and reading were taught through song. “Reading aloud has also long been known to further literacy and comprehension.”

History also opens perspectives into today’s debates on reading motivation – for instance concerns over boys’ lack of enthusiasm towards reading. “Reading has not disappeared from the world. We just have to find the right methods and means. When people find interesting texts and the right, encouraging social environment, they will read,” Laine says. 

Associate Professor Tuija Laine (PhD, Theology) received a grant from the Eija and Yrjö Wirla Fund  in 2020 for her postdoctoral research on Finns’ motivation for reading between the 1600s and 1900s.