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Inspired by The X Factor?
10 Dec 2009
10 December 2009
New research shows we’re a nation of budding lyricists
Wannabe pop stars are not the only people to have been inspired by this season of The X Factor. New National Literacy Trust research shows nearly half of nine to eleven year old write song lyrics.
The study, carried out by the National Literacy Trust in collaboration with ‘Everybody Writes’ (a writing project run by Booktrust and the National Literacy Trust), is the first significant study of young people’s attitudes to writing in the UK and finds that 49% of young people claim writing is ‘boring’.
The study questioned 3,001 nine to sixteen year olds about their writing habits. Of the nine to eleven year old pupils surveyed nearly half (45%) claimed to write song lyrics at least once a month.
Mr Midas starred in T4’s reality TV show Musicool, has won a Kicker’s Urban Music Award and is one of the biggest names in UK dancehall. Mr Midas, a passionate ambassador for literacy, says:
“Music is an amazing way to express yourself and communicate with people from all ages, backgrounds and races. I've worked with plenty of young people who don't feel their literacy skills are great but find writing lyrics extremely easy and pleasurable.”
“Being an artist, songwriting is a massive part of my life and career. It helped a shy kid become the man before you.”
The research also looks at how often children do different types of writing. Unsurprisingly text messages topped the poll with emails, instant messages and other technology based forms of writing scoring highly. Song lyrics also feature in the top ten of most frequent types of writing. When assessing the trends of all the young people surveyed, a link is found between writing song lyrics and a child’s background - pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to write song lyrics at least once a month compared with their peers from more privileged backgrounds (45% vs 35%).
Young people’s ambivalent attitudes to writing were the most worrying revelation as 12% don’t consider writing an important life skill despite an obvious link between writing and success in life.
Jonathan Douglas , Director of the National Literacy Trust comments:
“It’s exciting to find that nearly half of children are writing song lyrics in their spare time. Television talent shows such as The X Factor ensure that a career in the music industry is a desirable profession and song lyricists often become famous in their own right.
“As enjoyment and confidence are closely linked to the development of skills, teachers could tap into children’s passion for writing song lyrics to boost learning in the classroom.”
Ends
For further information, a copy of the report or a chance to interview Mr Midas or Jonathan Douglas please contact Anna Lindsay at the National Literacy Trust on 0207 820 6256 or Anna.Lindsay@literacy.org.uk
Notes to Editors:
1 About the report, Young people’s writing: Attitudes, behaviour and the role of technology by Christina Clark and George Dugdale, November 2009
The report was published by the National Literacy Trust in collaboration with ‘Everybody Writes’, a writing project run by Booktrust and the National Literacy Trust.
3001 children from England and Scotland were surveyed. The gender split was almost equal, 48.6% boys and 51.4% girls. The percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals (20.2%), which is frequently used as a crude indicator of socio-economic background, was higher in this survey than the national average.
Full copies of the research report are available from http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/research/writing_survey_2009.html on Thursday 3 December 2009.
2. About socio-economic status
In the report,Young people’s writing: Attitudes, behaviour and the role of technology by Christina Clark and George Dugdale, November 2009 socio-economic status was assessed by proxy using free school meal (FSM) as an indicator.
3 About the study, Readers and Reading: the National Report for England 2006
Twist, L., Schagen, I. and Hodgson, C. (2007). (PIRLS: Progress in International Reading Literacy Study). Slough: NFER.
This international study investigated the link between confidence and enjoyment in writing and the development of skills and concluded that “in England and most other countries, there is a positive association between attitude to reading and reading attainment.”
4. About the National Literacy Trust
The National Literacy Trust is an independent charity that transforms lives through literacy. We believe that society will only be fair when everyone has the literacy skills they need to communicate, to fulfil their potential and to contribute more to society. We campaign to improve public understanding of the vital importance of literacy, as well as delivering projects and working in partnership to reach those most in need of support.
To help us transform lives through literacy, you can make a donation. To find out how visit http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/About/donate.html
National Literacy Trust is a registered charity no. 1116260, and a company limited by guarantee, no. 5836486. Registered in England and Wales. Registered address: 68 South Lambeth Road, London SW8 1RL. Tel: 020 7587 1842.
5. About Everybody Writes
Everybody Writes offers classroom teachers innovative ideas and practical resources to get primary pupils and secondary students excited about writing. The Everybody Writes approach is about exploring writing beyond the classroom and taking it into the playground, communities and even the workplace. Everybody Writes encourages schools to try out new and interesting ways of initiating writing and to offer their young people a real audience for their writing. Everybody Writes is a project run in partnership by Booktrust and The National Literacy Trust and funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF).
For more information about Everybody Writes please visit www.everybodywrites.org.uk.
6. About Booktrust
Booktrust is an independent charity dedicated to encouraging people of all ages and cultures to engage with books. The written word underpins all our activity and enables us to fulfil our vision of inspiring a lifelong love of books for all.
For more information see www.booktrust.org.uk
