Reading difficulties drive demand for tutoring in Lower Austria

With schools in Lower Austria set to reopen in just over a week, tutoring centres are heavily booked, ORF reported. According to the Chamber of Labour, around one in four pupils in the state needs support with learning, with many struggling particularly with reading.

At the Lernquadrat tutoring centre in the town of Modling, about 140 pupils are currently receiving lessons. Around 20 percent are preparing for a resit examination, while others are using the summer break to revise schoolwork before the new academic year, centre director Helmut Putzi said.

Mathematics is the most common problem subject, followed by German and foreign languages. But poor marks in mathematics often stem not from arithmetic, Putzi said, but from difficulties reading and understanding the question.

Putzi attributed some of the reading difficulties to excessive social media use, which he said was contributing to an impoverished vocabulary. The problem affects school performance across all subjects, he said, advising parents to encourage their children to read books instead of spending time on their phones.

The coronavirus pandemic also left its mark, particularly on younger pupils, because distance learning was not always easy in primary school, Putzi said.

He also advised children to study regularly rather than waiting until examinations are imminent. Reviewing material soon after returning home from school can help reinforce what teachers have explained, he said. Phones should not be kept on the desk because every notification can cause a distraction. For pupils who remain focused, even short study sessions can be sufficient.