A study of the long-term impact of reading contests on the development of speech culture and emotional intelligence

Abstract

Reading contests are a unique form of educational activity that potentially contributes to the development of speech culture and emotional intelligence of participants. This study aims to identify the longterm effects of participating in reading contests on the formation of verbal competencies and emotional skills. The study used a comprehensive methodological approach, including longitudinal observation (n=342), quasiexperimental design with a control group (n=156), standardized testing of speech skills and emotional intelligence (MSCEIT, RAVEN), as well as corpus analysis of participants' texts. The results demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in the indicators of speech culture among the participants of the reading contests compared with the control group (t=4.82, p<0.001), while the average increase in verbal intelligence was 12.3±2.1 points on the Wexler scale. The emotional intelligence of the participants showed a positive trend with an increase of 18,7% on the MSCEIT scale (F(2,339)=21.37, p<0.001). Correlation analysis revealed a strong relationship between the frequency of participation in competitions and the level of development of pragmatic competence (r=0.72, p<0.01). It was found that systematic participation in reading competitions contributes to the formation of stable patterns of emotional self-regulation and the expansion of active vocabulary by 23,4% over a three-year period. The data obtained are important for the development of educational programs aimed at developing communicative competencies and emotional intelligence in school practice.