Skip to main content

Extra spacing can boost children’s reading speed

Extra spacing can boost children’s reading speed

New study finds significant benefits for both dyslexic and non-dyslexic children

A new study has found that a child’s reading speed can be improved by simply increasing the space between letters within a piece of text.

The research, led by Dr Steven Stagg of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), examined the benefits of letter spacing and coloured overlays amongst a group of dyslexic and non-dyslexic children.  It is the first study to investigate how these adaptations can help to reduce specific reading errors.

Published in the journal Research in Developmental Disabilities, the study discovered that text with increased space between each letter provided a benefit to both groups of children. On average, the dyslexia group showed a 13% increase in reading speed, while the comparison group of non-dyslexic children showed a 5% increase in reading speed.

The study involved 59 children aged between 11-15, 32 of whom had a statement of dyslexia, with 27 non-dyslexic children forming a control group. The participants were recruited from six schools in Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and London.

Participants read four texts with either standard or extra-large letter spacing, both with and without a coloured overlay. The children were instructed to read the text out loud while being recorded. The recording was used to measure the number of errors they made – specifically missed words, added words, wrong words, and pronunciation – as well as the participants’ reading time.

In addition to improved reading speed for both children with dyslexia and the non-dyslexic group, the larger letter spacing also resulted in a significant reduction in the number of words being missed by the children with dyslexia.  However, the study found that coloured overlays had no significant impact on reading speed or the reduction of errors for either group of children.

Dr Stagg, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), said:

“We found that extra-large letter spacing increases the reading speed of children both with and without dyslexia, and significantly reduces the number of words that dyslexic children skip when reading.

“We believe that extra-large letter spacing works by reducing what is known as the ‘crowding effect’, which can hamper the recognition of letters and reduce reading speed.

“When viewed in the context of previous research, our findings strongly suggest that teaching professionals can be confident that all children would be helped by increased letter spacing in reading materials. As well as being a relatively simple change to make when producing handouts and worksheets, it means that children with dyslexia need not feel singled out by the introduction of specially adapted reading materials, as this is something that everyone can benefit from.

“While we found that colour overlays provided little benefit, we suggest that children should be encouraged to use overlays if they find these help their reading. Colour overlays may not increase reading speeds, but they may extend reading stamina. Previous research suggests their benefits may not become apparent if reading time is less than 10 minutes and the short reading duration of the tests in our study may have put colour overlays at a disadvantage.”



from ScienceBlog.com https://ift.tt/39Sw8jq
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wiggling worms suggest link between vitamin B12 and Alzheimer’s

Worms don’t wiggle when they have Alzheimer’s disease. Yet something helped worms with the disease hold onto their wiggle in Professor Jessica Tanis’s lab at the University of Delaware. In solving the mystery, Tanis and her team have yielded new clues into the potential impact of diet on Alzheimer’s, the dreaded degenerative brain disease afflicting more than 6 million Americans. A few years ago, Tanis and her team began investigating factors affecting the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease. They were doing genetic research with  C. elegans , a tiny soil-dwelling worm that is the subject of numerous studies. Expression of amyloid beta, a toxic protein implicated in Alzheimer’s disease, paralyzes worms within 36 hours after they reach adulthood. While the worms in one petri dish in Tanis’s lab were rendered completely immobile, the worms of the same age in the adjacent petri dish still had their wiggle, documented as “body bends,” by the scientists. “It was an observa...
Post a Comment
Read more

‘Massive-scale mobilization’ necessary for addressing climate change, scientists say

A year after a global coalition of more than 11,000 scientists declared a climate emergency, Oregon State University researchers who initiated the declaration released an update today that points to a handful of hopeful signs, but shares continued alarm regarding an overall lack of progress in addressing climate risks. “Young people in more than 3,500 locations around the world have organized to push for urgent action,” said Oregon State University’s William Ripple, who co-authored “The Climate Emergency: 2020 in Review,” published today in Scientific American. “And the Black Lives Matter movement has elevated social injustice and equality to the top of our consciousness. “Rapid progress in each of the climate action steps we outline is possible if framed from the outset in the context of climate justice – climate change is a deeply moral issue. We desperately need those who face the most severe climate risks to help shape the response.” One year ago, Ripple, distinguished profess...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ancient Shell Sounds

Abandoned at the mouth of your shelter you quivered apprehensively at our approach, crying out to be held as we proclaimed the exception of your discovery. Sighing wearily as we consigned you to the dusty silence of our archives. But now When I hold you in my hands, I see the face of your purposefully speckled complexion. When I lift you to my ear, I hear the sound of an ancient sea lapping at your shores. When I place you at my lips, I feel the heartbeat of your creator pulsing to my breath. I close my eyes, as you call out to all that you have lost. The shell that was recovered from the Marsoulas cave in the Pyrenees of France (Image Credit: C. Fritz, Muséum d’Histoire naturelle de Toulouse). This poem is inspired by recent research , which has discovered that a large seashell that sat in a French museum for decades is actually a musical instrument used around 18,000 years ago. In 1931, researchers working in southern France unearthed a large seashell at the entr...
Post a Comment
Read more