Learning to read by reducing parafoveal crowding with a digital interface

Abstract

One source of difficulty in reading acquisition for first‐graders is that they are hindered by acrowding effect whereby the identification of a target letter or syllable is interfered with bysurrounding letters. We tested a reading protocol inspired by the Digit‐tracking method wherethe reading text was blurred to reduce visual clutter and attentional interference. As the indexfinger moved through the blurred text, the letters just above the finger position were unblurredand visible in foveal vision. We hypothesized that this approach might facilitate orthographicdecoding and promote efficient ocular‐digital scanning. Fifty‐four first‐grade children weredivided into two groups in a crossover design: half of the children did digit‐tracking exercises first,followed by plain paper exercises; the reverse order was used for the other half. Results showedthat progress in letters and syllables reading after digit‐tracking training was higher than afterpaper training. Using recorded finger trajectories as a proxy for eye movements, we found thattext scanning patterns (saccade length, landing position, regressive saccades) predicted children’sreading text difficulty and orthographic decoding skills. We conclude that digit‐tracking improvesfirst graders' reading and provides a sensitive metric of reading competences.