Influence of graphic design of the text on reading quality of pupils with dyslexia

Institute for Primary and Pre-Primary Education, Faculty of Education, University of Hradec Králové, Rokitanskeho 62, Hradec Kralove, 500 03, Czech Republic

^a Corresponding author: pavel.zikl@uhk.cz

Abstract

The contribution contains research results focused on reading quality of pupils with dyslexia according to the graphic design of the text. Our aim was to prove if commonly recommended graphic text editing has a certain influence on reading speed and occurrence of mistakes of children with dyslexia. The research sample consisted of pupils with dyslexia and a control group then selected in pairs of intact pupils of 4th and 5th class of primary school (in total 150 pupils). For the purpose of data collection there had been a text used in an unfamiliar language (a nonsensical text, which corresponds to the Czech language in its structure; is a part of standardized reading test). There were four text versions prepared for the research which had been modified into frequently recommended modifications for dyslexics (increased font size, a use of bigger gaps between words and also rows, syllables highlight in words and a standard text corresponding to common reading-books). Conclusion depicts a presentation of impacts of individual texts modifications and also subjective opinions of pupils about these texts.