Additions to Electronic Books for Beginning Readers That Support Interest, Comprehension, and Reading Fluency

• In Event: Instructional Technology SIG: How Are Computer Games and New Media Changing Text Comprehension and Learning?

Abstract

1. Purposes
In this computer era, new book formats for beginning readers appear aiming at promoting beginning reading skills by adding features that support children’s engagement. We studied an electronic book format for beginning readers that aims at making the reading more engaging by adding a narrator who appears in person on screen while he reads the text expressively. The current project aimed at testing efficacy of this feature of electronic books for beginning readers by testing whether children’s story comprehension as well as reading fluency is advanced by this format of electronic books.
2. Theoretical framework
In line with Evans en Saint-Aubin’s (2005) finding that children pay less visual attention to text and more to nonverbal information as they are less proficient in word recognition, we might expect that books with narrator may distract attention from text in less advanced readers in particular. As a consequence of that, the electronic book’s format may not be supportive of reading fluency and familiarity with word spellings. However, the presence of a person who acts as the narrator may support children’s interest and story comprehension.
In other words, we predicted that less advanced readers may enjoy and comprehend the electronic stories better resulting in more engagement when electronic books include a narrator but this electronic book format may not improve fluency and knowledge of word spellings. On the other hand, the electronic books may advance comprehension as well as fluency in more advanced beginning readers.
3. Methods and techniques
Two groups of readers were included: more (N = 30) and less advanced readers (N = 30). Selection of children is made with the help of a Dutch standardized word recognition tests.
Conditions: 1. with print lightening up while the text is rendered orally but narrator not on screen, and 2. with print lightening up while the text is rendered orally and narrator visible on screen.
4. Data sources
Pre- and post-testing: fluency in reading text from the book, familiarity with spelling of words derived from the text, and comprehension of target stories.
A Tobii eye-tracker was used to test to what extent the illustration, narrator or text received visual attention from the beginning readers and whether visual attention for these elements varied between more and less advanced readers.
5. Results
Presence of narrator stimulates story comprehension in both advanced and less advanced beginning readers but distracts attention from text in the less advanced group resulting in less progress in fluency and familiarity with word spellings in the latter group.
6. Scientific or scholarly significance of the study
We discuss how and when additional features of electronic book formats can be used best to promote beginning readers’ reading comprehension and skills.
Human subjects research protection. The research being reported in the paper/presentation has been reviewed for the protection of human subjects and approved by an institutional review board (IRB).

Authors

• Adriana G. Bus, Leiden University

• Maria de Jong, University of Leiden