Nguyen Viet Chau Linh, Lio Guillaume, Perret Thomas, Gomez Alice, Sirigu Angela
Institute of Cognitive Science Marc Jeannerod, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Bron, France.
Le Vinatier Hospital, Bron, France.
PLoS One. 2025 Jun 25;20(6):e0323623. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0323623. eCollection 2025.
Learning to read is a challenging task for first-graders. Letter crowding in the peripheral visual field has been identified as a key interference process during reading acquisition. To reduce crowding and enhance selective attention, we designed a new way to read (Digit-tracking) in which words and sentences appear blurred. By sliding the index finger along the blurred text, the letters just above the finger position appear unblurred and are seen in foveal vision. We hypothesized that this approach might facilitate orthographic decoding and promote reading skills. Using a tablet device, two groups of first-grade children (N = 54) were trained on digit-tracking exercises and paper exercises using a crossover design. Results showed that performance in letter, syllable and meaningless text-reading was significantly higher after digit-tracking training compared to paper-based training. Using the recorded finger trajectories as a proxy for eye movements, we found that text scanning patterns (saccade length, landing position, regressive saccades) predicted children's decoding and fluency. We conclude that training with the digit-tracking procedure accelerates decoding and reading fluency in school beginners and may provide a sensitive metric of reading competence.
学习阅读对一年级学生来说是一项具有挑战性的任务。周边视野中的字母拥挤现象已被确定为阅读习得过程中的一个关键干扰因素。为了减少拥挤并增强选择性注意力，我们设计了一种新的阅读方式（数字追踪），在这种方式中，单词和句子会显得模糊不清。通过将食指沿着模糊的文本滑动，手指位置上方的字母会变得清晰，从而在中央凹视觉中被看到。我们假设这种方法可能有助于正字法解码并提高阅读技能。使用平板电脑设备，两组一年级儿童（N = 54）采用交叉设计进行数字追踪练习和纸质练习的训练。结果表明，与基于纸质的训练相比，数字追踪训练后字母、音节和无意义文本阅读的表现显著更高。以记录的手指轨迹作为眼动的替代指标，我们发现文本扫描模式（扫视长度、着陆位置、回扫扫视）可以预测儿童的解码能力和流畅性。我们得出结论，数字追踪程序训练可加速学校初学者的解码能力和阅读流畅性，并且可能提供一种衡量阅读能力的敏感指标。
