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INPRIMATU
Children learn to read and write better if they are trained in handwriting
  • In a study by the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), some children have been typed using pencils and others with keyboards. The objective was to know if there are differences in the learning process of reading and writing. The result is clear: children learn best through hand movements.
ARGIA @argia 2025eko maiatzaren 16a
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Joana Acha, a researcher at the UPV/EHU, has led the research and has made a clear recommendation in the light of the results: we must prioritize manual practices to learn to read and write. Acha wanted to focus on the importance of graphomotricity, which is the influence of a lot or little movement of the hand when reading and writing. Nowadays they use computer resources to learn to read and write in different schools. When the computer keyboard is used, the shape of the letter is not traced and therefore the graphomotricity is low. By hand, the movement is great. Acha concludes that the children involved in the study have learned better through hand movements.

They have received 50 children aged 5 and 6 years, precisely because it is at this age that they begin to learn to read and write. Nine letters of the Georgian and Armenian alphabets, combined with sixteen pseudonyms invented, have been taught. Half of them are asked to do it by hand and the other half are placed in front of the keyboard. After teaching letters and words, they have measured their ability to identify, write and pronounce them. The greatest differences between one group and another have been detected in pseudonyms; almost all of those who have studied by computer have performed the exercises associated with the sequences of letters incorrectly.

Another variable has been used in the study. There were two teams among those who worked hand in hand. Some have been writing on the blank page, while others have had marked guides to help them write letters on them. There were also two groups of children who worked on the computer. Some have always used the same typography and have made others use more than one typography. Those who have worked with pencils have obtained better results than those who have worked with the computer, and those who have written on the blank page, free, have learned better than those who have used marked guides.