The effects of font type on reading aloud in Japanese-speaking children with developmental dyslexia

Abstract

We conducted rapid reading tasks on Japanese children - 36 with typical development and 23 with developmental dyslexia - and investigated the effects of two different font types: Maru-Gothic and Mincho. In the experiment we used four kinds of stimuli: two scripts (text and random kana character non-words) in two font types (Maru- Gothic and Mincho). The duration time, number of errors and number of self-corrections were measured during reading. The participants were required to answer which font type is subjectively more comfortable. The results revealed no significant difference between the two font types in all participants. However, many children in the group with developmental dyslexia responded that subjectively the Maru-Gothic font was easier to read. There is a difference between objective and subjective readability. In this study, the Maru-Gothic and Mincho style fonts did not improve reading performance in children with dyslexia.