Differences between oral and silent reading

This project was aimed at understanding differences between two types of reading: oral or aloud reading, and silent reading. Children often learn to read aloud, but when using their reading skill in class, they are often required to read in silence. Moreover, their reading fluency proficiency is tested aloud, but their ability to comprehend a text is tested silently. Does the modality of reading- aloud or in silence- affect the reading process and outcomes?

The project consisted of two studies that resulted in a bachelor- and master thesis. The first study resulted in a Dutch publication which can be read  here. The project took place in 2015 - 2017 and was carried out together with  with Madelon van den Boer and Peter de Jong from the department of Child Development and Education Department at the University of Amsterdam

Study 2 -  Differences in eye movements during oral and silent reading

In the second study the finding that (8-9 year old) children read faster silently, but achieve better understanding with oral reading was investigated further using an eye-tracking paradigm. Children read sentences consisting of two clauses. The two clauses either made semantic sense or not, which children had to indicate using a buttonbox. Results revealed that again silent reading was faster. Moreover, children made less fixations within a sentence when reading silently, indicating that they skipped more words. No difference between oral and silent reading was found concerning reading comprehension. This might be related to the fact that children read short sentences and were required to decide on the semantic correctness of the two sentences: children were forced to read both sentences thorough, because immediate action was required. When reading longer texts that does not require continuous assessment of one's understanding, a silent reading disadvantage might emerge. 

This work has not been published, but the master thesis can be read here.