The saying goes that you can never be bored when there’s a book in the house, but actually getting our children to put this into action can be quite a struggle.

 

If you can relate to the above statement, then you will be delighted to hear of the positive results yielded by a recent National Literacy Trust study.

 

The study, released this week, revealed that children – boys, in particular – show a marked improvement in reading performance when they read online through ebooks.

 

As part of the study, a team of researchers analysed data from 500 British children aged eight to 16. After looking at the boys’ reading performance after approximately four months, the team found that their reading age had improved and advanced by 8.4 months after reading online and through ebooks alone.

 

 

The percentage of boys with reading difficulties also fell dramatic from 28% to just under 16%, with twice as many boys reporting that they found reading to be ‘cool’ by the end of the period.

 

Girls also showed a marked improvement in reading performance after participating in the study, showing a 7.2 month advancement in their capabilities.

 

When asked what it was about ebook-reading that made it better than reading paper books, feedback included that it felt ‘more interesting’ and ‘like texting’, while the background lighting and ability to zoom also added to the intrigue.

 

Commenting on the transformative abilities of ebook-reading, Irene Picton of the National Literacy Trust said: “The study clearly shows that the impact ebooks can have on reading enjoyment, particularly for boys, goes well beyond the novelty of a new reading format.”

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