The Impact on Reading Performance and Learner Satisfaction & Behaviour, of Matching E-Training Material to Dyslexia Type

Abstract

Dyslexia is a universal reading difficulty that can be found everywhere regardless of a person’s ethnicity or race. Its manifestation is language-dependent and is affected by the language’s structure and orthography. There is a lack of research into Arabic dyslexia and especially into the benefits of adaptive learning in this domain. This study aims to understand the impact on learners’ reading performance, satisfaction and behaviour when matching e-training material to a learner’s attributes. The focus is on learners with short vowel dyslexia (SVD). The study was undertaken with 22 female primary school children in Saudi Arabia, who were all native Arabic speakers. An e-training system DysTypeTrain2 was designed and developed to support the study. It was found that both the reading performance and satisfaction of learners with dyslexia were improved in both experimental conditions (SVD group and vowel dyslexia (VD) group), regardless of their dyslexia type, indicating that the system was effective and the learning process was enhanced. Arabic, Dyslexia Types, E-learning, Matching, Reading Performance, Learner Satisfaction, Adaptation