Does BeeLine Reader’s gradient-coloured font improve the readability of digital texts for beginning readers?

Abstract

In two reading experiments, we examined the efficacy of the commercial reading assistance application BeeLine Reader which colours the letters of digital texts in gradients. According to its developers, BeeLine Reader increases reading speed, improves comprehension, and makes reading more enjoyable. We tested these hypotheses for second- and third-grade pupils (6–9 years old), assessing the influence of BeeLine Reader in several layouts in which we varied other features that are known to impact the reading processes of beginning readers (line spacing, line length, text segmentation). In comparison to control texts with a standard black font, reading time advantages for BeeLine texts emerged for pupils in second grade (not in third grade) when they read texts with long lines and little inter-line spacing. However, when second-grade readers processed texts that were optimized for their reading level (texts with short lines and sufficient inter-line spacing) they displayed a slower reading pace in texts with a BeeLine font than in texts with a black font. Furthermore, BeeLine texts may hamper comprehension for third-grade readers and were rated as more difficult and less convenient to process than texts with a black font. In conclusion, the visual anchors offered by BeeLine Reader may be useful for some beginning readers in some situations but the application can also impede the readability of texts. These findings emphasize that claims made for digital reading applications should be formally tested if they are going to be introduced into educational settings.

Keywords

• Reading acquisition
• Primary education
• Readability
• Font colour
• Text layout
• BeeLine Reader