A recent study published in The Psychological Science revealed that writing by hand could make learning a language easier.
Researchers find that writing worked better in teaching participants the Arabic alphabet
In the study, 42 participants were tasked with learning the Arabic alphabet. Researchers asked one group to learn through writing with a pen and paper. They asked another group to type while the last was to watch video instructions.
The participants who wrote on paper learned the Arabic alphabet fastest. They were also better at forming words through what they had learnt and had an easier time recognising unfamiliar words.
During the study, writing, typing and video instructions were all useful for learning Arabic. Participants typically needed about six sessions before they made minimal mistakes. The students who had learned through writing required even less.
Researchers then put the participants through a series of tests to see how they could apply what they had learnt. These tests comprised of skills the researchers had not taught them. These included writing letters, naming letters, reading words and spelling words. In each of the exercises, researchers observed that the writing group performed better.
Writing should not be abandoned for typing
Although the study was carried out on 42 adults, researchers argue that educators and parents could apply the results to children as well. According to cognitive scientist Brenda Rapp, the study shows more importance to writing by hand than practising penmanship. Writing is essential in learning to spell, read and understand. Moreover, the researchers believe information is better implanted by writing.
As technology advances and spreads, children use less time writing and more typing. This has become even more apparent with the spread of online learning. However, as this study shows, it would be unwise to completely abandon pen and paper for a keyboard.
The researchers recognise that the study used a small number of participants, and hence more work is needed to solidify their findings. However, their results so far confirm what many scientists have theorised about the importance of writing and the advantage it has over typing when it comes to learning.
