The Study of the Relationship of Font Size on Reading Speed and Comprehension Levels

• Main Authors: Lai Ching-Fen, 賴青芬
• Other Authors: Chun-Hsien Kuo
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2010
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/58384508276779516221

碩士 === 亞洲大學 === 心理學系碩士班 === 98 === Reading is one of the most regarded issue presently. Recently, there have been many studies to discuss the relationship between the font size and reading speed on video display terminals. However, there is little study to discuss the relationship between the font size and reading speed in printed Chinese. This study was aimed to evaluate the effects of printed Chinese in three font size (8pt, 10pt, 12pt) on reading performance and to understand the relationship among font size, types of reading comprehension test and comprehension levels. Two experiments were included in this study. In experiment 1, the complete within-participant design was used and twenty-four participants who were learning Mind Mapping in China Medical University were recruited. Participants were asked to read three articles in different font size and content. The reading speed was measured by the time needed to finish reading. The reading accuracy and comprehension were determined by multiple choices and drawing a concept map. Results showed that reading speed was the highest in 10pt font size, but a significant difference was found in concept mapping test, but no in multiple choice test. The difficulty of reading comprehension test was suggested to be the modulator of font size effect. Therefore, three reading comprehension tests (multiple-choice, matching, and concept mapping) with different difficulty levels were used in experiment 2. Fifty-one Participants from Asia University were asked to read three texts in different font size and different content, followed by the comprehension tests. Results also showed that reading speed was the highest in 10pt. Although reading comprehension scores was significant different from each other, font size had no effect on them. Taken together, the results clearly showed that IV font size affect reading speed. These results also suggested that the effect of font size on reading comprehension was modulated by the difficulty level of reading comprehension test, but other variables, such as motivation, were not excluded.