Chen, X., Liang, L., Lu, M., Potměšil, M., & Zhong, J. (2019). The effects of reading mode and braille reading patterns on braille reading speed and comprehension: A study of students with visual impairments in China . Research in Developmental Disabilities , 91 (May), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2019.05.003

The effects of student reading mode (oral or silent) and four Current (Chinese) Braille reading patterns—one-handed, mark, parallel, and cooperative—were examined.

Students (n=73) in grades 4–9 from schools for students with visual impairments in southern China participated; all students were native Chinese speakers. All participants had visual impairments, 48 congenital and 25 adventitious; the latter group had vision prior to becoming blind. Visual acuity was less than 0.05, and students had been blind for more than two years prior to participating in the study. Participants' time learning braille (in months) was also reported. Participants were reported to have no other disabilities. Each of the four braille reading patterns was used by roughly 25% of the participants.

Reading speed, in words per minute, was documented: test-takers were video-recorded, and stopwatches were also used. Reading comprehension was measured by a large-scale Chinese Reading Comprehension Test. Comparisons of test conditions were analyzed by repeated measure for each participant.

Participants read silently faster—at a statistically significant level—than they did orally; reading comprehension was significantly higher when participants read aloud (to themselves). Participants who used certain patterns of reading Current Braille (in Chinese) performed significantly differently in silent reading speed, but not in oral reading speed. Participants using the one-handed pattern, and participants using the cooperative pattern, read significantly faster on average than participants using the parallel pattern and participants using the mark pattern; one-handed and cooperative pattern users did not read significantly differently in speed than one another. Participants using various patterns of decoding Current Braille did not have significantly different reading comprehension scores. Overall, there were no significant differences in speed or comprehension between participants who had congenital blindness and those whose blindness was adventitious in origin. The researchers noted that students with congenital blindness sometimes made fewer oral reading errors than the other students.