Under the Cortex: Handwriting Beats Typing and Watching Videos for Learning to Read

There is something intrinsically satisfying about crafting a handwritten thank-you letter or jotting down a thoughtful note to a friend or loved one. With the advent of electronic correspondence, handheld texting, and voice-recognition software, handwriting skills are becoming less commonplace and perhaps even old fashioned.

Apart from a seemingly less-personal approach to communications, does abandoning pen and paper have any negative impacts on how we learn languages?

New research published in the journal Psychological Science finds that handwriting helps people learn certain skills surprisingly faster and significantly better than learning the same material through typing or watching videos. Charles Blue talks with the authors, Robert Wiley and Brenda Rapp. 


The second sentence should read “old-fashioned” not old-fashion. Three cheers for grammar instruction on top of handwriting.


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