Digital games and computer-based interventions for reading difficulties in Latin American children in Spanish-language and Portuguese-language settings

Carlos Alberto Gómez Cano, Carlos.gomez@asturias.edu.co, Berneides de Jesus Marmol Maestre and Clinicaheridas.lider@hus.org.co

SAP Gamification and Augmented Reality, 2025

Abstract: Reading difficulties and dyslexia affect schoolchildren across Latin America, and digital tools are proposed to support them in Spanish and Portuguese. This narrative review synthesized 37 reports published between 2013 and 2025 from eight Latin American countries. Twenty-two reports evaluated a tool against reading-related outcomes, whereas 15 described design, requirements or usability only. Games and non-game programs were evaluated in 11 reports each, and authors reported improvement in 10 of 11 games and 9 of 11 non-game tools. Portuguese-language settings supplied 20 reports and 9 comparison-group designs, and Spanish-language settings supplied 17 reports and 4 such designs, and 8 of the 10 conference papers were Spanish-language. Dyslexia was the stated population in 15 reports, but only 3 reported outcomes, all by repeated measures without a control group. Only one report gave a standardized effect size. The reported direction was favorable, but small samples, scarce control groups and abstract-based extraction limit what can be concluded about size. Adult mediation, explicit letter-sound content and shared outcome measures emerge as priorities for tools and for trials in the region.

Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cwf:grarti:gr2025117

DOI: 10.62486/gr2025117

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