24 October 2016

“Reading between the lines” – Dr. Christian Marquardt in the Kleine Zeitung, Austria

Writing is much more than just the script on the paper. School beginners know this all too well. They constantly practice correctly imitating a predefined letter shape. While some of them are enthusiastic, for others it’s a very difficult process. And not particularly useful, according to Dr. Christian Marquardt: “Struggling to copy neat letters impairs children’s writing.”

The nationwide teachers’ survey conducted by the Schreibmotorik Institut and the Deutsche Lehrerverband [German Union of Teachers] in 2015 showed that 31 percent of schoolgirls and more than half of schoolboys in Germany have problems with handwriting. So it’s time to take counter measures and increase the focus upon writing motor skills during writing lessons. For Dr. Christian Marquardt, learning to write is first and foremost learning to move.

Writing by hand has many advantages: It improves memory retention, sharpens the mind, supports correct grammar, helps compose texts and promotes communication.