English
Learning to read is a key stage in a child’s development, but boys and girls learn this skill differently. Research shows that the differences are due to both biological factors (brain structure, hormonal background) and social factors (upbringing, approach to learning). Let’s look at exactly what these differences are and how to help children learn to read successfully.
1. Speech and Vocabulary Development
Girls
– Start to speak earlier (on average by 1-1.5 years).
– They have a richer vocabulary and learn grammatical structures more quickly.
– They perceive oral explanations more easily and memorise texts better by ear.
Boys
– Speech development is slower, especially at an early age.
– More often have difficulty understanding complex texts due to a smaller vocabulary .
– Less communication with adults, which slows down the development of language skills .
How to help?
– For boys: talk more, read aloud, discuss what they read.
– For girls: encourage not only memorisation but also text analysis.
2. Reading preferences
Girls
– More likely to choose books with emotional plots: fairy tales, novels, stories about friendship.
– They like to discuss characters, their feelings and motives.
Boys
– Prefer dynamic genres: adventure, fiction, technical literature .
– More often interested in facts than in the emotions of the characters.
How to help?
– For boys: offer books with action
– For girls: provide a variety of literature, including popular science books.
3. Speed and quality of reading
Girls
– Faster to master reading techniques .
– They are better at retelling and analysing text.
Boys
– More likely to struggle with reading fluency.
– May fall behind in school due to a mismatch between the school curriculum and their cognitive styles.
How to help?
– For boys: use playful methods (reading by role, audiobooks + text).
– For girls: develop critical thinking (e.g., ask questions such as “What would you do if you were the hero?”).
4. Influence of the school system
– Modern education is often oriented towards a “feminine” style of perception: diligence, neatness, repetition of rules .
– Boys find it more difficult to concentrate on long texts, they better absorb information through action .
How to help?
– Introduce more interactivity: reading + drawing the story, creating comics based on the book.
– Allow boys to move around while reading (e.g. walk around the room with the book).
Conclusion
Differences in learning to read between boys and girls do exist, but they do not mean that some learn better and others worse. They just need different approaches.
The main recommendations are:
✅ For boys – more practice, less pressure to read “perfectly”.
✅ For girls – develop not only memorisation but also analytical skills.
✅ For everyone – choose books according to interests and do not compare children’s successes with each other.
Reading should be a joy, not a source of stress! 📚✨ (The article is based on scientific data and research in the field of child psychology and pedagogy.)
