Breakthrough Reading Speed: Is It Really Possible?
Have you ever seen one of those commercials about amazing reading speeds, and found yourself wondering if it was really possible? Truthfully it can be done, and it can be a great advantage to students, as they improve their ability to complete assignments and keep up with the teacher in class.
Even if one is not a student or teacher, improved reading speed can help them in day to day tasks such as reading and understanding magazines and newspapers. Pleasure reading, too, is more enjoyable when it takes up less of your spare time.
Speed reading does not have a set number of words per minute, pages by minute, etc. It just describes the ability of a reader to search through printed material faster than normal. The average adult without any special training reads about two words per second or 120 words a minute. Some trained speed readers have stated they have the ability to process and read over 10,000 words a minute and more. Of course the claims vary and this is a controversial topic.
At some time, we all use some of the techniques from speed reading courses, most commonly, skimming. When you are quickly “looking over” text, you are actually scanning it for words or phrases which catch your eye. You can absorb the meaning of the page without gaining much comprehension of the content. Some methods of speed reading work primarily by attempting to increase the level of understanding from the page, while still keeping a high skimming speed.
Another speed reading technique teaches the reader to view the text in segments instead of word-by-word, which teaches their brain to process bigger “bites” of text at a time. For example, one of the exercises performed is working to see larger portions of text at a single glance, reminiscent of early military studies that used tachistoscopes for reading. This machine used a screen that flashes text at the subjects, researchers would study how much they could speed up the flash rate without losing the amount of information retained by the subject.
Additionally, breaking bad reading habits can greatly improve your reading speed. A common habit is “subvocalization”, where people silently say each word being read. This slows down reading speed greatly. When first learning to read as a child, this approach typically helps the reader by sounding out new words letter by letter, and then syllable by syllable. Later however, this approach can become a hindrance to speed reading. By training you can eliminate subvocalization and improve your reading speed.
Another bad habit is including internal dialogue. Rather than reading aloud, the process is mental but still has the effect of slowing the readers speed. Making the reader aware of this in advance, they can them concentrate on the whole section and think it over. Another important issue is re-reading the same text passages multiple times. These methods can be taught via coursework, software, books, or other forms of media.
Being able to read at speed is important for students as well as for every day life. Students must be able to read at the Class Reading Speed to keep up with the teacher. You may need to practice some speed reading techniques to develop your Course Reading Speed. Techniques such as skim reading for words or phrases that attract attention can help. Reading whole segments rather than words can help your speed, as can breaking any bad habits you’ve developed. There are techniques that help you achieve a Breakthrough Reading Speed of many hundreds of words per minute.
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