Suggestions for Improving Reading SpeedImprovement of Reading RateIt is safe to say that a

Suggestions for Improving Reading Speed

Improvement of Reading Rate

It is safe to say that almost anyone can double his or her speed of reading while maintaining equal or even better comprehension. In other words, you can improve the speed with which you get what you want from your reading.

The average college student reads between 250 and 350 words per minute on fiction and non-technical materials. A "good" reading speed is around 500 to 700 words per minute, but some people can read 1,000 words per minute or more on these materials.

What makes the difference？ There are three main factors involved in improving reading speed: (1) the desire to improve, (2) the willingness to try new techniques and (3) the motivation to practice.

Learning to read rapidly and well presupposes that you have the necessary vocabulary and comprehension skills. When you have advanced on the reading comprehension materials to a level at which you can understand college-level materials, you will be ready to practice speed reading in earnest.

The Role of Speed in the Reading Process

Understanding the role of speed in the reading process is essential. Research shows a close relation between speed and understanding--although it is the opposite of what you might expect! Among thousands of individuals taking reading training, in most cases an increase in rate was accompanied by an increase in comprehension and a decrease in rate brought decreased comprehension with it. It appears that plodding or word-by-word analysis inhibits rather than increases understanding.

Most adults are able to increase their reading rate considerably and rather quickly without lowering their comprehension. These same individuals usually show a decrease in comprehension when they reduce their rate. Such results, of course are heavily dependent upon the method used to gain the increased rate. Simply reading more rapidly without actual improvement in basic reading habits usually results in lowered comprehension.

Factors that Reduce Reading Rate

Some of the factors which reduce reading rate:

1. Limited perceptual span (word-by-word reading);

2. Slow perceptual reaction time (slow recognition and response to the material)

3. Vocalization (reading aloud)

4. Faulty eye movements (including inaccuracy in placement of the page, in return sweep, in rhythm and regularity of movement, etc.);

5. Regression (needless or unconscious re-reading)

6. Faulty habits of attention and concentration (including simple inattention during the reading act and faulty processes of retention)

7. Lack of practice in reading--use it or lose it!

8. Fear of losing comprehension, causing the person to deliberately read more slowly;

9. Habitual slow reading, in which the person cannot read faster because he or she has always read slowly;

10. Poor evaluation of which aspects are important and which are unimportant;

11. The effort to remember everything rather than to remember selectively.

Since these conditions also tend to reduce comprehension, increasing the reading rate by eliminating them is likely to produce increased comprehension, too. This is entirely different from simply speeding up the rate of reading--which may actually make the real reading problem more severe. In addition, forced acceleration may destroy confidence in one's ability to read. The obvious solution, then, is to increase rate as a part of a total improvement of the whole reading process, as special training programs in reading do.

Basic Conditions for Increasing Reading Rate

A well-planned program prepares for maximum increase in rate by establishing the

A．Y

B．N

C．NG