Speed Reading

Prepared & Presented by: SADIA KHAN Lecturer English, IPS,KMU

IPS 1st, English I

Outlines
 What Is Speed Reading?
 How to Speed Read
 Three methods to boost your reading speed
 Identifying Problems that Leads to Slow Reading

What Is Speed Reading?

 Speed reading is the process of rapidly recognizing and absorbing phrases
or sentences on a page all at once, rather than identifying individual
words.
 The amount of information that we process seems to be growing by the
day, whether it's emails, reports and websites at work, or social media,
books and magazines at home. We likely feel pressure to get through this
information more quickly, so that we can "stay in the loop" and make
informed decisions.
 Most people read at an average rate of 250 words per minute (wpm),
though some are naturally quicker than others. But, the ability to speed
read could mean that you double this rate.
 We'll now explore some of the skills that you can use to accelerate your
reading.
How to Speed Read

 All speed reading techniques have one thing in common: you avoid
pronouncing and "hearing" each word in your head as you read it, a
process known as "sub-vocalization." Instead, you "skim" lines or groups
of words, as you can understand words more quickly than you can say
them.
 One way to stop yourself from sub-vocalizing is to focus on blocks of
words rather than on individual ones. Do this by relaxing your face and
"softening" or expanding your gaze on the page, so that you stop seeing
words as single, distinct units. As you practice this, your eyes will skip
faster across the page.
 Then, when you approach the end of a line, allow your peripheral vision
to take your eye to the final set of words. This will help to stop pauses in
your reading (often at full points), meaning that you scan across and
down to the next line more quickly.
Three methods to boost your
reading speed
1. The Pointer Method
 Utah school teacher Evelyn Nielsen Wood was one of the pioneers of
speed reading. In the 1950s, she claimed that she could read at up to
2,700 wpm if she swept a finger along the line as she read.
 This became known as the Pointer method, and is also sometimes called
"hand pacing" or "meta guiding." Holding a card under each line and
drawing it down the page as you read works just as well.
2. The Tracker-and-Pacer Method

 This is a variant of the Pointer method where you hold a pen, with its cap
still on, and underline or track each line as you read it, keeping your eye
above the tip of the pen. This will help to increase the pace at which you
take in each line, and improve your focus on the words. Whether you
actually underline the words is your choice.
 Try to spend no more than one second on each line and then increase
your speed with each subsequent page. You will probably find that you
retain very little information at first, but, as you train your brain and you
become more comfortable with the technique, your comprehension
should improve.
Identifying Problems that Leads to
Slow Reading
Problem #1 – Poor Concentration
Having to reread frequently may be caused by the lack of concentration. Here are some
typical symptoms of and remedies for ineffective concentration:
 Daydreaming. If you catch yourself daydreaming while you read and don't know
what to do to stop it, try The Mark Technique. Put a checkmark, an "X", or a star on a
piece of paper each time you catch yourself daydreaming. By doing this one simple
task, many students find that they daydream less and concentrate more.
 Worrying about problems. This impediment to reading is common to college
students but can be controlled by The Worry List Technique. Each time you catch
yourself thinking about something not related to what you are reading, write that
thought down with the intention of doing something about it later. Then DO something
about it later.
 Can't remember what is read. Check the distraction level in your study
environment. Auditory and visual distractions interfere with concentration. Eliminate
TV, radio, and other sources of sound or remove yourself from the environment in
 which they are contained. In other words, study where it is quiet and where it is going
to stay quiet.

Problem #2 – Underdeveloped Vocabulary

 A second cause of slow reading involves a vocabulary in need of further

development. A large part of a college requires learning new
terminology with which to grasp new ideas and concepts.
 Without new terminology, understanding new ideas and concepts in
college courses is difficult for most and impossible for the rest.
 Therefore, successful college students must be willing to do what's
necessary to acquire and expand vocabularies and refine techniques for
doing so.
Problem #3 – Poor Reading
Techniques

 To become good at anything, you must practice. Reading is no exception.

 Stuck in one gear. The cure for this problem is to Vary Reading Speed.
Understanding what you read depends on the type of material you are
reading and the reading speed you use on it.
 Textbooks - Reading speed for textbooks should be slow to gather the main
ideas and details necessary to do well on exams and become an educated
person. When textbook reading skills are working properly, a textbook
chapter need only be read once. Learning should take place from notes.
 Newspapers and novels should be faster because recall is not as important
as it is with text material.
  Journals for research papers should be scanned very quickly.

Problem #4 – Vocalization and Sub vocalization

Vocalization
This is when you begin to say the words of what you are reading to
yourself or when you move your lips. Such reading habits don’t only
slow down your reading speed but it also affects the rate of
comprehension. Sub-vocalization
The reader, in this case, does not actually move his/her vocal organs
but says the word to him/her self mentally. It is more difficult to break
this habit than its antecedent because sub-vocalization is not easily
noticed by the teacher. The reader has to catch this himself.
One of the ways of checking this is to invite the student/reader to place
the thumb and middle finger of the same hand lightly on the sides of
the larynx (Adam’s apple). In this way, any slight lip movement can
cause the buzzing of the larynx that often accompanies sub-
vocalization.

Problem #5 –Pointing words with

finger

The fix?
Stop doing it by focusing upon groups of words instead of individual ones! It can take
time to stop doing this “bad reading habit” and actively thinking about not vocalizing
the text can reduce your focus on your material.Within a short space of time, however,
you should find the process much easier, which will only help your literacy abilities
considerably. You may also learn how to visualize what you read to overcome this
bad reading habit
Pointing to words
 Following the line with your finger or with a pen, a ruler etc is another bad
habit which can slow you down. This is because when you begin to point
individual words, you may not be able to take in a whole phrase or
sentence.