Speed Reading: Useful Skill or Unfounded Tactic (Shawn)
All of us would like to read more. It's no secret that the modern world is quite hostile to extensive reading, with all of its digital distractions. One strategy that has popped up and been advertised quite vigorously in various academic and productivity contexts is speed reading. The technique claims that with proper training, one can read at speeds that far exceed the average of 200 to 400 words per minute (claims range from 4,200 to 30,000 words per minute) while fully comprehending the text. Speed reading's basic principles were created by high school teacher Evelyn Wood in 1959. It employs several main techniques. Speed reading tells readers to eliminate saying words in their head, as it claims that this slows down reading (A claim that will be discussed later in this article). It also promotes training yourself to limit eye movements when reading to only those that are necessary. Many digital tools have been developed to focus your eyes on specific sections of the passage when reading. Other websites present words one at a time, so your eyes move as little as possible between each word.
I usually read at an average pace. I can read a little faster than average, but I find that when I do, I often miss certain details in the text. Personally, speed reading strategies do not work for me. I have to say words in my head when reading and trying to reduce eye movements feels strained and unnatural. I also feel that to truly understand a text, you have to spend some time thinking about it, which the fast pace of speed reading does not allow.
Research on speed reading confirms this. Saying words in your head is important for word-recognition, understanding, and drawing conclusions from texts. Reading with specific eye movements has been shown to not have a positive effect on the speed of reading or comprehension, and eye movements that seem unnecessary actually promote comprehension. It also might result in processing words out of order, which slows down reading. Research shows that one can increase their reading speed through techniques like skimming, but that trade-offs in comprehension will always be made. Ultimately, one can only increase their reading speed and maintain comprehension by reading often and improving their language skills, but there is an upper limit to this.
How fast do you read? Have you heard of or tried speed reading techniques before? What do you think of speed reading? Answer in the comments below.
Sources:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1529100615623267 (Research)
https://goinswriter.com/wp-content/uploads/woman-notebook-working-girl.jpg (Image)
I think I read at an average pace, but I've never measured how fast I can read. I have never heard of speed reading or speed reading techniques before if you don't count skimming. I think speed reading is an important skill to have for most everything outside of reading stories for pleasure. Outside of stories, I think the point of a lot of reading material is to tell information, so being able to absorb this information quickly is a good skill to have. However, in stories, and especially fiction, the writing style of an author can contribute to the overall feel of a work of writing.
ReplyDeleteI think I read at an average pace as well, maybe a bit slower compared to my classmates as English is my second language and (more importantly) I don't read much. Thus when I take tests I often skim through the essays missing many information, so I definitely need to practice and use these techniques.
ReplyDeleteI have never really thought about measuring my reading pace, but now I think I might take notice of it a bit more, but I am pretty sure most of the time I am speed reading and taking in the key words and points.
ReplyDeletehttps://tenor.com/view/readingpower-speedreading-gif-19162267
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I think that speedreading is somewhat... unnecessary. I don't think it's going to make such a big difference when if comes down to time: I personally prefer to read books over longer times because I run out of books when I read too quickly. I think that I read above average (300wpm I think?) but I probably have read faster when I was really into a book. Even so, I tend to miss the small details, or things don't add up (scenes don't visualize fast enough, etc). Overall, good post; I'll make sure to read more carefully in the future.
Hm, I think I mostly read at a slightly above average pace, with some variation in speed based on content and wording; I do think speed-reading can be useful in some contexts, but I do agree with you that it often causes one to skip over important details in the text and is therefore not useful for entertainment or academic reading. Interesting post overall, Shawn.
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