important question about speed reading

[kitten30]

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Hi!
If anyone knows a good English speed reading course that would help with standardized tests, please let me know. I did a search online and found some options. How helpful are some of the lessons that costs hundreds of dollars? Has anyone taken them before?
Reading fast with enough comprehension can be quite difficult and requires good training since English isn't my first language.
Thank you!!

 

[operaman]

Most speed reading products you see are just scams. How much you can improve your speed depends on how slow you read right now. It also depends on the technical difficulty of the material - skimming a beach novel is different from pouring over a medical textbook.

The biggest quick improvements you can make are to
1) eliminate subvocalization. This is when you speak each words either out loud softly or quietly in your head. This is probably the most common thing that slows people down.
2) break the habit of re-reading. There is a lot of time wasted, especially on standardized tests, with reading the same line over and over again.

 

[Commer_Knocker]

I researched speed-reading extensively in hopes of using it, and here is what I gathered: It is possible to increase your reading speed by 1.5 to 2.0x with speed-reading or other techniques/practice without reducing comprehension appreciably. That said, you do reach a certain threshold where it is not possible to increase any further without reducing comprehension; this happens at about 700-800 words per minute for most people. Beyond this, you start to lose comprehension rather quickly. Any product advertising 1,000 wpm or higher with full comprehension is just scamming you. What you can use speed-reading or 1,000 wpm+ reading rates for though is skimming material that you don't need to digest all of, or to find select bits of information you are looking for.

 

[qw098]

1) eliminate subvocalization. This is when you speak each words either out loud softly or quietly in your head. This is probably the most common thing that slows people down.

I've tried doing that but it's tough!

 

[cbrons]

break the habit of re-reading. There is a lot of time wasted, especially on standardized tests, with reading the same line over and over again.

what if you have horribad ADD

 

[LabrattoRx]

Just my 2 cents....if doing extended reading honestly a pair of +1.5 reading glasses helps. It limits the "blinking" in passages and honeslty on an MCAT exam, for example, will help.

Also, I get a piece of scratch paper and cover all the text below the line I'm reading. Believe it or not, your eyes subconsciously wander ahead and does slow you down inadvertently. This also sharpens focus and comprehension.

Good luck and I have found that speed comes with practice.