In a globally changing world with consistent rapid developments, the need for written communication has increased. Reading is an essential part of everyday social life and is no longer an intellectual privilege, prevalent in almost every sphere of life. The fast -paced life of this millennium has individuals searching for faster and more efficient ways of reading, due to lack of time and a dependence on written information. The realm of language learning has been intensively dominated by research in reading and today attempts have been made to apply this research to create models that help improve the process. There are a number of factors that impact the process of reading and extensive research has been carried to establish relationships. Speed reading is one such technique, born out of the establishment of a relationship between rate of reading and comprehension.
Speed reading is a technique which enhances the field of view and improves speed of perception to increase the number of words read per minute by the brain. In contrast to normal reading, which involves simulating the speaking and hearing of words, speed reading requires a reader to interpret the words using visual thinking processes. The reader is deaf to the internal sub vocalisation and interprets words as images, speeding up comprehension. The average reader’s speed increases from 240 words per minute to a minimum of 600 words (till 2,000) per minute. However, the effectiveness of speed reading has been a topic of debate. Coksun (2003) proposed that the rate of reading and the level of reading comprehension are two important indicators used in evaluating the success of reading. If reading doesn’t result in comprehension, its main objective is lost, and often misguided training programmes, encourage faster reading with a reduced level of comprehension (Just and Carpenter, 1987).
Research on speed reading predominantly claims that with an increase in the rate of reading there is almost no compensation made on the level of comprehension. In a study (Kurudayioglu and Soysal, 2015) conducted with fifth grade students, the impact of speed reading techniques was observed on the rate of reading and level of comprehension. They were evaluated on narrative and informative texts and academic achievement in a Turkish language course. The study involved students in the experimental groups attending a 32 hour rapid reading course along with their usual Turkish language course. The results were consistent with the literature provided on speed reading and indicated that speed reading techniques impact rate of reading and comprehension in a positive way. The experimental group which received the training performed better on both types of texts as compared to the control group. However, within the experimental group, the level of comprehension was higher on narrative texts than informative texts, indicating that the text type and familiarity with different structures of texts contribute to the process of comprehension.
The effectiveness of speed reading techniques also depend on the processing (eye movements) ability of every individual. Foster (1970) was interested in the impact of reducing the time allotted to looking at each word in a sentence on comprehension. He proposed another form of rapid reading called RSVP (Rapid Serial Visual Presentation) that eliminates the control of the reader’s gaze on each word and involves no eye movements. This allows for speed gain due to shorter processing times on each word.
One of the most common weaknesses of speed reading is the false belief about one’s level of comprehension and learning of text. For information to be stored meaningfully in the long-term memory, appropriate learning strategies have to be devised. At speed reading speeds the strategies are often problematic and cannot be implemented successfully by everyone. So speed reading readers believe that gazing at a word makes the brain aware of the information and therefore comprehend it. However, being aware is insufficient in fully understanding or remembering a sentence/passage. In contrast to the findings of most studies, speed readers are at an advantage not due to better perceptual processes but due to better conceptual-level processes. Being a skilled speed reader therefore implies that the readers have the ability to make connections between those parts of the text which have been sampled while scanning the text. Therefore they engage in more top-down processing as compared to normal readers.
Everyone desires to find faster and more efficient techniques of processing information and reading, however even a brilliant technique like speed reading involves a trade-off between speed and accuracy. The skill is indeed helpful in comprehending high-level information from familiar texts and therefore not helpful in all types of information, restricting its’ usage. In some scenarios it might be necessary to break down the text and reread certain parts to totally comprehend it, and speed reading won’t be desirable. In today’s day and age techniques such as speed reading should be encouraged in scenarios where there such a need for quicker processing exists such as education and institutional settings. Speed reading training should be an integral part of school and college curriculums, with the purpose of the technique well highlighted and precautions against the use and misuse conveyed. Maintaining high levels of interest and efficiency in study is becoming an increasing desire among students, and therefore speed reading can help them assimilate information faster, reducing boredom and low academic performance. However, individuals should be weary of the dependence on such a technique and use it in the appropriate scenarios. If the brain can think at an exceptional rate of 50,000 words per minute, an average person can definitely read at a higher rate than 250 words per minute.
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Sanah Thakur
