Reading

How to Read Faster Reading Faster Requires Steady Practice Follow the example of good readers! Researchers have discovered that good readers do these three things when they read: 1) Good readers move their eyes steadily across the page Using video cameras, researchers have recorded the eye movements of people as they read. Good readers move their eyes steadily across the page. They do not hesitate and they do not frequently move back to check what they read. They have the confidence to move steadily forward. You can do the same with practice! 2) Good readers look at groups of words, not individual words Consider the sentence "Today is one of the most important days of the year". Video tapes show that slow readers pause at every word to get the meaning. They will see "Today" ... "is" ... "one" ... "of" ... "the" ... "most" ... "important" ... "days" ... "of" ... "the" ... "year", for a total of eleven pauses. Good readers, on the other hand, will only pause three or four times in the same sentence, saving a lot of time. For example, they might read "Today is" ... "one of the most" ... "important days" ... "of the year". Train yourself to read word groupings instead of single words. It takes practice, but that practice will save you a lot of time in the future. 3) Good readers turn off their "inner voice" When many people read, they have an "inner voice" that pronounces each word, as though they are speaking. I do this, too, when I'm not concentrating. For speaking English, this is an advantage, because you can learn to say all of the words and sentences that you read. However, it slows down your reading speed. When you see a groups words such as "I am hungry", just look at the letters and get the meaning instantly, rather than pretending to say the words. This is not easy to do, but if you can turn off this "inner voice", you will be able to read more in less time. Reading skills Here are three tips to help you improve your reading: 1. Styles of reading 2. Active reading 3. Words and vocabulary 1. Styles of reading There are three styles of reading which we use in different situations: Scanning: for a specific focus The technique you use when you're looking up a name in the phone book: you move your eye quickly over the page to find particular words or phrases that are relevant to the task you're doing. It's useful to scan parts of texts to see if they're going to be useful to you: • the introduction or preface of a book • the first or last paragraphs of chapters • the concluding chapter of a book. Skimming: for getting the gist of something The technique you use when you're going through a newspaper or magazine: you read quickly to get the main points, and skip over the detail. It's useful to skim: • to preview a passage before you read it in detail • to refresh your understand of a passage after you've read it in detail. Use skimming when you're trying to decide if a book in the library or bookshop is right for you. Detailed reading: for extracting information accurately Where you read every word, and work to learn from the text. In this careful reading, you may find it helpful to skim first, to get a general idea, but then go back to read in detail. Use a dictionary to make sure you understand all the words used. 2. Active reading When you're reading for your course, you need to make sure you're actively involved with the text. It's a waste of your time to just passively read, the way you'd read a thriller on holiday. Always make notes to keep up your concentration and understanding. Here are four tips for active reading. Underlining and highlighting Pick out what you think are the most important parts of what you are reading. Do this with your own copy of texts or on photocopies, not with borrowed books. If you are a visual learner, you'll find it helpful to use different colours to highlight different aspects of what you're reading. Note key words Record the main headings as you read. Use one or two keywords for each point. When you don't want to mark the text, keep a folder of notes you make while reading. Questions Before you start reading something like an article, a chapter or a whole book, prepare for your reading by noting down questions you want the material to answer. While you're reading, note down questions which the author raises. Summaries Pause after you've read a section of text. Then: • put what you've read into your own words; • skim through the text and check how accurate your summary is and • fill in any gaps. 3. Words and vocabulary To expand your vocabulary: Choose a large dictionary rather than one which is ‘compact' or ‘concise'. You want one which is big enough to define words clearly and helpfully (around 1,500 pages is a good size). Keep your dictionary at hand when you're studying. Look up unfamiliar words and work to understand what they mean. Improve your vocabulary by reading widely. If you haven't got your dictionary with you, note down words which you don't understand and look them up later.