Early in life we begin our reading experience by verbalizing the words we see – we read aloud. No doubt this is the only way that reading can be taught. Also, in our early reading experience, we are permitted to point to the words we read but this privilege is soon taken away because to point to the words we read is not adult-like. Consequently, two reading flaws develop. Each slows us down and each may work to reduce our understanding of what we read. To enhance our reading skill, we must work to overcome these two flaws.

First, reading aloud leads to the habit of mental verbalization when we read silently. Even though we read silently, we pronounce in our mind each word we read. Because of this habit, we can only read as fast as we can mentally say the words. Second, because we are taught not to point to the words we read, our eyes develop the tendency to move backward as well as forward over the line we are reading. In this way, as we progress in reading a sentence or move, we read some words forward and then go backward a few or more words and read them again. This is a kind of mental stuttering. Thus, if we were to stop the mental verbalizing and the mental stuttering in reading, we could surely increase our reading rate. Also, not only do these bad habits slow us down as we read, they may interfere with our concentration and thus limit our understanding of what we read.

With practice you can develop replacement habits fro these two undesirable reading flaws and you may increase your comprehension level. But before you begin, you should know the ideal in reading. Ideally, you should be able to look at a group of words and in an instant accurately summarize their meaning. Refer to Figure 1. Thus, you will have read and understood a group of words without having mentally verbalized them.



Now, for practice, use a newspaper, news magazine, or a not-too-difficult novel. Sit in a library type straight back chair with hands and reading material placed in front of you as shown in Figure 2.



As in Figure 2, your left hand holds the reading material in place while the right hand acts as a pacer that will follow under the words you are reading. For those with a dominant left hand, the opposite arrangement may work better. Nonetheless, The pacer hand keeps your eyes moving only in a forward direction. At first move the hand just at the pace you have been reading. As you read, do not say the words in your mind. Just see them and try to understand or interpret their meaning forming ideas. To do this well may require several hours of practice but do not give up. Now, gradually move the pacer hand faster and faster while you maintain you understanding level. If necessary, reread a group of words trying to maintain a modest increase in speed as you increase your understanding. Stop and look at the total of the words and try to summarize their meaning. Try and try again. Do not give up!

As you work to improve you reading ability, it si important to naturally keep all fingers extended as shown in Figure 2. A single finger, pencil, or other object can often become a visual distraction. After some practice, you may hold a pencil in the pacer hand as shown in Figure 3.



Keeping a pencil in the pacer hand is helpful for quickly making notation marks.

Remember, you can improve your reading ability by using your hand as a pacer to keep your eyes moving forward over a page and by trying to get the meaning from words as you see them without having to mentally verbalize them. As you practice to improve you reading skill, be patient. You can do it!

Creation date : 14/11/2005 @ 18:18
Last update : 15/11/2005 @ 15:26
Category : Study Tips
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