Underrated but useful: Why speed reading is a skill worth learning in the information age

Pupils at a library in Koyaya village, Kabondo Kasipul, Homabay County. [Denish Ochieng, Standard]

Every day, we are bombarded by a barrage of information in form of text that we need to process and sometimes respond to.

Whether it’s a torrent of emails, or an avalanche of files, or heaps of transcripts to mark, or a deluge of articles or manuscripts to edit, the need and the ability to effectively read through copious amounts of material fast enough to guarantee efficiency and prompt delivery of results in the so-called information age is in demand more than ever.

This skill is referred to as speed reading. It is the technique of improving reading competency in terms of speed at which text can be distilled, and the level of comprehension of the text. It demands focus and concentration, and stretches the brain to perform at a higher level.

When you train your brain to be able to take in information faster, other areas of your brain will also improve, for instance, your memory muscle. Effective speed reading is a fine balance between pace and comprehension.

Most people read at an average rate of 250 words per minute (wpm), though some are naturally quicker and others a tad slower. For comprehension, a rate of 200 – 400wpm can still be effective.

If you want to memorize something, you’ll need to read slowly, at less than 100 wpm. Speed reading is done at a rate of around 400-500 wpm. 

There are several benefits that you can gain by improving your reading speed, whether you are a student or a professional.

Benefits to speed reading

Reading more in less time. Speed reading arguably doubles or triples the amount of material you’d read in the same duration. You may find that you only need to skim through material to understand the crux of it.

Speed reading improves one’s focus and concentration. It’s also essential in comprehending what you read with greater depth and accuracy. As one increases their concentration, they get a better insight and understanding of what they are reading.

Equally, speed reading plays a huge role in retaining information better and longer. If a person can remember the information better because of improved concentration, they’ll be able to retain it more efficiently/concretely.

A person who has mastered this art certainly enjoys reading more because it doesn’t take them as long to read a book anymore. Their reading confidence increases and reading becomes more enjoyable.

It comes as little or no surprise at all that speed reading gives most students a noticeable edge in their studies. This comes with benefits to the students’ academic life. For instance, students who are able to improve their reading tend to see a drastic improvement in test scores and grasp of general knowledge.

If you ever feel that you get ‘information overload’ from reading, then learning to speed read can help you in this instance as well. This is because through sheer focus, you’ll know what to read and what not to read. you’ll learn to filter the most important points in a given text.

Speed reading is also a vital skill for teachers when preparing and teaching lessons. [Courtesy]

Other benefits of speed reading include surfing the Internet more efficiently for information, quickly reading how to assemble and operate items that have instructions, and knowing how long it takes you to read something so that you can plan your time.

Speed reading and careers

There are many professions that will find speed reading abilities an incredible asset. The very first one that comes to mind is law.

Attorneys and judges must read voraciously in their line of work. The faster they can read and comprehend the material at hand, the sooner they can render justice or effectively and efficiently represent clients.

Scholars and professors also do a great deal of reading, and as do journalists, writers, editors, novelists, researchers et al.

Speed reading is also a vital skill for teachers when preparing and teaching lessons, evaluating and assessing students, working with students individually or in larger groups, and supervising students outside of the classroom.

Professors teach and may conduct extensive research or write books or articles in their area of expertise. This skill does, no doubt, come in handy. Publishing firms are another space where speed reading skills are in high demand.

Editors are tasked with reading through pages upon pages of manuscripts with a hawk’s eye. It’s a no-brainer really, that to make for an effective editor in a publishing firm, one has to equip themselves with this elusive skill.

Researchers work in a variety of industries like marketing, academics, agriculture, sciences, communication, technology and medical professions.

Research-oriented professors, for instance, routinely read prior articles and studies in preparing their own published works for journals, magazines and books. Medical and science professionals have to read prior studies and reports to form hypotheses and comparison tools for their own work. 

Developing the skill 

Young children are naturally pretty fast learners. The one thing that we often overlook is their ability to learn from others. One of the best ways to improve a child’s reading fluency is to model it for them.

Let the child see and hear what fluent reading should sound like. Plenty of expressions and emotion should be included while reading and model proper phrasing and pacing. Then ask a child to read the same passage in the same style or manner.

Let the child see and hear what fluent reading should sound like. [File, Standard]

Stopwatch readings is another strategy that works for improving reading speed (even for adults), and also a major part of fluency, involving a child to read a given passage in a set time frame.

A graph might be useful to track the number of words the child reads per minute, along with the number of errors and challenging words. A child will be excited to know he/she is improving, and such should be celebrated regularly for encouragement.

Choral read-aloud sessions can prove to be equally useful. A teacher or parent can read aloud and ask the children to follow at the same pace. Choral reading is another way to show a child what speed reading and fluent reading should sound like. Choosing a book at the child’s independent reading level will make it easier for him/her to keep up with the accuracy and pace.

Another good model is marked reading, which involves a child reading while a teacher follows on a copy of the same, marking places where a child makes mistakes (mispronunciation, skipped words) and keep practicing these words and passages. This can be done during the stop watch reading or a read-aloud activity. To track progress, marking the number of errors and challenging words each time the passage is read is important. 

Urging students to re-read their favorite books sharpens speed reading skills. Some parents and/or teachers discourage children from reading the same books, again and again, to expose them to new information. Constantly reading new material doesn’t help speed reading at all.

This gives them the confidence, accuracy, and speed needed to read fluently without focusing on just reading and instead more on comprehending and mimicking expressions. The best way to improve children’s speed reading is by encouraging them to read more often while keeping fluency, accuracy, and expression in mind. 

Antoney Luvinzu is an IB Educator