TEACHING STUDENTS TO READ FASTER: THE PROBLEM OF METHODOLOGY

Abstract

The teaching of faster reading techniques is becoming increasingly recognized as an important educational objective. Students of various categories and literate professionals, such as doctors, teachers,  lawyers,  and  administrators  frequently  get  overwhelmed  by  the  ever-increasing number of books, journals and other publications in their special fields. Furthermore, a large amount  of  reading  is  required  for  purposes  of  self-education,  for  the  development  and expansion  of  general  knowledge,  and  also  for  recreation  or  the  proper  enjoyment  of  leisure. Reading   improvement   programmes   which   are   usually   designed   to   improve   reading comprehension skills and to encourage flexibility in reading, prepare literate people in all walks of life. Two reading techniques were discussed in this study; the book-centred and the machine-centred  methods.  Both  are  centred  on  fast  reading  techniques.  The  book-centred  approach consists  of  timed  reading  selection  while  the  machine-centred  approach  is  based  on  the tachistoscopic training,also known as Flash Recognition Training (FRT) which uses a device to flash words or images briefly to improve a person’s ability to recognize and recall visual information quickly. This paper discusses these two methods to know the best approach that is more  effective  in  increasing  speed  of  comprehension  and  best  sustain  the  interest  of  the students.