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