Improve Comprehension With A Speed Reading Course

There is, and always has been, a link between the speed at which we read and what we actually learn from reading. A variety of studies have been conducted to establish how much it is possible to improve comprehension with a speed reading course. There is a limit but that limit depends on the person and what they are reading.

Studying for a school exam or work related course usually requires a much higher degree of comprehension than most other reading that we do and it will suffer if you try and read too quickly. we actually need to understand what we read under these circumstances and speed reading is not necessarily beneficial. There are some aspects that will help as the basics assist all types of reading.

Reading a novel, book of fiction, magazine or newspaper, does not require the same level of understanding and speed reading is of much more use for this type of more casual reading. Here comprehension is not as critical and skimming some of the content will still convey the main points of the book or article being read.

The average reading speed of an adult is between 200 and 250 words per minute, where as the average reading speed of contestants in speed reading contests is typically between 1000 and 2000 words per minute. Reading at that speed equates to roughly a 50% comprehension which is deemed acceptable for learning by some educationalists and unacceptable by others. Reading highly detailed books for an exam would probably not be advisable if you will only understand 50% of it. You could read it four or five times in the same time it takes an average reader though, which might increase the percentage to a closer level but this defeats the purpose of speed reading.

In 1990 the fastest known reader was Howard Stephen Berg who was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records with a reading speed of 25,000 words per minute. He was tested on several television shows at the time and read books of various lengths with perfect recall. He is an exception by any standard and there are a number gifted individuals with what would be termed photographic memory.

Whatever the questions or debates surrounding reading speeds, it is perceived that you can improve comprehension with a speed reading course as the vast majority of us do not read under ideal conditions, and such courses help to define bad reading habits as well as better techniques.

More information on speed reading courses can be found at How to Improve Speed Reading.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com