7 Speed Reading Software

Is Your iPod Making You Read More Slowly?

July 17, 2012

Do you get motivated to exercise or clean house by listening to fast, upbeat music? When you’re having a dinner party, you probably don’t choose the same tunes, but instead something quieter, beautiful to listen to but unlikely to interfere with conversations. Nearly everyone has and iPod or tablet or MP3 player or some other device to download, store, and play music, and we all walk around with personal soundtracks (even if that’s just music that’s playing over the sound system at the shopping mall). You might be so used to having music all the time that you even read while listening to music – but did you know that some music can slow down your reading speed, even if you’re not consciously listening to it?

Finnish researcher Kari Kallinen did a study in 2002 measuring the reading rate of people listening to different types of music, and concluded that reading speed was faster when they were listening to fast-paced classical music (without words). A 1983 study by David Wolfe at Utah State University concluded that music played too loudly leads to the listener being easily distracted from their task. Most recently, a research project completed in the spring of 2012 by psychology majors Julia Cistera and Yu Liu at the University of Minnesota explored the connection between musical tempo and reading speed. They used a metronome (a device that produces a regular ticking beat) set at various speeds to see how those different speeds would affect reading rates. Cistera and Liu were hoping to find a correlation to Kallinen’s earlier study, but found instead that the ticking of the metronome seemed to be distracting to all participants no matter the rate of speed. In the end, they concluded that it’s music as a whole that has the most potential for beneficial results, and look for further research to be done in this field.

From these studies, it’s clear that music does have an effect on reading speed. In addition, there are several points that can help you choose the right music to listen to for speed reading support:

The music should be fast, but not too fast. Kallinen’s study found that music performed at about 92 beats per minute produced a faster reading speed. However, if you’re listening to music that’s much faster than that, it’s likely that the increase in tempo may create an increase in your stress or adrenaline level, and that will make it harder to focus on your reading. You can use this online metronome to check the speed of your music.

Keep the sound at a low to moderate level for best results. As proved by Wolfe’s study, when music is too loud it leads to more distraction.

Pick music that doesn’t have any words or lyrics. If you think about it, you’re only going to cause problems by making your brain deal with words coming in via your ears, when you really want to concentrate on the words being processed by your eyes. Instrumental music is best.

Listen to music with a gentle beat rather than a pounding rhythm that dominates the sound. The University of Minnesota study proved that if the beat overrides the music itself, readers are both distracted and easily irritated.

Classical music by Bach or Vivaldi is nearly always a good choice, but any music with a moderate tempo, no words (or at least no words in a language you understand), and a subdued beat, that’s played at a sound level that’s not distracting, will enhance your reading experience and help increase your reading speed.

What music stimulates you to faster reading speeds?

Does Your Child Have Difficulty Reading? Science Can Help

July 10, 2012

Some of us may remember our early years and the process of learning to read. For most people it happens so gradually, as part of everything else they learn in childhood, that it’s hard to identify exactly how the learning process occurred. How fast a child learns to read, and how well they improve their reading skills, also depends on factors like parental involvement, the quality of school instruction, the availability of books, and the importance of reading in the child’s daily life. Finally, there may be physiological and/or neurological factors affecting the child that can slow down the reading process, which might be anything from dyslexia to hearing loss to crooked teeth. While you might not think that crooked teeth could slow down reading, it’s true, because there’s such a strong link between the spoken word and learning to relate it to the written word. Any speech impediment has the potential to lead to a difficulty in learning to read.

Fortunately, scientists around the world have been studying the process of learning to speak and read, and their studies and research projects have been giving us valuable information to help children overcome early difficulties as they learn to read. For example, the scientists at the Haskins Laboratories in Connecticut (an independent organization affiliated with both the University of Connecticut and Yale University) have been studying these issues since the 1930s. In the process they have focused on both how the physical structure of the human body (lips, larynx, tongue, etc.) influences the ability to speak and on how the brain works to integrate spoken and written language. In particular, they have opened the Child Language Studies Laboratory to look closely at the way the different parts of the brain are involved during the first five years of a child’s life, when primary language skills are developed.

It’s because of the work done by scientists at the Haskins Laboratories and elsewhere that we’re now able to understand some of the obstacles children experience when learning to read, and to help them overcome those problems.

To find out more about the Child Language Studies Laboratory, click here.

Don’t Make This Common Mistake When Speed Reading!

June 29, 2012

Beginning speed readers frequently have the misconception that “speed reading” simply means “always reading at the highest possible speed.” While the general concept is true, it’s important to remember that the rate at which you read will fluctuate depending on three things:

– the difficulty of the material you’re reading
– the reasons you’re reading that material
– the results or answers you want to get from it

Because of this, you need to be sure that your definition of “the highest possible speed” includes these three factors, and that you don’t get so focused on your words-per-minute rate that you sacrifice comprehension and retention.

Here’s something that you might not realize is true even for the most proficient speed readers: your reading rate should slow down when the material requires it. While it’s easy to quickly read through material on a topic you’re familiar with, anything new to you will be, at first, harder to understand and remember. This means that you’ll need to adjust your reading rate downward to compensate for the increased time it’s taking you to process the new information. You’ll have to allow your brain time to create the new base memories related to the information before you can store it, and if you don’t store the memory of what you’re reading, you’ll find it impossible to accurately remember later. You don’t have to be an expert in every field in order to get information from a variety of text sources, but you do need to give yourself enough time to process and comprehend what you’re reading.

A second factor in reading rate is the reason that you’re choosing to read a specific text. Are you looking for answers to one or more questions? Are you skimming through something that’s not terribly important, but that you need to be somewhat familiar with? Are you preparing for a presentation and searching out facts and figures to incorporate or highlight? Or are you sitting on the beach and just wanting a bit of entertainment? What you want to get out of a piece of text influences the effort you put into reading it. Learn to scan and skim when appropriate, and when to slow down to pay attention to every detail. Before you start to read, ask yourself what you want to find, and you’ll find it easier to locate the information you need.

Finally, remember that it’s your overall reading speed that you’re working to improve. As you gain in speed reading skill, even your “slow and steady” reading rate will be much faster than it was before. Set your reading speed to match your needs and goals, and you’ll get results much more quickly.

Stress-Free Speed Reading Techniques

June 26, 2012

Some of the biggest obstacles to increasing your reading speed – regression, lack of focus, poor comprehension, subvocalization – can be overcome quickly and easily by using simple relaxation techniques. Here are the reasons why stress hurts your reading speed, and some ways you can avoid stress and improve your speed reading skills:

Tension affects your brain as well as your body. If you’re tense, your muscles tighten up, including the muscles around your eyes. This means that your eyes won’t be moving as quickly, and you won’t be able to achieve the relaxed focus you need to take in words in groups or clumps. Tension also leads to the release of chemicals in your brain that contribute to anxiety, hyper-alertness, and outward focus, which prevents you from concentrating on the words in front of you. If you’re feeling tense, stop a minute and close your eyes. Place your thumbs on your eyebrows at the top of the curve, over the center of your eyes, and press gently for 60 seconds while breathing deeply. This ancient Chinese acupressure technique will relax your eyes and your mind.

If you’re nervous, you’ll fall back into bad habits. Two habits that are often formed in childhood, regression (going back to re-read what you’ve already read) and subvocalization (reading aloud either by moving the lips or merely “speaking” in your mind as you read), are hard to overcome and easy to slip back into when you’re under stress. You’ll start doubting yourself, and go back over text “just to be sure” you read everything correctly. To solve this problem, you can use another acupressure point, this one between your eyebrows. Place the tips of your index fingers on this spot and press gently for 30 seconds, release, breath, and press again for 30 seconds. This will help get rid of any anxious feelings you might have.

If that’s not enough, try using “walking meditation” to eliminate your stress. In this technique, you use the act of walking to focus entirely on your body and the movements it’s making. Walk slowly, concentrating on the feel of your foot hitting the ground, your arms swinging, your head moving slightly up and down to compensate. Keep your eyes gently focused on the area right in front of your feet as you move. Breathe in time with your footsteps; if you can, increase the length of each breath to match first one step, then two, then three. Long, slow breaths convey oxygen to the brain and help release the soothing neurotransmitter serotonin.

Anxiety about a number of things means you’re not concentrating on one thing. Keep in mind that good speed readers not only process words quickly, they also remember and retain what they read. If you’re thinking about an upcoming appointment and what you’re going to make for dinner and whether you left the light on in the garage and when you’ll have time to finish the laundry and … well, you get the picture. You’ll have so much occupying your attention that you won’t absorb any information from the text in front of you. One good way to help you set aside your other concerns is to make a list. Write down everything you’re thinking about, then put the list in a drawer and mentally put all of that out of your mind. You don’t need to worry about forgetting something, because it’s on the list, and you can then calmly focus on the reading material in front of you.

How does stress affect your reading speed, and what do you do to solve that problem?

Why Your Workspace Affects Your Reading Speed

June 21, 2012

Whether you work at home or at an office, it’s important to make sure that your workspace is organized so that you’re able to ready quickly and get your work done efficiently. Most employers will be helpful in allowing you to adjust your computer and desk so that you’re in the best position to work. Even if you don’t think you need to worry about your reading speed at work, remember that every e-mail, every interoffice memo, every project report, and every business letter you send or receive will slow you down if you’re not reading at your top speed. Your speed reading practice will help, of course, but until you set up your desk so that you can take advantage of your speed reading techniques, you’ll be slowing yourself down.

Reduce glare on your computer screen and desk. Think about how you feel at the end of the day or the week – do you walk out of the office with a headache? One main cause of headaches is constant squinting against bright light. The glare from overhead lights or windows by your desk may make it difficult to read the words on your screen, or on the paper on your desk. Use desk lamps to provide indirect light, and position your computer so that you’re neither facing a window directly nor have one right behind you.

Adjust the position and brightness of your screen or monitor. Your computer screen should be approximately 20 inches away from your eyes, and you should be able to see the screen easily without tilting your head up or down. Use the brightness and contrast controls to make sure the letters are clear enough to read easily. If you find yourself leaning forward to read, increase the screen display to make the letters larger.

Take care of your eyes. Many office environments are “closed” – that is, the the air is recirculated through ventilation systems. As a result, there’s often very little moisture in the air, and that may make your eyes dry out. Take breaks to close your eyes to let them lubricate naturally from your tear ducts, or use eye drops to add moisture. Your eyes will also dry out if you don’t blink often enough, which can happen if you’re intensely focused on what you’re reading. Take short breaks from looking at the screen to focus farther away, close your eyes, then resume your work.

Can Speed Reading Practice Help Children With Dyslexia?

June 6, 2012

Scientists continue to study the problem of dyslexia (a learning disability that affects a person’s ability to read) and how it relates to overall brain function, genetic factors, and biological and environmental influences. One theory currently being discussed is whether or not people with dyslexia actually have brains that work more slowly in general, processing all information at a reduced speed, and not just those functions related to reading.

The main factor in dyslexia is phonological processing, the breaking down of words into sounds, and then relating those sounds to letters. People with dyslexia frequently confuse similar word sounds like ta and da, and some researchers believe this is because their brains are not moving quickly enough to recognize one sound before being presented with the next one. In other words, it takes so much time for the first sound to be processed that it’s forgotten before the next one is processed. Of course, since we’re talking about neural connections and signals, the concept of “so much time” is a matter of milliseconds, not minutes, but in the hyper-fast world of the brain’s nerve impulses and signals, that can be a very long time indeed.

This raises an interesting question with regard to speed reading. As we’ve mentioned before, slow reading speed actually reduces comprehension. This would seem to correspond with the reduced comprehension experienced by people with dyslexia. Of course, not all slow readers have dyslexia, but the practice of speed reading techniques that help slow readers improve their reading rates may also help dyslexics. Because the brain can be trained to function in a certain way, it’s important to start this process early. Children who seem to have slower reading speeds, whether or not they’ve been diagnosed with dyslexia, will be able to train their eyes and their minds to process information more quickly, especially using the speed reading technique called “chunking.”

Studies continue, sponsored by organizations like the National Dyslexia Research Foundation and Haskins Laboratories – and here at 7 Speed Reading we’ll continue to keep you up to date on the latest news and discoveries related to speed reading.

Book Review: Reading for Speed and Fluency

May 29, 2012

While the tools and resources that the 7 Speed Reading system provides are perfectly suited for helping people of any age achieve the reading speed they’re looking for, we recognize that there are other resources out there to take advantage of which also give excellent advice, tips, and training to help people become speed readers. Children sometimes need additional help and practice, especially during the vacation breaks when they’re not part of their regular English classes. What’s more, during vacation breaks families are often traveling, and a book will be easier to carry along, especially on long car trips. If you’re going on vacation with your children, but still want them to focus on improving their reading speed, then we recommend looking for the four-part series titled “Reading for Speed and Fluency.” This set of books works well with the techniques used in 7 Speed Reading, and will allow children to continue working on improvement when they’re away from the computer.

Fast and fluent reading starts with a good knowledge of vocabulary, and these books provide a good range of vocabulary that is appropriate for children up to their mid-teens. The books allow both for vocabulary learning and for review. What’s more, they use the vocabulary in quizzes, questions, and content review so that children can practice using the vocabulary as well as reading it. Younger children will be able to improve their vocabulary easily, and older children can focus on the other aspect of speed reading covered by this series: comprehension.

Speed reading works when comprehension of the words read matches the rate at which words are read. Without the ability to absorb and process text, speed reading is just moving your eyes across the lines of text. By providing well-formatted and clean text passages, and following them with questions about the content and meaning of the text, children are able to practice identifying important information in a passage and remembering it after they’re done reading. This question-and-answer format is useful if parents are working with children as well, since it’s already set up in a mini-quiz format.

Finally, the way each chapter is arranged is very similar to the format of reading comprehension tests that are part of the SAT and PSAT, which makes this series a good way for older children to practice for those exams. The more times they are exposed to this style of test, the more comfortable they’ll be with it, and it will be easier and less stressful for them the day of the test.

Reading for Speed and Fluency 1 (Paul Nation)
Reading for Speed and Fluency 2 (Paul Nation)
Reading for Speed and Fluency 3 (Paul Nation, Casey Malarcher)
Reading for Speed and Fluency 4 (Casey Malarcher, Paul Nation)

5 Steps to Faster Reading Speed

May 21, 2012

Step 1: Calculate your current baseline reading speed. Find a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted, and take along a timer or stopwatch and a clearly-printed book on a familiar topic. Mark where you’ll start reading. Set the timer for two minutes and start reading normally. When the two minutes is up, count the number of words you read and divide by two. Write down this number. You’ll find it helpful to know how much your reading speed improves as you practice, so that you can focus on what helps most.

Step 2: Focus on your eyes. Make sure your eyes are in top shape with a visit to an ophthalmologist. Wear any recommended glasses or contacts when reading. Eat a healthy diet containing vision-supporting nutrients like lutein (spinach, kale, collards), omega-3 fatty acids (salmon, walnuts, sardines), and anthocyanins (cherries, blueberries, blackberries).

Step 3: Learn to keep moving forward. A common bad habit of slow readers is backtracking, where the reader automatically goes back to re-read text that has already been covered, whether they need to or not. Learning to concentrate on what you’re reading will help eliminate this problem, as will practicing the technique of sweeping your eyes across and down the page.

Step 4: Practice widening your vision span. Exercise your eyes by gently moving them back and forth and up and down. Your eyes movements are controlled by muscles, and the stronger those muscles are, the quicker you’ll be able to move them. Once you have your eye muscles in shape, practice improving your peripheral vision so that you’re able to take in more than one word at a time.

Step 5: Get organized for optimal reading speed. There are several things you can do to make your reading more efficient, which will increase reading speed. First, get an overview of what you’re reading, and why you’re reading it. Next, keep your mind organized by eliminating distractions. Finally, learn to adjust your reading speed so that it’s appropriate for the text you’re reading.

Keep practicing these five steps, and you’ll soon find your reading speed increasing!

What’s Slowing Down Your Reading Speed?

May 11, 2012

Most people get into the habit of reading at a pace they find comfortable without really thinking about how fast that really is. This means that if you think you’re reading quickly, but you really aren’t, you won’t be motivated to learn to speed read. In fact, you probably won’t think about your reading speed at all until you’re faced with a sudden “reading crisis” – for example, being told by your boss to review a stack of reports over the weekend and present a summary of those reports for a Monday morning meeting. If you don’t know what’s slowing down your reading speed, you’ll probably find it hard to overcome those obstacles in time for that meeting. In order to avoid this crisis situation, take a minute and think about how you read, and how you might improve your reading skills. In this post, we’ll identify some of the primary problems that slow reading speed, and give you some pointers on how to fix them.

First of all, do you read words one at a time, or are you able to read and process multiple words at once? If you know how to “chunk” words into phrases and take in text in larger units, you’ll definitely speed up your reading rate. Part of learning to do this is practicing widening your visual field so that you can see more words at once, and part is learning to relax and trust your brain to absorb words as phrases. Once you trust your ability to read in this way, you’ll also be able to eliminate the bad habit of regression (automatically going back over text unnecessarily) and learn to always keep moving forward in the text as you read.

One of the best ways to eliminate regression and have confidence in your understanding of text is to focus on the material that you’re reading. The ability to focus your mind is just as important as the ability to focus your eyes – and perhaps more, because you can focus your eyes on text quickly, but if your mind isn’t focused, you’re just exercising your eyes and not absorbing the information your eyes are seeing. Eliminate distractions around you and learn to concentrate on the text in front of you, rather than the cell phone or computer or television or person walking by or anything else that interrupts your focus.

Because practice makes perfect, an excellent way to learn to focus is to read as much as you can, every day. You’ll get into the habit of focusing on the text, and if you practice reading in a variety of situations, from a quiet library to a noisy commuter train, you’ll learn to shut your eyes and ears to everything but the words on the page.

Keep reading this blog, and we’ll keep giving you helpful hints on how to speed read that will keep you focused on your goals.

Why Speed Reading Helps ESL Students

May 3, 2012

Because of the importance of English as a global communications language, many students in other countries are being required to get a working knowledge of English in order to graduate or advance in higher education, or even to be able to get a good job. In recent years, the Japanese Ministry of Education has focused on English reading fluency in high school students, and researchers have been looking for ways to help those students improve their reading skills. One group of researchers in Japan decided to test whether teaching Japanese students how to speed read would improve their overall English reading skills, in part after observing how word-by-word reading slowed down both speed and comprehension – a point we’ve discussed before.

The object of the research study was to determine if speed reading would improve reading comprehension, and if it would also help students learn the most frequently-used English vocabulary words (necessary to fluently read in English). They tested groups of students who (1) received speed reading training only; (2) received vocabulary improvement training only; (3) received both types of training; or (4) received neither type of training.

The results of these tests showed that students who had speed reading training made significant advances over students without the training, with improvement in both speed and comprehension. The study also found that students using speed reading techniques were better able to improve their English vocabulary knowledge (we’ve talked about that before, too).

It’s obvious that speed reading skills have many benefits, whether you’re a student in school, an ambitious professional looking to advance in your career, or the parent of a child that you want to have all possible advantages.

For more information on this research study, click here.

speedreadingtechniques.org

On the pro side it has easy-to-use interface, video tutorials, multiple user accounts, well-structured course system for beginners & advanced students plus the ability to exercise with any digital text.

Elbert Zeigler

"I found 7 Speed reading. Doing eye exercises, warm-ups before reading, and how to look at words in groups instead of one at a time improved my reading and comprehension. I recommend 7 Speed Reading for you."

courselounge.com

7 Speed Reading is a decent speed reading software with an innovative approach. The customizable features are quite appealing since it allows you organize your speed reading training effectively.

Daniel Walters

"I have always struggled with reading slowly. Once I started using 7 Speed Reading, I did notice an improvement from approx. 200 wpm to 300 wpm."

winningspirit.com

If you want to learn how to speed read so that you can read everything faster, your best option is to get the self-paced speed reading course called 7 Speed Reading. It is designed to be the world’s most powerful speed-reading training program.

bestadvisor.com

From learning how to read and comprehend faster to how to keep your eyes healthy, everything is covered in this course for almost any age, and a team of professionals will help you master it.

Stephen L. (Reviewer)

I liked the accessibility of it. It helps, because users are able to easily maneuver throughout the software to varying levels and practice their reading at varying speeds.

Devad Goud

After having used this software, I learned techniques and skills such as eliminating my subvocalization, which not only greatly enhanced my speed reading, but also allowed me to get more engagement in what I read.

Reinard Mortlock

The biggest problem I had was sub-vocalization, 7 Speed Reading helped a lot with techniques to improve this and substantially improve my reading speed. The application is easy to use with loads of books to read to improve your reading skills.

Adel Serag

When I seriously exercise using the app, in no time, my reading speed goes from less than 400 to 600 and my target is 900 plus.

Nik Roglich

The pace trainer is great for getting my eyes focused and sharp. Also the word search exercise is very important, gets me searching for specific text.

Jose Godinez

I have improved my speed reading and comprehension since I started using 7 Speed Reading, I enjoy using it and I will continue to use it in the future.