iAcademy Reading Part 2 Academic English for Undergraduate Study Lecture 4 Improving your Reading Speed and using your Reading Skills at University This lecture and its associated materials have been produced by Mr. Kelvin Ng (MBA, Cambridge) of iAcademy for the purposes of lecturing on the above described subject and the material should be viewed in this context. The work does not constitute professional advice and no warranties are made regarding the information presented. The Author and iAcademy do not accept any liability for the consequences of any action taken as a result of the work or any recommendations made or inferred. Permission to use any of these materials must be first granted by iAcademy.

iAcademy Speed Reading WOW! Play Videos – Read 13,000 words a minute with Johnny Carson – Howard Berg World's Fastest Reader Fox 13 Tampa Are such reading speeds possible?

iAcademy Apparently, YES! HOWEVER, people like Howard Berg are rare. Let’s examine how average people like us read.

iAcademy Reading Facts An average person reads between 200 to 250 words a minute (wpm) A global survey shows how fast people read – Third-grade students = 150 words per minute (wpm) – Eight grade students = 250 – College student = 450 – “High level exec” = 575 – College professor = 675 – Speed readers = 1,500 – World speed reading champion = 4,700 Source:

iAcademy The more educated and success people are, the faster they can read! Lets see why this is true!

iAcademy Why Reading Speed Matters Assume you are a successful manager in a big company and need to read s, reports, newspapers and magazines regularly – s and Websites 40 a day, each 400 words, total 16,000 words – Reports 1 a day, each 1,500 words, total 1,500 words – Newspapers 20 articles a day, each 500 words, total 10,000 words – Magazines 2 articles a day, each 1000 words, total 2,000 words

iAcademy How many words do you need to read a day on average? 29,500 words a day

iAcademy Why Reading Speed Matters To read 29,500 words daily you will need: – At 200 wpm, 2 hours 28 min – At 250 wpm, 1 hour 58 min – At 450 wpm, 1 hour 6 min – At 600 wpm, 50 min Think of how much time you will spend a week reading? A faster reading speed means less time spent reading

iAcademy Agenda Review of Week 3 Lecture Week 4 Lecture Coverage – Introduction to Speed Reading – Improving our reading speed – How to read comprehension passages – How to read academic textbooks – Introduction to Reading Aloud

iAcademy Review of Week 3 What are the 3 steps to Efficient Reading? Why do we Survey? How do we Survey? Why do we Skim? How do we Skim? Why do we Scan? How do we Scan? What is the difference between Skimming and Scanning?

iAcademy Any Questions?

iAcademy Let’s get started with Lecture 4 Reading Part 2

iAcademy Lets now try to find out our reading speed

iAcademy Reading Speed Exercise Instructions: 1.I will be giving out an article now. 2.Please do not start reading it. 3.Prepare a watch or timer. 4.When everyone is ready and when I say “Start”, start your timers and begin reading. 5.When you finish, record the time you took. 6.Wait for everyone to finish.

iAcademy Reading speed Exercise START

iAcademy Calculating your reading speed Total number of words = 526 Reading speed = 526 / time taken seconds * 60 (WPM) Calculate your reading speed now!

iAcademy A quick survey How many of you read above 200 WPM, raise your hands Above 250 WPM? Above 450 WPM? Above 600 WPM? Congratulations to ALL!

iAcademy BUT… Will I Understand? Reading more quickly in the correct manner will not decrease your understanding of the text!

iAcademy Lets examine how we can improve our reading speed by 20% or more very quickly!

iAcademy 5 reading habits that slow us down 1) Moving your lips to silently read every word 2) Trying to pronounce the words silently in our minds 3) Reading at a constant speed throughout the entire article – There are some sentences that we can speed though a little faster than others Source:

iAcademy 5 reading habits that slow us down 4) Reading a sentence or group of words again and again Source: Sometimes, it is necessary to reread something… reread something, especially in a difficult passage. But habitual… in a difficult passage. But habitual, unnecessary regressing slows you down.

iAcademy 5 reading habits that slow us down 5) Reading 1 word at a time carefully Source: Do|you|sometimes|read like|this?|Reading|word| by|word|can|slow|your reading|speed.

iAcademy 2 Tips to improve your reading speed 1) Use a pointer! Wrong Thinking: Using a pointer is for people who are poor or slow in English!

iAcademy Did you see how they read? They were using their hands and fingers to guide their eyes!

iAcademy 2 Tips to improve your reading speed 1) Use a pointer! – A pointer can be anything that helps to guide your eyes as they move throughout the text

iAcademy 2 Tips to improve your reading speed 2) Read small groups of words each time. Instead of reading like this Over | 85% | of | college | work | requires | reading. | Students | intending | to | go | for | higher | studies | will | need | to | read | more | and | more | books. | It | may | not | be | possible | for | most | of | the | students | to | buy | all | the | required | books | and | read. | Hence | they | go | for | other | alternatives | such | as | going | to | libraries | or | use | internet. | In | all | these | contexts, | students | have | to | read | as | quickly | as | possible | and | comprehend | what | all |they | have | read, | only | then | they | can | perform | better | in | their | chosen | field.

iAcademy 2 Tips to improve your reading speed 2) Read small groups of words each time. Read like this! Over 85% of college work requires reading. Students intending to go for higher studies will need to read more and more books. It may not be possible for most of the students to buy all the required books and read. Hence they go for other alternatives such as going to libraries or use internet. In all these contexts, students have to read as quickly as possible and comprehend what all they have read, only then they can perform better in their chosen field.

iAcademy 2 Tips to improve your reading speed 2) Read small groups of words each time. – Your eyes can take in an amazing amount of text at a time! – The more words you can read as a group with 1 look, the faster you will read! Kim Goodman of Chicago, Illinois holds the Guinness World Record for her ability to pop her eyes out to a protrusion of.47 inches (12 millimeters) beyond her eye sockets. Source:

iAcademy Why do you think text in newspapers is printed this way? So you can read small groups of words easily!

iAcademy Get rid of any poor reading habits and use these 2 tips… you will be reading faster immediately!

iAcademy Any Questions?

iAcademy The reading skills you have learnt are useful and with practice you will read and remember much more than others.

iAcademy Now let’s apply your efficient reading skills to your exams!

iAcademy Reading Comprehension Almost every English Examination e.g. IELTS will have a reading comprehension exercise Source: An article to read Questions to answer

iAcademy You have 2 exams, 1 in each semester. Each will have Reading Comprehension questions.

iAcademy What students usually do Read the article from start to finish Read the 1 st question, start reading the article again until you find the answer. Read the 2 nd question, start reading the article again until you find the answer. Read the 3 rd question, start reading the article again until you find the answer. And so on… Oops… ran out of time!

iAcademy Is there a better way? Exams are timed. Hence, answering the questions correctly and quickly is important. A Suggested Method: 1.Survey and Skim through the article 2.Read the questions quickly 3.Read in Detail the article 4.While reading, make notes on the article to indicate where answers can be found. 5.Start reading and answering the questions. Scan the article and start reading where the answers can be found.

iAcademy Reading Comprehension: Step 1 Survey and Skim through the article Read the title of the article – Give you a clue to what the author’s main idea or opinion is Read the 1 st sentence of each paragraph – Get the key ideas about what the article is about

iAcademy Reading Comprehension: Step 2 Read the questions quickly Understand what each question is asking for Notice the key words or phrases in each question

iAcademy Reading Comprehension: Step 3, 4 Read in Detail the article While reading, make notes on the article to indicate where answers can be found. Q1 Q2

iAcademy Reading Comprehension: Step 5 Start reading and answering the questions. Scan the article for key words and phrases that indicate where the answers can be found. You need to be familiar with some of the common questions that will be asked.

iAcademy 5 Common Type of Questions 1) Main Idea – E.g. What is the main idea of the passage? – E.g. What is the author’s main point in the article? Tips – Read the Title – Read the 1 st and Last Paragraphs – (If the article is complete) The last paragraph usually contains the conclusion and summarizes the author’s main idea or opinion

iAcademy 5 Common Type of Questions 2) Supporting Ideas – E.g. How did the author support his main idea? – E.g. What evidence was provided to justify the author’s opinions? Tips – Look for examples provided by the author that are helpful to or agree with his ideas

iAcademy 5 Common Type of Questions 3) Facts found in the article – E.g. What was the year in which Singapore gain its independence? – E.g. How did World War 2 begin? Tips – The answers are in the article. 4) Opinion of an idea in the article – E.g. What do you think of the author’s idea? Tips – State clearly whether you agree or disagree with the author and why.

iAcademy 5 Common Type of Questions 5) Vocabulary Development – E.g. What is the meaning of the word “Adhere” as used in the article? Tips – Scan the article and find the word. – Read the sentence the word is in and the sentences before and after the word. – If you don’t know the word, try to predict or guess it’s meaning.

iAcademy Any Questions?

iAcademy Now let’s apply your efficient reading skills to textbooks!

iAcademy Why Read Textbooks? Lectures contain a summary of content from several textbooks, news media, and the experiences of your lecturer. However, reading textbooks can be helpful to gain a deeper understanding of the subject. – Different ways of explaining concepts – More knowledge, examples, activities Recommended for students who want to excel – Read (or Skim) the required textbook chapters before class – (And) the Supplementary Notes

iAcademy Reading Textbooks Important Point: Not Everything in the Textbook is Important!

iAcademy How to Read a Textbook? Use the 3 Steps of Efficient Reading + Read and understand how the textbook is organized or written – Most modern textbooks comes with many helpful “learning features” Let see what some of these features are and how you should use them!

iAcademy Learning Features of Textbooks Chapter Story – An interesting story or piece of new that introduces the topic of the Chapter

iAcademy Learning Features of Textbooks Chapter Outline – Table of contents for a chapter – Tell you how the chapter is organized

iAcademy Learning Features of Textbooks Chapter Learning Objectives – Guides you on what is important and what you must know after reading the chapter

iAcademy Learning Features of Textbooks Summary – Provides the most important facts – Found at the end of each Chapter

iAcademy Learning Features of Textbooks Interviews with working professionals – Helps to understand how knowledge is practically applied

iAcademy Learning Features of Textbooks Useful Information about how the knowledge is used and in demand at work – Helps to understand career choices related to the subject

iAcademy Learning Features of Textbooks Glossary in Text – Provides the meaning of key terms or phrases – Found at the side margins of the text – Helps to understand new terms as they are introduced

iAcademy Learning Features of Textbooks Glossary – Provides the meaning of key terms or phrases – Found at the end of the book

iAcademy Final Tips on Reading a Textbook Play Video – How to Use Your Textbook

iAcademy Any Questions?

iAcademy An Interesting Fact

iAcademy World Book Day Celebrated on 23 Apr every year by UNSECO – A symbolic date for world literature as Shakespeare and many other famous authors died on 23 April – To encourage everyone to discover the pleasures of reading

iAcademy Interesting Reading World Records Longest marathon reading aloud – Deepak Sharma Bajagain (Nepal) read aloud 17 different books from 13 authors over 113 hours 15 minutes at the Tudikhel Ground, Kathmandu, Nepal, from 19 to 24 September 2008.

iAcademy Interesting Reading World Records Play Videos – Deepak Sharma Bajagain broke six Guinness World Records

iAcademy Why do some people choose to read aloud?

iAcademy Why do educators worldwide recommend that parents read to their children?

iAcademy Benefits of Reading Aloud It engages your brain far more than reading silently and improves your spoken English You gain a better understanding of the feelings and intentions of the author and hence the content You will better remember what you have read You show others that reading and language skills are important and set a good example for others on how to improve their English.

iAcademy Reading aloud will also help you improve your oral presentation skills (Week 5)

iAcademy IMPTORTANT Week 5: Discuss 1 st Assessment

iAcademy Summary: Week 4 Lecture Be aware of Bad Reading Habits that you may have and reduce them Use Good Reading Tips that help you to focus and read faster Apply your reading skills to Reading Comprehension questions Reading or Skimming through Textbooks before lectures is recommended. Use Textbooks wisely to complement the lecture notes.

iAcademy What to Expect: Week 4 Tutorial Find your average reading speed – Practice using some of the simple techniques described to increase your reading speed Reading Comprehension exercises – Read various types of articles – Practice your reading and reading comprehension skills

iAcademy