"I read very slowly."
"I tend to read the same line over and over again."
"I have loads of readings to do and I don't think I would ever finish them."

Do these comments sound familiar to you? If yes, don't feel bad because you are reading in a foreign language. When people read in a foreign language, very often, they don't have enough confidence in their text interpretation; and therefore, they usually read more slowly than they do in their own language. After these words of comfort and reassurance, of course, you still want to improve your reading speed. Before you read on, consider the following:

How fast (or how slowly) do I read?

It is important to measure your reading speed before and after your practice in speed reading so that you know how much you have achieved. To do so,

• Choose two reading passages of about the same length and the same difficulty level. (For convenience sake, choose two passages from "Practical Faster Reading" in the SAC.)
• Use one passage before practice and the other after.
• Get a stop watch ready.
• Read the passage.
• Record the time you took to finish the passage.

If you read a passage with comprehension questions (like those in "Practical Faster Reading"), you may also check and see how well you have understood it. After you have recorded your pre-practice reading speed, you may start practising. REMEMBER: You may use any reading materials available, and you may practise anywhere (even on the MTR or ferry) you like. Now, are you ready for some tips?

Tips on improving your reading speed

• Identify a purpose for your reading and try to achieve that purpose in your reading. (This tip can be useful for any kind of reading.)
• Ignore the word(s) or part(s) that you do not understand.
• DON'T ever read back! This will slow you down. Just go on reading, bearing the passage title in mind.
• DON'T let your eyes stay on the same line for more than 5 seconds.
• Try to identify one main idea from one paragraph. (Of course some paragraph may contain more than one main idea, whereas in other cases, one main idea could be expressed in several paragraphs.)
• Eye movement: There are different suggestions on how to use your eye movement to help you read faster. There is no one solution. The best way is to experiment yourself before you identify the method that suits you. Different methods are as follows:

	1. Move your eyes diagonally.
	2. Read the words at the beginning and at the end of each line.
	3. Read the words in the middle of each line.

• Read nouns and verbs only.

With the help of these tips, practise as much and as often as you can. Don't forget to measure your reading speed at the end to see how much faster you can read.

And now...

If you need any further advice:

• see an Adviser, on duty at the SAC Advice Desk (for details of advisers and their availability, please go to http://lc.ust.hk/~sac/sacadviser.html)
• e-mail lcsac (lcsac@ust.hk) with your query;
• ask at the reception counter of the SAC — if the receptionist cannot help you directly, s/he will pass your query on to one of the SAC advisers.

  Good luck and enjoy your learning!

Note
The introductory leaflet in this series is the leaflet How do you become a better reader? (R1)

This advice sheet is part of the Reading series of leaflets supporting independent language learning produced by the HKUST Language Centre SAC team. This leaflet was written by Susanna Ho, 1997. If you copy this leaflet, please acknowledge the source. Thanks.