The
Importance of Reading to the Professional Person
Some
months ago I heard a radio discussion on the absolutely vital role
that reading plays in administration of top government. In Washington,
for example, according to the discussants, the paper-work has become
so massive that many programmes are running far behind schedule because
of the communications lag. Attempts to find some solution are of critical
importance. Reading Programmes are of course one attempt to ease the
situation. Many of the Federal and State organizations have instituted
these programmes and many private reading programmes are working with
literally thousands of Federal and business executives and employees.I
was talking to a gentleman just a few days ago who cited a position
he had held in which his reading of memoranda and letters to which
he was required to react amounted to something over 100 pages daily.
Now in studies conducted at the Pentagon and the Agricultural Department
in Washington it was found that most officers spent about four hours
daily in reading activity.
Let us see how well the gentleman we mentioned can get through his
100 pages daily, assuming he has the four hours to read and analyze.
The
following will give a general idea of the time involved to read 100
pages at various speeds:
Based
on 400 words per page of print if your reading rate is:
|
Rate
w.p.m.
|
Min.
perpage
|
Pages
perhour
|
Time
to read 100 pagesHours Minutes
|
Probable
actual time
|
|
100
|
4
|
15
|
6
|
40
|
8hours
|
|
200
|
2
|
30
|
3
|
18
|
4
1/2 hours
|
|
300
|
1
1/3
|
45
|
2
|
12
|
3
1/2 hours
|
|
400
|
1
|
60
|
1
|
42
|
3
hours
|
|
600
|
2/3
|
90
|
1
|
06
|
2
1/2 hours
|
|
800
|
1/2
|
120
|
0
|
50
|
1
1/2 hours
|
If
this is the actual data of the rate and amount of reading one can
do, it was questioned as to how well governmental officials read,
having so much material to cover a day. FULKER made this study with
332 officers and civilians of the Department of Agriculture and Pentagon.
First, their reading speed was checked.
FIG
1.
It was found that the average read at 274 w.p.m.
Interms of the 100 pages daily reading he could just make it with
no time to spare. The faster reader had
a speed of 615 w.p.m. and the slowest reader had a speed of 115 w.p.m.
This
slower speed made up around 10 percent of the group or roughly,
33 persons. They would at least need eight hours just to complete
the reading task only
Then
these people were given training in efficient reading. The results
are given in fig2.
FIG
2.
The graph indicates that no significant change came about in vocabulary
knowledge due to instruction. The percentile before instructionwas
76, the percentile in vocabulary after instruction was 80. The fact
that no significant change occurred should be expected. Vocabulary
is so much a part of the total thinking capacity and behaviour of
the individual that rapid growth cannot be expected from a very short
training period.'Before'
and 'After' Training Test Scores on 244 VSDA Employees
Percentile
Rank
FIG 3.
In
rate, significant growth is indicated by a change in scores before
and after training from the 41st to 59th percentile. In comprehension,
a positive change through training is indicated by a change in percentile
rank from the 46th to the 57th percentile.
In this graph 'before' and 'after' scores indicate the same facts,
as did the preceding graph, that is, vocabulary showed no appreciable
change through training but rate and comprehension did. The third
bar on the graph indicates any change that took place after 18 months
following completion of the reading programme. This bar indicates
that no appreciable change took place in this period, therefore,
indicating that growth gains do persist well beyond the training.
The
following is a study done by the author in India with the senior
officials in the Ministry:
FIG
4.
At the beginning of instruction the highest speed was 450 w.p.m.
of the 20 senior officials who attended the course. The lowest speed
was 240 w.p.m. The average speed was 315 w.p.m.
After
six weeks of training, the lowest speed was 450 w.p.m. which was
the highest speed before the training. The average speed shot up
to 675 w.p.m. and there were people who were reading at 1,150 w.p.m.,
almost 200 percent gain in speed.
Some
Causes of Poor Reading Habits
There are a variety of psychological and visual habits that more
or less place a ceiling on how rapidly an adult can read and comprehend.
1.
Lack of effective techniques
There must be an attempt to change-simply doing a thing over and
over does not necessarily effect improvement. Take for example handwriting,
which does not improve just because we write, is a case in point.
Another good example is trying to draw a straight line blindfolded.
It was shown that even after doing it, 1,000th time, the line is
still crooked.So in order to improve, there must be a conscious
attempt at change; change comes about not only by wishful thinking,
but through doing certain things to break old habits and form new
ones.
Emmett BETTS, a foremost education and reading specialist, points
out that many adults do not read any better than children at the
elementary or lower school, because they have not had any training
beyond this point. They have simply carried on into adulthood using
the same old techniques. Many of us learned to read orally in the
lower school, which limits reading rate to 150-250 w.p.m.
2.
Lack of effective practice with new techniques
a second cause of poor reading habits is the lack of effective practice
with new techniques. Many do not practice often enough till the
learning is reinforced well. And as a result, the rate gained is
lost after a short time if the training is not meaningful and practice
is not for a long enough period. It is a fact that practice makes
it perfect-practice with understanding.
3.
Lack of practice in direct translation in reading symbols
Studies in other countries have shown that a person who reads in
two or more languages probably not as rapid in the adopted one because
of the tendency also to think the word that stands for the idea
in the oral language or mother tongue. In other words, we tend to
compare the written symbol to one we may more commonly use in oral
speech.
Continued intensive practice is necessary for the improvement of
rate in the adopted or written language if this double kind of translation
is, all or in part, eliminated.
Therefore, practice materials for rate training are often written
somewhat more simply than daily work reading. The ideas and concepts
chosen are consciously non-technical and about simple topics and
ideas. The use of easy materials begins the task of changing reading
speed more quickly than would technical material with many details
to remember.
4.
Insufficient background
Symbols on a page cannot create ideas; they can only bring together
and rearrange ideas that the reader already has in his possession.
Therefore, the less information about a topic one initially has,
the slower he will probably read because there will not be a flood
of mental associations to move the reader on to the next point of
the writer.
5.
Technical materials
Some technical subjects demand slow, exacting reading. The person
gets used to a slow pace and he does not know how to shift to another
rate for the less exacting, easier material.
6.
Visual problems
This topic will be dealt in detail at a later time. Among the visual
problems muscular imbalance, lateral forea, lack of co-ordination
of the finer muscles are the more prominent visual handicaps.
To
summarize, many adults read both slowly and with inadequate comprehension
because they have:
1.
lack of effective techniques
2. lack of effective practice
3. not a direct translation between word symbol and comprehension;
word is compared to one in the more common spoken language or
mother tongue.
4. insufficient background
5. technical details which demand a slower reading and
6. visual problems.
To
replace poor reading habits with good ones, the first prerequisite
is desire or need to read better and faster. The second is willingness
to practice new habits until they are established.
Our daily reading is largely informational and related to the topics
of our work.
1.
Some of it contains many details, some very technical, and these
must be read relatively slowly.
2. Other materials will be fairly simple in purpose and detail,
and these can be read very rapidly.
3. Whatever the material, it usually has three general parts:
(a) an introduction, usually stating a topic or idea or the
purpose for writing.
(b) A development of the idea and
(c) A conclusion, summary or ending.
Recognizing
these parts helps one to rapidly organize his reading and thus read
it more rapidly.
Who
Is A Successful Reader?
A successful reader is a person who can handle large amounts of written
material.
What
are the Characteristics of a Successful Reader?
1.
has purpose
2. can concentrate
3. comprehends what he reads
4. remembers what he reads
5. has a good vocabulary and
6. can read rapidly, but with rate depending on the material.
Knowing
how to select the right combination of skills for a particular purpose-to
change the rate of reading in a co-coordinated reaction to purpose
and difficulty is the mark of the effective reader. This skill is
called flexibility.
The flexible reader is a purposeful reader. He knows how to skim
for previewing an article before reading, and he knows how to scan
for specific information in a selection. He learns, from his preview
skimming, to know whether to read the selection rapidly, at an average
rate, or slowly.
Relationship
Between Reading Flexibility and Speed Gains
According to a study by the University of Wisconsin reported in
the Journal of Educational Research in January 1971, it was found
that people who have high flexibility can skim six to nine times
faster than they read.
Sixty-four subjects were divided into three groups on the basis
of the difference between their measured skimming and reading speeds.
1. Low Flexibility - 1:1 -- 2:1
2. Medium Flexibility - 3:1 - 4:1
3. High Flexibility - 6:1 - 9:1
The low flexibility group skimmed only as fast as they read or at
the most twice as rapidly. The medium flexibility group skimmed
three or four times more rapidly than they could read, and the high
flexibility group skimmed six to nine times faster than they read.
All
the three groups were given rate training by use of the SRA accelerator.
The teachers did not know the results of the flexibility ratios.
There were no significant difference in gain in reading rate from
training between first and second groups. There were significant
difference between second and third groups and first and third groups.
The groups that originally skimmed significantly faster than they
read benefited most from training in rate.
It is suggested that a person should be able to skim at least six
times faster than he can read for rate training to be most effective.
Guide
for Flexibility in Reading Rate
Slowest:
Precise, reflective thinking
For
such purposes as: Such materials as:
Following directions Problems, Recipes and other directions
Learning Verbatim Religious and philosophical words
Ascertaining intricate relationships Intricate technical materials
Understanding and solving problems Poetry and drama
Gaining insight into depth of Maps and Charts
Meaning
Oral Reading
Slow
: Reading for information
For
such purposes as: Such materials as:
Comprehending thoroughly Textbooks
Reading critically Technical nonfiction
Studying for class work Literary Press
Encyclopedia articles
Editorials
Average:
Recreational reading
For
such purposes as: Such materials as:
Enjoying stories-- Novels and short stories
Satisfying curiosity Biography
Superficial
comprehension Accounts of personal experience
Magazine articles of general interest
News items of temporary interest
Rapid:
Scanning and Skimming, leafing through
For
such purposes as: Such materials as:
Finding a specific item of information Reference Books Indexes
Getting a general impression of Newspaper pages
content Magazines
Finding the proper place to start Books selected as of possible
slower reading interest or value
Judging whether the material is
suitable for slower reading
