When narrative levels were tested, there was increased activation in the temporal part of the brain.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary and comprehension go hand and hand. Being able to pronounce a word is essential, but knowing what the word means has a significant effect, mostly while skimming.
Comprehension Strategies
Research reports have identified that very proficient readers use a selection of strategies with different types of reading material to aid with comprehension. These strategies can be used by readers who aren’t as experienced, so their comprehension improves. Here are the strategies:
Making Inferences: Also known as ‘reading between the lines,’ it is the linking parts of the text that are not directly linked so that a sensible conclusion can be deduced. The person reading the material is speculating on what might be written in the text.
Planning and Monitoring: this involves the mental awareness of the reader and their comprehension, and by previewing the material, they can identify a goal for their reading. They use context and other strategies and ask themselves what they want to get out of the book.
Question Asking: With this strategy, the reader formulates an opinion
of the way the author has written the text, the relationships with the characters, and what motivates them in the story. By asking themselves questions, they can gain a better understanding of what the text is about.
Importance Determining: The reader can pinpoint what the essential aspects are within the text, and can summarize how relevant each one is.
Synthesizing: This strategy involves gathering multiple ideas from different sources and marrying them together to conclude to figure out how it all fits together.
Making Connections: The reader identifies a personal connection to the text, whether it is an experience they have had or texts they have read before, to gain a more robust understanding of the context.
Sensory Processing
When reading and comprehending, it involves more than just the eyes and the brain. Using different senses can often create a better memory that can be recalled more efficiently.
Vision
The most used sense of them all when it comes to reading, what we see can evoke the most efficient recall ability than with the other senses.
Visual senses not only involve written words, but pictures, graphs, and maps. Many people can recall more from looking at a picture than what they have read. However, when the stress is on the logic and not the details of the image, the value of recall decreases.
Audio
Although auditory information can be useful, it typically is not as effective when it comes to recalling the info as the visual senses.
Touch
When touch is used to memorize, it is very similar to visual learning, but there is a processing level difference between the two.
Smell
This sense is not as strong as visual memories, but it is still relatively high when it comes to the success rate of recall. The results are often better if the person is asked to imagine they can see the smell and associate that with an image.
Can Reading Faster Help Those With Learning
Disabilities?
It has been discovered that adults with dyslexia that are taught to read faster have much better results. Typically people with dyslexia are taught to read slowly and sound out each syllable and word, but this is causing a problem with comprehension and fluency.
With an estimated 5-10% of the population of the world being dyslexic, changing how they are taught to read could make a tremendous difference. The results have been so good that researchers are now considering whether reading faster could help those who are deaf and have trouble sounding out what they are reading.
Recap Advantages
For the Student
Ability to read the recommended material faster without feeling stressed that you can’t get it done.
Reading faster means you absorb the information more quickly, leaving more room for study.
Structured study sessions.
Regular revision timetables.
Time management skills will improve.
Ability to study more subjects.
Time for other projects.
Less stress, especially at exam time.
Better sleep patterns.
More confidence.
Ability to recall information when needed.
