How to read faster
The question is relevant primarily for those who are preparing for international exams. ⠀
Let me remind you that TEF involves 50 questions in the reading part, TCF – 39.
In other words, you’ll have to read about 30 texts and answer all the questions in an hour. That works out to a minute or two per text, on average. Feeling the pressure already? ⠀
In fact, everything is real. But speed reading needs to be trained. How? ⠀
- Reduce articulation ⠀ Watch how you read when no one is breathing down your neck. I usually look at the text with my eyes, read to myself, move my lips at the same time or even speak out loud, listen to myself, and comprehend. Sometimes I return to certain words, as if I want to double-check myself. This is reading for pleasure, formed by habit. That's what we were taught at school. Chances are many of you are doing the same thing as me. ⠀
But there is no time to enjoy the exam. Your task is to shorten this chain.
❗️We watch, read, understand.
❗️We don’t talk, we don’t fixate on something twice. ⠀
- Read more. There is power in daily practice. ⠀
- Focus on the task. Read the question and answer options before starting the text. Then you will know what information you should extract from it. And unnecessary data will be cut off by itself and will not steal precious time. ⠀
- And one last life hack. If the skill of quickly perceiving texts seems completely unattainable to you, try installing any application for speed reading in Russian. I personally was shocked when I tried it for the first time and found that the text flashed in front of me in just a couple of seconds, and I completely understood it. ⠀
We are able to perceive information in our native language very quickly. And I assure you, with a competent approach and daily training, you can achieve good results in other languages. ⠀
Read other useful articles:
How to independently prepare for the oral part TEF