Speed Reading Can it Really Be Done

Speed Reading â€" Can it Really Be Done Suzy S. Want to learn how to read faster? Tempted by all the promises of speed reading programs and classes? Find out if theres truth behind the strategies in this guest post by Ann Arbor, MI teacher  Elaina R Imagine a library full of frantic-looking students, their eyes darting back and forth as they flip through textbooks. These students are attempting the controversial art of speed reading. Unfortunately, many of these students will probably find that they remember very little of the information they are so busily scanning. This begs the question: do these strategies for learning how to read faster really work? Or is it a fantasy thought up by busy students? Let’s explore the concept of speed reading, whether or not it works, and what might work better. What is Speed Reading? Speed reading involves quickly glancing through text. The goal of this type of reading is not to absorb every word. Instead, readers want to quickly understand the gist of the text. They want to be able to regurgitate important themes and summarize the text, even if they miss the details. As you can imagine, speed reading only works in certain situations. Unfortunately, reading a textbook isn’t one of those situations. There are certain things you cannot scan through with good results. Speed reading is best for simple reading, such as: • Mainstream news articles • Advertising emails and letters Speed reading is bad for complex reading, such as: • Textbooks • Scientific articles • Literature Speed Reading Techniques For lighter reading, here are some tried-and-true techniques that can help you glean the overall themes quickly. Although these techniques probably won’t help you read Chaucer any faster, they might help you clear your inbox or read the news in less time. The glance-over: Look over chunks of text a few lines at a time, picking out important elements (such as nouns and numbers) as you go. The diagonal: Cut a diagonal through each paragraph with your eyes, searching for these important key elements. Just read faster: Look at each line individually, but at a very rapid pace. Better Than Speed Reading If you are tempted to try speed reading in an academic setting (you forgot to study for the big test, for example), know that you arent going to learn how to read faster in one night. Instead, here are a few techniques that may be more useful to you: Read just a hair faster: Instead of attempting to read at lightning speed, go for just a slightly brisker pace than usual. Don’t go overboard â€" just be conscious of your speed and, while still reading and processing each word, see if you can handle a few more words per minute. Chapter summaries: Many textbooks come equipped with summaries at the end of each chapter or section. Others have key words grouped at the ends of chapters. Use these! If you have to study a whole textbook in one night, read all of the summaries and look up any specific topics that are confusing. Headings and tables of contents: You can also go through textbooks and look just at the headings and subheadings. Alternately, take a gander at the table of contents. Use this as a guide to help you revisit (and properly read!) the hardest sections. Study buddies: Get together with classmates, compare notes, and test each other. If you don’t know where to start, try randomly flipping to a page in the book and asking each other questions from it. If one section is no problem, move on to the next one. This goes without saying, but the best way to get to know the material is to actually read it. Learn how to manage your time so that you can complete assigned readings, take notes, and really absorb the material before crunch time. Not only is a natural reading pace more effective, it can also be fun. If you have trouble managing your time and studying well, consider hiring a tutor to help you hone these skills. Elaina R. is a writer, editor, singer, and voice teacher based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Her book  Slaying Your Admissions Essay Dragon  shows how to write application essays that are actually fun to read. Elaina has served as an editor for several notable books as well, including NFL great Adrian Peterson’s autobiography  Don’t Dis My Abilities. Learn more about Elaina here! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo  by  RLHyde

Looking to Study Arabic Any Idea of the Best Way

Looking to Study Arabic Any Idea of the Best Way Learning to Speak Arabic: What to Study? ChaptersWhat Is Linguistic Immersion?The Arab World.Learning Arabic through ImmersionAiding Memory Through Arabic ImmersionThe Other Benefits of Learning Arabic AbroadThe 'Year Abroad': Going to the Arabic-Speaking World with University.The 'Home-Stay': Learning Arabic Locally.The 'Private Tutorial': Get Your Own Arabic Tutor.The 'Conversation Class': Join an Arabic Class - or Set One Up Yourself.The 'Self-Taught' Learner: Can You Learn Arabic by Yourself?What, then, Are You Waiting For?“Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardour and attended to with diligence.” - Abigail AdamsLearning Arabic, like any other language, often happens in the same way if you learn in a school. You’ll learn some words, practise reading and writing, and it can be painfully dull at times.There are 22 different Arabic-speaking countries who are also members of the Arabic league.In 2014, the Arab League covered 13.5 million km ² and is home to 378 million Arabic speakers.What better place to learn how to speak in Arabic?In this article, we’re going to look at what linguistic immersion is, how you can use it to learn a language, how immersion aids memory and the benefits of learning a language abroad through immersion.But we're also going to look at some of the other ways to learn the language - those same ones that can be painfully dull, those that might help you get to where you need to be before you go abroad, and those that you can fit around your schedule seamlessly.University of Cambridge: - at Cambridge, you can do as you please for your year abroad - obviously within reason. Their students have travelled to Palestine, Oman, Lebanon, and Egypt, and usually return pretty satisfied with their experience.University of Edinburgh: - in a similar way, Edinburgh has no fixed destination to which you will travel, but, over the thirty weeks you will be required to spend abroad, the university will make sure that you keep working and improving with your la nguage.School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London: - on an Arabic course at SOAS, you can take a year abroad at one of three institutions: the Qasid Institute in Amman; the Alif Institute in Fez; or the Alexandria School of Languages, in Egypt.Years abroad are a fabulous way to hone your language skills - and it is the reason language degrees are usually an extra year long. And these years make these extra years well worth it.The 'Home-Stay': Learning Arabic Locally.One of the most rewarding options available to those seeking an Arabic language immersion programme is the home stay. If you haven't heard about these before, they sort of do as they say on the tin: you stay in an individual or family's home, and learn the language whilst you are experiencing local habits, ways of life, food, and routines.People who do something like this usually say it is one of the best experiences of their life - and it is the peak of that contemporary buzzword that drives travelers these days: authentic.There are many organisations offering these experiences these days, with options available in Oman, Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and more. The prices vary dramatically by region and by organisation, but you could be paying as little as $60 a week and as much as $1000 a week too!If you want to bypass the organisation and get a cheaper rate, you can go direct to your host. However, this can be something of a risk, as the organisations both accredit the host and insure against any risk.The 'Private Tutorial': Get Your Own Arabic Tutor.If you're interested in learning how to speak Arabic, then private tutorials are a great option. On Superprof, you can get one on one private tutorials, online tutorials, or group tutorials.Private tutorials are the most effective and also the most costly. This is because your tutor will tailor the lessons to you, your strengths and weaknesses, and your preferred learning style. This means you'll get a bespoke service from them.S uperprof is a great place to find yourself an Arabic tutor, with over 800 available across the world. They charge an average of £17 an hour, and you can find native speakers, graduates, university students, and even academics available to give you tuition.They are qualified, experienced, and friendly, and they will have you speaking, reading, and listening effectively in no time.This is the best option for those of you who don't fancy traveling abroad just yet, or who don't have a sufficient grasp of Arabic for immersion to be productive. As, sometimes, it's helpful to have a basic understanding of the language before you dive in.Online Arabic Tutors.Online tutorials are similar but are cheaper because the tutor doesn't have to factor the cost of travelling to you into their rates. They'll deliver their private tutorials via webcam using a programme such as Skype.And honestly, these days, such technologies can facilitate as productive and helpful conversations as those had face-to- face. Talk to your heart's content - whilst you will be set up with homework, writing tasks, and solo research to do in your own time.If you are not in an area well-served by Arabic tutors, you can find - through Superprof again - and connect with more tutors than you could possibly imagine. Technology is awesome these days.So, if you are travelling to Morocco and want to polish your Moroccan Arabic, or if you are going to the Levant and want to brush the cobwebs off your Levantine, then connect with a tutor there who speaks the dialect, and you'll be talking away immediately.The 'Conversation Class': Join an Arabic Class - or Set One Up Yourself.Finally, it's worth mentioning that group tutorials have the advantage of being the cheapest per hour. This is because the hourly rate is shared by all the students in attendance.This also means that you won't get the same amount of attention from the tutor and the class won't be designed with just you in mind. But, that needn't be such an issue. The thing here is that people often learn better in group environments - building on different people's mistakes, hearing questions that they hadn't necessarily considered themselves, and enjoying the social element added to it.If there aren't any group classes or conversational classes in Arabic available in your home town, why not set one up? Get in touch with a Superprof tutor and see whether they are available and willing. It won't be good just for your language skills - but for your social life and your wallet too.The 'Self-Taught' Learner: Can You Learn Arabic by Yourself?This is a question that people often ask about learning languages:  can I learn it by myself?It's also a method that people think would be best, as they can study in their own time, at their own pace.It might even be possible with a language that is a little more similar to English - a language that shares the alphabet, that shares a few words, that has similar phonological patterns. Even then, with no -one to talk to or to ask questions, it's still pretty tough.With Arabic, you aren't going to enjoy any of the similarities that a language like Italian or German has with English. With Arabic, the alphabet, the sounds are incredibly dissimilar to English, and it is one that you may not have come into much contact with before.Sure, with all the resources available online and in books it might be  possible.  But it is far from preferable, and the challenge might prove too much.What, then, Are You Waiting For?If you are committed to learning Arabic, the last thing to say is, what exactly are you waiting for? The language is not going to learn itself!