Speed reading is a valuable skill that involves recognising and absorbing text quickly, far surpassing the average reading speed, without compromising comprehension.  

There are 3 key components when learning how to speed read:

Natural vision

Learning to see the whole page at once, instead of looking at a single line of text at a time. The good thing is, the brain already chunks things together to improve efficiency. This skill is honed during the process of learning how to speed read. 

Visualisation

Through visualisation, your child will no longer just see the text. They would rather see something that they can relate to other things to make it easier to remember.

Relaxation

Speed reading in a relaxed state increases the level of comprehension.

Children have a natural ability to speed read. With the right training, your child can comprehend how to read faster. Children can learn to understand what they are reading without interpreting every word.

Process more information in less time

Speed reading is an incredible ability. It enables your child to process a greater amount of information in less time and supercharges their learning potential. By learning to read quickly, your child can tap into the power of their subconscious mind and absorb complex concepts without sacrificing comprehension.

This fundamental skill is a powerful tool that can help your child maximise the amount of knowledge they acquire throughout their lives. Learning how to speed read enhances their learning journey and prepares them for a successful transition to school and beyond.

Increased confidence 

Children who can read rapidly and efficiently may feel more confident in their abilities. This can affect their academic performance and self-esteem overall.

Whether it’s joining in on class discussions, presenting ideas to peers, or just feeling more confident in themselves, speed reading supports your child’s self-esteem in a range of contexts.  

Increased focus and concentration

A high degree of focus and concentration is required for speed reading, which can help your child develop these essential skills. Concentration is the ability of a child to focus on an activity. This is also an indicator for a child’s success in a learning process.

Speed reading for kids can be especially helpful for students who have difficulty paying attention or concentrating. In many cases, the performance of children who struggle to concentrate doesn’t match their ability. They are smart and capable but their lapses of concentration can hinder their performance. 

The ability to focus is important for children as they prepare and transition to a more formal school setting. In the school environment, the teaching format will require your child to focus for longer periods of time.  

Improved memory and recall

Speed reading can help your child to remember and recall information more easily. Like a muscle, your child’s brain strengthens with continued training which results in enhanced memory performance.

Not only will this be beneficial during their school years, but also as they move on to higher education and even the workforce. Imagine how much easier it will be for your child to study for exams or give presentations. The benefits are vast when they can read fast and retain more of what they’ve read!

Enhanced critical thinking skills

Speed reading helps children identify key information and also teaches them to analyse text, make connections between different ideas, and form opinions based on their reading. With speed reading, your child becomes efficient at analysing the information being currently presented and how it relates to information they’ve read previously. When seeds of ideas are planted, they may blossom at a later date when a connection is made at a later stage.

It’s like giving your child a superpower that will benefit them for years to come. By developing these skills through speed reading, your child can tackle challenges that come their way and navigate the world with confidence.

Our program at Shichida Australia for teaching speed reading to children is based on the ‘wave speed reading method’ developed by Professor Makoto Shichida.

Rather than breaking down their reading into the identification of individual words, we use methods to help your child recognise the sentences and phrases on the page all at once. This far exceeds the amount of information that can be processed with the average reading speed.

As an example, of one the exercises we use involves: 

• Reading the information passages independently to help with enhanced speed and comprehension.
• Answering the comprehension questions and praising their efforts.

To kickstart the fundamentals of speed reading, it all begins with the ability to speed listen. At Shichida, speed listening is initially introduced in the late kinder program where children will listen to stories at 4 x the natural speed and then 2 x the natural speed.

Once your child has developed their speed listening skills, they move on to age-appropriate and engaging activities that are specifically designed to meet their unique needs, paving the way to master speed reading. 

While we don’t do a reading speed test, as your child progresses through our Primary program, we introduce more advanced speed reading methods that draw on Professor Shichida’s research. 

We emphasise the FUN in speed reading, so learning truly becomes a joy for your child! The in-person approach and encouragement offers a more enhanced learning experience than simply using a speed reading app.

To gain the full benefits of our speed reading program, your child must enrol with Shichida before the age of 4.5 years. 

At Shichida Australia, we believe that every child has the potential to excel and achieve great things. Contact us today to learn more about our early childhood learning program and how we can help your child succeed.