Self-Hypnôtic  Learning
&
Reading Techniques!
By Ther°al L . Bynum, M.D.

      Due to the emphasis placed upon long assignments in textbooks and reference books, reading ability is an important determinant of Scholastic Success.   Some students are prevented from making full use of their abilities because, in certain aspects of basic reading skills, they maintain serious deficiencies.
      The following is a discussion of four such dificiencies.

Four Basic Areas of Reading Deficiencies:

• Rate,
   
• Comprehension,
   
• Vocabulary,  &
   
• Reading Tables  and  Graphs.

Reading Rate:

      THERE ARE MANY TYPES OF READING ABILITIES, not just one.   A person may be an expert at reading fiction for information, but may not be proficient at reading nonfiction.    Since academic studies deal primarily with the latter, reading nonfiction is stress in this discussion.   Skill in reading different types of nonfiction may also vary because of the differences in vocabulary, style of writing, and what may be expected from reading the selection.

     Individuals show different levels of reading skills which vary not only quantitatively (as in rate), but also qualitatively.   Four such levels of reading skills are described here:

Level  - I

      The most inefficient level is Word-by-Word reading.   Here the reader goes at an exceedingly slow rate, usually accompanied with lip movement, whispering and/or finger pointing while reading; making little if any adjustments for the concurrent difficulty of the reading material.
      This individual may be found to read a section from an easy elementary-school reader at the same rate as one from a difficult graduate textbook.   Such individuals usually have high enough intelligence and vocabulary;  their difficulty seems to be in a cary-over from oral reading of certain perceptual-motor habits of perceiving one word at a time.   Further, reading fluency is at its lowest since by the time the reader reaches the end of the text, he has no idea what he has just read. 

Level  - II

      Most individuals are at the second level of reading skills -- flexible adjustment of reading rate to changes in difficulty and purpose of the text. 

Level  - III

      The third level is use of the context of the story to Pre-Comprehend what is being read.   This is observed in the proficient reading of fiction.   Upon catching-on to the story line, readers use the ability to half-guess what is going to happen in order to speed up their reading rate and comprehension.  

Level  - IV

      The fourth and highest level of reading skill is the ability to benefit from typographical and written cues in the text.  

Tips for Improvement

      Studies made of persons known to be outstanding readers have shown that the maximum rate of straight reading is around 500 words per minute.   This is twice as fast as most college students, and is a reasonable goal to aim for.   To reach or surpass this goal, practice reading more rapidly than you do at present, in a short while you will develop a habit of reading faster (speed reading).

      Some people think that speed reading means skipping over the printed words without really absorbing them.   You can skim through a book, sailing high over the land scape until you spot what you want, and swoop down on it.   But that is 'skimming,' not speed reading!

      We remember more if we concentrate.   We concentrate more if we read at a speed closer to the speed at which we process information (~100,000 words/min.);  in other words, extremely fast.   When we take in more ideas instead of lingering over each sentence, it is actually easier to process the information.
      The difference between casual reading and speed reading is like the different between driving on a flat highway in the desert and on a winding mountain road.   Our concentration rises on the winding road, and we process more information.   Like mountain driving, speed reading is work, but it gives us back much more than it demands of us.

      The best way to read may be demonstrated by the way a student would read when he discovers that in ten minutes there will be a quiz on a lesson that he hasn't read.   This student reads very rapidly, yet gets all that he can out of the lesson.   In the beginning, reading this way may be fatiguing - so, take short periods of rest to write notes on what you have read.   With daily practice, this or a faster rate will become habitual.   Read all your work in this manner.

      Since comprehension difficulties are usually the main determinants of reading rates, exercises to improve your vocabulary, to learn to read for questions, and to improve organization will result in better as well as faster comprehension.   Also stop lip movement and line-following with fingers as you read.  

Reading Comprehension:

      Comprehension of what you read is just as important as the act of reading itself.   The major emphasis in Self-Training should be on improving your reading comprehension.
      Effective study consists of:  " Reading with one's Mind, instead of one's eyes!"   The effective reader should learn to read with the aggressive attitude of seeking what is Important and distinguishing it from what is merely explanatory.   Increacing either speed or depth of comprehension is accomplished by increasing one's vocabulary and having an understanding of the basic "Idea" of the particular topic of study.

      The level of reading comprehension accuracy developed, should be as high as possible; the higher the better.   One effective way in which to increase reading comprehension is by changing the heading of the text into a question, read the text to answer that question, and then check to see if you can answer the question from memory.   If you find that you can answer the question from memory, you can be sure you have comprehended the essential ideas.   Also make every attempt to use the context of the literature to Pre-Comprehend what is being read.  

      In any case of serious study, remember to concentrate on only one idea at a time!  

Vocabulary:

      It would be pointless to attend a lecture given by a guest speaker from Java speaking his native language, if you do not understand Javanese!   The same is true of attempts at understanding the content of any written text, if you do not have an adequate general and/or technical vocabulary to read it!   The vocabulary necessary for comprehending even newspapers is quite large.   It is estimated that vocabularies of greater than 10,000 words are necessary to fully understand an edition of the Washington Post!   A relatively large vocabulary of usable words is also a helpful aid in making precise statements to others.

      In addition to a general vocabulary, each person must master the basic technical vocabulary in his particular field of study.   Doctors and lawyers use many words in common, however each has a list of technical terms in their own field of expertise.
   One great difficulty faced by a college or graduate student, is the need to master the basic technical vocabulary in each of his courses, such as the terminology from history, from mathematics, from philosophy, from organic chemistry, etc..   Unless he knows these concepts, all the explanations in text and class are over his head!

      Your knowledge of such technical vocabulary in your studies can be determined easily by marking the technical words that are used in the Headings or that are Italicized or are in Boldface type in the body of your text.   Then see if you can briefly defing or explain each one of them.   Additionally, make a list of new, usable everyday words and then use them in daily conversations.   Also practice saying those new words four or five different ways, (i.e., speaking with panache, irony, authority, and sardonic humor)!

      The use of a dictionary is extremely important as a tool in learning the concepts used in various textbooks.   You should learn as early as possible, the unknown words (especially those technical terms), which occur frequently in the text.   For the new student, the percent of unfamiliar words in some science books may be greater than those in some foreign language texts.   However, learning these words as they occur, the first time around, will save you a lot of vague comprehension later as they reappear repeatedly.  

      Vocabulary   refers to the actual words of a spoken language and their associated meanings.   Training in English - more specifically in English grammar, is an important factor determining success in the study of any decipline.   At first glance this may seem simple, however, with greater focus we discover that these spoken words can become much more complicated.  

The following is a list of frequently used
Techincal Grammatical Terms.

1.  Masculine Gender	22.  Indirect Objects
2.  Feminine Gender	23.  Negatives
3.  Neuter Gender	24.  Interrogatives
4.  Possessive Pronouns	25.  Prefixes
5.  Possessive Adjectives	26.  Suffixes
6.  Relative Pronouns	27.  Positive Degree
7.  Interrogative Pronouns	28.  Comparative Degree
8.  Demonstrative Pronouns	29.  Superlative Degree
9.  Definite Articles	30.  Imperfect Tense
10.  Indefinite Articles	31.  Perfect Tense
11.  Transitive Verbs	32.  Pluperfect Tense
12.  Intransitive Verbs	33.  Active Voice
13.  Regular Verbs	34.  Passive Voice
14.  Irregular Verbs	35.  Subjunctive Mood
15.  Nominative Case	36.  Imperative Mood
16.  Objective Case	37.  Indicative Mood
17.  Impersonal Verbs	38.  Inverted Word Order
18.  Reflexive Verbs	39.  Syllable
19.  Auxiliary Verbs	40.  Declensions
20.  Infinitives	41.  Conjugations
21.  Predicate Nouns	42.  Inflection

      The basic technical vocabulary in any particular field of study is much like learning a foreign language.   Because greater use is made of grammar terminology in teaching a foreign language and specialty desiplines such as Medicine or Law, (than in the teaching of English), research has shown that knowledge of English grammar is actually more highly related to success in studying the language of special desiplines than to success in studying English.
      Test yourself on these terms by writing out an illustration for each of them.   Any term that causes difficulty should be looked up in a dictionary or thesaurus for complete clairity!  

Understanding Tables and Graphs:

      Every table, graph, diagram, and map displayed in a given text is important!   Most authors, in preparing graphs or tables, usually eliminate irrelevant material so as to place emphasis on the main point and may even draw the graph so as to exaggerate the trend that is being demonstrated.

      Generally, there are several cues available as to what is important in graphs or tables.   (1) The legend, which accompanies the graph of table, usually states what main idea is important.   (2) The written text nearby, provides a second source for determining what is important.   (3) The third way is to posses the ability to look at and identify the major trend of the data.   That is, does the line in the graph go up, down, or stay level?   If there are several lines, do they parallel each other, or intersect?  

Conclusion

      FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS PROVIDED on the Personal Traninig CDs and DVDs for "Self-Hypnosis" and "Self-Hypnotic Learning & Study Techniques," at least twice a day, until you have mastered the method.   Before beginning your studies, prepare your study environment by removing sources of distraction before hand.   Remember to review the "Twelve-Step" checklist of study techniques.   While studying, remember to study for short periods (no longer that 50 minutes), followed by a 10 minute break!   Lastly, ^«Reward Yourself^» after the study session has been completed successfully!  

a service of  Ther°al L . Bynum, M.D.
Dr.Bynum@HypnosisForYou.com^®

last update:   July - 2010.

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