1. The reading is accompanied by a “hidden voice,” a tendency to
pronounce the printed words silently or even to speak them in a
barely audible murmur.
2. The reading is executed from left to right across the page, line by line,
until the page is finished. Then, the student moves through subsequent
pages using the same line-by-line approach.
Reading that displays these characteristics is sometimes referred to as
“subvocal linear” reading, because the words read are sounded in the
head (“under the voice”) and are read horizontally, line after line.
Observers have documented the subvocal quality of most reading, by
interviewing people about what goes on in their minds as they read, and
by monitoring the vocal cords during reading. Often, a vibration can
actually be detected in the bands of tissue
in the larynx as someone
reads.
The “linear” feature of most reading becomes evident if you just watch
the reader’s eyes. The dominant movement of the eyes is almost always
the same: left to right, back and forth across the page.
Ultimately, your goal will be to move beyond subvocal linear reading
to another approach—what’s called the visual-vertical technique. In
brief, this kind of reading involves, first, eliminating the silent sounding
of the words and replacing it with an exclusively visual perception.
Second, it’s characterized by a dominant sweep of the eyes vertically
down the page, rather than by the usual horizontal,
left-to-right
movement.
Much of the remainder of this book will be devoted to showing in
detail how you can develop the skills that will enable you to become a
visual-vertical reader. But for now, just be concerned with the first step
—becoming a proficient subvocal linear reader. After you master that
skill, you will be in a position to tackle the visual-vertical approach.
Before we go on, let’s address a basic question that may have already
occurred to you: Once you learn the visual-vertical skill, will you ever
have any further use for subvocal linear reading? Or should your goal be
to avoid it completely?
Actually, there are a number of ongoing uses for efficient subvocal
linear reading, even for those who are experts
in the visual-vertical
method. Here are some of them:
•
Poetry.
Many times, it’s most satisfying to savor the language and
rhythms of poems subvocally, rather than to experience them only
visually. In fact, it may be best to read the poem out loud, to get the
full impact of the writer’s genius.
•
Dense textbook material.
If you find you don’t have a good grasp of the
vocabulary in a particular book or article, you may have to slow down
and read line by line to get the full meaning. Concentrated scientific
or other technical writing may require analysis and thought as you
read—and, therefore, a slower pace.
(On the other hand, there are many situations in which even the
most difficult material is best read quickly,
with a visual-vertical
approach. For example, it may be helpful first to get an overview of
difficult material by reading quickly, and then to return to the hardest
passages with a subvocal linear technique.)
•
Double-checking.
You may have failed to understand something the
author has said. Or you may feel the author made a particularly telling
point, or came up with an especially compelling turn of phrase, which
bears further scrutiny or meditation.
In such situations, you’ll probably want to return to the section in
question and linger over it for a few moments. Most of this type of
double-checking or retracing will be done with the subvocal linear
approach.
•
Jokes.
To appreciate jokes in a book or magazine—or any other
disconnected short anecdotes or aphorisms—it’s usually necessary to
subvocalize. There’s almost no way to get a visual-vertical rhythm
going when there’s no continuity from one little story or point to the
next.
•
Dialogue.
Those who are adept at visual-vertical reading can whip
through most novels or plays in record time. But many times, the
sensitive, intelligent reader will want to slow down and
hear
the words
exchanged between characters. Or he may want to savor a scene.
I recall a confession of sorts by one of the fastest readers I know, Dan
Warner, one of our Evelyn Wood teachers. Dan can read many thousands
of words a minute, and has frequently demonstrated
his skill before
audiences in public lectures and on television.
But he also has found a place for subvocal linear reading. For example,
he loved reading the
Dune
series of fantasy—science-fiction books by
novelist Frank Herbert. With these and other absorbing novels, he’ll
frequently slow down to about 800–900
words per minute in the last
chapter or so to relish the final climax and disposition of the plot–and
there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
This sort of indulgence is perfectly acceptable for a student or anyone
else, and will probably enhance one’s understanding and enjoyment of
many books.
On the other hand, it’s a mistake to believe that most books can be
enjoyed best at a slower pace. In fact, the emotional impact or
intellectual understanding of most passages becomes much stronger with
the faster visual-vertical approach. Recall the impression made on the
student reading the book about Hiroshima, as described in the opening
chapter.
In the last analysis, of course, selecting between these two approaches
is a judgment call
you
must make for yourself. A rule of thumb I’ve
found helpful is this: If for some reason, the sound of the words seems
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