Break Poor Reading Habits by Mehak Brar

I'm glad in that I can read without moving my lips.Personally, I find it annoying when people whisper to themselves while reading.It's like they learned to read out loud in grade school and then didn't make the move to being able to read silently.It irritates me so much that at times I feel like shouting at them but somehow I manage to keep myself quiet.They might be reading it out of their habit but the one who is sitting beside them gets really very disturbed.Sometimes, the teacher asks to do silent reading but some students start reading it in such a way that the matter is faintly audible.They are whispering the content in such a way that it frustrates the person sitting beside them as he cannot even make out what he is reading.

There have been many instances in my life when I was sitting beside a student who vocalize while reading.Once I and my elder brother were preparing for our examinations.He was reading his notes in such a manner that I could only hear his murmuring.I was getting so disturbed that I was not able to concentrate on my studies.So I told him about my problem.But he told me that he could not concentrate the other way.The same happened to me in the examination hall when the girl sitting behind me whispered the questions in the same manner as my brother.But I did not say anything thinking what the girl might say if pointed out and I tried to concentrate on my exam rather than talking to her about my problem.

In my opinion, people behave in this way because they find it easy to understand or concentrate on their work.They might be reading like that as other things might be distracting them and whispering the words allows them to concentrate more.

It not only disturbs other people sitting around them, trying to read, but it also slows down one's own reading.Voicing the words, as one read or write wastes a lot of energy.It even causes regression.Regression occurs when you're unsure of what you read and you move your eyes backward over words and sentences, you have read already, to confirm their meaning.Vocalizing causes regression because your eyes race ahead of your mouth in the act of reading, and your mouth reads one place while your eyes read another.This gap between what the mouth says and what the eyes see creates confusion and causes you to regress.It even affects the comprehension if you move your lips or mimic speech when you read, as you engage a part of your mind in speech activities when you really ought to devote it to grasping the author's ideas.

I think vocal reading is a habit that one should break if he intends to become a respected,careful and a speed reader.