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| TESTIMONIALS Dear Mr. Stancliffe, January, 2004 To give you a "beginning" report, I will say my students were very enthusiastic to begin. I was very prompt to have a lesson every day. I also rewarded those who practiced with great rewards! The students gave me all I asked for. They were actually learning to speed read! However, here is where there is a diversion. If you will remember, what I had intended to gain for my students was higher comprehension, and raised grade levels in order to prepare them for taking the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Tests in March (FCAT). So, an intermediate report would say that my evaluations of my students indicate that the ones who are sincerely "speed reading" (and not the ones who are trying to "fake me out"), are indeed comprehending more! In fact, they, themselves have reported this to me, in comments such as, "Mrs. G., I can understand a LOT more of what I read now, even though it seems like I only look at each page for a few seconds!" I assure them this is what is supposed to be happening! Unfortunately, I am not keeping close track on how many words they are reading. I have asked them to keep track of how many pages they are reading. The sincere ones are up from 10-12 pages to approximately 20-25 pages per minute. This has been improving all along as well. In fact, another assessment tool we use (which includes a highly recommended Computer Aided Instruction program) has shown amazing results of reading gains in the range of one-to two GRADE LEVELS in just a couple of months!! Some of my lowest level students (who began reading about second or third grade level), are now reading near grade level (5th grade). Those who were reading on grade level have jumped to 7th and (in one case) 8th grade level. I am very impressed. Referencing the above paragraph, this is the biggest challenge I have had to deal with. The students who began reading at the lowest levels have had the hardest time, basically because I have had to work very hard to find books they can read easily. I knew they couldn't read books at 5th grade level, so I attempted to keep the room full of books they could read comfortably, at the levels they were currently at. I think this did help a lot. Unfortunately, the books at this level are full of pictures! Not many are written in just words, so it's difficult to find enough variations of interesting stories for them to read, since they are finishing books at a rate of one every day or two. That's a lot of books!! Any suggestions about resolving this problem would be welcome. Thank you, again, for your program. I appreciate the opportunity to use it to help my students gain a skill they can take with them into their future. Sincerely,
Speed Reading is going quite well now... The video was really enlightening.
Dear Mr. Stancliffe, I am so impressed that I have checked out a large print book to practice learning to speed read during the summer, too. Any suggestions for a 53-year old mind?
....I showed my 10 yr old daughter (whom has been labeled by the school system as a very poor learner) how to scan read three pages. By the third page she was able to repeat back to me half of one paragraph verbatim! I taught her to speed read in 5 minutes! Two days later she demonstrated she could do her homework much quicker by scanning for the answer the teacher wanted from her school books! Keep up the good work. Thanks, JH, California
Your lesson plan on speed reading was wonderful. As a student I will share it with my graduate class, and will recommend your book. I would like to use your lesson plan for a class presentation for future teachers. Thanks AJM, United States
Hi, and thanks for your reply. I decided to look at the speed reading book and on one of the sections it said that it teaches you to read "dynamically" and I never noticed that before because on the instructions it doesn't tell you to "try and read three lines in a row". But anyway I tried it, and after about a day's practise, it really works! and I can read much faster. I can read a whole page of print in about 8 - 9 seconds, and it used to take about a minute so its worked well. And also, I practised the Expanded reading as you said, and I have become better at it. Before, I could only read one line in two glances but now I can read it in one glance, and so my speed reading is also easier. I read about three lines in one go and it all makes sense. Thanks for replying, R., age 11, Great Britain
(From a parent whose son has ADD): Hello Mr. Stancliffe,
Thank you ever so much,
Do you something? I just managed to speed read. My comprehension ability
is quite a satisfactory. Thank you for the wonderful product. ....
Hi George, Thanks for the response. Here's an update of our status. It's a "success" story, so I'm sure you'll enjoy reading it... Day 1 - Did Chapter 4, Expanded reading. Also reviewed the concepts and principals behind it by reading to them some of the encouraging background material to get them "fired up". Day 2 - Did more expanded reading, and started on the first day lesson from Chapter 8. I read 5,6,7,8 and I really like the "scripted" approach of 8. It's not really any slower progression (as we're planning on doing this for a month here at home) anyway, it's just clearer what to do and in what order. Did some drill sets and tap drills. Assigned homework. Day 3 was a homework only day - no time for a "class". Kids complained that they liked the expanded reading (1 second per line) better than the Natural Vision mode (5 seconds per page) as they get so much more. I explained that that's natural and of course they'll like reading at a slower pace. Day 4 - Did lesson two from Chapter 8, drill sets, tap drills. They liked reciting what they recalled. Sometimes it was "I don't remember anything! Then after prompting a tidbit here or there came through, and then a few more. Re-reading the same area helps them gain confidence. Day 5 - Did lesson three from Chapter 8, drill sets, tap drills. When we went 3 seconds per page, then two, then 1 and finally back to 5 seconds per page. Then, I told them it was "Casual Reading Time" and they were to read for 7 minutes straight at about 5 seconds per page. My daughter Katie said she didn't want to as she didn't get enough. I told her, "I know, but do it anyway. It's like exercise. It's not supposed to be fun or easy but it builds muscles!" Anyway, here's where it gets interesting. She read for 7 minutes and afterward started talking about what she read. Well, she went on, and on, and on and my mouth just dropped open with all that she remembered! She got really excited and realized she only had 100 pages left in the book. We figured it would take her only about 8 minutes to finish the book, so we agreed to let her finish it. I timed her during her reading and she averaged between 5 and 8 seconds a page (or 2400 to 1500 wpm). When she finished it she was grinning from ear to ear. This book was one of their "AR" (Accelerated Reading) books from school. She said she wanted to take the test in school the next day and see how she would do. I told her I'd rather have he re-read the whole book one more time to be sure she got it all. She said, she didn't need to! Well, she just got home from school and I asked her if she took the test and she said yes. There were 10 questions on it and she got 9 out of 10 right! The one she missed was a 50/50 thing between the right answer and the one she chose. She couldn't believe it. She read a book in 1/2 hour and got 90+ comprehension on it. Cool! Anyway, I have a couple questions you can probably clear up.... Another suggestion..... A speed-reading course I took years ago suggested you get rubber bands and "hold down" the outer covers of the book and any pages you're not working on. Snap them around a stiff book or cardboard. This way you don't have to fumble with the book always closing on you. It's a good idea and we did that. It also suggest you practice just turning pages and getting a good technique of lifting the upper-right corner as you're reading the left page and then you're ready to turn the split second you finish the right hand page. I had them do that too and got them comfortable with turning the page every seconds or two. It's a skill they've never needed to know before as they used to take a minute a page (turn the page every two minutes)!.... Thanks for your response and keep up the good work! J, Michigan
Dear Mr. Stancliffe, I have taught 25 Balinese elementary school kids about 11 to 12 years old reading fast, employing your method for three days ( 30 minutes each day in class using their school reading materials about 300 words each page in Indonesian and 100 words in English) and I could see how fast they could read! They double their reading speed and they could answer some of the questions about the text they had read when I asked them. They read faster with good recall. It was amazing, and it was fun working with little school kids. These kids have been taught English since the fourth grade. So I introduced some children’s songs such as The Farmer in the Dell, Oh Do You Know the Muffin Man, London Bridge etc. I really wish I could stay longer at Seraya village....but I couldn’t as I had to return to Semarang State University (Semarang is the capital of Central Java, the safest place in Indonesia, no bomb yet!) by the fifteenth of January 2003, to give my students their end- term test. At the moment, I teach English Literature as no native speakers of English /lecturers are available at present (sorry, my English is not very good, but I have the courage to teach such a difficult subject because I like English/American literature such as Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice, Treasure Island, Huckle B. Finn, Robinson Crusoe, etc. and Richard Via’s short plays such as Don’t Call Us, The Set Up and other writers!).You could see why I am so interested in speed reading as students need to read fast when they have to read many novels or short stories for assignments. You are right, fast reading should begin in elementary schools at the age of 8 to 12, so when they continue to a higher level of education, they are equipped with this power of reading rapidly. Well, I wish one day you could come to Bali with your family, and see how the poor Balinese kids could read fast. There are not enough books at their small library though, but I try to get some for them when I return to Bali in April, next month, for a real experimentation.... ....thank you for your kind attention. Looking forward to hearing from you soon. Sincerely yours, S., Indonesia
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