The essence of the problem of attention. Inattention when reading can be expressed in the fact that when you read, you have to return to the previous sentence, since you read it mechanically, but did not grasp the meaning. The more often you return, the lower your speed. Therefore, the first step to increasing your reading speed is to work with your attention and concentration while reading.

Attention and interest. Often you yourself may have noticed that in the first minutes of reading the process goes much slower than half an hour after the start. You sort of "accelerate". In fact, your attention level increases. Especially if the book is interesting and you are caught up in the plot. The more interesting the book is to you, the more attention you get and the faster you read.

But is it possible to make sure that attention is focused on the text, even not the most interesting one in the first minutes, which will undoubtedly increase the reading speed?

- Can! Try the exercises and guidelines below.

Always try to find something interesting in the routine, turning any action into a game. This is what they do good parents who want their child to do some boring work. Games are inherent in many living creatures, it is embedded in us at the genetic level.

Gambling is important in the game!

Passion(French hasard) - infatuation, enthusiasm, passion, excessive fervor. (Large Soviet encyclopedia). To create a game of chance based on the upcoming reading process, you must define the rules of this game and establish clear conditions for winning this game. If this is difficult for you, then you can use the examples and recommendations below.

Competitiveness. For example, if you are reading a textbook before an exam, you can arrange a competition with friends who will read the textbook faster or who will answer to large quantity textbook questions you can ask each other. Competitiveness in educational process- this is the teacher's main weapon (I know from my own experience), which can increase interest in the learning process. The vast majority of people are gambling in an attempt to "be better" their opponent. That's why individual sessions not as effective as group ones. And in reading, you can find yourself a rival!

Personal records. Another factor that creates excitement when reading can be the struggle with oneself to achieve a certain result. For example, while reading a book, you can measure the reading speed, let's say the number of pages per hour, then try to break your own record. Personal records can be set in speed, in pages, in books, in learning, and more.

Try to motivate yourself that the material you read can be useful to you. Try to list all the possible benefits that the text you read will give you. They may not be significant, but the main thing is to find them. Then visualize it, dream, and start reading.

Even if this is a boring textbook that you need to read to prepare for the exam, you should understand that this knowledge will be useful to you and, in the end, a good grade in the subject will at least please your mother.

Exercise 1.3. External stimuli

Some people have one very important ability: they can do something when there is noise and turmoil around them. This is often a matter of habit, for example, when a person lives in a small apartment or dormitory, and he has to adapt to difficult conditions and be able to study without paying attention to anything.

Difficult conditions make a person more attentive, teach him to disconnect from external stimuli and do what he needs.

Try to artificially create difficult conditions for yourself, try to concentrate on reading at the moment when you are listening to music, when people are walking around. Go outside in a park on a weekend and read on a bench, trying to ignore others and passers-by.

Exercise 1.4. A state of trance

A state of trance, according to the observations of a specialist in hypnosis M. Erickson, is characterized by increased attention, the ability not to respond to external stimuli, as well as the ability to ignore the signals of some sense organs. So, in a trance state, a person can take a pose that is uncomfortable in the normal state, and spend a fairly long time in this position.

For example, reading an interesting book and crossing your legs, after half an hour during a break, you may find that one leg is very numb. But while reading, you did not think about the leg, you were in a state of heightened attention to the book, your visual perception was working so strongly that the signals from the other senses were simply not perceived by the brain.

You can read more about entering a trance state.

Exercise 1.5. N-back game

The n-back task is a continuous task used in the field of neurophysiology and designed to activate certain areas of the brain, as well as used in psychology to assess and develop the ability to concentrate, logical thinking, working memory and mobile intelligence of a person in general. In the game, you will be shown cards in order and you will have to determine if the same card was shown last time. The skill of finding the necessary information in the text, which can also help you not to return to what you have already read.

Note. If you think that the proposed exercises are too easy for you, then you can proceed to the next lessons. After all, each person is individual, and different skills can be given in different ways: some are a little easier, others a little more difficult.

Despite the importance of techniques for expanding the angle of view, as well as the suppression of pronouncing the text when reading, it should be noted that if the reader is not concentrated, the speed and quality of assimilation of the material will be at a low level.

What Factors Affect Your Concentration When Reading

The physical condition of the body.
Incorrectly selected reading material.
Extraneous irritants.
Lack of motivation.

How does the state of the reader's body affect the reading speed?

If a person does not get enough sleep or is not healthy enough, then the percentage of assimilation of information will be at a low level. The more rested the reader is before reading, the more fully the information will be remembered.

Memorization of information is influenced by biological rhythms:

It is better to learn theoretical information in the morning, and techniques related to muscle memory in the evening.

Rest and concentration in action

Take breaks between lessons. Rest is not necessarily living on the couch - best rest Is a change of activity.

Are there special diets for brain concentration?

Scientists are developing special diets for people involved in extreme activities. For example, special diets exist for astronauts and politicians. There is a very simple rule of health and wellness - 80% of the food consumed must be fresh - this is how the top officials of the state eat.

As noted by people who work in Federal Service Guards, top officials of the state eat a very restrained diet. 80% of what they eat is raw vegetables or fruits, and 20% are meat and processed foods.

Change your diet according to the 80/20 principle (80% raw vegetables and fruits and 20% processed food) and your brain capacity will increase. Fatigue and headaches will disappear.

How a text thesaurus affects reading comprehension and speed

The more simple and understandable the text is written, the more simply it is perceived by the reader.

What is a thesaurus

Thesaurus is a special terminology, a collection of information, a corpus or a collection, fully covering the concepts, definitions and terms of a special field of knowledge or a field of activity. Unlike explanatory dictionary, the thesaurus makes it possible to reveal the meaning not only through the definition, but also through the correlation of the word with other concepts and their groups, due to which it can be used to fill the knowledge bases of artificial intelligence systems.

How do unfamiliar words affect the speed of assimilation of texts?

In order to understand how unfamiliar terminology affects reading speed, let's do a little experiment. Read the phrase in different languages and think about how easy it was for you to understand the text.

In Russian

Have you ever noticed that some people read at the speed of light and incorporate what they read, whereas others take years to open the first page of a book?

Ukrainian language

Did you think that some people read the light and read the books that are necessary for them to read the first side of the book?

English language

Have you ever noticed that some people read the speed of light and introduce old, whereas others require years to open the first page of the book?

Georgian language

ოდესმე შენიშნა , რომ ზოგიერთი ადამიანი წაკითხვის სინათლის სიჩქარით და დანერგვა წლის , ხოლო სხვები მოითხოვს წელი გახსნა პირველ გვერდზე წიგნი ?

Texts in Russian are easier to perceive. The same pattern can be observed when reading specialized literature. The closer and more understandable language will be used when writing the text, the faster and easier it will be to read.

How to choose the right material for reading?

When choosing literature, be guided by the following principles:

Before reading, review the text and note how clear the author's language is.
Write out unfamiliar words. The more incomprehensible words there are, the lower the reading speed will be.
Pay attention to the examples given by the author.

If the choice of books is not great, then stick to the following reading algorithm:

Skim the book from fifth to tenth.
Set aside the text for a few days.
Read the text in depth.
Take notes in a notebook.

Read books with incomprehensible terminology in two passes. For the first time, you are introduced to incomprehensible words. Reading the second time, you clean up and assimilate the material, while more fully assimilating the structure of knowledge.

But what if it is psychologically difficult to convince yourself to read the book a second time?

Pick 3-5 books in the area you want and read them one after the other. This reading algorithm will allow you to overcome the psychological barrier of “re-reading”.

How do extraneous stimuli affect brain function?

If you are an "audiologist" - then you perceive information through sound channels, extraneous noise for you will be a serious problem during reading.

Here are some tips for those who are annoyed by outside conversations:

Study in the library or where the noise level is minimal.
Use headphones while exercising. Play calm music or sounds of nature (cry of seagulls, or rustle of foliage).
Exercise late at night when everyone is in bed or early in the morning.

How to turn off obsessive thoughts

In addition to auditory stimuli, there are stimuli that are entrenched in consciousness and require attention. Obsessive thoughts spin in a circle and prevent you from focusing on an important matter.

Here's an example obsessive thoughts:

Did I close the car? ...
Soon the deadline for the report, I do not have time ...
What did my Facebook friends write?
Did I close the car? Need to check...
The report is on the nose, but there is no time ...

If you have such thoughts spinning in your mind, then it is very difficult to concentrate and begin to read carefully.

Techniques for turning off obsessive thoughts.

Do physical work. As a minimum, push yourself 20 times off the floor. Take a walk or do some stretching exercises.
Replace the annoying emotion with an even stronger one. For example, imagine what happens if you succumb to the harmful effects of the blues.
Promise yourself to tackle the questions that are spinning in your mind a little later.

Important!

Carry out procedures to turn off thoughts, regardless of whether you feel an influx of obsessive thoughts or not. It often happens that after cleansing procedures, as after a hot shower, the body begins to feel how it was tense.

Lack of motivation and reading speed

It is important to note that if the reader has no interest in the book, then the reading speed and reading assimilation rate will be practically zero.

How to motivate yourself to read?

It is almost impossible to motivate in a strict understanding of oneself.

What is motive?

"motive"- this is literally a stick for chasing cattle. Will you urge yourself on with a" stick "? Others may motivate you, frightening you with expulsion from the institute or thwarted orders, and more humane measures should be selected for yourself.

You can only motivate yourself to read by interest and the possibility of practical application of the knowledge gained.

How to maintain a high level of interest in classes?

To maintain interest in the work you are doing, try to switch to another activity as soon as the focus begins to be lost. It is similar to how athletes train: do push-ups five times, squatted five times, pulled up five times, ran a circle ... and again did push-ups five times.

You must have a switchover plan prepared in advance. For example, something like this:

Editing article "A"
I am reading book "B".
Editing program "B".

It is in this mode that I write this text. Initially, I made a plan. Then he began to work in more detail on each item of the plan. As soon as I feel a loss of interest or fatigue, I switch to another activity, such as processing photographs or writing programs or drawing. After a short period of time, I again start editing the text.

This mode of keeping consciousness in good shape works well because consciousness is constantly in need of change. If there is no change, then interest is instantly lost.

Psychological sublimation before reading

You can also use another way to sublimate your interest in reading. The method consists in visualizing the future result.

How to pump your imagination and get interested in reading

Visualize what you want to avoid. Color this picture in dark tones. For example, imagine how you go to a boring and not interesting work, listening to the orders of the nervous boss ...
Imagine in colors what you are striving for. Paint the picture of the future light colors. For example, you are doing what you love.
Alternately evoke a positive picture, then a negative picture, alternate them.

Watch yourself as if from the side while watching an imaginary movie. As soon as there is interest in the activity you are planning, get to work immediately!

Why a slow reading person has no interest in reading

Let's remember ourselves on an exam when you haven't learned the question you need to answer. And now, lo and behold, your neighbor gives you a spy on the cheat sheet. How long will it take you to remember what is written in the tooltip? I am sure that one moment will be enough.

People read slowly because they have no idea why they need the information they receive.... It should be borne in mind that motives of the type “ I will learn subjects, get a red diploma, become a good specialist and make a lot of money”These are just words - they have absolutely no specifics at all. There are many pitfalls in this phrase.

Here are some of the tricks:

How well do you need to teach in order to pass the subject?
Is a diploma a guarantee that I will be a good specialist?
Is it always good specialists getting big money?
How much does this thought correspond to the realities of the world?

As a rule, a slowly reading person starts reading at the moment when his level of psychic energy is most reduced. And, as a result, he reads without interest at the lowest speed.

What should be done to increase interest in reading?

The more specific the task facing you, the clearer you will understand what you lack to achieve it, the more interest you will read and memorize the text.

The patterns of increasing interest in the case are very simple:

Without understanding practical application readable material - reading will be a simple waste of time.
The clearer the vision of the future result, the stronger the motivation.
If visualization is not possible, such as with passing an uninteresting exam, then imagine what will happen after successful passing and what will happen if the exam is not passed.

Development of attention and memorization of the information read

A person who has no interest in reading is said to be not attentive.

Lack of attention is manifested as follows:

From time to time, the reader loses the thread of the story. He is in a drowsy state.
The reader constantly returns to the same sections of the text.
The reader does not understand what he needs to understand after reading.

What is attention:

Attention is the ability to keep the focus of consciousness on a particular subject. Like many qualities, attention can be trained.

How to test attention?

Most often, attention is trained by performing monotonous operations. For example, they ask to multiply three-digit numbers... Perhaps, at first glance, it seems that intermediate results from calculations cannot be kept in mind, but this indicates insufficient development of attention.

Skills quick reading very important in modern world... Development under the conditions of a constant influx of new information becomes a vital skill, and one of the components of this skill is on the readable text.

Development of concentration of attention- a process that can be purposefully dealt with. The lack of this skill is expressed, for example, in the fact that you have to constantly return to the text you have read and re-read it. The more often you come back. the lower your reading speed will be.

How to develop concentration of attention? One of the most effective methods is to increase interest in readable text. Interest and attention interrelated. You yourself have probably noticed more than once how when reading interesting book the speed of assimilation of information increases.

To increase interest, try turning reading even uninteresting material into a game. Excitement is important in the game. Try to define as clearly as possible the rules of the game and the conditions for winning it. It can be a competition with friends, or it can be setting personal records - in speed, in the number of pages, in the amount of time, in the quality of information acquired, in the speed of achieving a goal.

Also, to increase interest, it will be useful to increase motivation. List for yourself all the benefits that you will receive by studying the necessary material. After that, visualize them using lists, pictures, and get to work.

Try to enter a trance state characterized by increased mindfulness and concentration. This state is often called creative inspiration, but in fact, it is not really precise definition because such a state can be invoked at will.

The physical condition of the body also affects the concentration of attention when reading. If a person does not get enough sleep, or does not feel well, or is upset about something, then the concentration of attention will leave much to be desired. The more you rest before reading, the calmer and less emotional you will be, the better your ability to absorb what you read will be.

Take breaks, and it doesn't have to be idleness - just change your activity.

Use biological rhythms. It is better to assimilate theoretical information in the first half of the day, and skills related to the work of muscles in the second half.

Don't forget about proper nutrition ... Highly good rule can be used to improve concentration, health and wellness - 80% of food should be raw vegetables and fruits, and 20% from processed foods, including cereals, meat and fish. Start eating like this, and your brain's abilities will increase, you will stop getting tired, and you will feel great.

Also, the speed of reading is influenced by how simple and clear the text is written. As soon as you come across an unfamiliar word - that's it, you don't have to read further, the meaning slips away, your attention is scattered. Therefore, it is important to fully understand everything that is written.

Turn off intrusive extraneous thoughts that can distract you from reading. Focus on readable material... If you are afraid to forget something else, do not keep it in your memory, write it down on a piece of paper.

Managing attention while reading primarily involves the ability to create a supportive environment.

Unnecessary distractions should be avoided, but since absolute silence is tiring and drowsy, stimulating interference should be kept in mind. The properties of attention are such that distraction of attention, the emergence of the need to switch it, occurs in 15-20 minutes. Assimilation is significantly impaired due to weakened attention, and in such a situation it is better to be distracted deliberately.

Any kind of switching contributes to the maintenance of long-term stability of attention.... You can cover your eyes with your palm and sit for a few seconds; look out the window at clouds, trees, a neighboring house, or some other object. Turn your head first to the left, then to the right, forward and backward. This warm-up will relieve stress and fatigue.

After reading a few pages, you can stop, make the necessary extracts, ponder what you read.

Involuntary attention is attracted and supported not only by the strength and unexpectedness of the stimulus, but also by its brightness, unusualness, and novelty. If the content of the text itself does not capture enough, and it is necessary to study the material, measures should be taken to ensure sustained attention. Using a variety of perceptual hindrances will help with this.

While reading, you can use a pencil or pointer to set the pace you want and maintain it as you read. It is permissible to periodically make notes in the text.

It is undesirable to read at a uniform speed: this causes drowsiness. Monotony is overcome by emotional relationship to the read, even if it is a dry scientific text. If there is no interest, the reader loses the thread of the story, returns to what he has read, forces himself to read more attentively, but after a while he gets distracted again. In the end, the desire to start reading disappears for a long time.

Reading what is required helps the awareness of duty, duty, the importance of reading. The results achieved by volitional efforts become an incentive for further reading. Post-voluntary attention is formed and gradually - interest in the results of reading and in the content of what is being read. Understanding the need for careful reading of any literature fosters readiness for volitional efforts.

An important role is played by purposefulness, diligence, a strict reading regime, the desire, in spite of everything, to follow the plan. Absent-mindedness is characteristic of those who do not recognize the reading mode, take one thing or another. Accurate implementation of the planned contributes to the formation of high concentration, sustained attention.

Control over reading, consolidation of read in memory contribute to the education of attention. If any thoughts distract from reading and even a significant volitional effort does not help, you should switch over, do something else. This will help you to get into a balanced state and, after a while, start reading again.

So, attention is common property phenomena and processes that make up human mental activity... It directs and expediently organizes such mental processes as perception, memory, thinking, accompanying each of them.

A person in a waking state is incapable of being completely inattentive. His attention is always focused on a particular object of activity, causing a clearer and more distinct course of mental processes related to this object. Attentive perception is a kind of filter for irritations not related to the selected object.

In the process of work, a periodic analysis of attention is required according to the most important indicators:

Concentration of attention;
stability of attention;
distribution of attention,
switching attention;
attention span.

The best way education of attention - always try to be attentive... L. S. Vygotsky put forward and substantiated the following proposition: self-management is a more complex process than the management of others. The transition to self-management, a step from obedience to self-government is a higher level of personal development.

16. general characteristics memory. Physiological mechanisms memory. The value of memory in human life and activities.

Attention is a catalyst for reading
The role of attention in reading is exceptionally great. Attention also determines to a large extent the effectiveness of many other types human activity... Attention is one of the signs of will. The degree of concentration or organization of attention is an indicator of the speed of reading.
By figurative expression KD Ushinsky, “attention is precisely that door through which everything that only enters the human soul from the outside world passes”.
So attention is playing great value In human life. It is with his help that other mental processes become full-fledged. Where there is no attention, there is no conscious attitude of a person to what he is doing.
What is attention? It cannot be considered an independent mental process like emotions, thinking, memory. It does not exist outside of them. We can carefully perceive, think, remember, but it is impossible to be just attentive, regardless of perception, thinking, memorization.
Psychologists call attention the selective orientation of a creature when performing a certain job. Reading is a type of activity in which attention is especially important. Indeed, it is possible to study the rapid reading method as a theory, but without the ability to concentrate, organize attention, this method is unlikely to be applied. This means that teaching fast reading should include concentration as an obligatory element of the development of mental concentration skills. And for this, first of all, it is necessary to know the reasons that cause the formation of stable attention, its maintenance and disappearance.
From the point of view of physiology, according to the teachings of I.P. Pavlov, attention can be explained by the law of the induction of nervous processes. According to this law, excitation processes occurring in one area of the cerebral cortex cause inhibition in other areas (negative induction), and conversely, inhibition in one part of the cortex entails excitation in other parts of the cortex (positive induction). The phenomenon of induction arises immediately, as soon as a sufficiently concentrated focus of excitation or inhibition appears at one point or another of the cortex.
Thus, at each moment of time in the cerebral cortex of a thinking person there is a certain focus of increased excitability, characterized by the most favorable, optimal energy conditions for excitation. “If it was possible, - said I. P. Pavlov, - to see through the cranial lid and if the place of the cerebral hemispheres with optimal excitability 'shone, then we would see in a thinking conscious person how a constantly changing shape moves along his cerebral hemispheres. and the size of the bizarrely irregular outlines is a bright spot surrounded by a more or less significant shadow throughout the rest of the hemispheres. "
It is this “bright spot” that can cover simultaneously different areas cortex, and there corresponds a clearer awareness of what affects us from the outside and causes this increased excitement, that is, the effect of concentration.