Poster Presentation

Using Powerpoint to Increase Reading
Speed for an Academic EnglishCoursePeter Mizuki
Nihon University
This article reports on a class activity to help students increase their reading speed andcomprehension. The activity is for an Academic English course preparing Japanese university
students for academic study at universities in Europe and North America. The time toprepare the students for academic study in English is limited to a 10-week course, although
they will be participating in one-year exchange programs abroad. The use of Powerpoint
slides to introduce the target input allows the teacher to have direct control over the readingtime.

First of all what is Academic English? Academic English is often defined as English
used during formal study at an institution of higher learning such as a college oruniversity It is the kind of English needed for reading and understanding study
materials; writing about the subject material; and describing a process or how
something works or explaining something in English. Much of academic English
is about expressing the relationship between ideas. This is how Academic English
differs from everyday English.
This activity I have used is an exercise in “Timed Reading” (TR) according
to Atkins (2010). Timed Reading differs from “Speed Reading”. Speed Reading
as defined by Atkins (2010) is “a practice that is essentially skimming a text for
information and not actually reading every word” and “is usually practiced bynative speakers of a language” (p. 662). TR, on the other hand, “is the reading oftexts of equal length and equal lexical difficulty, regularly over a period of weeks
or months” (p. 662). Furthermore, “texts are read against the clock and followed153

Mizukiby a set of comprehension questions” (p. 662).
According to Chang (2010) TR requires students to read a passage undertime constraints for the purpose of improving reading speed to “an optimalrate that supports comprehension rather than developing speedy readers” (p.
287). She cites Walczyk, Kelly, Meche, & Braud (1999) that “time limitations
may enhance reading comprehension by promoting mindfulness in students, aconstruct which involves exertion of more effort and motivation” (p. 156). In
their study they stated “The best reading comprehension was observed under
mild time pressure” (p. 156). Chang (2010) reviewed other studies looking at
the effects of time constraints and came to a similar conclusion that “moderatepressure facilitates reading rates and comprehension” (p. 288)
TR has other benefits for students in an Academic English course. Browning(2003) cited Anderson (1999) by stating “the student will increase theirreading speed, which will better prepared[sic] them for the challenges they willencounter when they enter the collegiate playing field”. Browning elaborated
further on the benefits of timed reading supporting both reading speed andcomprehension. He stated that students “are able to concentrate better whichleads to greater comprehension” (although he provides a caveat about some cases
in which students tried to raise their reading speed only to suffer with loss ofcomprehension). He also believes students tend to do better academically, andTR will promote “greater extensive reading”.
As stated earlier this activity is for an Academic English course. Otherskills needed for academic study at universities in Europe and North America
are included but not as explicitly stressed as reading rates and readingcomprehension.

Presenting the Lesson

The activity itself is very simple. It begins with short (80- to100-word) newspaper
articles shown to the students via Powerpoint for about two to three minutes.
During this time the students are allowed to take brief notes. The Powerpoint
slide is then turned off, and the students are given a short comprehension quiz
related to the article. They can refer to their notes when taking the quiz. The154

Using Powerpoint to Increase Reading Speed, OnCUE Journal, 9(2), pages 153-157

inclusion of some vocabulary questions on the quiz accesses and reinforces thestudents’ prior knowledge of English.
One important skill which is implicit in this reading exercise is note taking.
While the students are reading, they are encouraged to take brief notes to help
them answer the comprehension questions following the exercise. Even thoughnote taking is not an explicitly stressed skill, students do learn to take brief notes,
which over time and with practice can improve their overall note taking skills.
As one student reported: “taking notes was useful but sometimes I couldn`t readmy handwriting.”

Discussion

Note-taking is an important part of academic study for two main reasons (Gillett2014). First, when we are reading or listening, taking notes helps us concentrate.
In order to take notes and write something sensible, we must understand the text.
Because listening and reading together are interactive tasks, taking notes helps
us make sense of the lecture and the text. Taking notes does not mean writing
down every word we hear or read; we need to decide what the gist of the lecture
is and how it is related to what we need to know. Second, notes help to keep apermanent record of what we have heard or read. This is useful for reviewing in
the future for examinations or other reasons. Good notes should be clear andconcise, and most importantly accurate. Notes should show the organization of
the lecture and the relationship between the ideas that are presented.
In academic reading, we need to be flexible when we read. We may need toread quickly to find relevant sections, then read carefully when we have found
what we want. General efficient reading strategies include scanning to find thebook or chapter, skimming to get the gist, and careful reading of importantpassages. These are necessary as well as learning about how texts are structured
in the subject.
This paper has described a work in progress. To expand the activity, it canbe used as a critical listening and note taking session as follows. One student
listens to another student speaking and takes notes, then the student who waslistening rephrases what the speaking student has said. The student who spoke155

Mizukiwill confirm the accuracy of the listener’ notes, then their roles are reversed.
Other ways this activity has been used is in a speaking fluency activity by having
the students form pairs then express their opinions to each other in the 4/3/2
speaking fluency activity by Maurice (1983). The 4/3/2 signifies repeatedconversations (4 minutes, 3 minutes, 2 minutes) on the same topic to different
partners to build stronger fluency by focusing on the topic better each time.
In addition TR can also promote automatic processing according toSchneider & Fisk (1983, cited in Yoshimura, 2000), who stated “automaticprocessing typically develops when subjects deal with the stimulus consistently
over many trials” (p. 5). Yoshimura felt that in order for automaticity theory
to be applicable in the Japanese EFL environment a “systematic and efficientlearning environment” (p. 4) needed to be intentionally created. Yoshimura
further elaborated on how the application of automaticity theory is justified in
the Japanese EFL environment which cannot be further elaborated on within
the scope of this paper.
In conclusion this TR activity can improve reading speed and comprehension
if practiced on a regular basis. With a moderate amount of pressure induced by
the imposed time constraints and it can also promote automaticity theory in theclassroom. The flexible nature of this activity allows it to be adaptable to otherteaching situations.

References

Atkins, A. (2010). Timed reading: Increasing reading speed and fluency. InA.M. Stoke (Ed.), JALT2009 Conference Proceedings. Tokyo, Japan: JALT.
Browning, J. (2003). Why teachers should use timed reading in ESL classes.
The Internet TESL Journal, 6. Retrieved from http://iteslj.org/Articles/
Browning-TimedReading.html
Chang. A. (2010). The effect of a timed reading activity on EFL learners: Speed,comprehension, and perceptions. Readings in a Foreign Language, 22(2),pp.284-303.
Gillett, A. (2014). Using English for Academic Purposes. A guide for students
in higher education. Retrieved from www.uefap.com/156

Using Powerpoint to Increase Reading Speed, OnCUE Journal, 9(2), pages 153-157

Maurice, K. (1983). The fluency workshop. TESOL Newsletter, 17(4), 29.
Yoshimura, F. (2000). Automaticity theory and EFL in Japan: With somespecific applications for reading. Literacy Across Cultures, 4(1), 1-10.
Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED448608.pdf

Author bio

Peter Mizuki teaches for Nihon University in Tokyo. He is originally from Seattle,
WA and came to Japan several years ago. He currently teaches courses on Japaneseculture (in English), TOEFL, and academic English. His research interests include
learner autonomy and productive fluency. peter.mizuki@nihon-u.ac.jp
Received: September 26, 2014
Accepted: August 1, 2016157