Myth #5: Set "Fixations" Improve Reading Speed
When reading correctly, the eye moves from one "fixation" to the next. The larger the mean fixation, the faster the reading speed. It is a futile waste of effort to make any attempt to regulate this process because fixation is an involuntary physiological process. When we read we instinctively fixate on a point optimum to the next recognisable word group - whether that is an entire sentence, a clause, a single word, or even a portion of a word.
Attempting to read words in groups of any fixed number of words is actually detrimental to reading speed because the eye naturally fixates on what it recognises and the turn of phrase recognised is of variable length depending on phrase and word vocabulary. Attempting to force oneself to read strictly one word at a time impairs phrase and clause recognition whereas attempting to read phrases and clauses at a time may be unrealistic if the structures and/or words are not recognised. In either case, the time spent correcting focus from the natural or instinctive fixation to the theoretically ideal point costs the reader time and diverts attention away from the material being read.
The fastest readers have variable fixations based on what is recognised. Expanding this is a function of increasing the number and length of phrases and clauses that are recognised and thus optimally constitutes a separate exercise from reading. This is why flash programs like FieldCraft's Speed Reading training software, Stretch, work so well. The only time you are forced to fixate on a set number of words is during the flash exercises. However, when going back to normal reading, you simply read one recognised block at a time and you will find that sometimes this block is only one word long, and sometimes it may be as long as six or seven words depending on your familiarity with the turn of phrase. By allowing yourself to read naturally in conjunction with regular multiple word flash exercises and good dictionary discipline, you can maximise your reading speed.
