However, this limit does not apply to speed reading. When you read aloud, you can only say one word at a time. One other setting that's worth mentioning in this introduction is the chunk size – the number of words that are flashed at each interval on the screen. You'll find that when you drop down to lower speeds, you'll be able to pick up much more than you would have thought possible. That's basically it - constantly read passages at a rate faster than you can keep up, and keep pushing the edge of what you're capable of. Now try moving up a little past your base rate – for example, at 400 wpm –, and see how much you can comprehend at that speed. It should feel a lot slower – if not, try running the speed test again). Now, reread the passage again at your base rate. This speed should be faster than your inner voice can "read". You should be straining to keep up with the speed of the words flashing by. If you have high comprehension, that probably means that you need to set your base rate higher and rerun this test again. You shouldn't expect to understand everything - in fact, more likely than not you'll only catch a couple words here and there. Now, read that passage using spreeder at that base rate.Īfter you've finished, double that speed by going to the Settings and changing the Words Per Minute value. We've defaulted to 300 wpm, showing one word at a time, which is about the average that works best for our users.
Your base rate is the speed that you can read a passage of text with full comprehension.
To train to read faster, you must first find your base rate.
Load a passage of text (like this one), and the software will pace through the text at a predefined speed that you can adjust as your reading comprehension increases. With the aid of software like Spreeder, it's much easier to achieve this same result with much less effort. Even if at this point full reading comprehension is lost, it's exactly this method of training that will allow you to read faster. This works because the eye is very good at tracking movement. You read through a page of text by following your finger line by line at a speed faster than you can normally read. In the real world, this is achieved through methods like reading passages using a finger to point your way. The solution is simple - absorb reading material faster than that inner voice can keep up. However, it is entirely possible to read at a much greater speed, with much better reading comprehension, by silencing this inner voice. They can only read as fast as they can speak because that's the way they were taught to read, through reading systems like Hooked on Phonics. It is their inner voice that paces through the text that keeps them from achieving higher reading speeds. Most readers have an average reading speed of 200 wpm, which is about as fast as they can read a passage out loud. Speed reading is the art of silencing subvocalization. Text2Speech also has a Windows version.Paste the text you'd like to speed read here:
Mac devices running OS X Lion can also download upgrades to support 26 additional languages.
This TTS comes with 10 voices, but if you are running OS X Lion 10.7, it gives you the option of downloading additional voices from iTunes.
It is downloadable from the (Apple) App Store and for additional features, you can purchase or upgrade to the paid version Text2Speech Pro.
Text2Speech is one of the best PDF Audio Reader that can be used with Mac. Part 2: PDF Audio Reader for Computer Users or Mobile Users Others simply like to relax and listen to the audio conversion of an e-book or long article instead of actually reading the text. In other applications, usually in mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, TTS Apps are used to convert important text messages and/or emails to speech when the user is doing something that occupies their hands and eyes, like driving for example. They use TTS software to read their work back to them so they can take a little break from staring at the computer screen. Many are trying to avoid eyestrain like in the case of writers proofreading their own work. Initially, the software was created to assist the visually impaired, but now all users can take advantage of the software. Most PDF Audio Readers have the capability to read not just PDF files but also Word and web (HTML), Kindle, and other text file formats. Its primary purpose is to convert text into audio.